3.5/5 ★ – Endless_backlog's review of Still Wakes the Deep.

7hrs Still wakes the deep is a first person survival horror game developed by The Chinese Room, a british company responsible for titles such as Amnesia: A machine for pigs, Dear Esther and Everybody’s gone to the rapture. As a Scotsman I was always going to be slightly biased but I really loved the setting of a horror game set on an oil rig off the coast of Aberdeen. What made this such a great location is that regardless of what monstrous threat the game has, just being onboard the poorly maintained compound in the middle of the ocean felt dangerous in itself. In fact, the creators hoped it would evoke several fears such as drowning, vertigo and claustrophobia. To add another element to this, later in the game the rig will be seen covered in oil, making the whole place dangerously slippy and incredibly flammable. Set in the 1970s, disaster ensues after short tempered installation manager Rennick ignores concerns from his crew to seize any further drilling and pressures them to continue. As seen by the condition of the rig, this behaviour is unsurprising as Rennicks focus is on ensuring profit and not prioritising safe working conditions for his workers. After striking something unusual the rig immediately starts to crumble as something supernatural is awoken and begins to take control of the structure. You play as “Caz” Mcleary, a Glaswegian man who took the job on the Beira D to evade the police looking for him back home for assault. You will navigate the deteriorating rig as you search for other survivors and try to plot some form of escape, all while internally dealing with the troubles with the law and wife and kids you left at home. The cast is superb from Alec Newman voicing the protagonist, to Karen Dunbar as coworker Findlay. The story is really short for a modern game, clocking in around 5-7 hours. Despite taking my time and speaking to every character I saw, these interactions weren’t enough to make me feel a connection to many of them. At some points in the game I couldn’t even remember who they were referring to and just having that longer introduction and more screen time would have made me care a lot more about their fates. There is also no collectibles so it’s easy to breeze through the story and nothing to really encourage you to take your time or play through again for things you missed before. The graphics are beautiful and I found myself often stopping to take screen grabs of the ocean views. The supernatural element was also very impressive and I really liked the monster design. As the game progresses the rig is smothered with an iridescent alien structure that changes vibrant colours just like an oil slick typically does in water which I thought was a fantastic design choice. Still wakes the deeps main element is producing an atmosphere that installs dread and a fear for survival, of which it absolutely delivers. As you explore the decaying rig, the tension will bid as you stay alert for the presence of the creatures whilst enduring the creaking of a rig that is falling apart around you and hear the wailing of your fellow workers being slaughtered in the distance. When you do finally encounter some of your crew, we see the real body horror element of the game, as you see first hand the confusion and fear installed in them as they struggle to come to terms with the reality of what they are becoming. As for gameplay, a large component is in platforming with lots of climbing up ladders, shuffling along ledges and leaping for broken grates. There’s also some underwater sections which can be a thrilling race against time as you try to escape a flooded room. The game is very linear with not much room for exploring and actively keeps you on the right path by using yellow paint smeared on the places you should be climbing. I personally would have preferred a hint system you could activate if you wanted to as this really held your hand and took the fun out of figuring it out yourself. Although, out of all the games to use yellow paint as a guide, a rig is a location that does use this in real life for safety so it fits in more. There is also some light puzzle solving but most situations involve pulling switches that are clearly defined and were sometimes even insulting. Even the other gameplay elements introduced offer no challenge to the player. When there’s a fire, there’s a fire extinguisher conveniently located right beside it. When you come back inside, cold, wet and at risk of hypothermia, there’s a heater waiting for you. A fuse is blown? There’s a spare inside the box you just shift over. I personally think that despite some great voice acting from the main characters, the lack of attachment I felt towards many of the crew was due to it all being too rushed. The strict linearity of it stopped the possibility of exploring and I would have loved collecting notes that built different stories of who the other workers were and the troubles they may be facing in their personal lives. Without spoiling the ending I did feel like it was a bit underwhelming in both the conclusion of the story and the final boss. Despite these points I did really enjoy my time with it and I loved the nightmarish atmosphere and unique setting. I would definitely play it again, I just feel a bit disappointed as it feels like two thirds of a great game.