Still Wakes The Deep Review: Be Brave

Working on an oil rig in the North Sea? In the 70s? Pass. Yet, if you were to say that about Still Wakes the Deep, you would certainly be missing out, friend. This psychological horror from The Chinese Room is spectacular.

You play as Cameron “Caz” McLeary. He’s signed up to work on an oil rig, the Beira D, to literally run away from the consequences of his actions. Far from qualified for the job, though good on the leccy, his best friend and godfather to his wee bairns, Roy, gets him a spot for a few weeks, but it doesn’t go as planned.

The boss has it in for Caz, and before you can get settled into the claustrophobic rigidity of the rig, he sends you on your way. Only that would be quite a short experience, right? There’s no sneaky about the fact that this is a horror game, and while some of the imagery alludes to something… cosmic, let’s not spoil the surprise.

Still Wakes The Deep Review

Caz, on the other hand, will be sneaking about. After the introduction to the relatively stable environment away from home, Still Wakes the Deep goes batshit crazy on a catastrophic scale, shifting from a potential walking simulator to industrial parkour.

Walking simulators get a bad rap. While I don’t mind the genre, that lack of interaction can drag somewhat, so they often rely on the narrative. In Still Wakes the Deep, the narrative is bona fide heavyweight throughout and is exceptional, complementing the action aspects of the game.

For once, I was hopeful of picking up objects to discover more of the backstory, but this lacks that – and that works. There’s no time for faffing about with coffee mugs and helmets – you’ll throw them instead. It’s not that this is a survival horror with combat; instead, you’ll need to use the objects around you to distract… things so you can be on your way.

Good At The Leccy

With Caz being good at the leccy (electrics), he ends up being an unlikely hero who is resourceful. He powers up devices and reaches all the nooks and crannies of the rig where others can’t. He isn’t a yippie ki-yay type, nor is he a wuss; as he gets the job done and is a resourceful fellow.

There are plenty of opportunities to interact with other workers along the way, who serve as guides on what to do next and add a bit of company to the mostly solitary experience. A few flashbacks build up a bigger picture, and by the time you reach a conclusion, you’ll have a good understanding of what makes him tick.

As I mentioned earlier, the narrative in Still Wakes the Deep is exceptional. It features excellent character development, amazing sound production, and a fantastic sense of dread throughout, followed by an internal monologue that begins with, “Now what?!”

Delving Deeper

Admittedly, there were a few times when it felt like a conclusion was drawing near, only for another demand from one of the NPCs where it felt neverending, yet I just couldn’t put this down. Between plays, it was all I could think about, and I found the whole experience incredibly immersive. It’s no surprise that this is the same team behind Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture and Dear Esther.

I’ve been following the developments of Still Wakes the Deep since last year and was hopeful of being on the guest list and formally covering this. You’d be correct if you surmised that this wasn’t a review code. Instead, I was thrilled to find that this is on Game Pass, and now that I have Ultimate Game Pass on my Steam Deck, I played it in its entirety.

Still Wakes The Deep Review Summary

Let’s wrap this up. Still Wakes the Deep is insanely good. Of course, it was bound to be a decent story—I never had any doubts other than it being more geared to being a walking simulator. That it isn’t; expect lots of parkour, jump scares, fear of the unknown, and, best of all, interaction. I highly recommend it.