There’s no shortage of survival roguelike RPGs for fans to choose from and delve into. The genre has seen tons of entries over the last decade or so, and many of them have offered well-realized settings along with compelling gameplay. From games like Risk of Rain and Don’t Starve, just to name a few, there are countless titles that can capture the imagination with their presentation and deep lore. But among them all, there’s one that, for me, tops the list for having the most enthralling and beautifully designed world: Failbetter Games’ Sunless Skies.
Failbetter’s Fallen London initially introduced its take on an alternate history of Victorian-era London steeped in Gothic and cosmic horror. This was then further fleshed out in Sunless Sea, paving the way for Sunless Skies to take off in 2019. From the moment I first jumped into it, Sunless Skies‘ meticulously and gorgeously crafted world wowed me and continues to do so even now. After spending more than 400 hours in it, I’m comfortable saying that Sunless Skies has, in my opinion, the greatest world-building in the genre.
Though it originally launched for PC in 2019, I didn’t get my hands on Sunless Skies until 2021’s Sovereign Edition for consoles, which smoothed out some technical issues and added in a bunch of new content.
Sunless Skies is a Roguelike Survival RPG Hidden Gem with One of the Best Settings Ever
Though it’s not strictly necessary to have played Sunless Sea beforehand, Sunless Skies takes some of the broad elements from the former and transplants them from the depths of the ocean to the vast expanse of the heavens while refining some of the core mechanics. It builds upon the history and intricacies of the previous games’ mix of Gothic England and Lovecraftian overtones while introducing all-new aspects and mysteries that stand entirely on their own to form one of the most atmospheric roguelike game worlds out there.
Sunless Skies‘ stunning hand-drawn 2D style immediately drew me in, as details practically pop off the screen. I found the intricate art consistently jaw-dropping. Composed of equal parts horror and wonder, each of Sunless Skies‘ four main domains has a distinct look and flavor that makes them a joy and a terror to explore:
- The High Wilderness: A wild and untamed jungle-like world
- Albion: Where London proper and its capitals of industry and state reside
- Eleutheria: A mysterious land draped in shadows and occupied by outlaws and outcasts
- The Blue Kingdom: The strange and silent domain of the dead
Keeping to traditional roguelike standards, the layouts of these areas are randomized in each run. Major establishments are usually reliably located near the center of each map, but the placement of others greatly varies. No matter where they’re placed, though, every location in Sunless Skies imparts a sense of awe fraught with both opportunity and danger, whether seeing it for the first time or the tenth. And multiple attempts are pretty much necessary to actually find them all and follow through on their numerous plot threads.
Sunless Skies Has Plenty of Mechanical Depth, But It’s the Writing and World That Really Make it Shine For Me
Sunless Skies’ Unforgettable Setting is Full of Amazing Characters and Stories
After inheriting their skyfaring train, players can choose from one of three overarching ambitions, with a hidden fourth one that requires specific investigations and choices to unlock:
- Wealth
- Fame
- The Truth
- The Martyr-King’s Cup
The game encourages picking one of the first two to start, as they are relatively easier to achieve, and are meant to ease players into the systems before tackling the more difficult ones. The fourth is only available after discovering and meeting certain characters and conditions from a prior run. Without going too much into spoiler territory, it is my personal favorite among them due to its nature and the choices involved. But no matter which one players go with, simply exploring Sunless Skies‘ world and discovering all its myriad threads is a satisfying and rewarding endeavor in its own right.
Sunless Skies plays similar to Disco Elysium in many ways, driven in large part by extensive dialogue trees peppered with choices and skill-based checks. Sunless Skies‘ other roguelike and RPG elements also entail a gamut of familiar fare. These include managing sanity, food, fuel, and the strength of the locomotive’s crew, along with a range of upgrades and customizations for their vehicle. Unlike Disco Elysium, however, Sunless Skies has real-time combat against hostile crafts and other, more otherworldly enemies. Everything is well-designed and intuitive, but beyond these components, it’s the sheer amount of inventive locations to visit, and the impressive narrative depths contained within them that are the stars of the show in my eyes.
Sunless Skies contains dozens upon dozens of fascinating storylines and characters to interact with across its numerous areas. From a mystical circus that has fallen on hard times, to a twisted garden run by loquacious devils, and a city built precariously upon an enormous orchid, there is always a discovery to be made, a quest to be undertaken, or a foe to be vanquished (or potentially vanquished by.) And those three spots mentioned are just in the first area. As players progress further, even more bizarre and surprising locations await, all offering a rich tapestry of involved plots.
Sunless Skies‘ fantastic visual presentation combined with its elegantly composed and dreamlike prose, created a lasting impression that has kept me coming back to its memorable world ever since I first experienced it. It has become a place that lives vividly in my mind due to how much creativity and care was put into realizing it, and is one of my favorite settings in gaming and indeed any medium. For anyone who has yet to play it, I highly recommend Sunless Skies, especially those interested in incredibly robust and exceptional worlds.
Sunless Skies
- Released
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January 31, 2019
- ESRB
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T For Teen Blood, Language, Sexual Themes, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco, Violence
- Developer(s)
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Failbetter Games
- Publisher(s)
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Failbetter Games
