Still Wakes the Deep Review

In the middle of the ocean is an oil rig. On this rig are just a bunch of people trying to earn a wage, doing what they have to do for their contracted extent of the rig. One of the people on the rig is a man named Caz. He ran away to avoid the cops, sadly he left his family behind, but he desperately wants to make things right and to go home. I think it’s safe to say that’s when things go sideways. The foreman on the rig is not happy about the drill having issues and he demands that they push through whatever resistance they're currently running into. On the plus side they finally make progress, on the minus side the drill is now broken and something is emerging from the depths. Something that can’t be explained. It's something that seems to be slowly killing off, and resurrecting crew members as abominations to hunt the rest of the crew.

The entire game takes place on the rig. You’re going to be navigating almost every square inch of the thing, and it's going to get worse and worse as you go. The rig immediately starts to fall apart and it’s thanks to you and the surviving crew that the rig lasts as long as it does. As an electrical engineer on the rig, something you're definitely not qualified for, you’re going to have to try to get systems restarted, divert power, flood different areas, and more. You’ll also have to avoid being hunted down, but those who used to be your crewmates.

This is an emotionally charged game. You’re going to hurt losing some of your crewmates, you’re going to yearn to see your character reunite with his family, and you’re going to find yourself holding your breath when you have to take risks of swimming through oil-filled icy water to try to survive and get to another section of the rig. You’re also going to find yourself holding your breath when you have to take running leaps off of broken scaffolding, or trying to outpace evil that seems to be right on your heels.

I know I’ve kind of given away some of the game, but I need you to understand that the intensity of this game is next level, and once I started playing this game I didn’t want to stop until I saw the credits, no matter the outcome, I had to know, and now I do. This is a game that people looking for a Lovecraftian experience will enjoy. This is not a shoot’em up game, this is more inline with a walking simulator-esque adventure game with plenty of puzzles.