Sunless Sea

 PC
User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 176 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 116 out of 176
  2. Mixed: 32 out of 176
  3. Negative: 28 out of 176

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  1. miranda7
    Feb 8, 2015
    10
    Been playing games since the 80s, and first game I felt compelled to rate. For sure, it not for everyone, but for me it is stunning, Atmospheric, different, addictive. Love the fact that you are going to die at the start, but that helps your descendants (or rivals) to progress.
  2. OHIC
    Sep 25, 2017
    10
    One of my favourite games of all time. It's famously harsh and keen to kill you, which is part of the dark humour. It's a humour style that won't work for everyone, but if you recognise and appreciate their references then it'll reward you in spades. Strongly recommend getting the Zubmariner DLC too - it's playable inside the main game story, and gives you many advantages once you'veOne of my favourite games of all time. It's famously harsh and keen to kill you, which is part of the dark humour. It's a humour style that won't work for everyone, but if you recognise and appreciate their references then it'll reward you in spades. Strongly recommend getting the Zubmariner DLC too - it's playable inside the main game story, and gives you many advantages once you've gained the ability to scour the surface, the Unterzee and the sea bed too.

    The game also makes a big deal about playing for permadeath, teasing the idea that it would be detrimental to use Saves and lose your status as a "true" player. I'd advise you to forget that, and use the Save! It's hard enough without completely crushing yourself. Abandon all ideas about finding some cheap stock that's worth a fortune at another port, too; such things are almost totally non-existent, and this isn't Elite. Money will appear as windfalls from unexpected moments in the game's story, as will life-saving food and fuel (although you will also need to buy these!). The game wants you to forget about traditional game ideas and put both feet into being a foolhardy sea captain from a horror story. Be reckless and give yourself to that premise, and the game will pay you back with more (wonderfully well written) stories.    … Expand
  3. mbolme
    Feb 4, 2016
    9
    I love this game. I had not realized how accustomed I was to steamrolling most games. Choices in most games didn't really matter, because you made a save, and choose. If the choices turns out badly, you just restore. Shall I fight this monster? Save and give it a try. Well, fair warning - this game is hard, and if you die, you start over. (It's not quite that bad, because you can build upI love this game. I had not realized how accustomed I was to steamrolling most games. Choices in most games didn't really matter, because you made a save, and choose. If the choices turns out badly, you just restore. Shall I fight this monster? Save and give it a try. Well, fair warning - this game is hard, and if you die, you start over. (It's not quite that bad, because you can build up some items that pass onto your son (or daughter.)

    What does it offer? Tense gameplay where every choice matters. Great atmosphere and incredible writing. You get to sail your own ship. I now have a Phorcyd-class Corvette ("Small, swift and formidable, like a very angry vole.") equipped with a Cotterell & Hathersage 'Reproach' deck cannon, and I hold my own very well. I'd like to get a Caminus Yards Helltrasher deck cannon, but cash is short (it always is). Right now I need to go get a demoness and bring her back to London, the admiral wants me to stop by a certain port that is mostly on the way, and one of my officer thinks he can make me a better engine. I wonder how my little nation of rats and guinea pigs is doing?

    If you're very good and careful, you thrive. Did I say I love this game? :P    … Expand
  4. historymaking
    Dec 18, 2016
    10
    One of the best games I have played in a long time. The text is immersive. I actually feel like I'm part of the story. I find this to be a rare thing in games, you're so often ramrodded towards a central narrative even in games that proclaim themselves to be openended and open world. In sunless sea there are a million little pieces of story, all well written, all tailor made, but freeOne of the best games I have played in a long time. The text is immersive. I actually feel like I'm part of the story. I find this to be a rare thing in games, you're so often ramrodded towards a central narrative even in games that proclaim themselves to be openended and open world. In sunless sea there are a million little pieces of story, all well written, all tailor made, but free to combine themselves into new and exciting things all of the time. I find myself anxiously wondering if I'll make it to the next port before my food and fuel run out, wondering what I could have done to stop that house from burning down, and generally lost inside the game. This doesnt happen. I dont get lost inside games. Somehow I am.… Expand
  5. Skarwind
    Jun 17, 2015
    8
    Sunless Sea is a masterpiece of writing and atmosphere. What it lacks in flashy gameplay and graphics are more than made up for in attention to detail with every description, event, and triumph that your ship and crew encounter along the way.

    This game is not for everyone, however. For those who do not enjoy a good book or moments of silence, this game is not for you. Sunless Sea has    Sunless Sea is a masterpiece of writing and atmosphere. What it lacks in flashy gameplay and graphics are more than made up for in attention to detail with every description, event, and triumph that your ship and crew encounter along the way.

    This game is not for everyone, however. For those who do not enjoy a good book or moments of silence, this game is not for you. Sunless Sea has more in common with a text based role playing game more than it does with a rogue like.

    The stories are interesting and will keep you wondering what happens next but are short enough to not warrant several hours of constant reading. The combat is simple enough and will not win any awards but is still fun at times. The music is fantastic and sets the mood and tone of the game very well and can be a joy in itself to hear.

    Overall the game is decent and worth the price of a movie ticket and bag of popcorn. There are periodic updates that add new content and bug fixes and new stories are added as well. Also take the time to look up how Failbettergames handles their stories. Some may enjoy the way it is handled and some may not. Best to do some homework before you spend your hard earned money.    … Expand
  6. Logyck
    Apr 4, 2015
    9
    Sunless Sea is a triumph of imagination and flair, though technically it is a bit of a mess.

    Long story short, you play as various sea captains on their voyages around the 'Unterzee': a strange underground ocean full of eldritch horrors and and other strangeness, both human and non-human. Let's get the simple stuff out of the way first: the writing is perhaps the greatest collection    Sunless Sea is a triumph of imagination and flair, though technically it is a bit of a mess.

    Long story short, you play as various sea captains on their voyages around the 'Unterzee': a strange underground ocean full of eldritch horrors and and other strangeness, both human and non-human.

    Let's get the simple stuff out of the way first: the writing is perhaps the greatest collection of prose in a video game this year or last year, and perhaps ever. It reads like Charles Dickens making 'come hither' eyes to HP Lovecraft, and one of the greatest joys this game has to offer is simply the joy of text, and of drinking in all the wonderful things that these game designers had to say about their world.

    The graphic design is also exceptional. The player is confronted with stylish renditions of ships, islands and many things much more wacky and wonderful than those first examples. Many things seem to just have half a toe dipped into the uncanny valley: several of the human characters have exaggerated features, and the player themselves can only choose a silhouette, rather than a portrait, and whilst everything is presented more or less on a two dimensional plane, the artists have obviously worked hard to bring just a hint of the third dimension into their game. Ships rock slightly back and forth on the water, and the Lifebergs (towering masses of living ice) rock menacingly to and fro as they chase you down.

    The sound design is also absolutely excellent: the ambient sound of the water is actually incredibly relaxing just on its own, whilst the various melodies that play as you sail are all memorable and evocative in their own ways. The only criticism I could make is the somewhat counter-intuitive recycling of sound effects for various different monsters, something I think could be easily fixed.

    However, substance-wise and on a technical level, the game sometimes disappoints. It's intensely resource-focused, to the extent that it sometimes hampers the ability of the player to explore as the designers probably intended. Certain resources are valued the same as others, but are much, much harder to obtain, giving the game somewhat of an imbalanced feel. The UI is a bit of a mess, with some story objectives revealed through officers, some in the journal, and some through items in the hold, and without the ability to annotate the map, it becomes difficult to keep track of everything you're supposed to be doing. The action of the combat is often dull and uninspired, with little practical variety in weapons or abilities, and occasionally the game veers dangerously into the territory of 'grind'-something that really shows that the people making it have only previously made a commercially successful browser game, where grind is essentially gospel.

    Despite this, I wholeheartedly recommend Sunless Sea to any friend I talk to, because to cut a long story short, the mild lows are not enough to distract from the wonderful highs. By focusing on their strengths, Failbetter Games have created an experience that, for better or worse, simply should not be missed.    … Expand
  7. RagingPoet
    Jan 6, 2018
    8
    Game feels a lot like Space Ranges in the underground sea. It has better atmosphere and story, but much smaller scale text quests. Plot and writing are superb. Gameplay is very repetitive and gets old quickly.
  8. Skulb
    Mar 6, 2015
    8
    This is a highly unusual game to say the least. If you can imagine a sort of mutation of Lovecraft, Ports of Call, Rogue Legacy and FTL with undead tourists and sea monsters then you`re getting there. But then it isn`t really like any of those at all either, but something quite particular indeed. Half the time I couldn`t even tell if I was having fun or was being shanghaied into some sortThis is a highly unusual game to say the least. If you can imagine a sort of mutation of Lovecraft, Ports of Call, Rogue Legacy and FTL with undead tourists and sea monsters then you`re getting there. But then it isn`t really like any of those at all either, but something quite particular indeed. Half the time I couldn`t even tell if I was having fun or was being shanghaied into some sort of sociology experiment quite frankly. Crossing the sea takes positively forever, and chances are you`re not making it across even if you`re patient enough to try. So in short the best description I can give of Sunless Sea is that it is a verbose, story generating, nautical legacy rogue-like set in a faux, subterranean 19th century Britain with undeads, pirates, talking rodents, giant crabs, jellyfish, mechanical sharks and other sea dwelling terrors. It could hardly be any weirder if it tried.
    Meanwhile there`s a curious mixture of gloom, literacy and nonsensical absurdism in this game I am unsure if I have seen anywhere before. It`s not exactly funny, not exactly tragic and not exactly dramatic. It just is, like a weird alternative reality full of slightly unsettling things of all kinds. But something is very likely to take a hold of you while playing Sunless Sea whether you like it or not, and whatever it is.
    Mostly it`s desperation and sheer panic of course, as hours of meticulous progress threaten to go down the drain unless you can somehow limp and cannibalize your way back to the relative safety of Fallen London. But on the occasions when you do make it back, preferably with some haul to make the whole thing feel worth it, there`s a potent sense of relief I haven`t experienced too often in video games. There is a distinct visual style as well, and the sound is excellent in every way, as you chug your way nervously around a subterranean ocean called The Unterzee. But it`s the panicked moments when you know you`re gonna be lost at sea, again, which drive you up the wall and right on to starting all over again with the next poor sap you`re gonna drown in an act of overstretch, stupidity, hubris or accident, in the form of your heir. Ideally each drowned sap, erm I mean captain, will build on the fortune of his predecessor until some conclusion to the game can be reached. I have not reached that far yet, but it is an interesting concept and it is well executed in Sunless Sea.
    I would score it higher if it wasn`t for the sense I am getting that the story part of the game crashes a bit with the rogue-like genre. Replayability is all good and well. But who wants to read the same text over and over again? I ended up clicking through most of it because of this, which is a shame because it`s well written stuff. Just not the tenth time. Or the twentieth. And similarly, random events have a bad habit of not seeming very random. Once I got the same one five times in a row within about three minutes. I didn`t want it and dismissed it only to get it again twenty seconds later until I thought it was a bug of some sort. Secondly it seems a bit grindy. This isn`t necessarily a bad thing of course, and at least the game rewards the lost art of patience. But I am having a hell of a time getting any development of my ship going at all, which is sort of a big deal in a nautical rogue-like. The upgrades are expensive, not to mention upgrading the hull, and the one cannon upgrade I did manage to buy was not inherited by my heir as advertized, which felt like the game cheating quite frankly. And the game is hard enough without cheating the player.
    Other than these slight niggles, most of which have more to do with the irrepressible creativity of the designers than any actual flaws with the game, I can`t find a thing to criticize about it.

    Highly recommended if you have the patience to read my review of it. Especially if you like things difficult and slow paced and you enjoy reading.    … Expand
  9. jukevox
    Jun 8, 2019
    8
    The music and writing in this rogue-like is amazing and set the vibe immediately. The slightly quirky combat system is a little awkward but the world building and storytelling more than make up for this,
  10. k47nip
    Oct 31, 2016
    10
    This is a unique game.There is discovery and adventure. I love the little vignettes which tell the story. It is like an interactive picture book for adults. My only complaint is that it is too small.
  11. Masterhummel
    Feb 9, 2015
    9
    Sunless Sea has the disadvantages of a very average and monotonous combat system as well as a noticable grind factor, especially when playing the game for the first time.

    The thing is, the game raises the bar so much with the great hand-crafted lovecraftian inspired world and atmosphere that it hardly matters. Even the grind didn't trouble me all that much with the constant flow of new    Sunless Sea has the disadvantages of a very average and monotonous combat system as well as a noticable grind factor, especially when playing the game for the first time.

    The thing is, the game raises the bar so much with the great hand-crafted lovecraftian inspired world and atmosphere that it hardly matters. Even the grind didn't trouble me all that much with the constant flow of new stories and people you discover.    … Expand
  12. MikeLane
    Feb 11, 2015
    9
    Sunless Sea is an interesting little gem. It has its issues (combat that needs to be more engaging/tactical, perhaps a bit of tweaking to the economy and an increase in the variety of upgrades for your ship) but the story, writing, atmosphere and setting is top-notch. If you are a twitch gamer, this is not for you. It is slow, but that slowness fits, somehow. Also, you will have to enjoySunless Sea is an interesting little gem. It has its issues (combat that needs to be more engaging/tactical, perhaps a bit of tweaking to the economy and an increase in the variety of upgrades for your ship) but the story, writing, atmosphere and setting is top-notch. If you are a twitch gamer, this is not for you. It is slow, but that slowness fits, somehow. Also, you will have to enjoy reading, and have a vocabulary that includes "tenebrous" or possibly "cyclopean". There's a swirl of Lovecraft here, with a dusting of Poe, but the cake underneath is its own recipe.
    You largely build your own narrative from the many, many stories you stumble across, which makes for unique possibilities. If Failbetter continues to add stories, the world will remain living and will gain a depth rarely offered.
    And do be warned: You will bury captains at sea. Often, at the outset, and whenever you foolishly think you are "ready" for what's out there. You're not.    … Expand
  13. weregamer
    Feb 11, 2015
    9
    Sunless Sea is perhaps the best "literate" game on the PC since Planescape: Torment. There is a light-handedness to the dark humor that keeps it from feeling silly or breaking the fourth wall.

    It is also among the most truly "roguelike" of the recent spate of games claiming that category; the game will kill you brutally the first few times you play, and you will meet many a death before    Sunless Sea is perhaps the best "literate" game on the PC since Planescape: Torment. There is a light-handedness to the dark humor that keeps it from feeling silly or breaking the fourth wall.

    It is also among the most truly "roguelike" of the recent spate of games claiming that category; the game will kill you brutally the first few times you play, and you will meet many a death before you win, but each time you play you will learn more about how to succeed.

    Unlike the original Rogue, your character doesn't start over at exactly the zero point each time; each new incarnation can choose one set of things to inherit from its predecessor, and after you've achieved significant success you can write a will and stock a mansion with sellable curios to give your next character a further leg up.

    This last is perhaps the most brilliant thing, in a game design sense, about Sunless Sea. Permadeath is so painful that ameliorating it just this much, and adding the additional story elements of inheritance, makes all the difference between depression and eagerness to try again. That said, you can decide at any time to start saving and loading, implicitly removing permadeath. This will only affect your ability to gain the achievement for winning with permadeath turned on.

    I hesitate to give this game an unqualified 10 primarily because of annoyances about not living up to the UI flexibility expectations for a PC game, and secondarily because it will not be many players' cup of tea.

    The biggest of these annoyances is the complete lack of control over the text display in a game that's all about reading text. I run the game at my monitor's full resolution all the text is unreadably small; reducing the resolution makes the text readable but makes the log window (which is admittedly not the most important thing on the screen) too small to see much in.

    Overall, if you like games that reward paying attention to the text rather than scrolling past it in a hurry, this is probably your game of the year.    … Expand
  14. Zhorge
    Apr 28, 2015
    9
    The downsides of Sunless Sea are that this game has a steep learning curve, some grind and a lot of resource management that can't be ignored. In short, it hasn't been dumbed down to a modern console-port CRPG and has some old-school elements that require attention to detail (in story and action) and putting in some effort in resource management. It's also not a combat-orientedThe downsides of Sunless Sea are that this game has a steep learning curve, some grind and a lot of resource management that can't be ignored. In short, it hasn't been dumbed down to a modern console-port CRPG and has some old-school elements that require attention to detail (in story and action) and putting in some effort in resource management. It's also not a combat-oriented CRPG/adventure so the combat system is simple compared to the button-mashing-special-attack fests of the modern games in the genres. But I consider that a feature, not a bug.

    You have a small variety of choices in your 'win game' goal. My current 'win game' goal is to find my father's bones and bury them. There are three others.

    The stories and characters are interesting and will engage the serious, and many of the casual, CRPG players. The game has various port challenges with multiple outcomes (RNG or choice) possible. You can make mistakes and they are fatal at times (my first Captain was murdered by his own crew!).

    You control the plot pace and are not forced down a linear path. You have stats to upgrade, ships to purchase and upgrade, crew to hire and upgrade, a world map that is reshuffled with every new captain. Combat can be avoided, or taken on.

    In the UnderZee you are rewarded, or punished, for your choices and your impatience, or patience. And when something bad happens to you, it's always because of what you did. Or failed to do. No deus ex machina garbage to hamper (or lift) you.    … Expand
  15. DragonDai
    Feb 11, 2015
    10
    Okay, so, disclaimer: This game features a LOT of written text. Reading said text is 1/2 to 3/4ths of the gameplay. If you don't enjoy reading, this game isn't for you. Also, you can die in this game, and death can be a HUGE setback in progress (because while there are ways to mitigate it a little bit, death is permanent...time to start over). If those things don't bother you (or they areOkay, so, disclaimer: This game features a LOT of written text. Reading said text is 1/2 to 3/4ths of the gameplay. If you don't enjoy reading, this game isn't for you. Also, you can die in this game, and death can be a HUGE setback in progress (because while there are ways to mitigate it a little bit, death is permanent...time to start over). If those things don't bother you (or they are good qualities in a game, in your opinion), read on. Otherwise, this game isn't for you. Sorry.

    Now that the disclaimer is out of the way, I just want to say, this game is insanely good. It's compelling in a way I haven't experienced for a long time. It's like sitting down with one of the most interesting, complex, well written books you'll ever find, and then getting to make all the decisions, fight in all the epic battles, etc etc etc.

    You'll meet piRats and soul stealing monkeys and vicious scoundrels and squid men and zee beasts and cannibals and immortals and tiger people and face thieves and strange men from strange places where everything happens in the future tense. You'll fight on the sea, on the land, over treasure and power and the lives of your self and your crew. You'll find romance, long lost artifacts, gateways to other worlds, horrors man was not meant to know, and more adventure than you can shake a stick at. All this and more, coming at you in wonderfully written, beautifully presented prose that will sweep you away into a world at the border of insanity.

    In terms of gameplay, it's a slower paced (which fits the world well), real time combat (although not twitch based combat), some random generation (so you're worlds different every time, to a degree), permadeath, stat driven rpg about exploration and investigation into a world of bizarre horrors, insanity, dark humor, and surprisingly human motivations.

    At the end of the day, if you enjoy a good story, want a game where your decisions and choices actually do matter (like, a lot), if you are the type of person who can fall in love with an imaginary world, if you like the idea of exploring into the black unknown, or if you just always wanted to be a zee captain, this is a game you won't regret purchasing. Remember, no one is born a zee captain, but anyone can be one, with the right motivation and a not-so-healthy dose of optimism. Come, zail the zee, it is calling your name.    … Expand
  16. juanval
    Feb 10, 2015
    9
    Beautiful game that combines naval exploration, arcade combat, roguelique elements like FTL and lots of histories. Is lovely to sail with a small boat through the dark sea, full of perils, sea monsters, islands, histories, etc.

    - I like the detail of each isle/ archipielago. I reccomend to you to play this game with the lights out in your room in order to appreciate better the darkness.    Beautiful game that combines naval exploration, arcade combat, roguelique elements like FTL and lots of histories. Is lovely to sail with a small boat through the dark sea, full of perils, sea monsters, islands, histories, etc.

    - I like the detail of each isle/ archipielago. I reccomend to you to play this game with the lights out in your room in order to appreciate better the darkness.
    - I like the music, very frightening and suffocating.
    - I've enjoyed the histories told in the diferent isles, and the different people you meet through your travels.

    - The only problem I've experienced is that you need a high english level to enjoy the adventures. I have a mid level and I'm constantly using a translator in my mobile to understand the meaning of lots of sentences.
    - Combat is basic but I liked it. Sometimes AI for enemies is not smart.
    - This is a game with lots of histories to read. If you don't like reading texts in games, this is not your game.

    Another gem from kickstarter ;D    … Expand
  17. hankerchiff
    Feb 8, 2015
    10
    Sunless Sea is a naval survival and exploration game. It heavily relies on text and text-based portions when your ship docks in a port.

    Has probably the best writing in any game currently in existence. The 'story' may seem confusing, but that's because you're supposed to make your own. Excellent, top-down graphics. The game is set in a giant cave, and you can definitely tell that    Sunless Sea is a naval survival and exploration game. It heavily relies on text and text-based portions when your ship docks in a port.

    Has probably the best writing in any game currently in existence. The 'story' may seem confusing, but that's because you're supposed to make your own.

    Excellent, top-down graphics. The game is set in a giant cave, and you can definitely tell that from the (beautiful) artwork. Gameplay and sailing is intuitive.

    This game is a bit slow-paced, although the game is only 'grind-y' if you are actually trying to grind stuff. This game isn't meant to be played that way: it's meant to be a game where you sail out into the big black and hope it pays off.

    This is a game about risk. About exploration. About the zee.    … Expand
  18. Docteur
    Feb 14, 2015
    10
    Excellent story, and even if the gameplay is slow-paced and based on simple travels, the atmosphere is here. I enjoy the calm game a lot more than I maybe should, but every hour spent is fantastic.
  19. fasfdsaf
    Sep 9, 2019
    10
    Every time Failbetter makes another game within this universe, I find myself completely drawn in.
  20. DonBoykone
    Mar 1, 2015
    10
    After spending more then 150 hours in this game I can confidently say: "It's a masterpiece"
    This game is a well-balanced story driven RPG with rogue-like elements, real-time battles and a ton of well-written text. Truely, I never seen such huge amounts of text in games for a long time.
    Th most similar game for Sunless Sea would be Vangers. It's only thin piece of steel between you and    After spending more then 150 hours in this game I can confidently say: "It's a masterpiece"
    This game is a well-balanced story driven RPG with rogue-like elements, real-time battles and a ton of well-written text. Truely, I never seen such huge amounts of text in games for a long time.
    Th most similar game for Sunless Sea would be Vangers. It's only thin piece of steel between you and unforgiven world.    … Expand
  21. HydrophobikFish
    Jun 9, 2023
    9
    The writing in this game is top notch and when combined with the atmosphere, you have one of the best lovecraftian RPGs out there. it can be obtuse and weird getting through quests, internet may be required, but its fun all along the way.

Awards & Rankings

47
#47 Best PC Game of 2015
74
#74 Most Discussed PC Game of 2015

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
81

Generally favorable reviews - based on 38 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 31 out of 38
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 38
  3. Negative: 0 out of 38
  1. RPGamer
    May 13, 2015
    80
    Sunless Sea is a unique experience that few fans of careful planning and literary cannibalism should ignore. Proponents of Fallen London's dark sensibilities and chilling, lore-rich writing will more than forgive its few mechanical trespasses; however, even less patient gamers may want to peek in to experience the sights and sounds of the zee.
    Read full review
  2. Pelit (Finland)
    May 13, 2015
    85
    Real history can be a bit boring, so that's probably why Sunless Sea is set in an alternate world of 19th century where the city of London was transported underground by bats. The player is a steamship captain who must explore the vast underground sea, battle monsters and solve different types of quests. The writing and the atmosphere in the game is excellent, which is why I was really drawn into the events that were happening. It's a shame that the combat mechanics are oversimplified and simply not fun. The game is also too difficult for beginners. [May 2015]
  3. Games Master UK
    May 6, 2015
    69
    Unforgiving and tough, but the exploration of an unusual world can be fascinating. [May 2015, p.63]
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