Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Game
Game2014
Sinking Island
Developer White Birds Productions
Sinking Island (French: L'Île noyée, lit. 'The Drowned Island') is a third-person perspective adventure game that uses point and click game mechanics. It was released in France on October 4, 2007, and in the United States on August 12, 2008. It was developed by White Birds Productions, a company founded and led by Benoît Sokal. From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
135 reactions from 2 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky) · newest Aug 29, 2026 · last updated Oct 8, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
68
Fresh
91 positive · 43 negative
95% range 60–75%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 91 | 43 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
1 newer reactions are still waiting for a label.
Steam's own rating
Mixed
196 of 282 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What people are saying
Summary pending — the reactions are listed below.
Reactions
60 of 135 · most liked firstThe Phoenix Wright games taught me two very important things about gaming, that detective games could be amazing, and that they almost never were. Outside of those courtroom drama classics it has been terribly difficult to find games that let you gather clues and piece together answers in clever ways. That's why I was cautiously optimistic while starting up Sinking Island and learning about all the investigative and deductive tools at your disposal. But once I started talking to the characters…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is, in my opinion, extremely underrated. The atmosphere is absolutely amazing and playing it can feel oddly like taking an actual vacation. The story is solid. Making progress in a few of the later "key question" resolutions is the most troubling point worth mentioning -- one of these in particular requires an extremely counterintuitive selection of evidence to move the story forward. However, this comes late enough in the game that only players who are enjoying themselves enough…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Recommended for fans of the genre. Not for the typical gamer. This is a murder mystery game. The story is quite good, and the solution is revealed step by step. You won't guess it right away. Positive points: + Good story. Actually quite sophisticated and nuanced + Everything is voice acted, and the voice acting is pretty good + Different and unique kind of game. You won't find something exactly like this + Great mood due to artistic visuals and music + Cool game mechanic where you have to…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I bought this game after the 1 hour bug had been fixed, and everything else seems to work as it should. As a fan of this type of adventure game, I thoroughly enjoyed playing sinking island. The scenery is beautiful and the storyline kept me interested right until the end. The use of a special police computer system, used to track where suspects are on the island and collect evidence among other things, was an interesting idea and set the game apart from similar games in the genre. I only…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Same problems with other posters.....game crashes after about an hour and cannot start again. It also disables my Steam library...................Any suggestions????
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Another tedious game from Benoit Sokal (of Kate Wallllker fame). I know I'm in the minority, but after recently replaying Syberia 1 and 2, I found them boring this time around. I know I know! Just being honest. The idea of chasing around an emotionally empty woman who is chasing around a dimwitted manchild who is chasing around a mammoth just doesn't tickle my fancy anymore. But I do recognize the game's value in the world of adventure gaming. That said, as an avid adventure gamer, this one…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is amazing, it may be old but the graphisms still impress me. The plot is fluid and clever and everything is made for the player to feel like a true detective, from the clues management interface to the way you can collect evidences and talk to the suspects. Definitly a very good adventure game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I liked this game very much. As usual, Benoît Sokal's backgrounds are breathtaking and the scenario complicated (in the good sense). If you don't mind walking back and fro among the island, then in the gigantic hotel looking for clues, this is for you. The story is quite detective-style, a lot like the Sherlock Holmes games, with the same qualities and the same flaws. Unfortunately, in this kind of game, I find the conclusive clues very subjective: you might think that a broken chain is a…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →12/8/14, game has been fixed and I am able to play again.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I am drawn to any game that boasts a noir-style detective narrative, and when I saw that Benoit Sokal was the one behind the beautiful Art Deco environment, I just knew this game couldn’t fail. But…it did. In Sokal’s defense, the backgrounds are gorgeous and the story—even the dialogue—is everything you’d expect from a crime novel. But what made Syberia so special for me was the enchanting atmosphere and memorable characters. Sinking Island, unfortunately, had neither. It had matured to a…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →As a detective game, it fails in the most important aspect of that genre: Logic and puzzle solving. This review is a long rant just about that, nothing else. At first, I very much liked that you can ask anybody about almost anything, and gathering much information even before you know you need it. However, this leads to some problems, because - given that design - the dialogues, and their logging as usable hints, and their value as hints have to be thoroughly checked for consistency to avoid…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Sinking Island has a lot going for it: Very good story with a tight, sensible plotline that unfolds naturally, and realistic, intriguing characters. The voice-acting is good, and the graphics are good (for 2007). But several design choices are just so wrong that it tips the scales over into this being more chore than worth it. One of the more tedious flaws is that every time you go to question someone, you have to watch your own avatar ask the entire question. This may not seem like a big…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's a shame. This game has so much going for it! First, the art design is brilliant. Palm trees wave lazily in the breeze. The art deco hotel is stylish, sprawling, and gorgeous. Characters are distinctive without being cartoonish. The island is huge, and despite an oversized and largely empty environment, the lush atmosphere makes wandering around a pleasure. Second, the story is interesting and well constructed. There are ten major characters to interact with, all well differentiated…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game is nice, but slow, really slow. Most of the puzzles make sense, at first, then you have to click everywhere to find what wasnt active the 20 frist time you get in that room, but is necessary the 21st ! That is quite boring for this, and the speeches last for hours too. Benoit Sokal is used to provide us such long long long games, not because the plot is complex, but only because you have to walk hours in gigantic rooms, all looking like each other, to find a tiny objet that will be…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →[NOTE: Don't be mislead by the amount of time Steam says that I spent playing this game...I work long hours and often fell asleep with it running. There's no telling how long it *actually* took me to finish.] THIS was a good detective game. Very involved, complex, but not to the point of confusing. I loved that the characters each had unique, developing personalities and opinions on freakin everything. And the player character, Inspector Jack Norm, was refreshingly friendly and spirited,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Sinking Island gets the mechanics of a detective story right, offering you a fairly robust set of investigative tools which allow you to piece together clues and keep track of suspects with a great deal of freedom, but it botches the one thing that ANY whodunnit requires: a good mystery. The writing in Sinking Island is abysmal, poorly translated from its native language which robs it of any nuance and delivered stiffly by actors who don't even attempt to make it sound natural. What's the point…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I love the atmosphere initially but it quickly feels redundant after awhile. For those not familiar with the Sokal’s previous games Sinking Island can probably be skipped. But for those that are willing to overlook the faults and truly enjoy the process of figuring out just what is going on in Sinking Island it is reasonably priced enough to warrant trying out.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game is frustrating. You are in a huge mansion with a beach on the front and there is no fast travel, there is no map that you can see where you are. You have to walk everywhere, and it is incredibly slow. Most of the time you have no clue what you are looking for, who you need to talk to or where you need to go. You just have to guess and walk all around the mansion hoping you come across someone (people also change locations in the mansion occasionally so it makes it more frustrating).…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →As an avid fan of point-and-click and detective style games, I loved this game! Playing it was incredibly entertaining and satisfying. You play a police inspector who is sent to a remote island to solve the murder of a money-hungry, ruthless mogul. Your job is to question all of the island's inhabitants, explore various locations, and find clues that will help you deduce the murderer's identity, means, and motive. The game's best feature is a system which allows you, as the player, to take all…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Interesting characters/suspects, cool art deco tower and gorgeous landscapes/scenery, a fitting noir soundtrack, and a very good case to solve with twists and turns to keep you engaged in the narrative and motivated to find the murderer. The lead detective was a phenomenally friendly and likable dude. I really enjoyed that you could hear the opinions of each person on almost every little piece of evidence or query. I also really loved the whole concept of "timing" the investigation. It really…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Would like the clues to be left in place when they are correct. Also would to stay still and listen to the characters speak not be allowed to walk off and miss the conversation between the characters. This makes the game more interesting.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Story was ok. Voice acting was ok. But the majority of the game is a walking simulator with repetition of the SAME questions over to all the suspects in the island. Most of them were useless and you asked it to exhaust all the questions without any skip button. Near the end it was an endurance test of walking repetition.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I highly recommend this title. I guess the game got mixed user reviews mainly because of the 1 hour crash bug, which has been fixed now. If you overlook lip sync difficulties, everything works just fine and (considering that the release date was a few years back) looks splendid. The backgrounds are truly stunning and, as I'm writing these words, the plot thickens :-)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →amazing consept art, good story, about 15 hours of fun!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game is totally unplayable, as I can not get the PDA to work and the game seems to pause and you can not escape out of the game. As it was unexpensive that is ok, it would be better for sellers to check the games before release to make sure they work as they should.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I would love to be able to recommend this game, but I really can't. It's an older game from Benoit Sokal, who also made the Syberia games, and has a lot of similarities; but there are a number of unfortunate aspects to this game that make it frustrating rather than enjoyable. Which is a great pity,; this game clearly has a story to tell and I want to know what happened. But I couldn't stick to it, because: * We have a magical thing that tells us what room a person is, but no map to tell…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pros: - classic Syberia-style Sokal game; - nice whodunnit plot; - overall not the worst way to spend your time if you're into mystery/crime games. Cons: - classic Syberia-style pixel hunting; - dated and therefore, em, not the best-looking character models (and the lip sync in Steam version is broken); - some wtf stereotyping (slutty Slav, beautiful mute savage); - if you know Italian, you'll probably be constantly annoyed by the awful mispronunciation of "Battaglieri" (if you know French,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Boring story with unlikeable characters. "Gameplaly" is Walkie-Talkie: Go from one (mostly) empty screen to another, eventually find some things, go to other (mostly) empty screens, find some people to ask boring questions about the recently found things, and from time to time fiddle with your pda to analyze clues. Even if you do not have a life: For entertainment look elsewhere.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Endless walking and listening to inane, verbose conversations make this an extremely dull and monotonously repetitive bore.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Once again, we need a new choice for reviews. Thumbs up, thumbs down, and eh. You play as Jack Norm, an inspector called in to investigate the death of Walter Jones. Preliminary analysis shows that Mr. Jones may have died from a accidental fall, but if that were true, there wouldn't be a game about it, would there? Pros: Simple controls Descent graphics (for the day) Voice acting of okay Good animations A Non-linear feel Large cast of suspects Cons: Pixel hunting Too many interruptions Too…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you are an old school adventurer (like me) you will like this game. Not only has it got good voice acting and actual dialogue that isnt vulgare or cheezy (like many games are turning today) but it also has got superb artstyle, made by Benoit Sokal. We all know what that means, right? Yes, the legendary artist behind Syberia 1 and 2, Paradise ++ It's a different game.. and is not for someone who is impatient seeking realtime action and used to hack and slash.. This game is for people who…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The only gripes I have in this game is that some parts are so dark that I don't even know if a clue can be found there. I have to use a walkthrough just to find out that there are clues in a very black area of a certain location! Also, as much as I don't want to spoil the details to you but the ending is something that's too cliche whenever the murderer has been discovered. Other than these the game is pretty good.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →There were parts of this game that were really great: artwork, multiple twisting stories, characters with flaws. But there was so much that made the game difficult to stick with. The mouths that didn't move during questioning wouldn't seem like a big deal, but it gets really annoying. The English voice actors seemed pretty good, but they were definately reading an awkwardly translated script verbatim, very odd sounding. That damn clue/solution/mandate system...so painful. Also, there were a…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is a true piece of art, with wonderful storyline and absolutely amazing artwork, something I really like about Benoit Sokal's games. I'm a huge fan of Syberia series, and was really excited to play this one. The sceneries artwork is what really makes this game stand out. The colors, lighting and details are well thought through, together creating wonderful atmosphere to play in. However, this game lacks details and realism in character animation, which made the game pretty hilarious…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Sinking Island, created by Benoit Sokal, the mastermind behind Syberia, is a classic point-and-click adventure game that showcases Sokal's excellent storytelling abilities. This time, he ventures into the realm of mystery, as players assume the role of detective Jack Norm, tasked with solving the murder of wealthy magnate Walter Jones. The English voice acting in the game is highly commendable, adding depth and immersion to the overall experience. While the story may follow some familiar…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Sinking Island is roughly a 10 hour point and click adventure and detective story with a truly detailed and rich story about a billionaire who died on an island in the presence of his kin. You take the role of Jack Norm who must solve the crime by talking to the suspects on the island, finding clues and piecing them together. These will then be collected in your Personal Police Assistant (PPA) as Declarations, Documents, Materials, Pictures and Prints. Once you have enough evidence, you can…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I would love to give this a thumbs up, but it's just not good enough on so many levels. It would be a mixed rating, but Steam only allows positive or negative reviews ... Positive about this game is the case you try to solve, the location, the amount of interactions with objects you have (not too many), the game-play itself (solving mandates, comparing evidence), the graphics and the music and voice actors (although the mouths of the characters were not moving when speaking). And now the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I bought Sinking Island in late 2020 more or less on a whim, without doing any research on it and without knowing what to expect. This year, I have played and enjoyed the much more well-known Syberia series, but was a little skeptical here due to the mixed reviews and the 2007 release date. I am happy to report that I loved this game. In fact, I ended up staying up until about 4:30 AM on a Saturday night to play it, and I plowed through the entire thing from start to finish in a single…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I gave it a fair chance but i don't like it. The story has potential but the dialogue is bad and it feels like the detective is just asking everyone the same random questions and rarely makes any follow-up questions. Add to that the complete lack of lip-syncing and it becomes almost comical. The lack of the hotspot mechanic hurts the game as i often missed vital clues and the traveling distance on the island is a huge pain. The "clue"-system could have been interesting but it doesn't give you…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →pros + great looking pre rendered background graphics. art deco tower and landscapes/scenery looks gorgeous + ok voice acting + a fitting noir soundtrack + intriguing murder story. you re an detective who investigating a rich man's murder + there are 10 distinctive side characters. you can interrogate and learn many things from them about murder victim and other characters. + inventory puzzles was clever and well done cons - slow paced and tedious gameplay - Some rather unfair pixel…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This was an interesting game, but I can recommend this only to the hardcore fans of the point n' click genre. Sinking Island is flawed in many aspects, with the biggest nuisance probably being the fact about how time-consuming and tedious it is. You cannot skip individual dialogue lines, only whole dialogues, which doesn't make a lot of sense, especially since you'll hear the exact same questions being repeated during the investigation over and over again, only to receive different answers from…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game looks like it could be really nice to play, however there is no map, or way to jump from one place to another after you've walked everywhere and discovered the different locations. Whenever you need to get to a different location, you might have to walk (and the character walks VERY slowly) over a dozen screens. It's just far too tedious after awhile and takes the fun out of the game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →An old but great detective game. Sinking Island has a enjoyable storyline that starts off small but develops more and more as you find clues. And on top of that, the island is sinking!(no ♥♥♥♥ sherlock) The game is quite slow-paced due to the speed of the character and the weird layout of the rooms at times. Nonetheless, the game remains a great point-and-click detective game with a beautiful look and feel. The NPC's are quite stiff(lips never move) and the dialogue is a bit laughable at…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A crime scene investigation game where you gather clues, interrogate suspects, and piece together evidence like fingerprints, footprints, photos, items, and conversations - to solve key questions. The story is interesting and keeps you guessing until the very end. However, some slow-paced animations, such as waiting for elevators, taking the stairs or walking through long halls, can drag a bit since they can't be skipped or sped up. All in all, I enjoyed the game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Whilst this is far from a perfect game, I feel that the mixed rating it currently has is a bit unfair. Yes, it has problems, but it is on the whole still a decent point and click detective game. Things i lik - The actual detective work has [in my opinion] the right amount of guidance. You do have to present appropriate statements and evidence to support the right answers, but the answers are broken down well so no single step is too big or complex, and the people's statements only contain…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Onto The Sinking Island, the last B. Sokal game I've got left to play. It's pretty wonky but as always I admire the well actualized and consistent aesthetic. It's all rainy sad tropical art deco and I dig that.
unlabelledView post →I really enjoyed this point-and-click game. For an older title, it looks stunning. I loved the characters, and the game maintained a great atmosphere throughout. The story kept me guessing until the end. Great voice acting. It has a fantastic setting, a huge tower on an island during a storm of the century, I found it captivating and loved how the tower changed as the story progressed.It also has a food and sleep cycle built in which was interesting. Some of the puzzles were quite challenging,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very good, old-fashioned style criminal game from classic author - Benoit Sokal. Multilevel intrigue gives chance to explore the story from few points of view and sometimes you're stucked untill you find some small piece of trop. Gameplay is clear and classic for point and click type of games, but don't forget to save regularly - game had got some bugs like Norm few times left the view, camera didn't follow - so i stayed not able to do anything but load previous save; few times he disappeared…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm writing a positive review about this game to encourage others to try it, even though I would like to point out its flaws. On the positive side, you have the characteristic, atmospheric environments and steampunk creations of Benoit Sokal. This alone is a reason to try this game as part of his legacy. You also have a nice, melancholic soundtrack, a plot with interesting twists, and a fun, hands-on way to compare clues and deduce. On the negative side, first of all, the availability of clues…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Another of the games, which is backed by the talented Benoit Sokal. That's why I really wanted to play this game. The environment in which the story takes place is very interesting, the detective plot is also very well exposed. But what later bored me and tired me was constantly running here and there, looking for people and repeating the same questions, even though they had been answered a long time ago. That's why the game couldn't keep my constant interest. Nevertheless, I recommend the game…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Sinking Island Review Another of Benoit Sokal's adventure games, this one dates back to 2007, Sinkin Island is a rather classic styled point & click adventure with the regular classic 3rd person-ish view like the one you may know from other more popular games such as the Syberia series (Also by Benoit Sokal), The Longest Journey or the more classic Monkey Island games. Sinkin Island is a game with a rather interesting story and some nice and pretty unique gameplay mechanism, such as the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I felt compelled to leave a quick, positive review here because I think Sinking Island deserves a better rating. So let me start off by saying: yes, there are some flaws to this game. There is a hell of a lot of walking around involved, which greatly diminishes the pace. The game also takes pixel hunting to a whole new level, turning a blind run (no walkthrough) into a frustrating affair. The graphics are also a mixed bag, but by now I've considered the formula of "2D graphics good, 3D…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I caught a bug where I was supposed to notice footprints at the top level where i found the body, but I missed it and talked to Lorenzo. Later I found the footprints but now I can't get shoe print of Lorenzo. so I guess i have to play again but i don't have the will to collect all other clues I already collected.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game has an excellent mystery story, and the atmosphere of the island and tower being steadily absorbed by the sea as the story progresses is also great. The game is very much worth playing for those elements. The mechanic of collecting and identifying the right clues to fill in specific story points in succession is also cool, although sometimes figuring out what clues the game wants is obscure. Some of the gameplay is pretty bad, though. In particular, the pixel hunting (there's no…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I liked the graphics, the atmosphere and the idea of the game. It has a very unique feel to it. My only issue is with the running around between points of interest. Other than that everything is great. I recommend it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Runs on Win 10 64 Bits without problems. Lip Sync? Non Existant (The mouths don´t move at all) Graphics? Ancient (No wonder, it´s an older game) Backtracking? A lot (You could condence this game down to 10 Rooms and it would still work) Story? The Story is interessing and saves the game from all the faults above. Worth it with a huge discount or in a bundle.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Well, I must say I liked the game a lot, because it did not consist of inventory puzzles like other adventures, and instead focused on police work - gathering evidence and clues, comparing statements, formulating hypotheses and trying to prove them. The story, the setting, and the art are superb, but the execution of the game is quite terrible. The shoddy English translation took a lot from the charm of the game. I am quite sure that a person who commits murder is not called "homicide…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Good boring detective story in the form of a point-and-click adventure about a bunch of people in the sinking hotel. Come on, monseigneur Sokal, you can do better than this!
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →visually stunning but the game itself is rather tedious and boring. my youth remembers this game much more fondly and it had ignored the drawbacks. still, if you enjoy art deco style through the lense of benoit sokal, go for it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game is brown, ugly, and tedious. It's like Syberia, but without any of Syberia's charm.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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