An
oil
rig
is
not
the
most
forgiving
environment
at
the
best
of
times,
yet
that
is
exactly
where
Still
Wakes
the
Deep,
the
newest
game
from
The
Chinese
Room,
takes
place.
As
my
father
told
me,
it’s
a
gigantic
machine
and
everything
is
there
to
service
that
fact.
The
human
component
is
more
of
a
grudging
allowance,
a
maze
of
ladders,
corridors
and
stairways
tucked
in
and
bolted
on
wherever
possible.
It
can
make
getting
around
a
confusing
mess
because
a
seemingly
simple
journey
to
a
location
you
can
see
just
over
there
actually
involves
several
ladders,
an
elevator,
multiple
doors
and
a
couple
of
gangways
to
reach.
The
long
weeks
offshore
are
gruelling,
tiring
work
onboard
a
metal
monster.

In
other
words,
it’s
the
perfect
setting
for
a
horror
game,
located
just
off
the
Scottish
coast
in
the
freezing
cold
of
the
North
Sea.
It’s
remote
and
isolated,
and
because
it’s
set
in
1975
there
isn’t
a
mobile
phone
in
sight,
nor
an
Internet
connection.
Help
will
arrive
eventually
but
it
isn’t
coming
fast.
And
to
top
it
all
off,
the
place
is
a
health
and
safety
nightmare,
the
builders
having
cut
corners
wherever
they
could.
It’s
not
like
the
rig’s
boss
Rennick
is
any
better:
he’s
a
bit
of
a
twat-bag.
In
the
intro
alone
I
spy
a
few
gates
clearly
displaying
signs
to
keep
them
clear
of
anything,
and
sure
enough
on
the
other
side
is
a
pile
of
crates
rendering
the
gate
useless.
Good
job
on
making
the
death
trap
even
deadlier,
Rennick.

Caz,
then,
is
playing
the
role
of
the
everyman
thrust
into
an
insane
situation
beyond
his
comprehension.
He
doesn’t
want
to
be
on
the
rig
but
isn’t
willing
to
face
the
consequences
of
his
actions,
either.
Still,
he’s
mostly
managed
to
make
friends
with
the
rag-tag,
gruff
Scottish
crew.
And
its
here
that
I
have
to
admit
a
small
bias:
I’m
Scottish
born
and
raised,
and
Still
Wakes
the
Deep
is
a
very
Scottish
game
featuring
heavy
accents,
all
my
favourite
slang
and
plenty
of
swearing,
including
one
of
our
most
beloved
words:
cunt.
There’s
a
whole
scale
for
that
word,
from
a
good
cunt
(like
a
pal,
friend
or
good
person)
to
a
bad
cunt
(like
a
proper
bastard,
idiot
or
horrible
person).

It’s
a
damn
good
rendition
of
Scotland,
too.
The
voice
actors
do
a
terrific
job,
especially
Alec
Newman,
a
Glaswegian
lad
who
plays
Caz,
imbuing
our
unlikely
hero
(?)
with
a
rough
charm.
As
the
insanity
builds,
Newman
plays
a
convincing
man
trying
to
cope
with
things
that
just
can’t
be
coped
with.
Also,
a
shout
out
to
Scottish
comedian
Karen
Dunbar
who
plays
the
one
and
only
female
worker
on
the
rig,
Finlay,
a
large
woman
who
doesn’t
put
up
with
anyone’s
shite.

It’s
a
little
bit
of
a
shame
that
over
the
game’s
short
runtime
of
4-6
hours
there
isn’t
more
time
to
actually
interact
with
the
crew.
The
strong
voice
work
and
the
strength
of
the
script
could
have
led
to
some
strong
connections
to
everyone
else
besides
just
Caz,
including
Caz’s
brother-in-law
Roy,
although
even
in
his
limited
screen
time
Shaun
Dooley
paints
Roy
as
a
loving
bloke
who
wants
the
best
for
his
sister
and
is
genuinely
trying
to
help
Caz
be
a
better
man.

Still
Wakes
the
Deep
keeps
an
admirable
reign
on
its
unspeakable
horrors,
eking
things
out
in
a
reasonably
slow
burn
that
gradually
ratchets
up
the
tension.
The
first
20
or
30
minutes
are
spent
just
walking
the
rig,
getting
to
meet
fellow
crew
members
and
learning
the
very
basic
mechanics
of
opening
doors
and
climbing
ladders.
Mechanically,
speaking,
this
is
largely
a
walking-sim
style
game
with
very
linear
paths
to
follow,
and
for
some
people
that’s
going
to
be
an
immediate
turn-off.
I
don’t
mind
that
kind
of
game
though,
and
Still
Wakes
the
Deep
keeps
you
on
your
toes.

The
action
kicks
off
when
the
oil
rig
drills
into
something
mysterious
on
the
ocean
floor.
At
first,
Caz
is
simply
battling
the
terrifying
but
relatively
mundane
disaster
that
has
occurred.
Whatever
the
rig
hit
has
caused
severe
damage,
although
big
boss
Rennick
is
busy
yelling
over
the
speakerphone
that
it’s
not
a
problem
and
everyone
should
just
get
back
to
work
–
a
bit
tricky
when
pieces
of
walkway
are
falling
into
the
sea,
pal.
Caz
might
just
be
in
the
charge
of
the
leccy
(electricity)
but
it’s
all
hands
on
deck
to
deal
with
the
chaos.

Things
gradually
become
more
sinister
though,
as
it
becomes
apparent
that
whatever
the
hell
is
lurking
at
the
bottom
of
the
sea
has
risen,
though
exactly
what

it
may
be
is
unclear.
Hints
at
what
is
going
on
are
slowly
introduced,
and
you
can’t
help
but
note
the
ominous
option
to
use
a
locker
as
a
hiding
place
as
you
pass
by.
The
rig
is
slowly
overtaken
by
pulsing
tendrils
and
oozing
masses
that
seem
to
have
an
organic
nature,
their
“blood”
being
the
very
same
oil
Caz
and
his
mates
are
enduring
the
North
Sea
to
suck
up.
Getting
near
the
stuff
triggers
weird
on-screen
effects
and
seems
to
get
into
people’s
heads,
including
Caz
occasionally
hearing
voices.

I
want
to
describe
the
actual
horrors
that
Caz
ends
up
having
to
evade
and
flee
from,
but
I’m
worried
it
might
spoil
too
much
to
reveal
them.
Suffice
to
say,
Still
Wakes
the
Deep
draws
heavily
on
quite
a
few
classic
horror
movies,
namely
Stephen
Carpenter’s
The
Thing.
It
also
takes
inspiration
from
classic
body
horror,
as
well
as
some
Lovecraftian
elements
in
the
sense
that
Caz
is
dealing
with
something
that
is,
from
his
limited
perspective,
completely
overwhelming
and
unknown.
The
horrific
designs
that
the
developers
have
conjured
up
are
truly
sickening
to
bear
witness
too,
aided
by
equally
terrifying
sound
design.

A
lot
of
the
scare
factor
vanishes
when
you
interact
with
these
monsters
though.
Most
of
the
time
you’re
either
dodging
between
hiding
spots
and
using
the
occasional
thrown
object
as
a
distraction,
or
you’re
running
away
like
my
wuss
of
a
German
Shepard
runs
away
from
sheep.
While
both
hiding
and
fleeing
tonally
match
up
with
Caz’s
aversion
to
facing
his
problems
head-on,
neither
are
very
exciting.
The
sections
where
the
monsters
can
show
up
are
obvious,
so
the
rest
of
the
time
you
can
jog
around
the
rig
with
zero
fear,
and
the
hiding
sections
are
a
breeze
to
complete
unless
you’re
completely
stupid.
The
monster
will
move
around
and
can
be
easily
distracted
by
tossing
a
handy
can
or
wrench,
and
even
if
you’re
spotted
as
you
dive
into
a
hiding
spot
the
monster
will
give
up
after
a
minute
or
so
and
go
back
to
patrolling.
The
running
sections
are
just
as
easy,
so
once
the
initial
excitement
and
fear
from
the
first
escape
has
died
down
the
rest
are
less
intense.

Admittedly,
though,
these
problems
are
pretty
standard
for
the
genre
as
a
whole.
In
video
games
even
more
so
than
movies,
the
more
you
interact
with
the
horror
the
less
scary
it
tends
to
become.

After
a
while,
the
game
introduces
a
new
type
of
horror,
albeit
a
far
more
normal
one:
the
rising
water.
As
the
rig
undergoes
more
and
more
assaults
upon
its
structure,
the
freezing
cold
North
Sea
begins
to
seep
in,
adding
one
more
thing
for
Caz
to
deal
with.
He’s
a
fairly
decent
swimmer
and
can
even
grab
onto
beams
and
then
surge
forward
with
a
tap
of
a
button.
These
moments
of
madness
as
the
water
rushes
in
add
some
extra
excitement,
but
the
games
first-person
view
combined
with
the
dark
waters
and
tight
spaces
can
make
these
segments
annoying
to
navigate.
I
barely
ever
died
to
the
supernatural
horrors,
but
I
did
drown
a
few
times
because
I
couldn’t
quite
figure
out
where
the
game
wanted
me
to
go.

Figuring
out
where
to
go
the
rest
of
the
time
isn’t
an
issue.
Presumably
worried
that
the
metal
mass
of
the
oil
rig
could
prove
confusing,
The
Chinese
Room
is
very
careful
to
only
ever
give
you
a
path
forward,
all
other
routes
carefully
blocked
off
by
locked
doors,
barricaded
gates,
ongoing
work
and
other
nonsense.
And
then
there’s
the
judicious
use
of
yellow
paint
to
indicate
things
that
can
be
climbed,
interacted
with
or
otherwise
navigated.
In
fairness
to
the
developer,
it
makes
a
bit
more
sense
in
this
environment
that
it
does
in
other
games
where
yellow
paint
is
conveniently
splattered
on
cliffsides
to
indicate
handholds.

Speaking
of
getting
around
the
place
and
admiring
the
often
disturbing
scenery,
Still
Wakes
the
Deep
is
a
looker.
Well,
not
in
the
traditional
sense
because
even
when
the
rig
isn’t
on
fire
and
being
assaulted
by
some
sort
of
abomination
from
under
the
ocean
waves
it’s
just
a
big
mass
of
metal.
But
it’s
impressive
in
its
level
of
detail
and
its
lighting.
I
got
my
dad
who
actually
did
work
oil
rigs
in
the
North
Sea
in
the
80s
and
90s
(usually
doing
crazy
shit
because
health
and
safety
was,
at
best,
entirely
optional)
to
take
a
look
and
he
was
impressed
with
the
replica
that
The
Chinese
Room
has
created.

Truthfully,
if
you’re
even
a
passing
fan
of
horror
then
Still
Wakes
the
Deep
doesn’t
hit
any
beats
you
aren’t
familiar
with,
right
down
to
a
nebulous
ending
that’s
going
to
feel
irritating
to
anyone
who
likes
some
solid
answers.
However,
it
executes
all
of
those
beats
extremely
well,
delivering
a
tight,
well-acted
experience
that
doesn’t
outstay
its
welcome.
If
you
like
a
bit
more
freedom
and
favour
gameplay
over
all
else,
it’s
probably
not
for
you,
but
otherwise,
Still
Wakes
the
Deep
is
creepy,
immersive
and
delightful.