Terror in the deep

I have never been the biggest fan of the passive horror games. Without a great narrative to drive me through, I find a lot of them quickly fail to keep my attention. Developer The Chinese Room is known for some of the more interesting outings including Dear Esther and the Amnesia series. My personal favorite though was always Soma due to its writing and fantastic storytelling. Still Wakes the Deep reminds me a lot of the latter with a creepy atmosphere and some truly outstanding writing. Sadly, it falls short in a few other categories making it a slight miss at times.

The setup for the game revolves around a tanker out at sea with a group of workers that end up unearthing a mystery deep beneath the sea. Players assume the role of Caz, who kicks off the game in hot water and is about to be fired. Right before he is set to leave the tanker, is when the crap hits the fan.

MSRP: $34.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, PC
Price I’d Pay: $29.99

What I love about this setting is its authenticity. The game takes place in the 1970s, complete with appropriate equipment and outfits. The characters in the game also have thick Gaelic accents. So much so that it is required to always have subtitles on unless you are familiar with the dialect. I love it and it sells the world and characters so much more than most games out there.

The thing about these types of games is that they only work if the game gives the sense of dread while also making the player feel like they have some agency to what happens. Still Wakes The Deep manages to achieve some of this, while missing in other areas. As I mentioned, the writing and story are excellent. I really connected with the characters and grew to care what happened to them. The tanker is a perfect environment for this type of horror. Everything about it feels creepy and atmospheric. The issue crops up from the fact that the game really guides the player on a pretty narrow path.

There is not enough room to explore or get a sense of the rest of the tanker. It feels like they wanted to expand by allowing the player to get some environmental storytelling right out of the gate. The beginning let me explore some of the other workers’ cabins and get a little idea of who worked there, but that is kind of where it stops. The game holds the players’ hand as it goes on leaving little room for exploration. There is nothing to collect and no lore strewn about, this is a singular linear game that just moved me from point to point with minimal interaction with the world.

If that wasn’t enough, the game is also very guilty of the ‘yellow paint’ method of guiding. I am not as bothered by it as others are, but this game’s use is near excessive. There is rarely a moment I don’t see it. Almost to the point where it becomes part of the world and ends up having the reverse effect at times. The puzzles are also minimal and not very inventive. The game feels like a concept at times and more like it needed more time to expand, but just came out anyways.

Still Wakes the Deep also manages to miss on one of its main points, fear. This game is just not as scary as it should be. I am rarely terrified at games, but they at least give me a little bit of a creepy vibe. This one fails most of the time with the scares feeling lackluster. For the content it delivers I felt like it should have had more of an impact on me, but alas I was rarely shocked or frightened by what the game was presenting me.

Outside of those signposts, the game looks amazing. It really drew me into its world with some great lighting and environmental detail. I loved the little touches scattered around that if I was able to explore, I feel like I would have loved to do so. So much to see and it looks amazing. The sound is equally impressive with some genuinely creepy atmosphere and of course the aforementioned outstanding voice acting. The game nails the presentation aspect, and it runs beautifully on Series X.

Still Wakes the Deep is a fun romp for its short playthrough. The lack of environmental storytelling and exploration is really where it falls apart. Still, this being on Game Pass makes it worth checking out for sure. I enjoyed my time with it, but I don’t think it will stick with me like titles such as Soma and Amnesia have.

Review copy of game provided by publisher.