Screenshots & trailers
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (Metacritic) | – | 71 | 20 |
| Creator reviews (2 tracked) | – | 38 | 2 |
| All-time Steam reviews | – | – | 0 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | 62 | 194 |
| Backloggd ratings | – | 61 | 592 |
| Xbox store ratings | – | 77 | 237 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | – | – | 0 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 0 reviews sampled · 0 total reviews in window · weighted 0 up / 0 down · computed 5h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (48)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 70
“The Sinking City feels more like it is based on a Sherlock Holmes novel rather than a game inspired by H. P. Lovecraft's work. The part of the story focusing on supernatural elements is pretty weak, but side-quests more than make up for it. This game has a very strong "one more place to visit" or "one more conversation" vibe. It's clunky but effective.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Though it muddies the waters by needlessly cramming in a boatload of gameplay mechanics that drown out some of the fun, The Sinking City delivers a believable turn-of-the-century Lovecraftian setting and infuses it with fittingly macabre story beats that would do the author proud.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“A treat for fans of H. P. Lovecraft's works, mystifying settings, and followers of the Cthulhu Mythos. Unfortunately, its weaker combat and exploration mechanics remain asleep at the bottom of the ocean.”
read full review ↗ - 81
“The Sinking City's unique blend of Detective gameplay and Cthulhu Mythos elements will intrigue fans of H.P. Lovecraft's works, even if certain shortcomings ultimately prevent it from truly standing out as the best Cthulhu game ever made.”
read full review ↗ - 60
“An interesting game that scratches the detective itch, without ever reaching great heights.”
read full review ↗ - 60
“I had the same response in general to playing The Sinking City. There’s so much wonderful potential in this game that its flaws are all the more maddening. I wished that it had followed Call of Cthulhu in abandoning combat altogether and just used its larger space and considerably more nuanced investigation system to tell a great story. But it seems I’ll have to keep waiting for the perfect Lovecraft game.”
read full review ↗ - 60
“The Sinking City is a Lovecraftian game with an excellent narrative but with too ambitious mechanics.”
read full review ↗ - 60
“A brilliant concept with some excellent ideas, let down badly by the game engine, inconsistent writing and plotting.”
read full review ↗ - 60
“The Sinking City promises a nightmarish journey through a Lovecraftian townscape filled with monsters and threatening cults, but too often falls into a loop of forced combat and resource hunting. The investigative parts are excellent, and this is probably the best Lovecraft adaptation since Call of Cthulu: Dark Corners of the Earth, but it still never really lives up to its potential. Close, but no Shoggoth.”
read full review ↗ - 67
“It was a bad decision to create The Sinking City as an open world game, which makes the gameplay like a heap of loose sand. But the story is interesting, as is being a detective.”
read full review ↗ - 66
“An occasionally entertaining detective game blighted by poor writing, rote combat, and a dreary open world.”
read full review ↗ - 61
“Story of The Sinking City is good as novel but just story is interesting nothing more. Also animations and game mechanics feeling like playing old generation games.”
read full review ↗
GRYOnline.pl
PC Invasion
GameWatcher
The Escapist
Eurogamer
GameGrin
TheSixthAxis
Gamersky
PC Gamer…and 36 more tracked reviews.