As a sequel to Sunless Sea (2015), the 2019 downloadable game Sunless Skies is a title that many people were very excited for. Sunless Skies is a very heavily story-driven game, but a huge part of its appeal is that the story you encounter will be your own and it is very hard to pigeon hole this game as there are so many things going on in its dark, disturbing and whimsical universe.
How to Download Sunless Skies
The game can be obtained from Steam or GOG.com. To start your download, hit the button below the review. And if you like horror RPGs be sure to also check out Vampyr, Call of Cthulhu and The Witch’s House MV.
The Game Review
The story of Sunless Skies is something that caught my attention right away. It is best described as a steampunk gothic horror game. It has a little bit of Lovecraft about it and I would also suggest a bit of Firefly too.
Basically, Queen Victoria has taken over the solar system, destroyed the sun, replaced it with a new one and certainly England rules the galaxy with an iron fist. You are just trying to exist in this dark, depressing and hopeless universe.
You start by being the second person in charge of a rundown ship, you make port and well, let’s just say that you then become the person in charge of this ragtag crew. The writing is absolutely fantastic and it is what if you ask me really drives the game. You will fly around, go from port to port, trade with people, get into battles and die, again, die someone and oh, did I mention die?
There are so many things that you will do in Sunless Skies that I am honestly at a loss of where to start! This is meant in the most positive way imaginable as the game throws so many things at you. You can be trying to hook up with some kind of alien on one quest and then trying to negotiate a tricky trade on the next one.
What is really cool is that when you die and you then come back, you have the opportunity to learn from your mistakes. So when I first started my adventures I imagined myself as a bit of a Han Solo type and tried to play the game with a bit of swagger…… only for my cockiness to get me killed rather quickly. You learn a little more about this universe each time you die, but despite this, the universe has tons of surprises to throw your way.
You are free to play again as the captain that you were or you can start anew as a fresh captain and maybe try doing things a little bit differently. I found that playing as a new captain was more fun, but I did get a little attached to a couple that I was playing as.
The story and the gameplay are great, but the presentation is truly incredible. For a 2D style game, Sunless Skies has so much personality and you will find yourself just staring at this amazing universe. Each region has its own port, but it is the fact that each region has its own style that makes exploration so exciting. From a quaint looking English village style place to a forest that is just overrun with pirates!
Sunless Skies is a game that is very hard to review. That is not a bad thing, but it is because it is one of those games that has to be experienced to really appreciate how great it is. Not many roguelike RPGs capture your attention as this one does. From the fantastic writing, the amazing presentation and the solid gameplay. Sunless Skies is a true pleasure to play and a game that cannot be recommended highly enough!
