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Failbetter Games has released one browser game, Fallen London (originally named Echo Bazaar), and two video games, Sunless Seas and (early release on Steam) Sunless Skies. Both games are on Unity. Seas is on Mac, Windows, and iOS; Skies is Mac and Windows only. Sunless Seas is a roguelike in which you slowly explore the oceans surrounding Fallen London. You encounter eldritch horrors and eat, fight, and (mostly) are killed by them, reveal a map, randomly shuffled at each new game, of island tiles, and go on quests. You also savescum like there's no tomorrow to avoid dying and being reborn as an experienceless and near-moneyless noob. An expansion, Zubmariner, allows you to explore the same map, but underwater as well as above it.  Sunless Seas and Sunless Skies are text-heavy games. There are mysterious drawings of the ports and islands you encounter, and wonderfully creepy music, but most of the work is done by paragraphs of text explaining what's going on. If you'd rather look than read, these are not the games for you. Navigation is intentionally frustrating, because there's an lag between turning the wheel/telegraph and the ship's actually changing direction. Combat is tedious, consisting of keeping your adversary in your sights, pressing the "fire" button, and waiting for somebody to die. Why might these be the games for you? Language. quote:You approach the copper bulk of the bomb, fighting against a persistent current. Pulling yourself across its surface, you look for a way to access its valuable interior. Here: a panel. You try to pry it off. The device shudders. An expulsion of silent blackness engulfs you. Eerie and atmospheric music. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tquugHbliK8 The growing dread that something is about to get you, implemented without jump scares. I'm 250 hours into Sunless Seas, and if there's ever another expansion, I'll probably add another hundred. Sunless Skies is currently in Early Release on Steam; the player is exploring the skies above Fallen London in a locomotive. The art is more three-dimensional and more beautiful. I can't say more than that right now because it was released today, 31 Aug 2017. I'll update this post when I have more to say.
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Aug 31, 2017 21:29
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| # ? Apr 26, 2024 11:21 |
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These are two beautiful games with amazing writing. There was a sunless seas thread at one point but it's good to have a new one now that sunless skies is in EA. I had a quick play around with it; it's a bit fiddlier to dock as you need to run a locomotive into a train station instead of just into a jetty (parallel walls instead of just an L-shape), but I like the flavour text being displayed in big font on the map instead of in the text box and the fact that supplies and fuel seem to last a bit longer this time round. Not enough content yet to properly judge the writing; it seems good but doesn't quite have that immediate visceral punch that sunless seas did.
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Sep 1, 2017 16:26
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is Skies actually enough of a game to warrant purchase yet? disregarding all question of whether i think it's worth supporting the devs at this stage - are we talking minutes or hours of gameplay?
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Sep 1, 2017 17:58
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DOWN JACKET FETISH posted:is Skies actually enough of a game to warrant purchase yet? The high wilderness is presently empty enough that I ran out of food trawling from the starting port through the void and only found an old battlefield of train wreckage for my trouble. Train handles alright though.
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Sep 1, 2017 18:03
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Alexis Kennedy is Kickstarting a new game!
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Sep 1, 2017 18:07
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Someone please do a text Let's Play of Zubmariner, plsktnx.
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Sep 1, 2017 18:45
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DOWN JACKET FETISH posted:is Skies actually enough of a game to warrant purchase yet?
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Sep 1, 2017 21:17
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Even if you kickstarted it I'd say you should leave it alone for a while. If you're purchasing it, just wait for release or at least something much closer to it.
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Sep 1, 2017 22:57
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Cautiously encouraged so far. I've found a sky brothel and an outpost of Hell that offers soul repair services. It's definitely got that feel of "this is very weird but also makes perfect sense in context" that made Sunless Sea so great. I also quite like the new leveling system. Whenever you gain a level you reveal a little tidbit of your past that you get to choose. Maybe you spent a few years in New Newgate, (and if you did then did you do your time quietly or did you rule the cellblock with an iron fist?) maybe you used to run with the Blind Bruiser's crew (But did you get away from him in the end, or did he decide to throw you out?), stuff like that. It's an interesting way to offer plot hooks and skill boosts.
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Sep 5, 2017 21:26
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| # ? Apr 26, 2024 11:21 |
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I think overall it's better, and combat is certainly much more interesting. The High Wilderness is still full of gently caress all however.
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Nov 21, 2017 02:55
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