Sunken Engine Review: Fixing Boats and Fighting Eldritch Bullshit
Ever inherit a family business only to find out dad was apparently moonlighting as a cultist magnet? Sunken Engine throws you into exactly that mess: a ship repair sim soaked in Lovecraftian dread.
After your father kicks the bucket under mysterious circumstances, you're left holding the wrench and the keys to a dilapidated shipyard on some godforsaken island. The goal? Keep the business afloat by fixing busted boats, selling salvaged junk, and trying not to lose your goddamn mind as spooky shit starts happening.
Let's be honest, PlayWay's name attached to a simulator usually makes my eye twitch. I've waded through some real stinkers published under their banner. (Such as Candy shop simulator) But sometimes, like with Deconstruction Simulator, they hit a weirdly enjoyable niche. Sunken Engine, I'm happy to report, feels like one of the good ones, maybe even really good for an Early Access title.
More Than Just Power Washing Barnacles
The core loop is pretty addictive, I'll give it that. You get repair jobs via fax (yeah, fax), fix up ships with various tasks – replacing planks, cleaning grime, patching holes – and send 'em on their way. It starts simple but ramps up as you buy licenses for bigger, more complex vessels.
But it's not just about the boats. You've got a little stall out back to sell crap you find or fish you catch. You can even shuck oysters for pearls. It adds a nice layer of resource management beyond just ordering parts. There's fishing, upgrading your workshop, even a pub for some gambling minigames. It balances the mundane repair work with just enough side hustles to keep things interesting without feeling overwhelming.
Sanity? What Sanity?
Here's where things get weird. This isn't just Ship Mechanic Simulator 2025. There's a proper Lovecraftian vibe going on. Strange noises, unsettling visions, weird runes on ships – the game constantly messes with you, chipping away at your sanity.
Let it drop too low, and things get... difficult. Work becomes harder, mistakes happen, and who knows what might crawl out of the fog. You manage it by taking breaks, maybe hitting the pub, or puffing on your trusty pipe. Right now, managing sanity feels a bit too easy, just a quick puff and you're good. I hope they make this mechanic bite a little harder down the line. Still, the atmosphere is spot-on – creepy, damp, and full of dread. It feels like Dredge's landlocked cousin sometimes.
Early Access Polish (Mostly)
For an Early Access game, Sunken Engine is surprisingly polished. The art style is fantastic – distinct, moody, and definitely not just cobbled-together asset store junk. It runs well, and I haven't hit any game-breaking bugs, though some folks have mentioned annoying glitches like interactable trash hiding in walls or floating weirdly.
The devs seem pretty active, already patching things based on feedback like the initially clunky tool wheel. That’s always a good sign. The main knock right now is the story content; Chapter 1 feels a bit rushed, and the later chapters are still in development. The spooky events also get a bit repetitive after a while. I need more than just spooky laughter and knocking, give me something that genuinely makes me want to nope out of the workshop.
The PlayWay Redemption Arc?
I went in skeptical, bracing for another shallow PlayWay sim. What I found was genuinely engaging. It blends the satisfying loop of a cleaning/repair sim with a genuinely creepy atmosphere and intriguing mystery. It avoids the overwhelming complexity of some sims but offers enough variety to keep you hooked for "just one more ship."
Sure, it needs more content, deeper horror mechanics, and maybe some tweaks to the sanity system. But the foundation here is solid gold, especially for the price. It captures that unique blend of mundane work and encroaching cosmic horror surprisingly well.
The Verdict
Sunken Engine is a damn promising Early Access title. It takes the addictive core of job simulators, wraps it in a genuinely cool Lovecraftian aesthetic, and delivers a surprisingly polished experience right out of the gate. If you liked Dredge or enjoy sims but want something with a bit more... texture, this is absolutely worth checking out. It’s got flaws, sure, but the potential is massive, and the devs seem committed. It’s easily one of the best things PlayWay has put its name on recently.
Score: 8.3/10 - Like PowerWash Simulator had a baby with Call of Cthulhu, and the baby is surprisingly well-adjusted (for now).
We at NLM received a key for this game for free, this however didn't impact our review in any way.