Single Player or Multiplayer: Single Player | Free to Play: No
Horror comes in many forms in Still Wakes the Deep. Otherworldly creatures strut around the Beira D oil rig with spindly, overlong limbs that jut out from their bodies like cutting bungee cords. Human-sized pustules and bloody ribbons grow along the hallways, giving off a sickly cosmic glow. The North Sea is an unrelenting threat, groaning with every step. And the rig itself is a labyrinthine industrial platform supported on thin, tensile legs in the middle of a raging sea, groaning as it is torn from the inside out.
Still Wakes the Deep’s gameplay is traditional first-person horror, executed with grace and expertise by The Chinese Room. The action includes jumping over broken platforms, balancing on ledges, running through hallways, climbing ladders, swimming through claustrophobic holes, and hiding from monsters in vents and lockers. Contains. Beira D has no guns, the protagonist only has a screwdriver to help break locks and metal panels, and focuses on pure survival rather than combat. The game is fully voice-acted, and the crew (mostly Scottish) are incredibly charming, but the carnage becomes even more disturbing when monsters take over the device.
Still Wakes the Deep is an instant horror classic. It’s filled with heart-pounding scares and laugh-out-loud dialogue, all set in settings rarely featured in interactive media. Amidst all the sneaking, swimming, running, and climbing, Still Wakes the Deep manages to tell a heartfelt story about relationships and sacrifice. — J.C.
