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The Sinking City


shinymcshine
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Don't think this ever migrated into the Games thread, but I started playing it today.

 

It's pretty clunky, but already has a few interesting ideas in terms of making you work things out whilst investigating/researching and linking events together when using the psychic flashbacks. The Lovecraft vibe is quite obvious, and combat best avoided at times rather than head on.

 

Promising few hours, so I'll be seeing this through.

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18 hours ago, DANGERMAN said:

start a new thread then innit

 

Sure, but I thought the idea was that the discussion about a game from the News thread go transferred over to the Games thread once it was release/played, to prevent multiple threads for each game.

 

Anyway, more slow progress, I keep getting distracted by side missions that end up being a bit to tricky (too many monsters) and I should probably stick to the main story for a while. So I've progressed that now, and ready for a diving mission.

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This is a perfect slow burn game, a walking sim (meets a boating sim)  mashed up with Silent Hill/Alone in the Dark/Deadly Premonition, but remaining rooted in Lovecraftian horror. 

 

Investigations mean piecing the evidence together, and actually searching out clues via the different research desks. It's a nice methodical thinker, but if your after a (slightly) faster paced Lovecraft journey then you'll find it instead in the Call of Cthulhu game.

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I don't know if the devs were being ironic , but the main quest has turned from careful investigation and avoiding unnecessary combat, to forced combat with numerous enemies, which given the poor combat mechanics, it seems more than coincidental that the quest is called "Nosedive"......

 

It always seems disappointing that most Lovecraft games (video & boardgames) often commence with good intentions, but then end up with throwing dynamite at Elder Gods.....

 

I suppose in reality most games aren't really focussed on Lovecraft's core material, but are instead influenced by Sandy Petersen's 1981 Call of Cthulhu RPG (where the onus is on investigators overcoming cultists and other worldly beings).

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Done - and by the end I skipped a bunch of the side quests and just focussed on the main plot.

 

The big problem is the repetitive nature of the gameplay ; side quests primarily consisting of just visiting a property in each of the 6/8 districts, kill a few monsters, pick up a book/letter - and that's pretty much it. You get a snippet of Lovecraft themed story, and a bit of exp but it's incredibly short of any compelling variation.

 

Main quests aren't much different either, albeit linking clues and undertaking research is fun at first, but quite underwhelming, when you realise that any choice doesn't particularly impact anything. Throw in collecting items to craft ammo & equipment, and just four different enemy types (all more Silent Hill than distinctly Lovecraft) it's all rather disappointing.

 

So essentially it's like a low budget Telltale game, mixed with walking sim, padded out with endless, rather pointless, sidequests.

 

Albeit, since the main story is the futility of mankind to prevent cyclic events it's all rather ironic (plus it will test your sanity, as you struggle with any enthusiasm to continue).

 

I think if you just hammer through the main quest you'd have an okay time, just avoid the sidequest bloat.

 

For a (slightly) better Lovecraft experience the CoC game does it all a bit smarter.

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  • 3 months later...

Coming to PS5 as a paid upgrade, due to legal issues with Frogwares' former publisher Nacon:

 

 

Frogwares Press Release

 

Quote

Dear players,

The Sinking City is out on PlayStation 5 on February 19th, 2021.

Some of you have been asking about a platform upgrade for the game from the PlayStation 4 version, however this is sadly not possible at the moment.

The Sinking City on PlayStation 4 and on PlayStation 5 have different publishers on record. On PlayStation 5, Frogwares is the developer and publisher of the game. As the PS4 and PS5 games have different game IDs and due to an ongoing current legal and technical situation, this game is currently not eligible for a platform upgrade.

As the situation is being handled legally, it remains frozen for the time being on our side.

Thank you for your understanding and ongoing support.

Frogwares team

 

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There's a lack of clarity here - is the current PS4 version the same Frogware game it previously was but now credited to someone else (Nacon) due to the legal issue that saw its previously withdrawal - or is actually a different game?

 

I'm guessing it's the former, whilst Nacon & Frogware continue to dispute who owns what in terms of the Sinking City IP:

 

"However, this hasn’t seen the end of Frogware’s problems as Nacon has cultivated a belief that it is the IP owner of The Sinking City; according to Frogwares’ statement. Listings for The Sinking City on digital storefronts and even the copyright notices printed on the physical box were incorrect Frogware’s alleges and believes this created a perception that Frogwares is not the IP holder. Additionally, the Frogwares logo was removed from the PS4 and Xbox One covers with a mention of the developer only included on the reverse side along with “the technical partners.” "

 

https://powerup-gaming.com/2020/08/25/frogwares-alleges-publisher-nacons-breaches-of-contract-led-to-the-sinking-citys-delisting-on-digital-storefronts/ 

 

I do find it odd, noting their stance with Cyberpunk, that Sony don't just refuse to host it on the PS Store until the IP issue is resolved - it undermines the whole 'free PS5 upgrade' initiative, and seems a poor deal for the customer.

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5 hours ago, shinymcshine said:

There's a lack of clarity here - is the current PS4 version the same Frogware game it previously was but now credited to someone else (Nacon) due to the legal issue that saw its previously withdrawal - or is actually a different game?

 

I'm guessing it's the former, whilst Nacon & Frogware continue to dispute who owns what in terms of the Sinking City IP:

 

"However, this hasn’t seen the end of Frogware’s problems as Nacon has cultivated a belief that it is the IP owner of The Sinking City; according to Frogwares’ statement. Listings for The Sinking City on digital storefronts and even the copyright notices printed on the physical box were incorrect Frogware’s alleges and believes this created a perception that Frogwares is not the IP holder. Additionally, the Frogwares logo was removed from the PS4 and Xbox One covers with a mention of the developer only included on the reverse side along with “the technical partners.” "

 

https://powerup-gaming.com/2020/08/25/frogwares-alleges-publisher-nacons-breaches-of-contract-led-to-the-sinking-citys-delisting-on-digital-storefronts/ 

 

I do find it odd, noting their stance with Cyberpunk, that Sony don't just refuse to host it on the PS Store until the IP issue is resolved - it undermines the whole 'free PS5 upgrade' initiative, and seems a poor deal for the customer.


The PS4 version is the same game and is still credited to Nacon on PSN. 
 

The PS5 version is an upgraded version with faster loading times, better frame rate etc. And published by Frogwares 

 

I had a look on the PS App and this is how they’re listed on PSN:

 

A093FAA3-A6BA-4108-8519-703A76E7A37B.jpeg
 

4F9B8917-AE5E-49F2-9417-4D63491C9609.jpeg

 

As far as I’m aware the PS5 PSN version of this is the only version to be published by Frogwares, it’s only available off their website otherwise. All other stores still have it published by Nacon.

 

I assume Sony can’t take down the PS4 version because of some legal wranglings but I’ve no idea, it would be nice if it got taken down but maybe that would be seen as taking a side in the legal dispute? But then they already have by allowing the Frogwares published PS5 game to be sold on PSN (which other store fronts haven’t been willing to do thus far). 

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GI.Biz: Frogwares issues DMCA takedown to remove The Sinking City from Steam

 

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The Sinking City has now been removed from Steam, following an ongoing dispute between developer Frogwares and publisher Nacon.

Frogwares had to issue a DMCA takedown in order for its own game to be removed from the store, Vice reported. At the time of writing, The Sinking City can't be found on Steam.

The studio said at the end of last week that the version of the game offered on the store was not created by Frogwares, and asked players to not buy it on this platform.

Nacon responded in a statement, saying that due to a "lack of cooperation" from Frogwares, that version of The Sinking City only lacked some Steam-specific features such as cloud saves and achievements. It also accused Frogwares of wanting to "revise the terms of the contract to their sole advantage."

Frogwares retaliated, accusing Nacon of having cracked a copy of the game downloaded from another store and illegally uploading it to Steam.

The title was initially pulled from stores back in August 2020, as Frogwares claimed Nacon owed the studio around €1 million in royalties.

 

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