Still Wakes the Deep is a game that terrifies and unsettle its players. Despite having the hallmarks of a classic, Amnesia-style, first-person horror game, it still lacks in several key areas.
While it is good in dialogue, voice acting, and setting, its bad level design and occasionally inappropriate scenarios prevent it from fully capturing the Lovecraftian dread it aims for.
The game’s area is promising: you play as Caz, an electrician on a 1970s Scottish oil rig. The developers, The Chinese Room, have recreated this area with every small detail, from period-accurate outfits and technology to the interesting dialects of the cast.
Impressively, they even have subtitles and a full UI translation in Scottish Gaelic, a language with less than 100,000 native speakers. This originality is appreciating and adds a layer of cultural depth to the experience.
The oil rig’s setting is seen attractive, taking full advantage of Unreal Engine 5. The weather, industrial presence of the rig, the ugly image of infection spreading through it, and the detailed weather effects create a frightening atmosphere.
But these beautiful environments are destroyed by an oppressive linearity. The game seems to dislike exploration, offering a single, narrow path through each area.
At the start, you can go through the crew’s cabins for knowledge, but this opportunity never repeats, and the game rarely rewards curiosity. Most doors are locked unless plot says, and there are no hidden collectibles or additional context to go through.
Still Wakes the Deep trust on yellow paint shows that interactable objects and the correct path forward is heavy-handed and almost ironical. This mechanic has collected enough feedback that the developers plan to add an option to hide most of the paint post-launch.
But this solution only shows a more issue: the level design lacks alternative ways to guide players, making the yellow paint important despite its annoying feature.
Gameplay mechanics makes it more annoying while exploration. Invisible walls prevent you from jumping over shin-high hurdles, and certain fences are impossible to travel except at some points. This inconsistency breaks the absorption and makes the way feel artificial and restrictive.
Narrative logic also stumbles. A particular emotional moment is undercut by a character’s strange decision-making reminds of a schlocky horror film.
Described as “The Thing on an oil rig,” the story lacks curiosity and interpersonal drama that made the film a classic. Meaningful conflict is rare, as most characters have already transformed into monsters, diluting the sense of paranoia.
Still Wakes the Deep failed to deliver genuine scares, when you are playing it in optimal horror conditions—dark room, high-end headphones, and 4K HDR—but the game didn’t grip you like previous titles from The Chinese Room, such as Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs.
The similar gameplay elements—running from monsters, sneaking through vents, and interacting with machinery—felt uninspired and repetitive. There are no real puzzles or backtracking, and the game discourages exploration and critical thinking.
Still, the game’s strong points include its voice acting and character development. The Scottish cast delivers real, strong performances, and the sound design increases the atmospheric setting. Caz’s backstory is disturbing, adding emotional weight to his struggle.
But the lack of player agency throughout the story shows the emotional payoff. Watching the story unfold through Caz’s eyes without making meaningful choices made it difficult to fully empathize with him.
Conclusion
Still Wakes the Deep deserves appreciation for its art, dialogue, voice work, and setting. But its nearly on-rails structure and lack of genuine scares make it an awful experience. Playing the game feels almost similar to watching someone else play it, which diminishes its appeal.
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