Review of Still Wakes the Deep – exciting sea horror

British studio The Chinese Room has brought us some of the most interesting and at the same time most detailed psychological horror in video games in recent years. Personally, I think Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture is their best work, but Dear Esther or Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs also deserve a mention. While these are mostly shorter games, and some may be quick to condemn them as “walking simulators”, the execution of their games is top notch, and the story is memorable, both individually and overall. This is the spirit of their latest game, which, in addition to an interesting plot, is based on the graphic capabilities of Unreal Engine 5. By the way, another studio is working on the long-awaited RPG Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2.

• Platform: PS5 (review), XSX|S, PC
• Publication date: 06/18/2024
• Manufacturer: Chinese room (England)
• Genre: Adventure story
• Czech localization: No
• Multiplayer: No
• Download data: 9 GB
• Game time: 6 hours
• Price: CZK 899 (Alza), Game Pass subscription

Thing from the Deep

It’s 1975 and you, a Scottish worker named Caz McLeary, are working on the Beira D oil rig in the North Sea. The game doesn’t skimp on character models, animation and voice acting, so during your first playthrough it gives you the opportunity to walk around a platform full of other people in the middle of a normal daily routine, for example you can sit with them in the cafeteria, visit their rooms or chat on board . This convincingly lively atmosphere with often frankly photorealistic graphics will make you feel as if you were in a real real place within a few tens of minutes. Of course, it’s all the more impressive to watch the gradual descent into madness and destruction, including the corresponding panic of everyone involved.

At first glance, it looks like a normal man-made accident: the platform’s deep-sea drill appears to have hit some kind of “pocket” on the seabed, possibly containing dangerous gas or chemicals. There was an impact that seriously shook the entire rig and put the drill out of action. But subsequently, after gigantic drilling, something very dangerous began to spread from the bottom of the sea onto the platform, going beyond the usual description. It’s organic, has a strange color, and spreads quickly. Apparently, it can also infect humans. To make matters worse, a severe storm hit the platform at the same time, further complicating efforts to manage the situation and subsequently at least evacuate. Escape plans go wrong one by one, and a cascade of accidents threatens to flood the entire platform.

After a giant drilling, something dangerous began to spread from the seabed onto the platform.

Many horror games force you to investigate such disasters some time after they have occurred, when the apocalypse has already occurred and you are investigating or dealing with its consequences. But the best of them (Dead Space 2 comes to mind) allow you to experience everything continuously, from moment one, from patient zero. This makes the rising tension and then descending level of horror much more effective, especially when the game looks so realistic and you actually feel like you’re in a real place. From the everyday movement of traffic to the wild roar, panic and onset of a storm, to the eerie silence of the entire platform along with the arrival of night and immersion in darkness, this is an excellent horror attraction that will captivate not only fans of the genre. .

Fight for survival

While much of the game is about exploration (as seen through your own eyes), don’t expect overly complex puzzles or a large inventory. The essence of the gameplay sometimes consists of more dynamic jumps between collapsing parts of the structure, and then passages with sneaking enemies. You can also lure them away by using the sound made by an object you throw. But don’t expect any weapons. If you’re intimidated by the idea of ​​sneaking around an infected person or purebred monster, you have the option of choosing a “story” difficulty in the game’s settings, where they’ll be virtually unable to see you unless you confront them directly. While there may be a few spatial puzzles that will take you a few minutes, the main focus of the entire game is simply the story.

The creators decided to intersperse the exciting events on the platform with “dream” scenes where your hero remembers his family. I understand that the writers wanted to add depth to the main character, as well as motivation to survive and return to his loved ones. Unfortunately, I didn’t find these passages very interesting, and they really detracted from the exciting pace of the main storyline – including a rather crucial moment at the end, which would have worked much better without this ballast. However, I enjoyed the characters (with wonderful Scottish accents) and the story. It is possible that the mentioned contrast was also influenced by the change of the lead developer during the creation of the game. As for the studio’s portfolio, the music slightly disappointed me, but it serves its function as an atmospheric background sufficiently. Technically the game runs very well on the PS5 console as you have the option to choose between higher resolution or smoother settings. In 5 places, Unreal Engine delivers absolutely photorealistic graphics that make the entire experience powerful.