Still Wakes the Deep, A Spectacular Survival Horror Game

Still Wakes the Deep is an excellent survival horror game. I like the setting of the game being on an oil rig. It is a setting I have not seen in a horror game before.

The story is pretty great. The game has a lot of character development, which made me feel like I knew the characters and understood what they were about. It was a little like a good horror film where you meet the characters initially and learn more about them as the story goes on.

The gameplay is fine. I’m not a fan of first-person perspectives in video games; they annoy me a bit. Thankfully, this is a story-driven game, so you don’t have to deal with a lot of combat.

TLDR: A Great Story, Creepy Atmosphere, and Solid Controls make Still Wakes the Deep one of the better Horror Games of the year.

Narrative

Our story opens with the main character, Caz, reading a letter from his wife. She isn’t happy and is considering divorce. Caz is being investigated by the police for getting in a brawl.

This leads to a meeting with the oil rig manager, Rennick. During the meeting, we learn about some problems with the drill. They hit something, and the manager orders them to keep drilling and threatens them.

Caz loses his job. When you go to leave, an explosion sends you over the side of the rig. A rescue team pulls Caz out of the water, and we learn that something strange is going on. You see the shaft of the drill, and things look very wrong. I’m guessing the drill hit some Lovecraftian horror.

Some of the crew members have gone mad. They’re attacking people and ranting about things. Caz also hears an announcement from the oil rig manager about the accident. He calls it a minor problem, which leads me to think he knows something about it or wants to keep people calm.

The crew begins to mutate and attack survivors. Rennick orders an evacuation but then tries to leave without anyone. This doesn’t work. The helicopter crashes, and he turns into one of the mutants.

The game only has one ending, so I won’t talk about what happened at the end of my playthrough. It is a good ending, but I would’ve liked other endings. There is also a chance I missed something.

Gameplay

The gameplay is okay. I’m not a fan of the quick-time events or the jumping in the game. The controls are good, but I would prefer not to do some of the platforming and button press combinations. That is just a personal preference, though.

In this game, you walk around, avoid enemies, and solve puzzles. It isn’t too hard, and the game tries to focus on a story. The game has two difficulty modes; one focuses on the story, and the other is normal.

There were times when I was a little lost. This isn’t a big deal as this is a mostly linear game, and the developers were trying to give you a chance to avoid enemies. I sometimes got a little frustrated, but I figured it out eventually.

My biggest issue is with the jumping mechanics in the game. I get why it’s here, but in a first-person game, it is very annoying. It was hard to know if I could jump to grab a ladder or if I was supposed to use a lever. There are ladders in the game that look like you should be able to jump up and climb, but that isn’t what the game wants you to do.

I like how simple the game was. The puzzles aren’t overly complicated, and you get told what you must do to continue the story. Things are set up for you to succeed in this game, and that is the best thing I can say about it.

You can restart from the last save, checkpoint, or scene if you get lost or stuck. It is nice that this is here, especially since you might get turned around or did something out of order. I wish more games gave you the option to do this.

It’s okay. The gameplay isn’t anything special. Early on, I had some problems with the quick-time events, but after a few tries, I figured them out. This is the type of Adventure game that I like. Things aren’t too hard to figure out, and you get to focus on the story.

Visuals

The visuals are excellent. The developers did a great job of making the game feel dark and claustrophobic. When things get creepy and otherworldly, the visuals get really good.

The developer said this was The Thing on an Oil Rig, and that makes sense to me. There is something alien about all of this. The workers become mutant tentacle monsters, and the oil rig is restructured.

You get a headlamp early in the game. You need it to get through some sections, but it also attracts enemies. It is a delicate balance you need to know and deal with if you want to beat the game.

It looks like something otherworldly is happening on the oil rig. I thought it would be something out of a Lovecraft story, but it is its own thing.  

9/10. This is a great horror game with a fun story.

Pros

• Great Story
• Great Graphics
• Good Controls

Cons

• Liniar Experience
• Quick-Time Events
• Short

Conclusion

This was a fun game to play. I was a little worried about it being in first-person, but it didn’t cause too many problems for me. Still Wakes the Deep is a short game, but it has an excellent story.

It would be nice to see more games like this. I like games that focus on telling a story and keep the combat to a minimum. For a horror game, this is something I wish was done more.

Still Wakes the Deep did a great job of letting me get to know the main character. Even though it was a short game, I felt like I got to know Caz and his problems. It would be nice to get a sequel to the game and see where the developers went with it.

If you like this post, check out my review of Scarlet Hollow or my list of the Best Indie Horror Games.