Welcome to Into Indie Games’ walkthrough of the demo for The Sinking City 2.
The game covers two zones where you’ll play as Calvin Rafferty, a new protagonist, and experience a sense of dread, mystery, and awe as you explore the flooded city of Arkham, solve puzzles, and encounter horrific creatures.
For more information about the game, check out its Steam page here.
Table of contents
The Beginning
After the opening cutscene, you’ll see Calvin Rafferty sitting at Faye Bennet‘s bedside. It seems that the ritual that they were talking about in the opening cutscene didn’t go according to plan.
Press the buttons shown on the screen to complete the segment. In the end, Calvin Rafferty says his goodbyes and heads for the University’s Library Annex to find a book called the Recitations of the Tenebrous Soul that contains information about a ritual called The Call.
With that, Calvin Rafferty sets out. You’ll be in the study room. Check your surroundings. You’ll find the two Codex Entries on the tables.
Head out through the door and take the first left to enter the kitchen. There’s another Codex Entry on the kitchen cabinet near the window and a photograph that you can inspect.
Go back out to the hallway and head through the door at the end.
There’s another Codex Entry you can grab here. When you’re ready, head outside through the door leading to the balcony.
When you head outside, you can press L1/LT to focus on the Library Annex building. That is your destination. Go down using the ladder.
There’s another Codex Entry on the table as you go down.
Continue along the path, and you’ll spot your boat. Hop in to start heading toward your target
Keep moving along the flooded city until you spot a sign that points toward the Library. As you reach the sign, Calvin calls for Harry to open the gate. But Harry doesn’t respond.
Turn right, and you’ll spot a dock directly on the other side of the gate. Dock your boat and get off.
Opening the Floodgate
After getting off the boat, enter the building through the window.
Continue along the path across the bridge through the doorway till you spot Harry lying on the ground.
Try to operate the floodgate switch on the right. But it doesn’t work, and you need to find some Electrical Fuses to fix the gate mechanism.
Head into the next building through the broken wall.
You’ll see a strange symbol on a door up ahead. This leads to the first Safe Room in the game.
You can save your progress by interacting with the gramophone in the Safe Room. You can also store extra items into the suitcase and can access it from other Safe Rooms. When you’re ready to move on, head through the door on the other side.
Continue down the stairs and through the door to reach a bar. Pick up the Gate Switchboard note from the counter.
This unlocks the Investigation Space feature that you can use to connect documents and solve puzzles in the game.
Exit the bar through the main door. You’ll see some bodies on the road. You’ll also spot the Radio Store on the other side of the road.
Walk up to the Radio Store door and interact with it to spot a box of Electrical Fuses on the shelf. But the door is locked.
Follow the road to reach a half-open door leading into an apartment building next to the bar.
After entering the building, head into the small room on the right. You’ll find some Handgun Ammo and the map of the building here.
Follow the hallway and walk up the stairs. On the upper floor, you’ll find two doors leading to apartments 5 and 6. Go into Apartment 6 first.
There’s a locked safe in the apartment’s kitchen along with the To Martin note. We don’t know the combination for the safe just yet.
Go back to the hallway and enter Apartment 5 next. Break the barrels near the hole in the floor with a kick.
Then interact with the hole to drop down. Check the cabinet for some Chemicals.
Continue forward and turn right to spot a hole that you can crawl through.
Turn around and pick up the Gate Fuses and Wires note from the table.
You can now connect the Gate Switchboard note with the Gate Fuses and Wires in the Investigation Space for a Talent Point.
Interact with the white door here to unlock a shortcut back to the building’s entrance.
When you’re ready, head in through the hole. This takes you to the Radio Store. Loot the box as soon as you come out for some Handgun Ammo.
You’ll also find the From A Sister note near the cash counter. This holds a clue to the code of the safe in Apartment 6. You can connect with with the To Martin note in the Investigation Space.
Pick up the Electrical Fuses to trigger a cutscene.
Now you will have your first combat encounter in the game. Aim for the weakpoints that pop up in different parts of the body to stun the monster. Then use melee attack to finish it off and save your bullets.
Walk up to the exit and move the object by interacting with it. Then head outside to the main road.
As you get out of the store, you’ll see some more Slitherworms possessing the bodies turning them into monsters. Fight them off.
Now you can go back to Apartment 6 to unlock the safe that you found earlier. The code is the opening year of the Radio Store (1908). You’ll find some Dolorocide Pills and Handgun Ammo inside, but you’ll also have to fight new monsters that spawn if you unlock the safe.
From the main street, head into the bar and continue moving toward the bridge with the floodgate switch. You won’t have to fight any monsters along the way. Interact with the Fuse Box next to the switch. Use the Electrical Fuses with it.
Now you have to solve a puzzle to fix the gate mechanism. Check the image above for the correct placement of the three Electrical Fuses.
With that done, interact with the lever to open the gate.
As you make your way back to the boat, you’ll get ambushed by another monster. Take it down.
Enter your boat and start sailing toward the Library Annex.
Reaching the Library Annex
As you move across the district, you’ll come across another floodgate. Move toward it, and you’ll see an explosion on the other side. Dock at the pier near the floodgate.
Head up the wooden stairs and go through the hole into the building. You’ll be able to pick up a Dolorocide Pill and a Codex Entry from a table near the base of the stairs.
As you go up the stairs inside the building, a group of monsters breaks through the door on the lower floor.
Don’t waste your ammo. Instead, keep running forward past all the monsters up ahead until you spot a broken wall on the upper floor. Run to the opening and jump out to safety.
Continue forward up the wooden stairs.
The floodgate switch will be on your left. Activate it, then interact with the ladder to kick it down. This takes you straight to your boat.
Get on your boat and continue forward through the gate. The Library Annex building is just up ahead. You can dock at the pier to the left of the gate.
As you dock and head toward the building, a cutscene triggers.
Reaching the Main Library Zone
After the cutscene, you’ll find yourself in a dark and flooded library. Check the area. You’ll find some Handgun Ammo in a drawer on the right. Go through the door marked Archive.
You’ll spot a half-open door leading deeper into the library. Before going in through the door, however, turn left.
This area has a map on the wall and an ERC (Emergency Relief Crate). You can’t access the ERC right now, but pick up the map.
Go in through the half-open door next. This takes you to a long hallway to the left. Don’t worry about the upside-down bodies.
Continue forward along the hallway and enter the Conference Room on the left.
As you move forward, a small monster appears briefly and jumps out of sight.
Loot the cabinet on the right for some Metal Scrap. Inspect the chalkboard for a Codex Entry.
Exit the room and follow the hallway to reach the Restroom. Enter through the door.
Squeeze through the opening in the wall to reach a small room with a projector.
As soon as you go in, a monster will pop out from the water. Take it down.
Loop around to the back of the projector to find some Handgun Ammo inside a drawer.
Take the door on the left to reach the main section of the library.
Accessing the Restricted Section
Continue moving forward through the rubble. You’ll hear a siren go off somewhere, but don’t worry about it for now.
You’ll reach a broken section of the floor that you can use to reach the upper floor. There’s a Codex Entry on a table and some Healing Herbs in the cabinet. Go up the slope.
The upper level is crawling with Slitherworms. Ignore them for now and continue forward.
You’ll spot a crank on a wall on the right.
Interact with it to move a shelf near you.
As you try to head through the passage, the same monster from the Conference Hall pushes you off the ledge to the lower floor.
You’ll have to fight off a couple of monsters on the lower floor after you fall. Make your way back to the slope to get back to the upper level.
Take out the small monster as you walk up the slope.
After fighting off all the enemies, make your way back to the passage you opened up. You’ll spot a second crank on the right behind the bookshelf that you moved.
Interact with the second crank, then interact with the first crank once again. This will open the path to the Restricted Section of the library.
Head in through the door and you’ll spot a glowing book on the pedestal. Interact with the book to trigger a cutscene.
Once the cutscene ends, you’ll hear a scream. Move the cabinet blocking the door up ahead and head through.
Make your way past the room filled with a strange growth.
You’ll arrive at a hallway. Move forward and enter through the second door on the right.
After talking with Lorelei, you’ll have to make your way to the Devil’s Reef Hotel.
There’s a Safe Room on your left. Near the door of the Safe Room, you’ll find the E.R.C – User Manual.
Pick up the E.R.C. Activator Pen near the manual.
Then turn around to spot a path through the window.
This takes you back outside, and you can see a boat down at the dock.
Get on the boat and start moving. This is where the demo ends.
We hope you enjoyed our demo coverage of The Sinking City 2. The full game is scheduled to launch on 18th August, 2026. Check back then for a complete walkthrough of all the chapters.
For more interesting articles related to indie games, check out the links below:
- Into Indie Games Homepage
- Crushed in Time Walkthrough Hub
- Witchspire – Walkthrough Hub
- Puni the Florist Walkthrough – All Story Mode Requests
- Gothic 1 Remake – Walkthrough And Guides Hub
Muhit Rahman lives off two things: gaming marathons and endless cups of tea. He writes guides, reviews, and occasionally forgets that real life doesn’t come with checkpoints. His favorite genres are Soulslike and Metroidvania, with Dark Souls III, Hollow Knight, and Dota 2 forever holding top spots on his all-time list.
