Sunless Skies

Sunless Skies is a role-playing video game developed by Failbetter Games. Partially funded by a Kickstarter campaign, the game entered early access in 2017 and released in January 2019, and has been described as a 'Gothic Horror roleplay game'. Sunless Skies is a direct sequel to 2015's Sunless Sea and incorporates similar elements and setting.

Sunless Skies
Developer(s)Failbetter Games
Publisher(s)Failbetter Games
Writer(s)Chris Gardiner
Cash de Cuir
James Chew
Olivia Wood[1]
EngineUnity
Platform(s)Linux, macOS, Windows
Release31 January 2019
Genre(s)Role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player

Gameplay

Sunless Skies is an exploration and narrative focused role-playing video game. The game is played from a top-down perspective.[2]

Sunless Skies is set in the same Victorian era-inspired world as Fallen London and Sunless Sea.[1] The game is set ten years after the events of Sunless Sea.[3] The player assumes the role of the captain of an interplanetary locomotive.[3]

Development

The game was announced at the 2016 EGX expo.[4] In February 2017, the studio launched a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter to raise funds for the game's development.[3] Failbetter estimated the total cost of the game's development to be £330,000. They set a funding goal of only £100,000 - explaining the discrepancy by committing to using profits from their existing projects to close the gap. In the event, the project raised £377,000.[3][5]

The game was developed on the Unity game engine and Failbetter's own narrative platform StoryNexus.[3]

Failbetter CEO Paul Arendt noted that they didn't want a sequel to just be Sunless Sea 2 with bigger ships.[1] Taking the Victorian setting into space appealed to them.[1] The development team cited the science fiction and planetary romance works of authors C. S. Lewis, H. G. Wells, and Leigh Brackett as influences along with Art Nouveau and the 1999 game Planescape: Torment.[6]

Release

The game was scheduled to be released in early access in May 2017 with a full release in May 2018,[3] for Linux, macOS, Windows-based personal computers.[7] It was initially delayed to September 2018,[8] then lastly to January 2019.[9]

Reception

Upon the game's release in January 2019, Sunless Skies was praised by critics, receiving a Metacritic score of 87, indicating 'generally favourable' reviews.[10] PC Gamer called it "A game that gives you a clutch of weird and wonderful tales to tell, even when you fail miserably", while praising the game's replayability and writing.[12] GameSpot, however, criticized the game for repetitive early storylines and uninteresting combat gameplay.[11]

Accolades

While in development, the game was nominated for "Writing or Narrative Design" at the 2018 Develop Awards.[14] After release, it was nominated for "Best Narrative", "Best Original IP", and "Game of the Year" at the Develop:Star Awards;[15] for the "Creativity Award", "Best Game by a Small Studio", and "Best Role Playing Game" at The Independent Game Developers' Association Awards;[16] for "Best Storytelling", "Best Indie Game", and "PC Game of the Year" at the Golden Joystick Awards;[17][18] for the Off Broadway Award for Best Indie Game at the New York Game Awards,[19] and for "Game, Franchise Role Playing" at the NAVGTR Awards.[20]

References
  1. Donlan, Christian (6 October 2016). "Still out there: Failbetter Games talks Sunless Skies and Zubmariner". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  2. Sykes, Tom (5 January 2017). "Failbetter sheds some light on the aesthetic of Sunless Skies". PC Gamer. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  3. Evans-Thirlwell, Edwin (1 February 2017). "Failbetter's Sunless Skies Kickstarter takes flight". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  4. Chiodini, Johnny (24 September 2016). "Failbetter Games announces Sunless Skies". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  5. Senior, Tom (1 February 2017). "Sunless Sea sequel, Sunless Skies, hits Kickstarter goal in four hours [Updated]". PC Gamer. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  6. Warr, Philippa (1 February 2017). "Sunless Skies launches Kickstarter, talks combat improvements, spacefaring Victorians, warm cardigans". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  7. Valentin, Christian (24 September 2016). "Failbetter Will Leave The Sea Behind And Reach For The Stars In Sunless Skies". IndieGames.com. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  8. Donnelly, Joe. "Sunless Skies shows off Albion in gorgeous reveal trailer". PC Gamer.
  9. Flynn, Hannah. "ELEUTHERIA and Extending Early Access". Failbetter Games.
  10. "Sunless Skies Critic Reviews for PC". Metacritic. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  11. Wildgoose, David (6 February 2019). "Sunless Skies Review - British Steam Power". GameSpot. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  12. Schilling, Chris (31 January 2019). "Sunless Skies Review". PC Gamer. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
  13. Peel, Jeremy (6 February 2019). "Sunless Skies review: a glimpse of the heavens from master storytellers". PCGamesN. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  14. MCV staff (21 May 2018). "Announcing the Develop Awards 2018 nominations shortlist". MCV. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  15. Blake, Vikki (16 May 2019). "Shortlist for Develop:Star Awards 2019 revealed". MCV. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  16. Stephenson, Suzi (19 September 2019). "TIGA Announces Games Industry Awards 2019 Finalists". The Independent Game Developers' Association. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  17. Tailby, Stephen (20 September 2019). "Days Gone Rides Off with Three Nominations in This Year's Golden Joystick Awards". Push Square. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  18. "Golden Joystick Awards 2019". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on 28 September 2019. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
  19. Sheehan, Gavin (2 January 2020). "The New York Game Awards Announces 2020 Nominees". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  20. "2019 Nominees". National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers. 13 January 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
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