This is important. I sort of wish I was kidding. But one of my secret complaints about the upcoming The Sinking City had nothing to do with gameplay mechanics or technical issues. It had to do with the main character's backpack. His big, droopy, dumb-looking backpack. The thing is awful. Practical? Maybe. But this is already a video game about Lovecraftian horror and monsters with tentacles on their faces. So let's not get too hung up on the practical needs of a traveling detective.
I no longer have to worry. My biggest fears in a game about biggest fears have been addressed. You're no longer stuck in the standard Newcomer outfit, which, besides the derpy backpack, is a not-great-looking 3/4-length topcoat and highwater blue jeans. It's obvious this dude got dressed in the dark before heading into this land of nightmares. But, thank goodness, there are other unlockable outfits. Twelve of them.
The Gangster fits you into a sharp-looking pinstripe outfit and leather gloves, trading your backpack for a Tommy gun with a drum clip. The Cultist turns you into a tattooed butcher with an apron stitched together with human faces and an octopus hat (wow, okay). Daywear is a pre-order bonus that gives you a far more respectable detective's get-up; at least your fedora matches your other fabric choices in this one. Plague Doctor is suitably frightening, with its raven mask and deadman's top hat. The Vyshyvanka puts you in a distinctively embroidered shirt aligned with Ukranian and Belarusian national costumes.
The video shows off only six of the 12 suits. Totally fine that they're not showing their whole hand on this one. It's just good to know there are ways to get out of that dork-detective's original threads.
Here are 12 minutes of investigative, interactive, and combative gameplay. I'm not much of a Cthulhu fan, but The Sinking City is looking great. It launches next month on June 27 on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
