'Still Wakes The Deep' Review
Image Source: IGN
Still Wakes The Deep, developed by The Chinese Room, may easily be one of the best horror games of 2024.
Taking place on a rickety Atlantic oil rig in the 1970s, the game follows Scottish electrician Cameron McLeary as he, on the cusp of being fired, becomes embroiled in a fight for survival when to quote Saruman from Lord of the Rings: ”They dug too greedily and too deep.”
Gameplay
Gameplay follows the Outlast school of nonviolence—that is to say, you are nonviolent in your (understandable) inability to fight back. You can hide and throw distractions but don't expect to have the remarkable stamina and agility of Miles Upshur; McLeary’s running speed is maybe half a step up from his walking speed, which can be anxiety-inducing, to say the least. Lockers are dotted about of course as convenient hiding places, but visibility can be limited, adding to the stress. And of course, it's dark, cramped, steamy, and wet—a claustrophobic's nightmare. There are moments when your light doesn't quite pierce the gloom, and you come to feel as though it is more a beacon for the unknown than a tool to combat it.
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The game also has very little in the way of collectibles and documents. There is a spattering of pieces that unveil more about McLeary’s backstory, but again, don't expect to be the likes of Miles, grabbing documents and video that unveil a dazzlingly rich and expansive history and survival. McLeary’s focus is survival and regret and the game doesn't stray far from these principles. That's not to say they're not important. Documents, flashbacks, and telephone calls serve to—pardon the pun—flesh out the atmosphere and McLeary’s often strained relationships with his family and co-workers, painting a picture of life that seems so far away.
Image Source: Steam
Graphics
The Chinese Room does an amazing job with the atmosphere of the game's setting; while gamers have trawled through asylums, mansions, sewers, and forests for decades now, navigating an oil rig on the brink of collapse combines all of that and yet none of it. Though the likes of Deepwater Horizon gave us a glimpse into it, it is astounding to understand the sheer scale and complexity of what is essentially a small floating city.
We can go from bright overcast skies to office-like quarters to steaming, cramped pipes in a heartbeat, effectively throwing us into a variety of completely different worlds and none of them safe. If the rig isn't falling apart under our feet, we're being hunted. This is of course in conjunction with the hard-hitting reminder that you are surrounded by miles of fathomless ocean, deep, dark, and deadly, juxtaposed with often beautiful if overcast skies. Something is disconcerting about one monster screaming at us as it scuttles over pipes to another chasing us through the hallways of what is basically a cheap dorm building to yet another stalking up through the fog.
The monsters truly make the experience. Lovecraftian is probably the best comparison, yet even that isn't quite right. No creature is the same, each warped and changed to different degrees and with peak movement and sound design, both slithering and scuttling about in a way that is horrifically hypnotic to watch. And to make matters worse, as many of these monsters are McLeary's mutated coworkers, they speak and recognize him, wailing in haunting, warbling tones of agony and torment even as they attempt to consume him. The walls break and shatter as tendrils of flesh are heartbeats away from lashing out at you any moment and the constant pulsing brings a chill to see.
Image Source: Epic Games
Story
Still Wakes the Deep kicks off when McCleary's cheap and greedy rig manager orders the crew to recklessly drill through an unknown underwater blockage. Backlash is swift as something alien and terrifying rises through the deep and invades the rig, killing, consuming, and warping the crew. We follow McLeary all over the rig in the aftermath, as he tries to save his fellow survivors and escape from the collapsing rig as twisted monsters stalk the halls. The story is as much one of horror and loss as it is about the consequences of one's actions and the ripple effect they have on others.
Pros And Cons
The game is rather short (I finished in about four hours), but that doesn't detract from its appeal. One of the many problems horror games face is how they balance their horror with their time. Dragging a game on for too long can suck the scary out of it and while some franchises such as Resident Evil lean into this by making the player so overpowered by the late game that the lack of fear is concealed by fun, it's a harder balance with the likes of Still Wakes The Deep. The Chinese Room delivers in spades though and I walked away from the game feeling more than satisfied with my experience.
Image Source: Epic Games
Verdict
Still Wakes The Deep is overall a thrilling game worth experiencing, bound to reveal an unknown fear in many players. We can only hope that this will usher in a new dawn of horror in the environment if not gameplay, bringing about brand-new atmospheres to meet our digital dooms.
Rating: 7/10
Developer: The Chinese Room; Publisher: Secret Mode; Players: Kimara Smith; Released: June 18, 2024; ESRB: M for Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Tobacco; MSRP: $34.99
Review played on PC
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