- Publisher: Secret Mode
- Release Date: Jun 18, 2024
- Also On: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
- Unscored
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Jul 22, 2024Despite the shortcomings in interaction and gameplay complexity, Still Wakes the Deep has an appeal through its linear, but high-quality set pieces and engaging storytelling. The game’s ability to draw players in and keep them invested in the unfolding narrative is a testament to The Chinese Room’s proficiency in creating immersive experiences. By focusing on the development of compelling characters, a wonderful and personalised environment with the oil rig that is mysteriously engulfed in unknown biological matter, combining it with an appealing plot helps succeed in delivering an entertaining game. Players will find themselves engrossed in the eerie atmosphere and suspenseful moments that Still Wakes the Deep has to offer, even with the limitations of its linear structure and simple gameplay. Plus the game’s splendid visuals are a bonus that adds to the overall atmospheric setting.
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Jun 26, 2024Still Wakes the Deep is a relatively short game (I completed the campaign in under five hours). The story is strictly linear, akin to some of The Chinese Room’s other games, with no collectibles or secrets. While it’s true that the game builds on the setting, atmosphere, tension, and body horror, it flubs the most crucial aspect: the moments when you actually face the creatures. It’s like if The Thing was “from another world,” but it’s revealed to be E.T. due to how harmless it is. In the end, this romp through an infested oil rig might look slick, but it spills over and slips when it matters most.
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Jun 17, 2024Still Wakes The Deep has a hauntingly well-realised setting in its North Sea oil rig, propped up by stellar sound and environmental design. Caz’s story carried some genuinely emotive moments, even if the backstory feels slightly underdeveloped and while the moment-to-moment stealth and navigation lack the depth of an ocean, they’re still deeper than the puddle many in the genre fall into. You’ll come for the nightmare, but stay for the rig.
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Jun 17, 2024To be clear, there’s still a decent horror game to be had here for fans of the genre, but by the time the credits rolled, I found it difficult to not feel a tinge of disappointment in seeing just how much further the characters and concepts could have been taken to create something truly unique.
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Jun 17, 2024A well-composed horror experience that will perhaps be primarily remembered for its unique and compelling setting.
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Jun 17, 2024Still Wakes the Deep seems dragged out and occasionally devoid of meaning, but it's still very much science fiction, clearly inspired by John Carpenter's classic films.
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Jun 17, 2024Still Wakes the Deep is a very capable walking simulator, but that's it. No sparks of genius here. The game is quite monotonous, fortunately it delivers some fun with a unique setting and a really good, dramatic storyline that would fit a movie far better than a game.
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Jun 17, 2024Still Wakes The Deep is a work plagued by numerous problems. The coherence between story and gameplay often leaves something to be desired, with serious consequences on the effectiveness of the narrative and the horror phases. Once the game is finished, you get the feeling that something during development didn't go right, or that the team failed to realize their vision. Rejecting The Chinese Room's game would be unfair, yet there remains regret for a title that could have given much more, especially considering the history of the studio.
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Jun 17, 2024Still Wakes the Deep is a conundrum: a narrative adventure with a penchant for passive survival horror, but one that proves incapable of expressing the values one would expect from The Chinese Room a full eleven years after Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs. It feels like a Scottish-style reworking of Dead Space, and the gameplay is merely a set of gimmicks put there to tell the story, but with little desire and even less courage.
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Jun 17, 2024I want to give Still Wakes the Deep all the credit it deserves for its fantastic art, dialogue, voiceover work, and setting. But it's frustrating to play with its nearly on-rails structure that actively scoffs at the idea of exploration. And as much as I wanted to be freaked out by it, I almost never was, trying as I might to set the mood as best as possible. It's the kind of game where I think watching someone else play through it and playing it yourself would be nearly identical experiences, and that doesn't make it easy for me to recommend.
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Jun 17, 2024While Still Wakes the Deep offers up its fair share of thrills, railroad-style level design, a short runtime, and a surprisingly superficial story result in an experience that may entertain in the moment, but will likely be forgotten rather quickly. Still Wakes the Deep may well float your boat at a discount, but there are better, scarier fish in the sea.
| This publication does not provide a score for their reviews. | |
| This publication has not posted a final review score yet. | |
| These unscored reviews do not factor into the Metascore calculation. | |
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Jun 17, 2024Still Wakes the Deep isn’t the most riveting interactive journey. The monsters are easy to hide from (though plenty scary), and the puzzles and platforming quickly come to feel tired. But Still Wakes does deal with compelling emotional material that rewards you for your time spent with it. It’s the kind of game I’d like to play again and see what new things I get out of it. But it’s also a testament to why I like this genre, the poorly-named “walking simulator,” so much. When I’m not focused on the reactive challenges of a more fast-paced game that demands constant input response, I’m instead offered the challenge of navigating the puzzles of my own thoughts. You know, where the real horror and dread lies.
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Jun 25, 2024Each individual element of Still Wakes the Deep has been done before, but they’re brought together marvelously here, and the end result is a horror classic.
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Jun 17, 2024However you might step away from the rig, I stepped away rattled, impressed, and hungry for more horror as solid as this. It may not revolutionise the genre in any mechanical sense (even that "look behind you" button is something from the Outlast series) but it does set a bar for groundedness and naturalistic voice acting. More Scottish horror? Aye, make it first-person anaw.
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Jun 17, 2024Though it doesn’t push the genre anywhere new, Still Wakes the Deep is a worthy addition to the horror canon — and further proof that the great void of the ocean is something I want to avoid.