Adventure · February 6, 2015
SUNLESS SEA (2015)
LOSE YOUR MIND. EAT YOUR CREW. DIE. Sunless Sea is a Gothic Horror RPG with a focus on exploration, exquisite storytelling and frequent death. Captain a Victorian steamship on a vast underground sea If the giant crabs, sentient icebergs and swarms of bats don’t get you, madness and cannibalism certainly will. But that old black ocean beckons, and there’s loot for the brave souls who dare to sail her. Seek out intriguing individuals for your crew Hire unique officers like the Haunted Doctor and the Irrepressible Cannoneer. Each has a story to tell, if you can draw it out of them. Stray from the gas-lamps of civilisation Light and dark, terror and madness: spend too long on the wide, dark sea and your crew will grow fearful and eventually lose their sanity. Carve a life for your captain in a cruel and unique world A deep, compelling world packed with 350,000+ words of stories and secrets. Find your father’s bones. Determine London’s destiny. Defy the gods of the deep sea. Your captain will die. Pass on resources from one generation to the next. Acquire a family home and a hoard of heirlooms. Build a legacy of zailors who braved the sea and lost - or, occasionally, won. Features Beautiful, hand drawn art - castles of sparkling ice, prisons perched on lily pads, fog-shrouded lighthouses and the DAWN MACHINE. Real-time combat against ships and Zee-beasts, spider-crewed dreadnoughts and sentient icebergs. Upgrade your steamship with powerful engines, cannons and pneumatic torpedo guns. (Or buy a bigger, better ship.) Choose a ship’s mascot: the Comatose Ferret, the Wretched Mog, the Elegiac Cockatoo, and more! Trade or smuggle silk and souls, mushroom wine and hallucinogenic honey. Who are Failbetter Games? We’re a boutique games studio based in London, UK. We’ve been making indie games since 2009. If you’ve read this far, this game is almost certainly for you.
Adventure releases from 2015
64 Adventure titles launched in 2015 — top 6 by review volume.
Community Tag Signals
Tag weights reflect how many Steam users voted each descriptor — larger pills = stronger consensus.
- Exploration · 503
- Lovecraftian · 415
- Survival · 368
- Story Rich · 362
- Dark · 315
- Adventure · 299
- Atmospheric · 291
- Singleplayer · 276
- RPG · 275
- Rogue-like · 226
- Indie · 222
- Horror · 216
- Steampunk · 212
- Great Soundtrack · 177
- Open World · 173
Peer Adventure titles
Comparable titles in the same genre and review-volume band — ranked by Steam positive percentage.
Position in Adventure
| Metric | This title | Genre position |
|---|---|---|
| Review volume | 9.3k Steam reviews | Top 24% in Adventure |
| Positive rating | 83% positive | Genre average: 87% — this title sits in top 77% |
| Metacritic | 81/100 | Genre average 77 — top 37% of Adventure titles |
| Engagement hours | 16 h average | Top 22% for session depth among Adventure |
Reception Metrics
Steam community
83%Mostly Positive · 9.3k reviews
7.7k positive · 1.6k negative
Metacritic
81/100 critic aggregate
Metacritic user score
7.6/10
Curator recommendations
7.5k
Press Quotes
“Sunless Sea's method of storytelling isn't unique, but it has never been realised with such impact and elegance.” 10/10 – Eurogamer “Absolutely the best writing in any video game since, well, as long as I can remember.” 10/10 – PCGamesN “a very compelling and satisfying adventure... The realm of possibilities seems endless, and every time I set sail I find something new.” 9/10 – Destructoid
Engagement Profile
All-time avg
16h
moderate (15–40 hours)
Median
4h
Typical completion time
2-week avg
0h
Current engagement
Achievements
54
Steam unlocks available
Release & Availability
| Release date | Feb 6, 2015 |
|---|---|
| Developer | Failbetter Games |
| Base price | $6.45 -66% |
| DLC / Add-ons | 1 released |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Estimated owners | 1M–10M |
| External links | Official site · Metacritic page · Support · [email protected] |
Features & Capabilities
Community
- Steam Achievements
- Steam Trading Cards
- Steam Cloud
Other
- Single-player
- Family Sharing
Content Notes
Infrequent, optional text descriptions of consensual sexual encounters.
Editions & Packages
Buy SUNLESS SEA











