Sunless Skies: Sovereign Edition

Top-down exploration RPG about surviving aboard a spacefaring steam locomotive

Failbetter Games · Released Jan 31, 2019

Reviews: Very Positive; 84% of 3,483
Recent reviews: Very Positive; 100% of 10 in 30 days
Playing now: 22; peak 24h 32
Steam Deck: Playable
Last update: 11 months ago; Oct 20, 2025

What is Sunless Skies: Sovereign Edition?

In this top-down exploration RPG, you captain a steam locomotive as a Victorian empire expands into the stars. You travel between ports, make story choices, trade goods, fight enemies, and manage fuel, supplies, and crew morale. When a captain dies, their successor receives an inheritance.

For you if...

+you enjoy strange, text-heavy stories with consequential choices
+you like discovering new places despite survival risks
+you want progress to carry across successive captains

Not for you if...

−you want short trips between familiar destinations
−you prefer combat over long stretches of reading
−you dislike juggling several survival resources at once

What players say

84% of 3,483 reviews are positive · 100% of 10 in the last 30 days

Players praise the writing, atmosphere, and art. Their most common complaint is slow travel between ports, often paired with repetitive errands.

Screenshots and trailer

Sunless Skies: Sovereign Edition system requirements

As published by the developer.

Minimum

OS: Windows 7
Processor: Intel Pentium 2Ghz or AMD equivalent
Graphics: DX9 (shader model 3.0) or DX11 with feature level 9.3 capabilities
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Storage: 4500 MB available space