Sunless Skies

 PC
User Score
6.9

Mixed or average reviews- based on 80 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 48 out of 80
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 80
  3. Negative: 17 out of 80

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  1. fasfdsaf
    Sep 9, 2019
    10
    If you can look past the minor annoyances, the writing makes all the sunless games more than worth playing.
  2. linkhidalgogato
    Feb 15, 2019
    10
    this game is amazing the atmosphere and writing are flawless this game is one of the best
  3. bgang
    Aug 21, 2020
    10
    I love sunless skies but there are flaws

    pros great exploration when ever I played the game Loved seeing everything i saw in the backgrounds great writing this game has some of the best writing I've seen combat I did like the combat but its not the best great atmosphere and story the story kept me in maybe not the main story but the side story's cons I felt slow when exploring    I love sunless skies but there are flaws

    pros
    great exploration when ever I played the game Loved seeing everything i saw in the backgrounds
    great writing this game has some of the best writing I've seen
    combat I did like the combat but its not the best
    great atmosphere and story the story kept me in maybe not the main story but the side story's

    cons

    I felt slow when exploring and a better engine is costly
    The main story I had to look for specific things to learn about story
    The best way to get money in my opinion takes time and resources to do

    even with the cons the pros outweigh them by a lot in rate this game a 10/10    … Expand
  4. Phoenixrising76
    Feb 8, 2019
    9
    Its atmospheric, exploration story. Beautiful, otherworldly, quirky and maddening. Between the role playing aspect and the artwork alone make this worth sinking a few dozen hours into. Game play isn't much different then Sunless Sea; Combat-lite mechanics seem just to add a rarely engaging system of story pacing. Though the beautiful setting it worth inching all over it can get repetitive.
  5. Kaitune
    Dec 15, 2019
    9
    This is definitely biased as I am a long fan of the Fallen London verse, so I am already pretty invested in this world. Nevertheless, if you are into atmospheric game with gothic eldritch horror undertone, you will definitely be into this.

    This game is also a lot friendlier to those who aren't that into the brutality of the rogue-like genre and just wanna keep the character to enjoy the    This is definitely biased as I am a long fan of the Fallen London verse, so I am already pretty invested in this world. Nevertheless, if you are into atmospheric game with gothic eldritch horror undertone, you will definitely be into this.

    This game is also a lot friendlier to those who aren't that into the brutality of the rogue-like genre and just wanna keep the character to enjoy the ongoing story.    … Expand
  6. Wasindear
    Feb 14, 2019
    9
    With a focus on intircate story telling and excellent atmosphere rather than action and complex gameplay, Sunless Skies is an refreshing change of pace.
  7. tombcrusher1186
    Apr 5, 2020
    9
    Sunless Skies is not for everyone. It's sort of an acquired taste. So I can understand why a lot of people don't like it. The game has its flaws, there is no denying that, but I think they can be easily overlooked. At least if you're a fan of the Fallen London universe or appreciate video games for their story, atmosphere, tone, etc. and not for gameplay alone.

    The greatest issue I have    Sunless Skies is not for everyone. It's sort of an acquired taste. So I can understand why a lot of people don't like it. The game has its flaws, there is no denying that, but I think they can be easily overlooked. At least if you're a fan of the Fallen London universe or appreciate video games for their story, atmosphere, tone, etc. and not for gameplay alone.

    The greatest issue I have with Sunless Skies is how needlessly unforgiving it is. The combat system is clunky and ineffective, so when you encounter enemies (and you encounter enemies at every turn) you always end up taking damage. If you could repair your sky engine at any port this wouldn't be an issue, but you can only get repairs in one or two ports per region.

    I find this quite frustrating and hard to understand especially since Sunless Skies is about exploration and free play first and foremost. It's actually counter-intuitive. The game should encourage you to explore new areas and discover more of the Fallen London lore, not constantly hinder your progress. Until you get the hang of it and learn how to avoid (or fight) enemies you have to spend half of your time just heading back to port for repairs. I feel this could (and should) be fixed.

    My other issues are not really worth listing. They are just minor annoyances. I have 100+ hours in the game so far and I still haven't explored all the areas. I barely reached the Blue Kingdom. But I thoroughly enjoy Sunless Skies, more than I did Sunless Sea. It's such an immersive experience and the lore is fantastic. So is the writing, which is quite important in a game that focuses on storytelling. I recommend you give this game a chance, especially if you appreciate deep lore, good writing and immersive gaming experiences.    … Expand
  8. Dirc
    Jan 22, 2022
    9
    Fantastic, beautiful. A superb text adventure combined with a beautiful 2D exploration game. Topped off with a magnificent soundtrack and superb sound effect design. Would be a 10/10 if it weren't for some stutter issues.
  9. Csefff
    Jan 31, 2019
    8
    Post-apocalyptic Victorian adventure novel set within a mission driven combat-lite exploration game.

    + Well composed and atmospheric environment, rife with pathetic fallacy. + The stories are rich and diverse, tempting you ever onward. + Combat puzzles have some diversity and are a fun aside. - Fairly regular stuttering when loading new scenes can break immersion. - Some UX issues    Post-apocalyptic Victorian adventure novel set within a mission driven combat-lite exploration game.

    + Well composed and atmospheric environment, rife with pathetic fallacy.
    + The stories are rich and diverse, tempting you ever onward.
    + Combat puzzles have some diversity and are a fun aside.

    - Fairly regular stuttering when loading new scenes can break immersion.
    - Some UX issues and missing quality of life conveniences.
    - Combat AI is relatively immature, leading to common glitches.

    If you enjoyed Frostpunk’s theme, Windward’s gameplay or Darkest Dungeon’s storytelling, then this is worth picking up and likely a must have after the first patch...    … Expand
  10. BlakeArius
    Feb 4, 2019
    7
    Failbetter live up to there name... Many improvements to Sunless Sea. but Still so much fail.

    Pro's: Great writing, improved User interface that takes the design of '100 days', gorgeous world design, combat much more dynamic and fun. Cons: 70% of the game is doing nothing waiting to get somewhere.. the pacing is awful and ends up you have to grind the same locations to get a slither    Failbetter live up to there name... Many improvements to Sunless Sea. but Still so much fail.

    Pro's: Great writing, improved User interface that takes the design of '100 days', gorgeous world design, combat much more dynamic and fun.

    Cons: 70% of the game is doing nothing waiting to get somewhere.. the pacing is awful and ends up you have to grind the same locations to get a slither of story.

    This game tries to be a rogue lite like the first.. but it makes for a terrible roguelite experience as you end up just like the first repeating the same story content. You can turn this off which i recommend.. but you still have to deal with **** movement speed and the wims of autosave.. which just failed on me.    … Expand
  11. TheGameIsALie
    Feb 10, 2019
    7
    Sunless Skies é um jogo com uma narrativa tão viva, intensa e complexa que talvez fosse melhor se aplicada em um livro. O jogo como um todo seria no máximo medíocre se não contasse com essa parte. Seu gameplay é lento e difícil; sua direção de arte é boa, mas sem identidade e pecando em alguns quesitos; sua parte sonora é mediana. Pode valer a pena, porém, se você tiver a paciência paraSunless Skies é um jogo com uma narrativa tão viva, intensa e complexa que talvez fosse melhor se aplicada em um livro. O jogo como um todo seria no máximo medíocre se não contasse com essa parte. Seu gameplay é lento e difícil; sua direção de arte é boa, mas sem identidade e pecando em alguns quesitos; sua parte sonora é mediana. Pode valer a pena, porém, se você tiver a paciência para acompanhar uma história incrível.… Expand
  12. Scruffey
    Feb 16, 2019
    5
    I bought this game on Feb 7 and I haven't played it a lot.
    It's not because I don't like it, it's because of the updates that keep coming out.
    Just yesterday, there was a 19 Mo patch... When I consulted the list of it s' (numerous) fixes, I was unhappily surprised to read that "We're currently working on a major update that will be out in the next month or two..." I paid 23€ for this    I bought this game on Feb 7 and I haven't played it a lot.
    It's not because I don't like it, it's because of the updates that keep coming out.
    Just yesterday, there was a 19 Mo patch...
    When I consulted the list of it s' (numerous) fixes, I was unhappily surprised to read that "We're currently working on a major update that will be out in the next month or two..."
    I paid 23€ for this game and, I understand that at launching, there could/would be some minor fixes but, what I don't understand - maybe I'm dumb - is that an obviously unfinished game can be sold, as is.
    This seems to be a new norm for recent games.
    Apparently, gamers are now considered to be Beta testers by editors and developers.
    I'm no Beta tester so, I'll wait a few months for this game to be stabilised and complete before I spend any time playing it.
    For those who are, good luck and keep up your good work !    … Expand
  13. fredhorrigan
    Feb 6, 2019
    2
    Like Sea before it, Sunless Skies has some really good writing and atmosphere but the gameplay is about as fun and engaging as a screensaver. There simply isn't much to it, the combat is very basic and besides that the game has nothing but simple resource management, rng stat checks and waiting; mostly waiting since traveling from place to place will take up most of your playtime, and likeLike Sea before it, Sunless Skies has some really good writing and atmosphere but the gameplay is about as fun and engaging as a screensaver. There simply isn't much to it, the combat is very basic and besides that the game has nothing but simple resource management, rng stat checks and waiting; mostly waiting since traveling from place to place will take up most of your playtime, and like Sea it just involves staring at you vessel while it chugs through a nice looking but ultimately featureless map. Cheats can make the experience bearable by speeding up the game and removing the need to grind but a game that requires one to use outside means to avoid playing has failed at being a game. Probably makes for a good LP assuming it's screenshot-only or highly edited.… Expand
  14. Bordyga
    Apr 25, 2019
    2
    Big step back from Sunless Sea, sadly. They overdid this game.

    Main issues: The world is incoherent. There is no main theme to bond all elements. Why trains? Why not zeppelins? Floating islands? But why? How? Yes, game explains some of these but that's the problem: they overdid it. Too much of these. Aesthetic: again, everything is overdid. I'm looking on Albion and I'm not even    Big step back from Sunless Sea, sadly. They overdid this game.

    Main issues:
    The world is incoherent. There is no main theme to bond all elements. Why trains? Why not zeppelins? Floating islands? But why? How? Yes, game explains some of these but that's the problem: they overdid it. Too much of these.

    Aesthetic: again, everything is overdid. I'm looking on Albion and I'm not even sure what I'm looking for. Pipes, clockworks, fine... but again. WHY? I don't ask HOW. I ask WHY. The game is alienating me too much. I don't ask for story explanation. I'm asking for aesthetic one. WHY so much pipes, metal, clockworks when it just looks... stupid. Just be for "being sake".

    The tempo of the game is too slow. It was slow in Sunless Sea but here it's just... too much.

    Too much stories in one port: can be treated as weird one but I believe that it would be better to divide actual stories for more ports. I'm little bored after 30-40 minutes of constant reading...

    ...especially where stories are not so great. But again: the problem is not lack of writing skills. It's the lacking theme and incoheretion of the world.

    So overall: so far I'm dissapointed. The game is bland and boring comparing to Sunless Sea. They overdid it. Too much of everything without solid glue - the coherent world. And the atmosphere. Sunless Sea was more or less peaceful with horror elements. Now it's - again - too much "horror" elements. It's just bizarre.    … Expand
  15. Idiota150
    Apr 18, 2019
    0
    Sorry, but I just hate everything about this game. Story, unrewarding combat, game stutter/freezes, UI navigation, nothing happens, dieing, controller support.
  16. BlueberryRabbit
    Jun 28, 2021
    0
    The combat is very unfulfilling and clunky. Management is nonexistent. The controls are eh. Character customization just sucks. All characters feel the same. I can't recommend this game to anyone.

Awards & Rankings

14
#14 Best PC Game of 2019
65
#65 Most Shared PC Game of 2019

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
87

Generally favorable reviews - based on 30 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 28 out of 30
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 30
  3. Negative: 0 out of 30
  1. RPGamer
    Apr 17, 2020
    90
    Sunless Skies is an excellent game that rewards commitment to its steady pace and steep learning curve. A web of plots and places suggest the infinity of the heavens, but even infinity must end; in this case, it stretches across a million words or so and easily forty hours. The story doesn’t explore every nuance introduced, but that’s a running problem when writers seek to explain the ways of the heavens to mortals. Like many powerful, unique titles, Sunless Skies leaves the player with the desire for more, not because it’s lacking but because it appeals to the mania to solve every mystery, plumb every depth.
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  2. Quarter to Three
    Feb 21, 2020
    100
    Failbetter finally balances smart gameplay and ingenious prose in this poignant saga of mortality, writ large.
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  3. Riot Pixels
    May 26, 2019
    87
    It's an amazing journey — clever, spectacular and exciting. Fire up your furnaces, ladies and gentlemen, but don't forget how treacherous those twinkling stars can be.
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