In Too Deep: Sunless Sea - [game array]

[@frestdjm]

Sunless Sea has some real diamonds in the rough, and the discovery and comprehension of them basically decides how the player perceives the game. I had a playthrough early on where I discovered Visage, and the knowledge of qualities and so forth was there so that I could actually navigate the island. Visage feels relatively safe (there are few, if any, bad or harmful choices) and I could just catch my breath and read. It was engrossing, I was on the edge of my seat reading what each next choice would do. At the end I felt cathartic, received the single largest reward any of my captains had ever gotten, and walked out feeling like I knew something new and special about the world of the Neath. I had gained a secret, a unique experience, something that was near impossible to articulate to another person who wasn't likewise initiated. It was one of the more magical experiences of my recent gaming life. I felt like I was a child again roaming the halls of Cydonia in Enemy Unknown, or had just solved a vexing puzzle in an adventure game. Lacking that experience, I don't know that I would have gone on to sink 100+ hours into Sunless Sea.

[@rngwrldngnr]

Douglas Mundy it has been eye opening over the past few months as I geared up for Sunless Skies by devouring every Sunless Seas LP I could find. It is staggering just how differently people will approach the game based on what they missed in the tutorial or picked up naturally something left out of the tutorial. It's also weird when I realized just how much the game was changing, even very recently. I started the game early enough to remember the original combat system, but 99 percent of my play time has happened since the Sunless Skies kickstarter was started, and in so many instances I've been incredibly frustrated with LPers who were ignoring options I only later remembered hadn't existed at that time. I hope in all the churn the creators have a better idea of which elements are hurtful and helpful, and how they can smooth over the rough spots without destroying the atmosphere that depends in many ways on what Sunless Sea does wrong.

[@TheMemoman]

Gameplay loops and how they feed off of each other. Quality analysis, quality video. I've never played this game because it seems leviathanly time consuming, but it always seemed unique, thorough and gorgeous. A steampunk, lovecraftian FTL at sea, such a great setting. Thank you for the fair insight into it's mechanical depths, ebbs and flows.

[@clovermite]

Excellent analysis! The only place I would depart from your thoughts is that I chose to leave my light off most of the time. Knowing exactly where you can reduce your terror gives you the ability to push the limits. Of course, that also involves cheesing the hell out of the terror reduction ports by just waiting outside for "Something Awaits you at shore" to recharge until you've brought it done to nothing. Having never beaten it, and having had to restart about 12 or 13 times, I definitely agree about how boring it gets. I've gotten in deep with enough stories on the islands that I find myself questioning whether or not I want to put in the effort to get the rest. Part of me wants to try out Zubmariner...but I don't want to have to do all of the groundwork necessary to acquire the zub. I might just bite the bullet eventually though. Luckily, Sunless Skies is supposed to help with the issue of having to replay all the same content over and over...though hopefully this doesn't mean they just start you off from scratch, but denied the ability to quickly get the cash you need.

[@xc568]

These are such great videos. You're like a better Ahoy. Please keep making more man.

[@BentDoorFrame]

Been playing for a couple days. So far this is one of the best games ive ever played. I have heard sunless skies is even better i can wait to play that.

[@AntigonePoss]

The game is more of a Roleplaying/Exploration game, so I almost always don't go with what's best. Instead, I always go with what's the most interesting.

[@TheKatamariguy]

It seems that the game's intent to maintain a firm narrative-gameplay bond, to make choices difficult and meaningful, and to portray a dangerous and unforgiving world fundamentally damage/contradict each other. And yet I can't think of a game design that would fulfill all three without retaining Sunless Sea's flaws. A bit of a double-edged sword, I think. That said, I think there was an intent to make the starting advantages you accrue from each death progressively make each captain's start easier and easier through inheritance.

[@Beastw1ck]

Excellent video. Love this kind of in-depth analysis and it's pretty rare to see.

[@Dowly]

Keeping the map after death is a trade-off as you won't get any XP for re-discovering the places (IIRC), which makes it harder to get secrets.

[@tiaanmunnik]

Yeah, I never take that one even if I had a good map. The massive hit to secrets gain is just too tough.

[@SaylorMan666]

Really enjoying this! Editing is great!

[@RossNelezen]

great video, you did well in the longer form. Keep it up!

[@retu3510]

Great analysis, maybe a little long and slow paced, but I'm glad you made it. Yeah I bought Sunless Sea a while ago, but I never got warm with it, I loved the idea of the game. But after watching your video, I know this game is not for me. I will deinstall it. Thank you for the video.

[@tiaanmunnik]

I've found that buying the tougher ship with a forward weapon (cheaper than the merchant) and choosing to fight things can be quite profitable as well.

[@qwcew]

Profits very much depend on what you're hunting. My personal rule of thumb when hunting things is: Only ships under 100 hull, only monsters with less than 300 health with Elder Angler crabs being the exception. This is assuming a solid Irons (30ish), Carminus Heart-Ender and a decent reversing speed. Personally, when I hit the midgame I follow the trade route that [game array] mentioned though I tend to make the effort to make it include as many ports as possible while snacking on fairly easy enemies. Granted, my current midgame assumes I have the Fulgent Impeller and a Caligo-class as well as all the non-DLC Legacy traits to reduce the stat grinding.

[@TrueRaijin]

well, I dove back into the game whole hog after hearing this - veils is indeed op, I can basically stealth attack most ships all day long, beasts are a whole different problem though. The game is a lot more fun if you just nerf it a tiny bit - a little work in cheat engine means I've got limitless fuel, but I've kept that as my one modification. now I'm wondering how in the zee can I find a way to battle the sun to found a kingdom next to an absolute zero gate, just because they told me no one sails east of the last city. I'm making notes to gather flares and candles to explore a bottomless pit under a postman's purgatpry, and ferrying coffee around for khanite favours and Vienna's dollars. and possibly propping up an arguable noble guinea pig kingdom. There's a beauty here I won't let rookie game design keep me from devouring.

[@CarlMakesVideos]

Interesting. While you didn't convince me to boot up SS again (which wasn't your goal, so whatever), you did pique my interest enough to make me check out the mobile version of fallen london again. It's interesting, because compared to what Failbetter already had with FL, all SS seems to bring to the table that's new are the survival/roguelite elements, and those only feel committed to halfway.

[@truemisto]

a tough and fair look, but you left out one of my own thoughts of what one of the games shortcomings is - most of the ports have merely one or two interesting things to be done in them, despite them being thematically fertile ground for perhaps dozens of events and interactions, even if it were only a matter of more text and menus. take for example, mount palmerston, holdout of some kind of rebel sect of demons - what skulduggery remains to be done there after your business with the wistful deviless is concluded? and khan's shadow, teeming city of broken ships and lair of rebels and anarchists, home to two or three relevant story interactions at best. for developers who are keen to lean on their writing chops, they leaned on them quite lightly in these cases. oh yeah, and when you figure out how to make good bux you can easily proceed to snowball in power until youre an aquatic killing machine, making the realtime combat part a joke and negating what tension and horror remained after you realized you could turn off your light and slip by most enemies unnoticed but i dont have zubmariner, maybe that expansion helps things

[@gamearray]

It doesn't (in my opinion)

[@TheKivifreak]

I didn't see that Brazilian guys video (since I have better things to do, as you pointed out), but I think a critique to your calculations would be that youtube is your job (the first 1/3 you cut). Therefore some viewers might feel you owe them an explanation as to why you like an anime or not, since you are effectively a guide to filter us from bad anime. Anywho your content is great, give medaka box a second chance and take my money for being a great youtuber!

[@yannickluecker3983]

I see, I've been doing it wrong. I never remember to eat with the sisters XD I have a house and a will and an heirloom without having even died once. And this is not on merciful.

[@esoopthederp7672]

Lol at this guy, trading in this game. :p. every hour or so of questing can get you several thousand echos, if you play your cards right thats after operating costs. If you play this game focusing on mechanics your in for a rough time, take risks, have fun, eat your crew, plunder tombs, accept your failures (both yours and your captains), kill mountains, be eaten by mountains, listen to the tales of your passengers, seek deeper meaning. but for the love of god unless you love tedium, dont attempt non-sunlight trade runs. its just going to burn you out and anything you get out of it wont feel earned. atleast not as earned as if you gain it through the plot.

[@highlandrab19]

LOL i was on my fifth captain within 2 hours xD

[@edmunds777]

Saying that Islands can't spawn outside those designated regions Isn't correct... Looking at your map in the example and my own current map their are multiple Islands in very different spots

[@thrakerzod5699]

He means to say that their are "regions" that the tiles are bound to, and that the tiles can be shuffled within the regions. You can look up a region map online to learn all the possible spots for the islands.

[@edmunds777]

Oh ok I see now

[@AbbreviatedReviews]

I gave up on the game and refunded it because I just could not get in to the gameplay. No matter how good a story is, if the gameplay isn't compelling and the mechanics don't appeal to me, I can't find much entertainment in it. Going in, I thought it was going to be a darker version of Sid Meier's Pirates, but it had really as few of the qualities that made that fun as a game about sailing an open ocean ever could.

[@12er5t7y]

It's VenderBLIGHT. Not "Venderbite". FWIW. Good video though.

[@gamearray]

I made the same mistake for the first... like twenty hours... sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/Venderbight

[@12er5t7y]

Oh God... that just seems... wrong. TIL!

[@Furthermore26]

I never got too far into the game. It was just so incredibly boring. The pacing, the lack of a direction, the everything.

[@Nechrome9]

f-first