Info about SUNLESS SEA: Official game description: Sunless Skies is out now ======================== The sequel to Sunless Sea, featuring hundreds more stories and improved gameplay! About the Game ============== LOSE YOUR MIND. EAT YOUR CREW. DIE. ----------------------------------- Sunless Sea is a Gothic Horror RPG with a focus on exploration, exquisite storytelling and frequent death. Captain a Victorian steamship on a vast underground sea ------------------------------------------------------- If the giant crabs, sentient icebergs and swarms of bats don’t get you, madness and cannibalism certainly will. But that old black ocean beckons, and there’s loot for the brave souls who dare to sail her. Seek out intriguing individuals for your crew --------------------------------------------- Hire unique officers like the Haunted Doctor and the Irrepressible Cannoneer. Each has a story to tell, if you can draw it out of them. Stray from the gas-lamps of civilisation ---------------------------------------- Light and dark, terror and madness: spend too long on the wide, dark sea and your crew will grow fearful and eventually lose their sanity. Carve a life for your captain in a cruel and unique world --------------------------------------------------------- A deep, compelling world packed with 350,000+ words of stories and secrets. Find your father’s bones. Determine London’s destiny. Defy the gods of the deep sea. Your captain will die. ---------------------- Pass on resources from one generation to the next. Acquire a family home and a hoard of heirlooms. Build a legacy of zailors who braved the sea and lost - or, occasionally, won. Features -------- * Beautiful, hand drawn art - castles of sparkling ice, prisons perched on lily pads, fog-shrouded lighthouses and the DAWN MACHINE. * Real-time combat against ships and Zee-beasts, spider-crewed dreadnoughts and sentient icebergs. * Upgrade your steamship with powerful engines, cannons and pneumatic torpedo guns. (Or buy a bigger, better ship.) * Choose a ship’s mascot: the Comatose Ferret, the Wretched Mog, the Elegiac Cockatoo, and more! * Trade or smuggle silk and souls, mushroom wine and hallucinogenic honey. Who are Failbetter Games? ------------------------- We’re a boutique games studio based in London, UK. We’ve been making indie games since 2009. If you’ve read this far, this game is almost certainly for you. Release date: Feb 6, 2015 Categories: Exploration, Resource Management, Roguelike, Gothic Horror, Choice-based Narrative, Ship Combat, Character Progression Feature scans: - Wiki: score 50; verdict: Wiki Dependency; summary: The user feedback indicates a significant reliance on the game's wiki for understanding quest outcomes, complex mechanics, and navigation. This dependency on external data sources highlights barriers to learning game systems, finding content, and managing game time effectively. - Proton/Linux: score 30; verdict: Minor Tweaks; summary: The game has issues with its native Linux version, requiring users to rely on Proton for compatibility. Proton Experimental appears to work fine, indicating that while the native port may be problematic, there are functional workarounds available. - Steam Deck: score 55; verdict: Tinkering Required; summary: The analysis of user feedback reveals significant issues with the Steam Deck experience. Key problems include poor UI/HUD design with tiny text, compatibility issues requiring the use of Proton Experimental, and technical issues such as black screens caused by Steam cloud saves. These issues collectively contribute to a suboptimal user experience, requiring additional steps and troubleshooting to resolve. - Hardware Profile: No data Feature extractions: - Community Price: - Community fair range: $10.00 - $20.00 - Reasoning: The evidence consistently suggests that the game is recommended only if purchased on sale. This indicates that the community perceives the current base price as too high and that a discounted price would be more appropriate. The repeated mention of waiting for a sale implies that the fair price range is lower than the current base price. - Playtime Metrics: - Game completion: 55.0h - Story completion: N/A - Session length: 2.0h - Endgame: N/A - Reasoning: The evidence provides several direct and indirect references to playtime. The first quote mentions completing the game in 55 hours, which is a clear indication of game completion time. The second quote discusses playing two separate campaigns with extensive exploration and quest completion, suggesting a significant investment of time, likely over 50 hours. The third quote talks about spending a lot of playtime on trade routes, indicating that single sessions can be lengthy. The fourth quote mentions hours of entrancement and solving minor quest lines, further supporting the idea of extended play sessions. - Time-to-fun: - Summary: Sunless Sea has a slow and tedious early game due to a slow starter ship and economic challenges, but it becomes more enjoyable once players overcome the initial difficulty and upgrade their ship. - Stance: Fun after initial grind - Anchor: Upgrading to better ships and engines - Time to anchor: 3h 0m - Friction: slow starter ship; economic challenges; steep learning curve; slow travel speed; resource scarcity - Unlock drivers: upgrading ship; gaining more resources; perseverance through initial grind - Conditions: willingness to persevere; appreciation for atmosphere and storytelling; patience for slow pacing - Player Archetypes: - Grind-Focused Veteran (sale) - Motivation: Overcoming challenges and mastering the game's mechanics. - Playstyle: Strategic and patient, focusing on long-term goals and resource management. - Experience: veteran - Purchase stance: sale - Labels: veteran; grinder - Reference games: Tradewinds; Elite; Pirates - Story-First Explorer (buy) - Motivation: Immersing themselves in the game's rich narrative and exploring its world. - Playstyle: Exploratory and immersive, focusing on uncovering the game's stories and lore. - Experience: mixed - Purchase stance: buy - Labels: story lover; explorer - Reference games: Fallen London - Cautious Enthusiast (sale) - Motivation: Enjoying the game's unique atmosphere and storytelling. - Playstyle: Casual and exploratory, focusing on the game's aesthetic and narrative. - Experience: familiar - Purchase stance: sale - Labels: fan of artwork; story enjoyer - Reference games: N/A Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category. Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews. What players like: - Rich and immersive world (weight 0.37): The game features a deeply crafted and intriguing world that players find fascinating to explore. The world-building is detailed and immersive, drawing players in with its mystery and depth. - Enjoyable gameplay experience (weight 0.29): Players find the game enjoyable and fun overall. The gameplay provides a thrilling and pleasant experience, with an enjoyable soundtrack and engaging story. - Text-based adventure gameplay (weight 0.2): The game is a text-based adventure with a focus on storytelling and exploration. It offers a unique blend of text-based gameplay and narrative-driven adventure. - Strong writing and art direction (weight 0.16): The game is noted for its strong writing and art direction. The text is well-written, and the art style contributes to the overall immersive experience. - Fallen London universe (weight 0.14): The game is set in the richly imagined Fallen London universe, which is praised for its strong sense of wonder and amazement. The world-building and characters are compelling and intriguing. - Excellent sound design (weight 0.14): The game has an excellent soundtrack and sound design that enhances the atmosphere. The music is thrilling and contributes to the overall immersive experience. - Unique literary style (weight 0.1): The game has a unique literary style that is immersive and atmospheric. The writing style contributes to the overall engaging narrative experience. - Rewarding exploration (weight 0.1): The game is rewarding to explore, with a challenging and rewarding late-game experience. Players find the exploration mechanics satisfying and engaging. Common complaints: - High difficulty and punishing gameplay (weight 0.46): The game is noted for its high difficulty, steep learning curve, and punishing mechanics. Players find it challenging and occasionally unforgiving, which can lead to frustration. - Poor combat system (weight 0.35): The combat system is generally criticized as being lackluster, boring, and unclear. Players find it unengaging and poorly designed. - Poor tutorial and UI (weight 0.27): The game lacks in-game tutorials and has an unintuitive user interface, which can make it difficult for players to understand and navigate the game. - Terror mechanics issues (weight 0.09): The terror mechanics are criticized for being too difficult and expensive to manage. Players find that terror increases too quickly and is hard to reduce. - Economic challenges (weight 0.08): Players find it challenging to make a profit due to high costs and low returns on trade goods. This can make the game feel economically unbalanced. - Language support issues (weight 0.07): The game lacks native support for languages other than English, which can be a barrier for non-English speaking players. Gameplay feedback: - Exploration and discovery focus (weight 0.4): The game emphasizes exploration, allowing players to discover islands, navigate risks, and make decisions that impact their journey. - Resource management is crucial (weight 0.34): Players must manage resources like fuel, supplies, and crew morale, which are essential for sailing and survival. - Roguelike mechanics with permadeath (weight 0.26): The game features roguelike elements such as permadeath, procedural map generation, and the loss of progress upon character death. - Terror management mechanics (weight 0.26): Managing terror levels is crucial, as high terror can negatively impact the crew and gameplay, requiring strategic planning and resource management. - Economy and trading system (weight 0.2): The game features an economy system with trading, smuggling, and resource management, which can be challenging and sometimes unrewarding. - Steampunk and Gothic horror theme (weight 0.19): The game is set in a unique world with Victorian steampunk and Gothic horror elements, featuring various eerie encounters and creatures. - Choices matter with consequences (weight 0.17): Players' choices have significant impacts on the narrative and gameplay, emphasizing risk assessment and decision-making. - Ship combat and handling (weight 0.14): Players engage in ship combat and must manage their ship's resources and handling during naval encounters. - Character progression and legacy (weight 0.13): Players experience character progression and a legacy system, where character death leads to progression through heirs. Performance notes: - Good performance and optimization (weight 0.11): Many players praised the game's optimization and performance, noting that it runs well even on older hardware and Windows 11. - Compatibility issues on Linux (weight 0.06): Several players had trouble running the game on Linux, indicating potential compatibility issues with this operating system. - Cloud save problems (weight 0.03): Some players reported issues with cloud saves, which could affect gameplay and progression. Recommendations: - Narrative-driven and atmospheric experience (weight 0.22): The game is highly recommended for players who enjoy rich narratives and atmospheric gameplay. It is particularly suited for those proficient in English and fans of literature. - Highly recommended for specific audiences (weight 0.15): The game is highly recommended for fans of literature, challenging games, atmospheric experiences, and roguelike elements. - Try related games first (weight 0.1): Players are advised to try related games like 'Sunless Skies' and 'Fallen London' to get a feel for the universe and gameplay style. - Game improvements needed (weight 0.1): Suggestions for improving the game include enhancing movement speed, ship combat, and adding more story options. Some players recommend using mods for better balance. - Useful tips for players (weight 0.08): Players recommend using manual saves, watching how-to videos, and keeping a captain's log to enhance the gaming experience. - Mixed recommendations based on preferences (weight 0.08): The game is recommended for those who enjoy reading and atmospheric games but may not be suitable for everyone. Some players suggest waiting for the full release or trying the browser game first. - Worth the price (weight 0.06): Many players find the game to be worth its price, especially if purchased on sale. - Translation and language support (weight 0.05): There is a hope for future translations, such as Chinese, and recommendations for Spanish speakers to download translation mods. - Community and exploration (weight 0.05): Players are encouraged to explore the game's world, take risks, and seek help from the community forums if needed. Other player notes: - Game requires advanced English (weight 0.04): The game involves a significant amount of reading and requires a high level of English proficiency. Players with limited English skills may find it challenging. - Translation project link (weight 0.03): There is a link provided for a translation project related to the game. - Mod mentioned (weight 0.03): A mod for the game is mentioned, which could enhance or modify gameplay. Emotions: - Frustration (weight 0.26): Players are frustrated by the slow pace and repetitive nature of the gameplay, including tedious resource gathering and grinding mechanics. The high difficulty, steep learning curve, and harsh death mechanics also contribute to this frustration, as players often lose progress and face repetitive content. - Excitement (weight 0.17): Players are excited by the game's rich lore, unique world-building, and engaging storytelling. The exploration and discovery aspects, along with the game's imaginative text and descriptions, create a sense of adventure and intrigue. - Disappointment (weight 0.1): Players feel disappointed due to the slow and grinding gameplay mechanics, which include repetitive tasks and unfulfilled potential. The combat mechanics and overall gameplay experience are also cited as reasons for disappointment. - Enjoyment (weight 0.09): Players enjoy the game's unique story, creative narrative, and engaging atmosphere. The exploration mechanics, beautiful graphics, and compelling stories contribute to a positive and enjoyable experience. - Love (weight 0.05): Players love the game's unique setting, immersive world, and Lovecraftian themes. The rich narrative, atmosphere, and gameplay mechanics are highly appreciated. - Satisfaction (weight 0.04): Players feel satisfied with the game's infinitely replayable nature, different ambitions, and endings. The strategic elements, detailed knowledge, and rich atmosphere contribute to a sense of accomplishment and value after long playtime. - Admiration (weight 0.04): Players admire the game's brilliant writing, rich and immersive world, and engrossing storytelling. The game's atmosphere, narrative, and mechanics are highly praised. - Positive (weight 0.03): Players have a positive experience with the game's unique world, poetic language, and intriguing mechanics. The game's storytelling and atmosphere are also highlighted as positive aspects. - Interest (weight 0.02): Players are interested in the game's unique worldview, continuously unlocking various stories, and the interesting RPG system and setting. The gameplay elements and atmosphere also pique their interest. - Curiosity (weight 0.02): Players are curious about the game's deep and fascinating world, trying to explore deeper into the dark expanse. The sheer depth of stories and tales intrigues them. - Enthusiasm (weight 0.02): Players are enthusiastic about the game's rich worldbuilding and lore. The game's writing and immersive storytelling are highly praised. - Boredom (weight 0.01): Players feel bored due to the slow and repetitive gameplay, which includes tedious loops and slow progression. The repetitive nature of the tasks contributes to this boredom. - Nostalgia (weight 0.01): Players feel nostalgic reflecting on their long-term experiences with the game, including personal growth and the game's exceptional past. The music and time capsule elements evoke this nostalgia. - Negative (weight 0.01): Players have a negative experience due to the glacial pace, grinding, and lack of immersion. Game crashes and loading issues also contribute to this negative sentiment. - Appreciation (weight 0.01): Players appreciate the game's depth, world-building, and unique thematic elements. The Hanization patch and detailed guide are also appreciated. - Fear (weight 0.01): Players feel fear due to the game's scary dark fog, big crabs, and horror elements. The dark and mysterious sea, along with atmospheric music, contribute to this fear. - Joy (weight 0.01): Players experience joy from the positive aspects of the game, including its wonderfully weird setting and soundtrack, which enhance the overall atmosphere. - Intrigue (weight 0.01): Players are intrigued by the game's mechanics, atmosphere, and Lovecraftian themes. The rich universe and atmospheric elements contribute to this intrigue. - Fascination (weight 0.01): Players are fascinated by the game's simple mechanics with surprising depth and the unique atmosphere and storytelling. - Amusement (weight 0.01): Players are amused by the game's writing and artwork, which provide a unique and entertaining experience.}