4/5 ★ – PigParty's review of Still Wakes the Deep.

Beaten: 7/28/2024 Playtime: 6 hours A Lovecraftian horror that doesn't do anything new necessarily but what it does it does well. The atmosphere on an oil rig in the middle of the ocean is thrilling. The body horror trademark of any Lovecraftian story is here in droves and looks sick as hell. The creature designs seem strongly inspired by the designs in John Carpenter's The Thing. Lots of disfigured body parts, exposes muscle mass, and tendril-like tentacles. Still Wakes the Deep is surprisingly linear. There's no alternate paths or open environments. The most non-linear aspects of the game are going a few meters down a side path to further achievement collecting and maneuvering through a room's ducts to avoid a creature hunting you. I really enjoyed how on-rails this experience is. Everything in the story is planned out. The story does the same stuff you'd expect if you're familiar with Lovecraftian works. The ending is predictable (as almost all Lovecraftian stories of this type are) but it has some phenomenal visuals at the end. You don't play this game for an original story that subverts the genre or anything. It's all about presentation and Still Wakes the Deep has great presentation, set design, audio effects, atmosphere, and creature designs.