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Sunless Skies

Sunless Skies

Released: 1/31/2019

Sunless Skies is a Gothic Horror roleplay game with a focus on exploration and exquisite storytelling. COMMAND A FLYING STEAM LOCOMOTIVE The only thing between you and the waste-winds, storms and cosmic lightning is your engine. Tend and upgrade it, buy weaponry and exotic equipment, and keep her hull in good shape to hold the hostile Heavens at bay. EXPLORE A UNIQUE AND DANGEROUS UNIVERSE You play the captain of a locomotive, a steam engine fitted for off-rail travel: sailing the stars, leading your crew into trouble and out of their minds. Smuggle souls, barter for crates of time, stop for cricket and a cup of tea. Discover more of the deep, dark and marvellous Fallen London Universe, as seen in our previous game, SUNLESS SEA. (You can play either game first, the stories coexist happily.) FIGHT HER MAJESTY'S AGENTS, PIRATES AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE SKIES Face ships of differing factions and unknowable beasts each with different attacks and agendas. SURVIVE STARVATION, MADNESS AND TERROR. Manage your crew’s condition and your captain’s nightmares. Balance fuel and supplies against your desire for new horizons, knowledge or riches. Struggle with sights never meant for human eyes. How will the dark change you? RECRUIT OFFICERS ON YOUR ADVENTURES Populate your ship with unique, upgradeable officers, each with their own quest to fulfill: an incautious driver, an incognito princess, a repentant devil, and - dear god! - your Aunt?! How did she get out here? DISCOVER YOUR CAPTAIN’S PAST THROUGH NARRATIVE LEVELLING Reveal your captain’s past deeds as facets of their personality as you progress. Most captains will perish, but their actions will leave a mark on the world for their descendants - for better or worse. Pass on some effects, and return anew to deal with events that your previous captain put into motion. THE WORLD The High Wilderness is a wondrous vision of space: shifting, wind-swept ruins where the laws of the cosmos are not as we imagined. The stars are alive. They are the Judgements: vast intelligences that govern all things. But they are dying. One by one, something is snuffing them out, leaving their thrones empty. Unfettered by trivial things like gravity, the Victorian Empire have pushed their tendrils into this new world, and their ambition is savage. They have built a new Sun. The Empress Victoria reigns from the Throne of Hours, which gives her control over time. Your Captain and crew must carve out a life between the stars. Will you support her majesty and the establishment, or the working class rebels who yearn for freedom from the Workworlds? FEATURES Multiple, intertwining stories with a depth and richness unlike anything else in games, inspired by CS Lewis, Jules Verne, Lovecraft and HG Wells Lush, hand-drawn 2d art to match Four giant regions to explore: celestial wilderness, impossible industrial empire, pagan midnight expanse, and the mysterious Blue Kingdom. A choice of play styles: build a lineage of captains as each dies, or reload your most recent captain and continue Key remapping and full controller support Who are Failbetter Games? We’re a boutique games studio based in London, UK. We’ve been making indie games since 2009. If you’ve read this far, this game is almost certainly for you. Come with us into the dark, delicious friend.

Sunless Skies is a Gothic Horror roleplay game with a focus on exploration and exquisite storytelling. COMMAND A FLYING STEAM LOCOMOTIVE The only thing between you and the waste-winds, storms and cosmic lightning is your engine. Tend and upgrade it, buy weaponry and exotic equipment, and keep her hull in good shape to hold the hostile Heavens at bay. EXPLORE A UNIQUE AND DANGEROUS UNIVERSE You play the captain of a locomotive, a steam engine fitted for off-rail travel: sailing the stars, leading your crew into trouble and out of their minds. Smuggle souls, barter for crates of time, stop for cricket and a cup of tea. Discover more of the deep, dark and marvellous Fallen London Universe, as seen in our previous game, SUNLESS SEA. (You can play either game first, the stories coexist happily.) FIGHT HER MAJESTY'S AGENTS, PIRATES AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE SKIES Face ships of differing factions and unknowable beasts each with different attacks and agendas. SURVIVE STARVATION, MADNESS AND TERROR. Manage your crew’s condition and your captain’s nightmares. Balance fuel and supplies against your desire for new horizons, knowledge or riches. Struggle with sights never meant for human eyes. How will the dark change you? RECRUIT OFFICERS ON YOUR ADVENTURES Populate your ship with unique, upgradeable officers, each with their own quest to fulfill: an incautious driver, an incognito princess, a repentant devil, and - dear god! - your Aunt?! How did she get out here? DISCOVER YOUR CAPTAIN’S PAST THROUGH NARRATIVE LEVELLING Reveal your captain’s past deeds as facets of their personality as you progress. Most captains will perish, but their actions will leave a mark on the world for their descendants - for better or worse. Pass on some effects, and return anew to deal with events that your previous captain put into motion. THE WORLD The High Wilderness is a wondrous vision of space: shifting, wind-swept ruins where the laws of the cosmos are not as we imagined. The stars are alive. They are the Judgements: vast intelligences that govern all things. But they are dying. One by one, something is snuffing them out, leaving their thrones empty. Unfettered by trivial things like gravity, the Victorian Empire have pushed their tendrils into this new world, and their ambition is savage. They have built a new Sun. The Empress Victoria reigns from the Throne of Hours, which gives her control over time. Your Captain and crew must carve out a life between the stars. Will you support her majesty and the establishment, or the working class rebels who yearn for freedom from the Workworlds? FEATURES Multiple, intertwining stories with a depth and richness unlike anything else in games, inspired by CS Lewis, Jules Verne, Lovecraft and HG Wells Lush, hand-drawn 2d art to match Four giant regions to explore: celestial wilderness, impossible industrial empire, pagan midnight expanse, and the mysterious Blue Kingdom. A choice of play styles: build a lineage of captains as each dies, or reload your most recent captain and continue Key remapping and full controller support Who are Failbetter Games? We’re a boutique games studio based in London, UK. We’ve been making indie games since 2009. If you’ve read this far, this game is almost certainly for you. Come with us into the dark, delicious friend.

Sunless Skies is a Gothic Horror roleplay game with a focus on exploration and exquisite storytelling. COMMAND A FLYING STEAM LOCOMOTIVE The only thing between you and the waste-winds, storms and cosmic lightning is your engine. Tend and upgrade it, buy weaponry and exotic equipment, and keep her hull in good shape to hold the hostile Heavens at bay. EXPLORE A UNIQUE AND DANGEROUS UNIVERSE You play the captain of a locomotive, a steam engine fitted for off-rail travel: sailing the stars, leading your crew into trouble and out of their minds. Smuggle souls, barter for crates of time, stop for cricket and a cup of tea. Discover more of the deep, dark and marvellous Fallen London Universe, as seen in our previous game, SUNLESS SEA. (You can play either game first, the stories coexist happily.) FIGHT HER MAJESTY'S AGENTS, PIRATES AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE SKIES Face ships of differing factions and unknowable beasts each with different attacks and agendas. SURVIVE STARVATION, MADNESS AND TERROR. Manage your crew’s condition and your captain’s nightmares. Balance fuel and supplies against your desire for new horizons, knowledge or riches. Struggle with sights never meant for human eyes. How will the dark change you? RECRUIT OFFICERS ON YOUR ADVENTURES Populate your ship with unique, upgradeable officers, each with their own quest to fulfill: an incautious driver, an incognito princess, a repentant devil, and - dear god! - your Aunt?! How did she get out here? DISCOVER YOUR CAPTAIN’S PAST THROUGH NARRATIVE LEVELLING Reveal your captain’s past deeds as facets of their personality as you progress. Most captains will perish, but their actions will leave a mark on the world for their descendants - for better or worse. Pass on some effects, and return anew to deal with events that your previous captain put into motion. THE WORLD The High Wilderness is a wondrous vision of space: shifting, wind-swept ruins where the laws of the cosmos are not as we imagined. The stars are alive. They are the Judgements: vast intelligences that govern all things. But they are dying. One by one, something is snuffing them out, leaving their thrones empty. Unfettered by trivial things like gravity, the Victorian Empire have pushed their tendrils into this new world, and their ambition is savage. They have built a new Sun. The Empress Victoria reigns from the Throne of Hours, which gives her control over time. Your Captain and crew must carve out a life between the stars. Will you support her majesty and the establishment, or the working class rebels who yearn for freedom from the Workworlds? FEATURES Multiple, intertwining stories with a depth and richness unlike anything else in games, inspired by CS Lewis, Jules Verne, Lovecraft and HG Wells Lush, hand-drawn 2d art to match Four giant regions to explore: celestial wilderness, impossible industrial empire, pagan midnight expanse, and the mysterious Blue Kingdom. A choice of play styles: build a lineage of captains as each dies, or reload your most recent captain and continue Key remapping and full controller support Who are Failbetter Games? We’re a boutique games studio based in London, UK. We’ve been making indie games since 2009. If you’ve read this far, this game is almost certainly for you. Come with us into the dark, delicious friend.

Critics
86
Steam
84
Metacritic
67

Score Breakdown

85.8

Critic Average

24 reviews

84

Steam User Score

3,434 reviews

67

Metacritic User Score

92 reviews

Disparity Breakdown

Steam Disparity
+1.4
Metacritic Disparity
+18.8
Combined Disparity
+10.1

Average of both sources

Review Timing

1 early (4%)22 launch window (92%)1 late (4%)

Review summary

Updated May 12, 2026

Based on 24 scored critic reviews, critics give this game an average score of 85.8/100. Critics score this game 1.4 points higher than Steam users and 18.8 points higher than Metacritic users.

How these comparisons are calculated
Sources behind this summary(5 recent of 24)+
  1. Zach WelhouseviaRPGamer
    Apr 16, 2020·Late review
    90/100View review
    Steam 84.3/100 · +5.7 ptsMetacritic 67/100 · +23.0 pts
  2. Jake HillviaCOGconnected
    Mar 29, 2019·Launch window
    88/100View review
    Steam 84.3/100 · +3.7 ptsMetacritic 67/100 · +21.0 pts
  3. Davide ManciniviaIGN Italy
    Feb 28, 2019·Launch window
    87/100View review
    Steam 84.3/100 · +2.7 ptsMetacritic 67/100 · +20.0 pts
  4. Robert FennerviaRPG Fan
    Feb 24, 2019·Launch window
    95/100View review
    Steam 84.3/100 · +10.7 ptsMetacritic 67/100 · +28.0 pts
  5. Brendan FryeviaCGMagazine
    Feb 19, 2019·Launch window
    90/100View review
    Steam 84.3/100 · +5.7 ptsMetacritic 67/100 · +23.0 pts