A pair of headphones clamped over your ears in the opening hours of the game reveals a masterclass in wet, oppressive dread: the low, watery groan of a drowning 1920s city, the sloshing of rising tides against rotting Art Deco facades, and the skittering of unseen horrors lurking just beyond your lantern light. This is Arkham, Massachusetts, but not as we have seen it before. In this sequel, developer Frogwares has largely abandoned the dry, slow-paced detective investigations of the original game, choosing instead to plunge headfirst into the dark, resource-starved waters of classic survival horror.
Drowning in the Roaring ’20s
The core of the experience is a deliberate, tense, and deeply atmospheric loop that borrows heavily from the classic Resident Evil playbook. You navigate a waterlogged port city on foot and by skiff, weaving through dark speakeasies, a hospital where science has clearly abandoned its post, and a fish market where the daily catch is more likely to bite you than the other way around. Progression is built on the satisfying rhythm of survival: you push into dangerous territory, manage a strictly limited inventory, solve environmental puzzles, and unlock shortcuts behind collapsed seawalls to link back to safe havens.
While the first game merely flirted with survival elements, this sequel leans in entirely. Combat has received a massive overhaul. The stiff, awkward gunplay of Frogwares’ previous titles—including their Sherlock Holmes games—has been replaced with slicker character controls and punchier firearms. However, the developer has not completely abandoned its narrative roots. Detective work is still present, but it has been cleverly repurposed as a risk-versus-reward mechanic. Engaging in optional investigations throughout the flooded city serves as a way to self-regulate the difficulty; the more secrets you unearth, the more weapons, supplies, and ammo recipes you unlock to help you survive the horrors below.
The Player Verdict: Atmospheric Triumph Marred by Technical Rust
The reception among early players is overwhelmingly positive, with a 97% approval rating, but that high praise comes with some heavy caveats. What players love is the game’s incredibly thick atmosphere. Fans of Lovecraftian fiction are celebrating the game as a highly faithful tribute to cosmic horror, praising the sound design, the grim aesthetic, and the tighter, more focused world design. Players note that by reigning in the bloated scale of the first game, Frogwares has delivered a much more cohesive, personal, and frightening experience.
However, the game’s technical state is currently a major point of frustration. Many players report that the game is plagued by the same severe stuttering issues that hobbled The Callisto Protocol at launch. Every time the game is booted up, players are met with incredibly long shader compilation times. Worse still, a segment of the player base is experiencing frequent, progress-blocking crashes, with some reporting crashes every few minutes during the opening chapter. Additionally, some survival horror purists find the enemy respawn mechanics a bit annoying, and notes have been made that the controls—while a massive leap forward for the studio—still feel slightly stiff when compared to modern, big-budget AAA horror giants.
The Verdict: Who Is This For?
This game is a must-play for fans of cosmic horror who want a game that captures the “apocalypse pulp” feel of classic Arkham stories without the bloat of a massive open world. If you love inventory management, dark corridors, and tension-fueled resource management, the atmosphere here is unmatched. However, if you are highly sensitive to micro-stutters, long load times, or launch-week technical instability, you may want to wait for Frogwares to deploy a few performance patches before you take the dive into Arkham’s flooded streets.
Key Facts
- Developer: Frogwares
- Publisher: Frogwares
- Release Date: Aug 18, 2026
- Price: $49.99