Summary
Still Wakes the Deepis the latest release from developer The Chinese Room, the studio behind previous titles likeAmnesia: A Machine for PigsandEverybody’s Gone to the Rapture. Similar to those,Still Wakes the Deepsits within the walking simulator genre with a strong psychological and horror focus. The game sees fans exploring and attempting to survive an incident on what is on the surface a fairly ordinary location and setting– an isolated oil drilling rig situated in the North Sea off the coast of Scotland during the mid 1970s.
There have been a number ofhorror games where the protagonist works a mundane jobin recent times, andStill Wakes the Deepis firmly in line with this trend. Players are set in the role of Cameron “Caz” McLeary, a professional electrician going through a rough patch at home with his wife and two daughters, as well as an altercation that led to trouble with the local authorities. Caz takes a job on the Beira Delta rig in an effort to right himself and set his affairs straight upon his return. Of course, things don’t quite go as planned, andStill Wakes the Deeppits Caz against threats both unearthly and routine, combining both in a way that elevates its tone and terrors.
Minor spoilers below.
Still Wakes the Deep Channels Classic Lovecraftian Scares
Being ahorror title on the high seas, albeit on a fixed installation instead of an actual vessel,Still Wakes the Deep’s setup contains many recognizable elements of Lovecraft and adjacent works. After the drill hits an unknown substance many fathoms below, the rig is critically damaged, while crew members begin to change into unsettling creatures, mutating into warped monstrosities that still retain a sense of their memory and humanity, making it all the more horrifying and heartbreaking when Caz is inevitably forced to confront and end them following a tense series of cat and mouse segments.
As fans navigate the rapidly deteriorating rig, Caz also begins to receive mysterious phone calls, hearing the cries of trapped crewmates and eventually haunting voices and visions of his own past and current fears. Distracting screen distorting effects accompany these moments, and though this is also a fairly standard convention seen ingames likeStill Wake the Deep, they are still effective here, serving to heighten Caz’s desperate state of mind and frantic efforts to escape the depths of the rig and its horrors.
The Other Side of Still Wakes the Deep’s Terror is Rooted in Normalcy
While its Lovecraftian influences are readily apparent,Still Wakes the Deepis also grounded in the risky but necessary day-to-day aspects that operating an industrial ocean rig entails. The labyrinthine level design of the Beira Delta, by nature, is not conducive to human habitation or comfort, consisting of massive winding pipes, storage tanks, and other obstacles created by otherwise unassuming objects. These all form a tangled claustrophobic maze, made more deadly by the damaged state caused by the supernatural substance. There is even anachievement attached to dying every possible way inStill Wakes the Deep, with the majority of these being everyday hazards like electrocution, burning, or falling from the rickety heights of the rig into the unforgiving sea.
A related element it touches on is corporate greed and incompetence, as the Beira Delta’s manager is shown engaging in unethical cost and safety-cutting measures, making it unstable even before the drill goes too far and unearths something not of this world. The disaster could have easily occurred naturally without the Lovecraftian component, and this is reflected in some real life tragedies seen linked to oil drilling.Still Wakes the Deepis a shorter title, taking only a few hours to complete Caz’s journey through the doomed rig, but it manages to cover these two angles equally well in that time, resulting in a satisfying horror experience all around.
Still Wakes the Deep
WHERE TO PLAY
STILL WAKES THE DEEP is a return to the first-person narrative horror genre for The Chinese Room, creator of critically acclaimed games such as Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs, Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, and Dear Esther.You are an offshore oil rig worker, fighting for your life through a vicious storm, perilous surroundings, and the dark, freezing North Sea waters. All lines of communication have been severed. All exits are gone. All that remains is to face the unknowable horror that’s come aboard.Explore a stunningly realised offshore oil rig in 1970’s Scotland that evolves throughout the story.World-class visuals, audio, writing from award-winning studio The Chinese Room.World-class, haunting soundtrack by Jason Graves.Six hours of terrifying gameplay.Brace yourself for a symphony of action, trepidation and awe.LIVE THE HORRORAn immersive disaster story aboard an authentic North Sea oil rig.Face a terrifying, unrelenting foe.Pray that, one day, you get to see your family again.Experience the beauty and ferocity of the sea, as it rips apart one of humanity’s strongest structures and its steadfast crew.
