Sunless Sea

Right, in terms of story and atmosphere, Sunless Sea is a 5 out of 5, and thanks to the multitude of choices you are offered, it has a lot of replayability. With that out of the way, the grind is real at the start and more so during a first or third playthrough and will make you question your sanity. But at the same time, this is a really chill game that you can put on a lazy weekend and waste a few hours.

This game has some of the best writing I've ever seen. Not just in a video game, I'm talking about in all of the literature I've consumed over the years, which let me tell you, is a LOT. The writing honestly deserves a literary prize, and how often can we say *that* about a video game? Moving on to the gameplay.. It is odd, it takes some getting used to, but if you crack it - Ignore the comments about grind - it's not true. Once you understand the ways to make money, you'll be rolling in it. Once you get a fast ship (and you don't need to spend a lot to do this) it cuts down on that too. This is not a game like elite or eurotruck - you're not supposed to buy low sell high. I mean, you CAN but it's not the way to make money. Evolve the storyline, explore the rich world that's been beautifully crafted. Read, Read READ - soak in the heady atmosphere and then you'll just know how this game wants you to play it and it will love you for it. I don't think it's actually possible to explore every storyline in this game in one playthrough, so my advice is to focus on one storyline and just put all your eggs in one basket. Keep doing that in a single playthrough until your options are exhausted and then retire, giving yourself a MASSIVE headstart for your next playthrough which opens up many more options to persue some of the more obscure, or time-dependent storylines. This is an adventure game with a strong narrative and a great script. It is NOT a rogue-like money-making sim. And if that sounds fun, then this game is for you... Enjoy.

I went into this game with some high expectations; I had previously played Fallen London so I knew the writing would be great (smart, humurous and stylish in a sort of almost self-aware Lovecraftian way) and this is a world I enjoy quite a lot. I'm usually not a big fan of sea exploring games though so I wasn't sure of what to expect gameplay wise. Fortunately, it was surprisingly fun and I have had a good time slowly filling out the map, with the occasional naval warfare, sometimes followed by some plunder others by a desperate attempt to escape, carefully managing my fuel and supplies as not to become stranded in the middle of nowhere on simply starving to death, then beggining anew with a fresh captain. The quests have also been very fun, as expected from the creators of Fallen London. I do have some things that disappointed me though, namely, how seemingly impossible it is to live as a zailor, trading isn't profitable, however, you can sustain yourself with port reports and the occasional oddity which can be sold at the university, although some trips are not worth the trouble they cause. It's a shame there's not an option to more thoroughly explore land as I'd love to explore places such as the Tomb Colonies in the same way as I've explored London in Fallen London, but I guess that's to be expected of a game called "Sunless Sea", and it's a shame my Captain dies (this came as a surprise to me, in Fallen London dying or going mad simply takes you into a different location with some specific quests to it until you manage to return, which was a fun concept), but these are minor points, some wishful thinking if you will, as the game works wonderfully as it is. If you're a fan of Fallen London, then this is definitly a game you'd enjoy, even if the gameplay is very different in regards to exploration. On it's own, it's still a pretty good game, I reccomend it for those with a taste for the Lovecraftian, for smart storytelling and world building, and for fans of the roguelike who want something that's not a dungeon crawler for a change.

I really like this game's mood, and the stories and lore present in it are really good. I'm a fan of trading games such as Patrician, Space Rangers, and Port Royale. It's a bit like those but set in a REALLY cool underground sea environment and with really gripping lore - neat! There are a lot of things to like about this game. However, it really takes a long time to sail from place to place, so for me, the game became too much of a time sink without enough fun had for the amount of time spent. Most of the time, you really are just watching a ship on the screen sailing slowly and eerily through the abyss. Which is really cool, but it just isn't that fun. I'm far more likely to load up Strange Adventures in Infinite Space or Space Rangers over this one, which is too bad, because I feel this game has a lot of potential. It just can't get around the fact that its main mechanic is slow and a little boring.

The game is fun and I've enjoyed playing it, but you should not take it seriously. Death is a non-issue, as you can start anew and even inherit something from the dead captain. In a sense, the most entertaining plays have been when I've done something outlandish and ran with it. The premise is to take a ship, fight some monsters or enemies, arrive to other ports and then follow some actions in a choose-your-own-adventure type of interactive novel (with random outcomes, influenced by stats). Although the game is fun, it is not without flaws. The game feels as if someone has taken a ship navigation game engine and bolted the story on top, straight without bothering to integrate it properly. All variables are transparent and visible to the user. They form the basis for what you can do and hold the game state. These conditions are not always clear, because they just show a bunch of variables that mean nothing without some sort of context or documentation. The game does not come with a manual, and although there are free wikis with documentation, they consist of tables of the same variables and how other variables change with each choice. A much better product would have included textual explanations on what is needed to do, instead of just throwing the game variables to you. Overall, it's a fun game. Definitely not worth paying USD 19 for it. I got mine as a freebie, so I can't complain. Get it while on sale, don't pay more than 5 bucks for it.