Still Wakes The Deep Review PS5 Review. The Chinese Room, who were formed off the back of the Half-Life 2 mod: Korsokova, who are now perhaps best known for Dear Esther and Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture, make a return to the horror genre with Still Wakes The Deep.
From the unique small fictional town of Youghton, Shropshire in England for Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture, The Chinese Room takes us further north to Scotland, onto an oil rig, in the North Sea for their latest narrative-focused jaunt. With a habit of interesting locations, is their latest effort as captivating as their previous outings?
Still Wakes The Deep Review (PS5) – A Chilling And Suspenseful Horror Jaunt With A Knack For Authenticity
The Fate Of The Naestromo
First and foremost I would describe this game as more minimalist in its approach to gameplay. There is no combat system. Still Wakes The Deep focuses on avoidance, running away, and sometimes hiding. All from a first-person perspective. It’s comparable to Outlast or better yet, their previous title; Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs.
Taking control of protagonist Caz McLeary you will find there are items to distract enemies with and lockers to hide in, although I personally never felt the need to use them that much. I was able to move around by crouching and moving from crawlspace to crawlspace with more ease than I initially thought would be possible, when I first started out.
That being said, I’m more than ok with that, because as a primarily narrative focused experience, I wasn’t exactly looking for Alien: Isolation on an oil rig, even though you’re effectively fixing said rig in the same capacity. Tasked with putting out fires all over the wonderfully authentic location, sometimes literally, as you desperately try to survive the harrowing events occurring on the Beira D.
It is clear they took the authenticity of the Beira D, oil rig very seriously, which is an excellent setting for a horror game regardless. The tight, claustrophobic hallways, the ever present ominous ocean depths beneath the pontoons, and the persistent eerily grey skies that are definitely authentic for a game set in the United Kingdom all play into an incredibly atmospheric experience.
What’s equally interesting is The Chinese Room setting this game in 1975, which in the early stages of the game, provides an interesting political backdrop amongst the crew of the Beira D as you get to know them. While it’s not necessarily significant for the majority of the game that comes after, I did appreciate the detail.
Who Goes There?
With a knack for authenticity abundantly apparent then, the fact they recruited genuine Scottish voices to provide the voice over for the excellent cast of characters goes a long way. It’s perhaps the most important factor in this particular horror cocktail.
Primarily the accents allow for all the dialogue to be delivered in genuine fashion, right down to the delivery of foul language, which is part and parcel of everyday rhetoric amongst working class brits, especially the Scots with their more unique slang. I feel a lot of that genuine, natural back and forth in conversations could have been lost otherwise.
Not only that, but hearing an aggressive scotsman transformed into an otherworldly monster deride you for getting away, and hurling expletives at you is utterly terrifying. Never has an accent lent itself so well to a piece of horror media.
Not only does it wear its authenticity on its sleeve, but so too does its inspirations. Most horror fans will immediately notice The Thing vibes throughout the game, and if I had to hazard guess, most horror fans will appreciate that as much as I do. With a similarly chilling and cold setting, it really works.
As mentioned earlier the location is very much key to the horror unfolding before us, but it also distinctly works in tandem with the story they’re telling. The Chinese Room use the relatively small oil rig very intelligently.
You will notice you’re essentially moving around the same areas of the oil rig, but as the night progresses and chaos ensues, it changes in ways that don’t allow you to get familiar with it. Sometimes you won’t even have time to take in the surroundings of where you are due to some very determined enemies.
Pure Horror
Speaking of enemies, the antagonist designs are really quite disturbing with very apparent inspirations to fans of the genre. Some of those horrifying monstrosities provide some truly harrowing chase sequences.
Combine that with the gameplay mechanic of looking back frantically over your shoulder at the press of a button, it combines for a very intense sequence, indeed. One that will have you breathing a sigh of relief when it’s over.
I’ve always found The Chinese Room create engaging stories that keep you in your seat, wondering where it’s all going to go, and Still Wakes The Deep is no different. Granted, the short runtime helps as you will beat it one or two sittings, but I don’t begrudge them that.
Telling a concise story that embraces themes of running away, avoidance, and taking responsibility, with the finer albeit smaller details of unification in Scotland, the economic state of Britain in 1975. They don’t fixate on these aspects, but there’s enough there to provide the context required.
How that plays into the togetherness of the relatable roughnecks on the Beira D as they unionize as best they can to take on the otherworldly horrors is masterfully handled, and at times highly emotional, in no small part thanks to the top notch voice acting.
Playing Still Wakes The Deep was a refreshing experience in many ways with its more authentic and original cast and setting, simultaneously playing homage to one of my all time favorite horror films in “The Thing.” Sure, it won’t take you long to finish, but it’s an absolute horror thrill ride, with a lot of heart. Pure horror, excellently executed.
Still Wakes The Deep is available now on PS5.
Review code kindly provided by publisher