Adventure · February 6, 2015

SUNLESS SEA (2015)

trophy54 achievementsextension1 DLClocal_offer-66% current discountgroup1M–10M ownersrecommend7.5k recommendations
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

MetricThis titleGenre position
Review volume9.3k Steam reviewsTop 24% in Adventure
Positive rating83% positiveGenre average: 87% — this title sits in top 77%
Metacritic81/100Genre average 77 — top 37% of Adventure titles
Engagement hours16 h averageTop 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

Open Metacritic page

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 dateFeb 6, 2015
DeveloperFailbetter Games
Base price$6.45 -66%
DLC / Add-ons1 released
PlatformsWindows, macOS, Linux
Estimated owners1M–10M
External linksOfficial 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