Developer Frogwares has unveiled the first gameplay trailer for its promising open-world Lovecraft horror, The Sinking City, which is due to launch next March on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. A word of warning: this probably isn't an ideal watch if straight razors (or tentacles) make you squeamish.

Frogwares, whose previous work includes the extremely solid investigation-based Sherlock Holmes series, announced The Sinking City - described as the developer's most ambitious project to date - in March last year.

Several suitably atmospheric cinematic teasers and trailers have been released since then, but the latest is the first to include a look (albeit briskly) at The Sinking City in action - although a more extensive gameplay sample has already been shown to fans who've been following development closely, through Frogwares' various behind-the-scenes updates.

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The Sinking City's evocative period action unfolds in the fictional city of Oakmont, Massachusetts, during the 1920s. It's here that private investigator Charles W. Reed finds himself, desperate to escape, as Frogwares puts it, "the creeping insanity that afflicts him".

Needless to say, all is not well in Oakmont, with unspeakable occurrences, flood waters full of Eldritch creatures, mysterious cults, and the odd cosmic horror making for a somewhat troubling holiday destination. And the locals are definitely a bit weird:

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As with Frogwares' Sherlock Holmes series, The Sinking City focusses on exploration and detective work - with the game making the most of its open-world structure to give players a wide array of options when it comes to pursuing evidence and leads during their investigations. "We are serious when we say there will be no handholding, no markers on the map, no instructions in your diary," Frogwares previously said of its design approach to the game, "You find evidence and talk to people to find something to push you forward."

The Sinking City is currently scheduled to unleash its unspeakable horrors on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on March 21st next year.