Sunless Skies

[Jenner]

Sequel to "Sunless Sea", one of the most atmospheric and fun little roguelike I've ever played, Sunless Skies releases Januaray 31st from early access.

[video=youtube;2gp-GjGBaPc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gp-GjGBaPc[/video]

Who else is going to be playing this one?

 

[Zak Gordon]

For myself it is a wait and see thing.

I absolutely love the writing that Failbetter games produce, and the world building that goes with that, but i had to mod Sunless Sea's to be able to enjoy it. I feel their 'native' game development background on mobile platforms takes away from the potential of their games on PC, and until they develop an understanding of why that is, i need to first hear about being able to mod a game of theirs before diving in. Fingers crossed.

 

[moorison]

I got the feeling that you are supposed to fail or retire a few times in Sunless Sea, partially to create your own background stories. Compared to other roguelikes (that are more interested in mechanics than story and you can just start over again), I prefer to play a game's story with one character from the beginning to the end.
Still interested in how this one will turn out however, their games are important (if niche) contributions to the industry.

 

[Fishy]

Might actually start tonight. I backed this after loving Sunless Sea, got the game in the Steam library since what feels like forever, but didn't touch it or even install it because the last thing I wanted was to spoil myself region after region as the game was built. And today they just sent us a code to access the final launch version a couple days in advance, so... Hope the launch works out, they've been through rough times getting there.

 

[Jenner]

I love the atmosphere they manage to create in Sea and Sky, as well as their story telling. Their music, too, is just superb and really sets the mood. That said I find the actual gameplay very challenging - and not always in a fun way. Sunless Sea was brutal for me. I never managed to get past-mid game I think. I agree that they seem to intend you to go through a lot of different characters on your path towards finishing the game, and that's just not how I typically play. At least with Skies you don't have to reach a certain 'level' before you can bequeath stuff to your next character, which will speed progress.

 

[Fishy]

Honestly, the main tip I'd give to new Sunless Sea players is to forget about the stupid achievement for "winning" the game without saving. Get started, lose a few captains trying out stuff, that's cool and part of the fun. But then, there's a save feature: just use it! Keep the ironman mode for challenge runs afterwards once you're familiar with the Zee. By then it won't be an issue to get inheritance sorted out, as well as the other stuff that transfers over such as the Zubmarine. Oh, that's another tip and possibly even more important: get Zubmariner. It expands the game only in good ways, and adds a lot of docks in-between the islands, making trips far easiers resource and opportunity wise.

Totally agree on writing, mood and music. Sunless Sea was mesmerising. Very few games game me that sense of solitude and isolation as this one, when out exploring in the dark with no island in sight.

 

[Jenner]

Honestly, the main tip I'd give to new Sunless Sea players is to forget about the stupid achievement for "winning" the game without saving. Get started, lose a few captains trying out stuff, that's cool and part of the fun. But then, there's a save feature: just use it! Keep the ironman mode for challenge runs afterwards once you're familiar with the Zee. By then it won't be an issue to get inheritance sorted out, as well as the other stuff that transfers over such as the Zubmarine. Oh, that's another tip and possibly even more important: get Zubmariner. It expands the game only in good ways, and adds a lot of docks in-between the islands, making trips far easiers resource and opportunity wise.

Totally agree on writing, mood and music. Sunless Sea was mesmerising. Very few games game me that sense of solitude and isolation as this one, when out exploring in the dark with no island in sight.

The whole ironman bit is part of the charm, though, especially for these games that are designed around player death being part of the natural game progression.

I did like Zubmariner and agree that it nicely expanded the game.

As for Skies, I'm liking it more and more. I played another session last night and am getting the hang of it. (re: I'm not flailing about/dying as much). I appreciate the sense of faster progression this time out. It still is challenging, but less of a slog. (So far). I have not explored beyond the Reach, so we'll see.

 

[Fishy]

Only started it to get a feel of it. Not sure I'm a fan of the giant storytelling text. Saw some font options, so I might try that, but I enjoyed the relative lack of scrolling required in Seas, here the narration in a single scrolling window didn't feel very neat. Not a big deal, obviously. I enjoyed what I saw of the ship handling, it seems to hint at a far better combat experience. I haven't had enough time to get used to the engine noise though, it's... unsettling!

As for the ironman, it sure contributes to the charm, in making those story decisions feel important since you have to deal with their consequences. But the early game is a bit too easy imho, yet time consuming, dragging things until you actually get to do something new. I haven't decided how I'll play things in Skies yet, I enabled reloading in my new game, but have no intention to use it anytime soon. If as you say, early progress is quicker, I might be able to skip it entirely.

 

[Fishy]

About 4h in now. First impressions are that, indeed, it's far easier than Seas. Bazaar opportunities get you afloat regularly, there are plenty of small stories rewarding you with cash, fuel/supplies are available almost everywhere, port reports pay well, and terror is (so far) almost irrelevant unless I go out of my way and repeat-fail plenty of attempts at getting penances in Carillon. I left all the settings at default, and am yet to die even once. Of course, this is the Reach, one of four (I think) maps, so I presume the danger ramps up in the other areas. Story-wise, I quickly found myself back into Seas-like weird places and stories, it's great. Carillon and Magdalene's have that madness about them, Titania was a lovely discovery, and I'm now exploring the conflict by slowly pushing the Tacketies war effort. I'm glad I managed to avoid spoiling myself.

In terms of atmosphere, while some of it is there, I don't yet find it as lonely and immersive as Seas. Between the verdant style of the Reach and the steam engine noise, there's something lost from the dark of Sea. I expected space to feel even more lonely and scary, but between the noise and the jungle-like surroundings, it somehow feels more like sailing up the Amazon in a steam-boat. Again, will see what the rest of the game is like. The frozen parts of the Reach around Carillon do have a better feeling already, although the engine noise still grates.

For something silly now, I had recruited 4 officers rather quickly, but it's only after recruiting new officers for already-filled roles that I found out I hadn't actually placed anyone in the various roles, doh! Needless to say, my stats skyrocketed all of a sudden, although it doesn't seem to matter much to that *"£& RNG. In this universe, 34% seems to mean about 0 out of 10...

Anyhow, will keep exploring and see where the stories lead me. I've got a parcel and a settler to deliver, some hunting trophies that should help getting me a club membership, and then my next move is to explore the "North" section of the map, as I'm still looking for Lustrum amongst other things. And thanks to one of the unfortunate lone Stovepipe ships that crossed my path, I'm half-way through sneaking myself a ministerial pass to cross over to Albion...