The Ukrainian studio wants to continue focusing on Lovecraftian horror, but the three-year war hasn’t been kind to them.

The Sinking City 2 is a survival horror game set in a Lovecraftian United States of the 1920s. In the infamous city of Arkham, a supernatural flood has driven out all but the most deranged residents, bringing decay and eldritch monsters to the streets. Ukraine is still in a state of war, affecting the lives of everyone in the country. Frogwares has decided to use Kickstarter once again to create a safety net for the studio, secure some additional features for the game, and get more direct access to its most diehard fans. The Kickstarter campaign has a goal of $108000 and offers a variety of rewards for fans, with a focus on two physical Collector’s Editions available only to Kickstarter backers. With The Sinking City 2, Frogwares is moving full steam ahead with its original promise to move the studio to a “horror-first” focus, with gameplay built around combat, exploration, and its Lovecraftian setting.

Use an arsenal of 1920s-inspired firearms and melee weapons to battle eldritch-inspired admonitions. A world of crumbling mansions, flooded markets, and abandoned hospitals that you’ll explore on foot and by boat. Scavenge for limited resources and balance a finite inventory as you decide what to take and what to leave behind. Solve optional cases and puzzles that allow you to dig deeper into your surroundings to uncover secrets, alternate options, and more lore. Experience a morally gray and compelling story centered on personal loss and woven around a Lovecraftian mythos of cults, rituals, and incomprehensible creatures.

“After three years of this terrible war hanging over our daily lives, we’ve learned to adapt, though it’s never been easy. In 2023, when we released Sherlock Holmes The Awakened with the help of Kickstarter and our loving fans, we built a safety net that saved us more than once. From power outages and the need to relocate team members on short notice, to having to pause development for days at a time, that safety net has been critical. As The Sinking City 2 is a much more complex and challenging game, we decided to follow the same path as before,” said Frogwares CEO Wael Amr.

“When we announced The Sinking City 2 back in 2024, we stated that this would be our chance to shift our studio towards creating games that are more ‘horror first’, and the results we’re all seeing internally are extremely promising. We’re not abandoning our exploration roots entirely, but the opportunity to expand and challenge our norms has really helped the team grow. We’ve put combat and exploration first, while still maintaining an air of investigation that adds depth but is entirely optional,” said Frogwares Publishing Director Sergiy Ohanesyan.

The Sinking City 2 is coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series and PC. The game has already reached its minimum goal: at 13:41, at the time of writing, it’s at $280K (goal is $108K).

Source: Gematsu