Sunless Sea: Zubmariner

Failbetter provides an exquisite expansion to Sunless Sea that runs deep.

Verdict: The dangers of the abyss are well worth facing for Zubmariner’s bounty of fantastic stories and strange adventures.

This complex, exploration-focused title will more often than not evoke dread, but maybe that’s the point?

It appeals to a certain type of gamer, one who embraces the challenge and has the patience to explore the lore which is waiting for you.

Sunless Sea is an interesting roleplaying an roguelike game with some survival elements. This game takes place in the dark universe of Fallen London, the player is a captain of a steampunk ship who has one ambition to achieve.

If an experienced fan of rogue-likes, there is a lot to enjoy in this package.

I'm going to put one of my heavy biases out there right in front to better explain how I feel about Sunless Sea and games like it...

Sunless Sea has a really great atmosphere that should be ripe for exploring, but unfortunately it falls flat when it comes to core gameplay elements. Story bits are slow to develop and failed to hook me, while the act of sailing itself is mundane. That’s not to say it’s devoid of good ideas, but it’ll take someone who doesn’t mind a slow burn to fully enjoy.

A gothic masterpiece of weird fiction and roguelike exploration, that gives you the freedom to do whatever you want in one of gaming's weirdest fictional worlds.

Sunless Sea: Zubmariner Edition is a brutally challenging strategy/sim release on PlayStation 4 that will test your skills in full. You're getting the main game as well as the Zumbariner expansion, hence the name of this edition, with a single purchase, making this the definitive console version of the game. You'll spend hours trying to micromanage things to make the most of your Echo so that you can keep your ship fueled and in tiptop shape and your crew properly fed so that they don't have to resort to eating the rats on the ship… or any diseased former crew members. Are you up for the challenge?