This traditional point-and-click adventure game is a classical Who Dunnit. As inspector Jack Norm, you have to investigate which of the suspects might have a reason to want Walter Jones dead, talk to everybody, collect evidence or compare fingerprints. Your PPA (Personal Police Assistant), a kind of inventory/recording device, helps you during your inquiries.

Sinking Island can be played in two modes: in real-time mode, it's a race against time. In adventure mode, you can go through each place at your own pace.