The Sinking City 2 on PC: Performance and Fixes

What is different about the PC release

Nothing in the content — the campaign, the 23 achievements and the two-run completion path are identical across platforms. What differs is that the PC version puts the tuning in your hands, and this particular Unreal Engine 5 title needs some.

The good news is that Frogwares documents its own troubleshooting publicly and in detail, which is rarer than it should be. Most of what follows is quoted from the studio rather than assembled from community guesswork.

The official troubleshooting order

1. Verify integrity of game files. Right-click the game in Steam → Properties → Installed Files → Verify.
2. Launch with -clearPSODriverCache as a launch parameter.
3. Update your graphics drivers, ideally with a clean installation.
4. Reinstall if the problem persists.
5. Report the bug at frogwares.com/support with your dxdiag and screenshots.

Full detail on the crash fix page.

Performance: what to change first

Frogwares' own recommendation is to reduce resolution before anything else — from 4K or 1440p down to 1080p — then lower video settings, then experiment with upscaling, and only then consider frame generation.

Two studio caveats matter: with Frame Generation on a 60 Hz monitor, turn V-Sync off, and DLSS Performance and Ultra Performance modes are unstable — use Balanced or higher. The settings page walks through the order.

Upscaling status

Full explanation here.

Known issues Frogwares has acknowledged

• Changing settings mid-gameplay can cause visual bugs — restart or reload instead.
• The Low preset can produce visual artefacts on low-end graphics cards.
• Level of detail issues vary by hardware.
• The Night Shade mask may twitch after cutscenes and QTEs.
• The Acheronian Juggernaut's shadow can persist after the body dissolves.
• Slither Pawns may fall through the floor.
• Ramming things with the boat can black-screen you — reload the last save.

Controllers

The game has full controller support including DualSense features, with one important caveat from the studio: connect a DualSense over USB, not Bluetooth. There is also a known quirk where all game audio routes to the pad's speaker, fixed by switching Windows audio output away and back. Details.

Why the PC version scored lower

Same game, three scores: 84 on Xbox Series X, 79 on PS5, 75 on PC. A gap that size on a multiplatform release is almost always technical rather than editorial, and the reviews bear that out — performance and stability came up repeatedly in PC coverage and rarely in console coverage.

That is worth knowing before you buy: the PC version is the most flexible and the most likely to need an evening of settings work. If you own a current-generation console and do not want to tune anything, that is the smoother route to the same game.

Mods, trainers and handhelds

Three pages cover the rest of the PC problems people run into: mods and what they do to achievements, trainers and the risks involved, and Steam Deck, where the honest answer is that a 70 GB Unreal Engine 5 survival horror is not a natural handheld fit.

If you want the DRM-free build, GOG sells it — see the storefront comparison.