The Dark Truth Behind The Sinking City's Nightmarish Enemies

The point that was driven home really lay in Frogwares' ambition to translate the known, the comfortable, into something quite different - toying with players' sense of reality by presenting them with weirdly familiar and horrifyingly otherworldly creations at each step of the game's progress. The Sinking City replicates Charles Reed's own hallucinations and loss of sanity by superimposing this uncanny feeling throughout, making us never quite sure when something terrifying is going to rear its ugly head - and quite how it's going to effect us in the process.

Overall, the intent was for something akin to the horror greats that influenced the genre originally. Oganesyan mentioned Silent Hill a number of times on a comparative basis, but it was his closing thoughts about that game and his own that summarised The Sinking City's eerie magnetism:

"Silent Hill was disturbing, but scary at the same time. We're more going for a really disturbing and weird kind of theme. Silent Hill was all about scaring you, not like jump scares, but with suspense and atmosphere. We have taken this idea of a psychological thriller, where it's really disturbing - but I wouldn't say it's really scary."

Frogwares wanted something that would sit with you mentally rather than playing up to shock value, wanting to leave a lasting impression psychologically instead of instant fear. And with their approach to eldritch monsters, fleshy soundscapes, and pervasive, gloomy tone - they definitely hit the nail on the head.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.