Studio: The Chinese Room | Editor: Secret Mode Limited | Release: June 18, 2024 | Genre: Adventure/horror | ESRB: M17+ (Mature 17+) | Availability: PS5, Xbox Series, PC, Game Pass | Format(s): Digital | LANGUAGES): Spoken English, written French | Duration: 4-6 hours | Prix: 46,99$ CAN
What lies dormant in the depths of the ocean should never be disturbed…
thanks to Xbox Canada who gave us a free subscription to the service Xbox Game Pass in order to be able to do media coverage and test the titles of the service. The publisher/developer therefore authorizes us to distribute and/or use extracts from the game for our production needs and does not intervene in any way in the awarding of the final score.
At sea, no one can hear you scream
Still Wakes the Deep is the studio’s newest baby The Chinese Roomthis one well known for his work on games Dear Esther, Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture et Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs previously. This time, the studio transports us to the high seas in the north of Scotland, on a drilling platform finding itself in the middle of a giga-storm. By putting on the boots of Cameron McLearywe will have to try to survive the damage inflicted on the structure by the totally raging ocean. But that’s not all, because while the platform was working to extract black gold from the deep ocean floors, a terrifying threat seems to have been awakened and will make our survival even more difficult than the weather difficulties themselves. Will you have the nerves strong enough to overcome the many dangers that will stand in your way to survival?
Still Wakes the Deep (SWtD) does not reinvent the wheel of this category of game, but we must admit that it turns out to be very good entertainment. Part of the family of “walking simulator” type games with a horror thriller flavor, SWtD offers an adventure that offers several good moments of tension, without being confusing like some hyper stressful titles.
As a premise, we play as Carmeron “Caz” McLeary, a Scottish electrician who accepts a job aboard a drilling platform in the North Sea. Obviously, this job comes with a cost: that of leaving his wife and children for several months, which the latter do not like. Cameron nevertheless accepts, attracted by the fact that this job will bring him a very good salary, which is not to be neglected in the context of the 1970s.
The story then opens with McLeary reading a letter received from his wife, a few months after he left home. In it, she tells how much she misses him, that she is angry that he left home for so long, that she loves him, but that she might not hold out if she has to wait for him for months and months more. At the same time, McLeary is called by the boss of the platform to go to his office immediately. Once there, he hits him in the face, exacerbated by his lack of presence in his work (because his head is elsewhere too often) and fires him. As he heads to the landing pad of the helicopter that will take him home, a huge explosion occurs, throwing some of his colleagues to their deaths. And that’s when we take control of McLeary in an adventure that will turn into a nightmare…
Contrary to Dear Esther et Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, Still Wakes the Deep offers an adventure that will essentially be summed up in a frantic navigation through the installations of the drilling platform, slowly sinking towards the depths due to the destruction caused by an unknown force. The game mechanics will then be quite simple: go from point A to point B, while avoiding dangers and trying to provide assistance to members of the crew who are still alive. Of course, as it is a game with a strong narrative, the meetings with our colleagues are purely scripted and we have more or less to do, apart from having certain conversations with them and carrying out certain “missions” to these latter. Basically, all this is just an excuse to show us the drilling platform from top to bottom and to serve the story that is being told to us. Here, there are no real choices to make, nor even possibilities for different branches in the scenario.
To spice things up, we will be entitled to certain actions to give us a little more the impression of “playing”. We will then have to turn valves to free access to paths, activate levers to access accessors and ladders or even, use objects that we can throw to attract the attention of creatures elsewhere and take advantage of it to sneak towards our “exit”. Basically, even if the rate of interactivity with our environment is not very high, the unfolding of the story compensates and allows us not to have the impression that there are too many unnecessary “lengths”.
Another aspect also gives us the impression of actively participating in the game, is that of having to avoid certain threats, as well as the few QTE events (Quick Time Events) that we will have here and there. Although the difficulty of the “confrontations” is not very high, these encounters cause a good dose of adrenaline and stress. However, we should not take them lightly, because it is quite possible to leave our skin there. This is also the case for times when you will have to cross certain chasms, jump and grab onto ladders or walk on narrow skylights without falling into the void. You’ll have to hold down one button when the game asks you to, and press another when an explosion (or something else) means you could lose your balance and fall to your death. These fast-time events are generally quite permissive, apart from the indication on the screen which is not always clear and causes people to die. Fortunately, automatic saves mean you have to start again just before the test, which makes it less frustrating.
As the story of Still Wakes the Deep takes place on the open sea hundreds of miles north of the coast of Scotland, you won’t be too surprised by the fact that the dialogue is delivered in English with a heavy Scottish accent. Fortunately, the game offers French subtitles, which makes it relatively easy to follow the game’s storyline. On the other hand, if you prefer to immerse yourself entirely in the game, without subtitles, this will require you a good knowledge of the language of Shakespeare. Because even being perfectly bilingual myself, certain passages of the dialogues were a little difficult to understand due to the expressions and abbreviations of words used. Nothing to make you get completely lost, but it’s easy to miss a few bits of what’s being told.
Overall, Still Wakes the Deep remains a good little “horror thriller” type game with a narrative sauce, one that sails in the same waters as Layers of Fear and others of the genre. As with most titles in this category, it will take about 5-6 hours before reaching the credits, without being able to get more since the game offers no possibility of revisiting the chapters. At nearly $50 CAD, the game is likely to remain on virtual shelves, several other excellent titles can be found in stores for much less. But if you are a fan of the genre and are hungry at the moment, here is a title that will allow you to have a good time, without knocking you over.
Verdict
To find out the criteria for our rating system, visit this page.
Please note that the version tested is the one on Xbox Series X. The game is also available on Xbox Series S, PS5 and PC. It is also available to members of the Xbox Game Pass service.
Want to support the channel?
► Buy your video games on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3yALu9L
){kind=link}