Still Wakes the Deep Spiel

by Rian

A lengthy name must be a thing for a horror game this year. Still Wakes the Deep, released only few days prior to the Elden Ring DLC, is set on an oil rig in the North Sea, on the Christmas of 1975. Stars were quite aligned for this moment. Starring Scottish characters in Lovecraftian horror, the game could not be released at better time for gamers in South Korea.

Still Wakes the Deep begins with several story arcs in hand, none of which meets significant resolution. Caz McLeary, the protagonist, is literally on a sinking oil rig, and the players will be parkouring around on a beautifully articulated decaying drilling platform with the moments of stealth-based encounters. Unfortunately, the game mechanic is ill-adapted for the game’s narrative. For a linear environment where only way to get to the point of interest is via dexterous moves, parkour becomes relentless QTEs instead of a tool to open up new paths, and stealth becomes hiding in vent openings like a game of Frogger instead of fearing for one’s life.

The illusion of choice is inherent in the main story arcs. Lovecraftian horrors often offer two endings: it’s either the unending struggle for humanity or the surrender of sanity against the eldritch truth. In light of that meta trend, players already know whether Caz will survive this encounter or not. The game chooses not to speak of character development —they are dropping dead left and right anyway— let alone the story of the oil rig. Had this been a drama, had this been a miniseries akin to Chernobyl (2019), it would have been more grounded experience.

Conclusions: Still Wakes the Deep (mini series)?

There are games that pushes the ‘interactive films are games’ envelope, especially in the horror, and Still Wakes the Deep is definitely in that camp. While the world and the characters do make impeccable impressions, the core gameplay behind linear parkour sessions and stealth is less than welcoming. The game delivers heart wrenching moments likeTitanic, but the oil rig will still sink just like in the movie Titanic.