Hi everyone, my name is Evgeny Maloshenkov, and I’m responsible for creature design at Frogwares, the team behind The Sinking City 2.
When we started working on the sequel back in 2023, we knew we wanted to take the series in a new direction. The original The Sinking City was an open-world Lovecraftian detective adventure. But for the sequel, we went full force into semi-open-world survival horror, putting a much greater emphasis on combat, exploration, and survival, and of course, all still wrapped in that Lovecraft gloom.
Investigation is still present, but now it’s an optional layer for players who want to dig deeper into Arkham’s mysteries. And those who do will be rewarded with useful knowledge, resources, shortcuts, and other useful rewards. The new stand-alone story – so you don’t need to know the original to enjoy this one- takes place in Arkham after a mysterious flood engulfs the city. Eventually, with waters rising relentlessly, the population had to be evacuated, leaving behind only a handful of barely sane survivors and the Eldritch abominations that arrived with the flood.
So with combat playing such an important role in The Sinking City 2, we thought it would be fun to take a closer look at five of our favourite enemies and how they evolved from early concepts into the creatures you’ll encounter in the game.
Slither Worms and Abominations
The Slither are among the most common enemies you’ll encounter in Arkham, and they were one of the first creatures we defined for the game. From the beginning, we knew we didn’t want “just another zombie.” Instead, we imagined the Slither as worm-like deep-sea parasites, ranging from finger-sized creatures to worms as long as an arm. Individually, they are barely sentient, but when they gather into colonies, they form a hive mind capable of controlling human corpses in service of Yog-Sothoth.
One of our biggest design questions was: What does a corpse look like when it is being controlled by something that has never used a human body before?
The worms control the body indirectly, moving muscles themselves from the inside and so they do so with less than 100% precision. We tried to show that through animations and behaviour shoulders become dislocated, and limbs move in awkward, erratic ways.
We also imagined the colony gradually “learning” how to operate its new body, resulting in tangled legs, overextended arms and strange little practice movements.
Those ideas became the foundation for the two stages of Slither infestation, with the creature’s appearance and behaviour changing as the colony grows stronger and more confident.
Stygian Harvester
It might be small and relatively fragile, but that doesn’t make it harmless. Stygian Harvesters are dangerous because of their speed, numbers and ability to surprise the player. They dodge attacks, set up ambushes, and retreat into hiding when threatened, waiting for the right moment to strike again.
The creature moves using long human arms ending in hands. This allows it to squeeze through tight spaces, cling to its surroundings and move in ways that feel distinctly wrong.
It prefers darkness, where it can remain hidden and turn the environment itself into part of the ambush.
Acheronian Juggernaut
The Acheronian Juggernaut returns from the original game, and for a very simple reason: we still love its design. The creature looks like multiple bodies have been fused into one enormous, grotesque mass. It has six arms, six legs, and a huge open maw stretching from its head down through its torso. It can even swallow an entire human body and hold it inside while it slowly decomposes.
The Acheronian is incredibly powerful and resilient, although its size makes it one of the slower enemies. Originally found in Oakmont, the largest Wylebeast in the city has now made its way to Arkham.
Because we were already so happy with its visual design, we kept the changes relatively minimal. Instead, we totally redesigned its behaviour and attacks, with this version much better suited for creating a formidable enemy that will make you sweat in combat.
Lethian Revenant
Originally known simply as the Lethian, the Lethian Revenant is a human that transforms into a humanoid Wylebeast.
The infection leaves the creature visibly diseased and unstable, but its most disturbing feature is its head. It splits open vertically, allowing the Revenant to spit blobs of bacterial fluid at the player from a distance.
Its behaviour reflects its physical condition. The Revenant appears to be in constant pain and avoids direct confrontation whenever possible, relying on ranged attacks and retreating behind cover.
For The Sinking City 2, we rebuilt the creature from scratch. Its model and textures were completely remade, while some animations from the original game were reused and expanded. We also reworked its wounds to create a much more fleshy appearance, with torn skin, exposed muscle, and dark pus oozing from its body.
Deep One Raider
No Lovecraftian game would be complete without Deep Ones! These ocean-dwelling creatures are humanoid in shape but distinctly fish-like in appearance. They can survive on land for extended periods and are biologically immortal, dying only through violence or accident.
The Deep One Raider is a terrifying close-range opponent. It possesses immense physical strength and devastating claw attacks, but what makes it particularly unsettling is the way it moves. It can dodge in strange, inhuman ways, drop onto all fours and suddenly burst into a sprint before knocking its victim to the ground.
Welcome to the Flood
We’re so happy to say that The Sinking City 2 is out now on PlayStation 5! Getting here has been quite a journey. Making a game is difficult under normal circumstances, and doing it with a team in Ukraine while a war continues around us has presented challenges we could never have anticipated. There have been struggles along the way, but seeing the game finally in players’ hands makes us incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished.
Thank you so much for reading, and we hope to see you in the flood!
