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In the new Lovecraftian adventure game The Sinking City you play as Charles Reed, a private investigator haunted by dreams of "waterlogged ruins with unnatural architecture, a sleeping giant, drowned streets... and a voice calling from the depths." His visions carry him to Oakmont, Massachusetts, where you begin The Sinking City aboard the rusty tub, Charon, just after docking. Your investigatory prowess will be tested immediately with the game's first Main Case, "Frosty Welcome."

While not as complex or involved as subsequent cases, "Frosty Welcome" introduces a number of The Sinking City gameplay mechanics that are unlike the typical open-world objectives. The Sinking City is carefully designed to give you multiple pathways to completion leaves a lot of the legwork up to the player, rather than leading you by the nose with endless waypoints. Consult our guide to help smooth out any places you get stuck along the way and by the end of "Frosty Welcome," you'll have a better grasp on what The Sinking City is all about.

The Sinking City Guide: Main Case "Frosty Welcome" Walkthrough

After collecting some items from the boat, including a pistol and camera, you'll meet your contact, Johannes van der Berg, on the dock. He'll send you straight on to Robert Throgmorton, who he believes can help you find the source of your dreams. Throgmorton is a local luminary, the head of one of the Grand Families of Oakmont, so Johannes will emphasize how important it is to stay in his good graces.

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Robert is standing outside of the house with the local constabulary, because his son Albert has gone missing after returning to Oakmont Port―seemingly the last survivor of a mysterious expedition at sea. Three fishermen brought Albert into their shared house, where events turned violent, ending in Albert's escape. Find out what happened to Albert and you'll have a powerful local patron on your side.

After speaking to Robert, you can either check out the fishermen's house or first size up the lifeboat that washed Albert to shore, which is just past the dock where you disembarked from the Charon.

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"Frosty Welcome" Clues

The main currency in a Sinking City investigation are Clues. A Clue can come from items at the crime scene, conversations with people, or from Reed's supernatural abilities. But you might want to check this complete list of clues later to see if you missed anything. A more generalized walkthrough is just below.

1. "Throgmorton-Innsmouther Feud" - speak to Robert Throgmorton
2. "Albert returned unstable" - speak to Robert Throgmorton
3. "One fisherman is missing" - speak to Will Hammond
4. "Sudden psychotic outbreak" - speak to Will Hammond
5. "Albert attacked the fishermen" - use retrocognition to learn what happened
6. "One fisherman is missing" - use retrocognition to learn what happened
7. "Lewis shot without warning" - use retrocognition to learn what happened
8. "Albert fled when wounded" - use retrocognition to learn what happened
9. "Lewis pursued Albert" - find the shell casing and examine it in Mind's Eye
10. "Bar owner is indebted to Lewis" - find the blood-stained note in the warehouse
11. "Albert was murdered" - find Albert's body behind the padlocked door
12. "Lewis left the crime scene" - find Albert's body behind the padlocked door
13. "Lewis was affected by hysteria" - speak with Lewis at the Under the Keel bar

"Frosty Welcome" Walkthrough

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In the Titania Lifeboat you'll find a creepy diving helmet and Albert Throgmorton's will, along with a warning against visiting the sea floor. "Everything should've remained in that cave," Albert writes. "I fear what will become of me, it's singing in my brain..." For now, avoid going too far into the water, as the seas around Oakmont are full of flesh-hungry eels.

Next visit the house of the fishermen. Looking at the mutilated body of Barry on the floor will induce a vision and wreak havoc with your sanity. Stare at it too long, and you might even summon spectral wylebeasts.

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In the backroom, where Albert was brought, you'll find his pocket watch. Rotating it reveals nothing, until you activate "Mind's Eye" (for PS4, down on the D-pad). Mind's Eye can be used anytime, but The Sinking City will indicate when it's useful with distortions in the corner of the screen and a "ringing sound," as if Reed is suffering from a migraine.

A vision of a Lovecraftian ceremony will play, showing Albert floating over the bunk and opening up the ability to re-investigate the crime scene, this time with Retrocognition. Retrocognition allows Reed to piece together the events at a crime scene, and becomes accessible once you've uncovered enough evidence.

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In Retrocognition, visit each of the locations marked by a shimmering black and blue aura. To understand the scene, Reed will need to number the events in the order they occur. For "Frosty Welcome" this is quite straightforward, with events laid out in order across the room, beginning with Albert's levitating body through to the moment where Lewis shouts "Yeah! Run!" at Albert's fleeing back. Not only did Albert come back insane, but his madness spread to the fishermen, resulting in a violent tussle, ending with Albert tossing a bookshelf aside and running from the house as a fisherman, Lewis, fired a pistol at his back. Solving the order of events will provide new Clues, which are recorded in your Mind Palace.

Using Mind's Eye will lead you back out of the fishermens' house and down the street, where you can find other clues, like a shell casing. Generally, if everything is covered in spectral handprints, you're on the right track.

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Combining clues in the Mind Palace tab in The Sinking City menu can either create Deductions, which will be used to build a narrative of the crime and ultimately come to conclusions, or provide leads, pointing to what Reed should investigate next.

"Frosty Welcome" Deductions and Leads

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As with the list of Clues, above, these Deductions can be assembled as you proceed with your investigation. To generate a Deduction or lead, draw a causal connection between two different Clues.

Deductions:

• "Albert spread hysteria around him" - combine Clues 2 and 4.
• "Albert Throgmorton was dangerous" - combine Clues 2 and 5.
• "Anti-Throgmorton sentiment" - combine Clues 1 and 7.
• "Lewis may have wanted Albert dead" - combine Clues 8 and 9.
• "Lewis was aware of his actions" OR "Lewis was mentally affected" - combine Clues 11 and 13.

Leads:

• "I can track down Albert" - combine Clues 8 and 6 to indicate Reed can use Mind's Eye to follow the path Albert took when he fled from Lewis.
• "Lewis may be at the bar" - combine Clues 12 and 10 and Reed will decide it would be worthwhile to check at the bar in Oakmont Port.

Using your Mind's Eye vision, follow the fleeing Albert Throgmorton to a warehouse (this will involve a little climbing). Inside look for a bloody scrap of jacket, right at the top of stairs going down into the warehouse basement. Inside Reed finds a letter, which describes the debt a man named Peter, who owns the Oakmont port bar, owes to Lewis. This will unlock a new Clue in Reed's Mind Palace, from which you can deduce a lead, which will take you to the Under the Keel Bar.

But first, it's time to check out that warehouse basement. Load your gun before going into the basement and don't waste a bullet on the padlocked door. Instead, use R1 to melee attack with your shovel. Behind the door, you'll find Albert's dead body on a meathook, but watch out, because the room also has a wylebeast, which can be taken down with a single, well-aimed shot from your Bolt M11 pistol.

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Now it's time to find Lewis at the Under the Keel bar. Talking to the bartender will lead you to Lewis, regardless of which conversational tactic you use. Speak with him in the upstairs office, which you can open with the Bartender's Key.

Lewis is part of an extended clan of fish-featured people, the Innsmouthers, who immigrated to Oakmont and have been treated terribly ever since, with only the Blackwood Grand Family on their side. The enmity between Lewis' people and the Throgmortons is mutual, and runs deep.

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After speaking with Lewis, you'll have enough Clues to generate enough Deductions to make two possible conclusions:

1. "Lewis deliberately murdered Albert"

This narrative depends upon how much Reed believes prejudice between the Innsmouthers and Throgmortons played a role in Albert's murder and is generated from Deductions on the left side of the Mind Palace screen.

2. "Lewis was under mental influence"

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If you believe Lewis that he was not in control of his actions, you can use the Deductions on the right side of the screen to conclude that he can't be held morally culpable for the death of Albert, even if he was the one who pulled the trigger. No matter which conclusion you make, or what you tell Lewis, you'll earn 140 XP after speaking with the cowering Innsmouther. Should you choose, you can nudge Lewis into offering you a bribe, which only amounts to 4 rounds for your .38 pistol.

But whatever you decide, how to report your conclusions back to Albert's father, Robert, is up to you. In The Sinking City, you're free to ignore the conclusions you arrive at and pursue whatever motive you want in reporting the facts of the case to others.

"Frosty Welcome" Main Case Rewards

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With "Frosty Welcome," you don't have to worry too much about different outcomes. The rewards are the same for turning Lewis in or lying to Robert Throgmorton (and letting Lewis slip away). Wrapping the case will earn you the trophy "Hook, Line, and Sinker," plus 1,050 XP, one Knowledge Point (which can be used in the Skill tab), two Antipsychotics, the powerful Revolver, four .44-40 cartridges for it and the key to the expedition headquarters, where the next Main Case―"The Lost Expedition"―begins.

Congratulations, you've solved your first Case in The Sinking City. There's lots more of Oakmont to explore, including some other investigatory techniques like Archives research. But with "Frosty Welcome" under your belt, you'll be ready.

The Sinking City is out now for PS4, Xbox One and PC.

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