The original The Sinking City arrived in 2019 with a solid concept: an open-world detective game steeped in Lovecraftian dread, where players waded through a flooded, paranoid city and pieced together cosmic horrors. The execution, however, was uneven. Clunky combat, repetitive puzzles, and a protagonist who mostly shuffled through the motions kept the game in "cult curiosity" territory rather than the must-play horror it aspired to be.

Now, with The Sinking City 2, developer Frogwares is swinging for a much bigger target. Based on a hands-on preview by Jarrett Green, the sequel has made several significant changes intended to fix the first game's most glaring problems. The result is a title that looks more promising than its predecessor, but one that still carries some familiar baggage.

A protagonist worth following

The first Sinking City was anchored by Charles Reed, a private investigator whose monotone delivery and generic tough-guy demeanor made him difficult to care about. Good horror requires a character you root for, someone whose survival matters. The Sinking City 2 addresses this directly with a new protagonist who, according to the preview, is "better, more interesting." That's a low bar, but it suggests Frogwares understood that players need an emotional tether in a world full of unspeakable horrors.

Details on the new protagonist's backstory or personality are sparse in the preview, but the shift alone signals a broader effort to make the narrative land harder. In a genre where atmosphere is paramount, a flat lead can sink the whole experience. If the new character carries more charisma and urgency, that could be the single biggest upgrade.

The investigation system gets a clean redesign

The original game's investigation mechanic was one of its most distinctive features: you'd enter a "mind palace" to connect clues and form deductions. In theory, it encouraged active reasoning. In practice, the system often felt clunky, with clues that were too easy to miss or sequences that railroaded you toward the correct conclusion regardless of your choices.

The Sinking City 2 has been given a "revamped and easier to parse investigation system." The preview doesn't specify exactly what changed, but the phrasing suggests Frogwares streamlined the mechanic without dumbing it down. A more intuitive investigation loop should reduce the frustration that plagued the first game, where players sometimes got stuck not because the puzzle was hard, but because the interface was unclear.

This is critical for a game built around detection and deduction. If the sequel makes you feel like a real investigator without forcing you to fight the UI, it will solve one of the original's core problems.

Mission pacing: tighter, less meandering

Another complaint about the first game was its uneven mission structure. Side quests could be compelling, but main missions sometimes dragged, forcing players to trudge through waterlogged streets between objectives that felt disconnected.

According to the preview, The Sinking City 2 features "better-paced missions." That suggests Frogwares has tightened the narrative flow, cutting filler and ensuring each task feels purposeful. In a horror game, momentum is everything. When the dread is disrupted by a tedious fetch quest, the spell breaks. Faster, more deliberate pacing could keep the tension coiled through the entire campaign.

Combat and puzzles: still a question mark

For all the improvements, the preview flags a serious concern: the combat and puzzles that nagged the first game "don't seem to be fully solved here just yet." This is the biggest red flag in the briefing.

The original game's combat was widely criticized as clunky. Enemies were bullet sponges, gunplay felt stiff, and the melee options were limited. A horror game doesn't need slick gunfights, but it does need combat that feels tense rather than tedious. If The Sinking City 2 hasn't substantially overhauled its shooting and brawling, those sequences could again break immersion.

Similarly, puzzles in the first game often relied on the same formula: find a code, match a symbol, rotate a dial. They were functional but rarely clever. Without a major redesign, players may find themselves solving the same kinds of brain-teasers they already tired of.

These weaknesses are more damaging in a sequel because expectations are higher. A cult hit can get away with rough edges. A follow-up that wants to reach a wider audience cannot.

What it means for Eldritch horror fans

The broader context matters here. The cosmic horror genre in gaming has seen a resurgence, with titles like Amnesia: Rebirth, Darkest Dungeon, and Signalis each taking a different approach to dread. The Sinking City 2 is positioning itself as a third-person action-detective hybrid, a niche that few games occupy well. If Frogwares can fix the combat and puzzles, it could have a genuine hit. If those elements remain subpar, the game may stay in the shadows of its peers.

Based on this preview, the core improvements are real: a better protagonist, a cleaner investigation system, and tighter pacing. Those are the hard parts to fix. Combat and puzzles are more mechanical, and while they aren't easy to perfect, they are easier to iterate on. Frogwares has time before release to polish those systems. The question is whether the studio will treat them with the same seriousness it applied to the investigative loop.

The bottom line

The Sinking City 2 appears to be a thoughtful sequel that addresses many of the first game's shortcomings. The revamped investigation system and better protagonist alone should make it a more compelling experience. But the lingering issues with combat and puzzles mean it's not yet a guaranteed success. Fans of Eldritch horror should keep this one on their radar, but they may want to wait for final reviews before diving into the deep end.