Between The Devils And The Deep: Sunless Sea

If I had my way, everybody who reads RPS would have at least a nodding acquaintance with the writing of Failbetter Games. The showcase for the tiny English studio's talents is the free to play, browser-based RPG/adventure Fallen London, built in their own StoryNexus engine. Understandably, some people don't want to invest time and (potentially) money into a fragmented narrative, which requires players to pay or to pause between play sessions.

Good news arrives in the form of Sunless Sea, a new showcase for Failbetter's magnificent worldbuilding in the form of the most RPS-friendly game I've seen for some time. Steampunk ships undertake FTL-inspired voyages of "discovery, survival and loneliness", while crews face down vast tentacled horrors, risking life, limb and sanity. Watch the first in-game footage below and keep an eye on the log at the bottom-left.

"Something drifts, face-down." Of course it does. Of course it bloody well does.

Following a sucessful Kickstarter campaign, Sunless Sea is preparing for an Early Access release on June 17th. It'll definitely be available via the Humble Bundle platform but will also arrive on Steam should the Greenlight let it pass.

You can track development progress. Currently, only 10% of phenomena have been implemented but 'sailing' is at a healthy 80%. Strangely, the progress chart does not inform as to the completion of 'monstrosities', 'abominations' or 'hallucinations of amorphous and yet familiar shadows in the darkest of the deep'. Remiss.