Sunless Skies

Review

Welcome to the second title in the Sunless series and continue the adventure in the Fallen London Universe. The series can be played in any order you desire, as the story is intertwined in a way that allows either title to be played before the other. In this iteration, you will be taking to the heavens in your custom-modified train instead of the oceans. As the Captain, you will explore the vastness of the stars, hire and manage your crew, upgrade and repair your train.  Gather supplies to last for the long journey or find yourself either out of fuel, or starving to death among the stars, all while avoiding or conquering the enemies and unknown horrors that await you.

Sunless Skies was released on Jan 31, 2019, and is the second title on Steam by the developer, Failbetter Games, and is self-published. It is a Horror, Survival, RPG with roguelike elements set in a Gothic Victorian era. It features exceptional hand-drawn art, that brings the world to life. A haunting yet lovely original soundtrack by Maribeth Soloman & Brent Barkman, with a multitude of stories merging in a unique Lovecraftian manner that spans across 4 massive zones. Highly dependent on text-based storylines, the title is a unique blend of genres unlike any other on the market, and is sure to provide you with many hours of pleasure and terror. The title has 2 modes of play: Legacy (permadeath) or Merciful (load old saves or new captains). There are also 3 areas you can customize with modifiers, with 3 difficulty levels each to alter the game style to your preference. I chose Merciful with no modifiers for my first experience with the title.

We start out at the Blue Kingdom Transit Relay and are presented with the tutorial for the game to get you started with the basic mechanics needed to get you playing. When you arrive at New Winchester and dock, the ship’s doctor informs us that the captain has just passed away due to her injuries from our battle on the way, and has disclosed her last wishes to you. As the long-trusted first officer, she bequeathed to you the Orphean, the vessel you served under for all these years; you are now the captain. It is aging and in disrepair, and our duty is now to take care of all the needs of the ship and it's passengers and crew as we journey through the vastness of the stars. It is time to choose the skills you wish to have for your first captain, and venture forth into the cosmos.

The title is one of the most unusual blending of genres I have ever played. It is quite in-depth, and has a slight learning curve to figure out everything that is involved in the gameplay. I really love the combat in the title; ship control is fluid, firing your weapons is intuitive and not hard to master. You will meet many interesting people on your journey, as well as many dangerous people, as you unfold all the stories the game holds. The stories play an important role in the game and you will spend a good portion of your time in-game reading them. You must choose wisely as every choice you make will have an effect on the game in the future. The graphics; what can I say, the hand-drawn art is visually stunning. Even though the setting is dark, the attention to every detail is evident.  I look forward to the many hours it will take me yet to finish, and try to see if I can 100% the achievements.

Review written by DamageInc.for Zeepond.com!