Sunless Sea Review (PC)

excellent
key review info
  • Game: Sunless Sea
  • Platform: PC
  • Show system requirements
  • Gamepad support: No
  • Reviewed on:
Sunless Sea concept

Sunless Sea is a poetic game about loss, darkness, the joy of exploration and the threats that lurk in the darkness for even the most prepared of those who are willing to try and find out its secrets.

It’s also one of the best written titles available at the moment, but the gameplay sometimes fails to reach the same heights.

The first time I had my captain killed in Sunless Sea was because I moved too close to three crab-like creatures, which were weak on their own but managed to overwhelm my boat, as I was unable to target them while also avoiding their attacks.

I then perished because I failed to get enough provisions, and then I was taken out by the very members of my crew.

Death is not the end in Sunless Sea, the new title from Failbetter Games, so in my next attempts I resolved to be careful and plan my trips so that I always had fuel and supplies for my ship and crew.

I failed repeatedly to achieve this goal and then I understood that the game is better enjoyed with limited long-term planning and a lot of focus on the events that happen and require choices, which create an interesting and weird world where stories matter more than actions.

Story

The narrative of Sunless Sea takes place in the Fallen London world, with the capital dunk underground and surrounded by a big ocean, and with humans transformed, ready to believe in new religions and willing to do almost anything to reach their personal goals.

Gamers will first have to determine what the basis for the story they plan to tell will be, which means choosing from a variety of backgrounds and an overall aim for their captain.

The game seems to suggest that they are not important in the long term, but I have seen some small clues that there are elements of Sunless Sea that make more sense or have a bigger impact based on these initial decisions.

Once the vessel the player owns leaves port for the first time, the narrative of the game diverges based on where they decide to explore and on their general approach to the game world.

Map view in Sunless Sea
Map view in Sunless Sea

Sunless Sea has a range of ports where the ships dock, and each of them has characters, situations, passengers, plots and more to explore, and even battles at sea or random events can have big consequences for a character.

At first, the universe does not make a lot of sense, especially for those who are unfamiliar with Fallen London or the unique approach that Failbetter Games has when it comes to narrative threads, but my advice is to keep an open mind and just experience the game world for a few hours, soaking in as many elements as possible before committing to any task or long-term goal.

One nice surprise is the inheritance mechanic, which basically allows gamers to keep some of the things they have earned with one captain even after he dies, creating a continuity that the title needs in order to keep someone engaged in the long term.

Failbetter Games has created a world that feels both familiar and utterly alien, with plenty of references to other fictional universes, as well as some very unique concepts.

The problem is that Sunless Sea can be a bit text-heavy for modern gamers, and the turns of phrase used, while beautiful, can sometimes drive the players away, prompting them to skip the descriptions and the dialogue rather than give them their full attention.

But for those who have both the time and the attention needed, Sunless Sea can deliver one of the best proses ever delivered in the video game space.

Gameplay

If the narrative and writing of Sunless Sea can be described as complex, the gameplay is relatively simple.

Players start off with a ship and need to explore the sea, looking for ports to visit and fulfilling the missions that the extensive cast of characters can offer.

The vessel requires fuel, supplies and a crew to work, and it can be upgraded over time with more powerful equipment or officers that bestow a variety of advantages, although there’s a price to pay for everything.

On the underground sea, there’s opportunity to find interesting stories, but there’s also danger, with a variety of enemies ready to attack from the shadows.

Combat is all about keeping the opponent in view and taking him out as quickly as possible, but often the better idea is to simply flee, pushing the engines to full throttle and dimming the lights in order to become harder to spot.

When an interesting location is reached, players need to move through situational text prompts and decide how to use their always limited resources in order to reach their final aim.

The variety of adventures included in Sunless Sea is incredible and I loved the way the game can move from straight up adventure to horror and even comedy very quickly.

At first, the game appears impossible to complete and even unfair in terms of difficulty, but after a few captain deaths it becomes clear that there are elements which remain constant, and players can use them to get a boost at the start of the game and try to discover new areas, get more resources, understand more about the adventures, and prepare for even more progress with their next attempt.

I would advise players to complete the first big missions from the admiralty as fast as possible in order to get the currency they need to get a load of food and supplies, and then move on and simply explore for a while, before they settle to achieve the goal they have chosen for their captain.

Graphics and audio

Sunless Sea uses a top-down view and asks players to focus either on the ship and its actions, when they are sailing the expanse of the Unterzee, or on the text when they are in port and dealing with other matters.

The perspective is well suited to the fiction of the title and makes it easy to set goals and move towards them, but there are moments when I wished for a full 3D view to explore the very rich game world.

Developer Failbetter Games has created a solid interface and it’s relatively easy to understand how to control the game after a while, but the world, although whimsical and attractive initially, tends to become a little boring after a while.

The sound design is also thematically-driven and engaging, with a set of too repetitive tracks that manage to evoke both the awe and the terror that would be associated with the exploration of a sea around a city of London that has moved underground.


The Good

  • The narrative opportunities
  • Excellent writing
  • Complex world and interactions
  • Feeling of exploration

The Bad

  • Slow paced
  • Limited combat

Conclusion

Sunless Sea is a great video game and the team at Failbetter Games has clearly invested a lot of love and attention into its development.

The stories that can emerge from the title, especially for gamers who take the time to explore the world and to carefully read the text offered, are both heartbreaking and exciting, and I am keen to see how the title will be expanded in the future, with the team saying that there are more ports set to be deployed.

More action-focused players will be unable to enjoy Sunless Sea at first, but I hope they take their time to learn what it has to offer and enjoy their trips in the Unterzee, with all the emotion and the frustration that comes packaged in them.

story 10
gameplay 7
concept 10
graphics 8
audio 8
multiplayer 0
final rating 9
Editor's review
excellent
 

Sunless Sea Images (20 Images)

Sunless Sea conceptSunless Sea is driven by storySunless Sea explorationSouth side of Sunless SeaSunless Sea has a big cast of characters
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