When my Scottish brother in law visits home from weeks of working as the head cook on an oil rig just like the Cadel, he often speaks to me of the loneliness of day-to-day routine, trapped on this giant industrial beast within miles and miles of angry waves and cruel storms. He perseveres through this petrochemical hell of creaking oil machinery with the camaraderie of his colleagues, who become an off-shore family you stick your neck out for, and the promise of his real family welcoming him home with open arms every time. He doesn’t admit to it, but he gets emotional at all that thought.
Well anyways he can get right tae fuck because now I have Still Wakes The Deep to relish in all those feelbad vibes and existential horror.
While I’ve appreciated The Chinese Rooms’ wonderfully nuanced depiction of UK environments in previous games, Dear Esther and Everybody’s Gone To the Rapture, I always found them to border on tedium gameplay-wise. Still Wakes The Deep, which is undoubtedly their best game, matches their gorgeous level design with just the right amount of gameplay - stealth, chases, platforming and puzzles - and is a great deal more terrifying than their own Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs.
More essential to horror games than perhaps any other genre, the voice acting, storytelling and writing of characters and dialogue are all top notch, making you care for each member of the rig and how they relate to the unlikely hero, Cameron "Caz" McLeary. I almost wept at a good handful of crew members lost to the “Thing-like” antagonist.
The few sections in which you hide from the monster in vents under machinery are as tense as anything in Alien Isolation or Outlast; but rather than just hiding, it’s much more fun to throw objects to distract the enemy and navigate around them, giving these moments a looseness that helps to swing the tension (based on your distraction skills). The chase segments are pretty much what you’d expect from this sort of game, but the grotesque monster design, plus the fact they can still hurl verbal abuse at you, help force the player to squirm and dash for their lives. There are some great platforming sections that find you clambering between various parts of broken railings and machinery - they sometimes veer into Uncharted-tier silliness but work well due to being weighty and feeling appropriately tasking on the hero.
Gameplay-wise, the only thing really lacking is the puzzle design, which is usually as simple as finding levers and keys or lowering elevators. I enjoyed how it became clear that our main character Caz was a humble leccy slowly picking up essential rig skills through sheer will of survival. But surely there’s a huge missed opportunity for proper electrician-based puzzles, such as circuits and balancing levels of watts or something. But perhaps it would have added to the grumble I had for the already present horror game cliche of “we need to restore power in the generators” etc.
Another big cliche is giving the main character a troubled past, bookended by letters from a wife. I feel like this is not a huge issue, but I think learning about our hero’s background through interaction with present characters such as best friend Roy and dickhead boss Rennick would have been enough. That said, I very much love the presentation of these segments with the oily chemical overlay that only otherwise appears during encounters with the eldritch horrors - it really adds to the classic Lovecraftian atmosphere of ‘the more you look at it, the worse for wear you will be.’ And shoutout to the sound design, which is incredible with headphones, full of creaks and cranks of the rig and haunting screams in the distance of friends before and after their ‘transformations’ - it’s really as good as it gets.
On a general note, it’s nice to see horror games becoming more popular than ever these days. But in their current majority, of either triple-A RE2 clones or a PT inspired walking simulators, it’s hard to get surprised by a new original title. Still Wakes the Deep doesn’t drill into any new ground for the genre, but is rather exceptional at just doing it right. It’s crazy how much good writing, pacing, atmosphere and giving a shit about the characters makes the world of difference.
Well anyways he can get right tae fuck because now I have Still Wakes The Deep to relish in all those feelbad vibes and existential horror.
While I’ve appreciated The Chinese Rooms’ wonderfully nuanced depiction of UK environments in previous games, Dear Esther and Everybody’s Gone To the Rapture, I always found them to border on tedium gameplay-wise. Still Wakes The Deep, which is undoubtedly their best game, matches their gorgeous level design with just the right amount of gameplay - stealth, chases, platforming and puzzles - and is a great deal more terrifying than their own Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs.
More essential to horror games than perhaps any other genre, the voice acting, storytelling and writing of characters and dialogue are all top notch, making you care for each member of the rig and how they relate to the unlikely hero, Cameron "Caz" McLeary. I almost wept at a good handful of crew members lost to the “Thing-like” antagonist.
The few sections in which you hide from the monster in vents under machinery are as tense as anything in Alien Isolation or Outlast; but rather than just hiding, it’s much more fun to throw objects to distract the enemy and navigate around them, giving these moments a looseness that helps to swing the tension (based on your distraction skills). The chase segments are pretty much what you’d expect from this sort of game, but the grotesque monster design, plus the fact they can still hurl verbal abuse at you, help force the player to squirm and dash for their lives. There are some great platforming sections that find you clambering between various parts of broken railings and machinery - they sometimes veer into Uncharted-tier silliness but work well due to being weighty and feeling appropriately tasking on the hero.
Gameplay-wise, the only thing really lacking is the puzzle design, which is usually as simple as finding levers and keys or lowering elevators. I enjoyed how it became clear that our main character Caz was a humble leccy slowly picking up essential rig skills through sheer will of survival. But surely there’s a huge missed opportunity for proper electrician-based puzzles, such as circuits and balancing levels of watts or something. But perhaps it would have added to the grumble I had for the already present horror game cliche of “we need to restore power in the generators” etc.
Another big cliche is giving the main character a troubled past, bookended by letters from a wife. I feel like this is not a huge issue, but I think learning about our hero’s background through interaction with present characters such as best friend Roy and dickhead boss Rennick would have been enough. That said, I very much love the presentation of these segments with the oily chemical overlay that only otherwise appears during encounters with the eldritch horrors - it really adds to the classic Lovecraftian atmosphere of ‘the more you look at it, the worse for wear you will be.’ And shoutout to the sound design, which is incredible with headphones, full of creaks and cranks of the rig and haunting screams in the distance of friends before and after their ‘transformations’ - it’s really as good as it gets.
On a general note, it’s nice to see horror games becoming more popular than ever these days. But in their current majority, of either triple-A RE2 clones or a PT inspired walking simulators, it’s hard to get surprised by a new original title. Still Wakes the Deep doesn’t drill into any new ground for the genre, but is rather exceptional at just doing it right. It’s crazy how much good writing, pacing, atmosphere and giving a shit about the characters makes the world of difference.
Great setting, authentic performances and some decent scares can't save Still Wakes the Deep from becoming a bit of a disjointed, familiar horror experience. Good, but lacking the polish and additional, elevated horror layers to make it anything special.
To get out the bad out of the way first, the gameplay is pretty middle-of-the-road. Based around Outlast-esque hide and seek mechanics, (I groaned when I saw "Get in lockers to hide" prompt on screen), scripted chase sequences and navigating environments with the much-loathed splotches of yellow paint. I think it does serve its purpose with minimal frustration though.
However, the game excels at creating a fabulous atmosphere with great art direction and graphics, a strong of sense of place of its setting on an oil rig in 1970's Scotland and a poignant narrative featuring Scottish VAs all over the country and some of the most natural sounding dialogue and performances I've encountered in a game. While being marketed as a horror game, I don't think the game is particularly scary but the narrative is what kept me playing. I also feel that the ending caps it off strongly with a bittersweet message.
Highly recommended on Game Pass. If you're keen on purchasing the game, I'd maybe wait til some of the technical issues are resolved.
However, the game excels at creating a fabulous atmosphere with great art direction and graphics, a strong of sense of place of its setting on an oil rig in 1970's Scotland and a poignant narrative featuring Scottish VAs all over the country and some of the most natural sounding dialogue and performances I've encountered in a game. While being marketed as a horror game, I don't think the game is particularly scary but the narrative is what kept me playing. I also feel that the ending caps it off strongly with a bittersweet message.
Highly recommended on Game Pass. If you're keen on purchasing the game, I'd maybe wait til some of the technical issues are resolved.
The protagonist Caz, in an attempt to escape his responsibilities, ended up taking refuge in an environment that placed him in a situation that assumes exactly that, courage and responsibility to face the problems that affected him and his colleagues. such an absolute cinema
Great story and great voicing acting. Fun eerie experience that doesn't overstay its welcome. Solid gameplay mechanics just wish that there were more aspects to it.
Still Wakes the Deep was supposed to be a test. A test of patience on the player to see if they can stomach this journey, to see if they have the patience to withstand the fear and the horror, the oppressive atmosphere literally collapsing around them, to test the player to keep going, to push through their fear.
What we got though, at least in my experience, was anything but that. I've never been less scared, never felt less tension than I did playing this game. And me? I don't do horror. It literally scares me too much. I remember as a kid playing Silent Hill 1 in my parents' basement with the lights on full bright at 2 AM, still scared shitless. I haven't even played that game again 20 years later! In real life, I can't swim and am kind of afraid of water. Certainly, the idea of being on an oil rig in the ocean waters would be nightmare fuel, so I naturally expected this game to build on my real-life fear, but it never did. There's just not enough 'tense' moments, not enough of what we see in these games—the cat and mouse, hide from the enemy trope that actually works well to build tension, because you can't just fight your way out of the encounter.
Furthermore, I'm sorry, but this is the most abusive use of yellow paint I've encountered in a video game yet. OK, OK, hear me out, because I'm with you—when they complained about RE4 remake having yellow tape on breakable boxes, I laughed. When they pointed out FF7 Rebirth made sure all climbable objects were yellow, I ignored them. But this game? This game says we will paint yellow on everything. And I mean fucking everything. And it's so unnecessary that it completely ruined the 'game' part of this hallway treadmill. I mean, literally they use the paint to show you where to hide, show you where to climb up in a literal one-way hallway, show you everything.
An imgur album for context. No spoilers.
Here's the thing—I grew up on PSX games, I haven't forgotten how we had it. Beautiful pre-rendered backgrounds where anything interactable was pixelated and stood out a mile away that you needed to interact with it. I get where this comes from. But a game like this, I want to experience it through trial and error, not just paint by numbers. And that was how I felt so often, just following the yellow-paint-road. It's kinda like how some games overwhelm you with GPS navigation, sometimes with trails on the ground or just straight up through your compass/minimap, but often those are possible to be disabled and you can experience the adventure at your own pace. Because this is baked into the game's background, there is no option (as of yet) to disable. Just. So. Frustrating.
The story was bland, the setting was bland, the 'monster' was okay I guess. Overall, very disappointed. This isn't my gaming jam, admittedly, but my last encounter with it was SOMA" and Still Wakes the Deep doesn't even feel like it's in the same genre...
What we got though, at least in my experience, was anything but that. I've never been less scared, never felt less tension than I did playing this game. And me? I don't do horror. It literally scares me too much. I remember as a kid playing Silent Hill 1 in my parents' basement with the lights on full bright at 2 AM, still scared shitless. I haven't even played that game again 20 years later! In real life, I can't swim and am kind of afraid of water. Certainly, the idea of being on an oil rig in the ocean waters would be nightmare fuel, so I naturally expected this game to build on my real-life fear, but it never did. There's just not enough 'tense' moments, not enough of what we see in these games—the cat and mouse, hide from the enemy trope that actually works well to build tension, because you can't just fight your way out of the encounter.
Furthermore, I'm sorry, but this is the most abusive use of yellow paint I've encountered in a video game yet. OK, OK, hear me out, because I'm with you—when they complained about RE4 remake having yellow tape on breakable boxes, I laughed. When they pointed out FF7 Rebirth made sure all climbable objects were yellow, I ignored them. But this game? This game says we will paint yellow on everything. And I mean fucking everything. And it's so unnecessary that it completely ruined the 'game' part of this hallway treadmill. I mean, literally they use the paint to show you where to hide, show you where to climb up in a literal one-way hallway, show you everything.
An imgur album for context. No spoilers.
Here's the thing—I grew up on PSX games, I haven't forgotten how we had it. Beautiful pre-rendered backgrounds where anything interactable was pixelated and stood out a mile away that you needed to interact with it. I get where this comes from. But a game like this, I want to experience it through trial and error, not just paint by numbers. And that was how I felt so often, just following the yellow-paint-road. It's kinda like how some games overwhelm you with GPS navigation, sometimes with trails on the ground or just straight up through your compass/minimap, but often those are possible to be disabled and you can experience the adventure at your own pace. Because this is baked into the game's background, there is no option (as of yet) to disable. Just. So. Frustrating.
The story was bland, the setting was bland, the 'monster' was okay I guess. Overall, very disappointed. This isn't my gaming jam, admittedly, but my last encounter with it was SOMA" and Still Wakes the Deep doesn't even feel like it's in the same genre...
Good game, nice story. Gameplay was ok.
Esse jogo me surpreendeu positivamente pela qualidade do que entrega. É um terror que não se escora em sustos para causar medo. A ambientação e uso dos recursos de áudio criam um clima assustador. O hitmo acelerado da caminhada e interações com o cenário tornam o jogo engajante. Mas o que torna o jogo realmente diferente é a qualidade do texto, com a curta duração do jogo é naturalmente difícil entregar uma grande história. Mas a qualidade da escrita e dos personagem tornam o enredo marcante, apesar de curto.
De pontos negativos, só destaco o desempenho no Xbox SS. Não é ruim, mas sacrifica muito visualmente e ainda não entrega estabilidade de fps. Talvez mude futuramente.
Também talvez seja fácil demais. O que pessoalmente não acho ruim, mas realmente a maior parte do jogo é só seguir em frente.
De pontos negativos, só destaco o desempenho no Xbox SS. Não é ruim, mas sacrifica muito visualmente e ainda não entrega estabilidade de fps. Talvez mude futuramente.
Também talvez seja fácil demais. O que pessoalmente não acho ruim, mas realmente a maior parte do jogo é só seguir em frente.
É meio que um walking simulator de horror. A história é muito boa, e meio aterrorizante. Tem uma bela mistura de ação e horror e o ritmo é muito bom. A ambientação é maravilhosa. Meu único problema é que eu não fiquei com tão medo assim, talvez pq passar dos monstros não seja tão difícil, embora o design deles seja ótimo.
Playtime: 5 Hours
Score: 7/10
An interesting narrative horror game from The Chinese Room! So I have played a few of The Chinese Room’s games, and I have generally enjoyed them, even though most of them are just narrative focus and don’t have much gameplay mechanics. I had heard of this game through all of the Xbox showcases and when I saw it would be day one on game pass, I thought I would give it a go!
The story I thought was fairly good if a bit predictable in some places. The atmosphere is very tense and I love that they had an oil rig as the game's setting. Much of the game uses body horror to scare you, with some big influences from the film, The Thing, which I thought was cool. The gameplay is akin to something like Soma, with some basic stealth mechanics and a lot of QTE segments. I’ve come to expect this from The Chinese Room, I just wish they would expand their gameplay formula, as just walking around and clicking on things can get boring after a while. Especially since they're doing the Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines sequel, which I’m a little concerned about.
The voice acting is pretty good overall and the game looks very realistic in Unreal Engine. But I’ve always been more of an artstyle kind of guy and while good graphics are nice to have, it's not going to impress me as much, since I care more about story and gameplay. Though I will say I loved the art direction they took when it came to the monsters and how the rig will change in strange ways because of them.
As for technical performance, the game ran smoothly for me most of the time, though there were some instances where the frame rate dipped a bit. Also what I found odd was that when it came to graphical settings, there were only two options of: high or epic (basically ultra) with no medium or low settings, which I found weird. But otherwise a good experience.
Overall, it's another narrative walking sim, horror game from The Chinese Room and you're either going to love or hate it. I enjoyed it, but that's mostly because it was on game pass and I didn’t have to pay for it, which is what I would recommend most people do or wait for a sale. The game is fairly short and outside of a good narrative experience for a few hours, there’s not much beyond that.
All Games I have Played and Reviewed Ranked - https://www.backloggd.com/u/JudgeDredd35/list/all-games-i-have-played-and-reviewed-ranked/
Score: 7/10
An interesting narrative horror game from The Chinese Room! So I have played a few of The Chinese Room’s games, and I have generally enjoyed them, even though most of them are just narrative focus and don’t have much gameplay mechanics. I had heard of this game through all of the Xbox showcases and when I saw it would be day one on game pass, I thought I would give it a go!
The story I thought was fairly good if a bit predictable in some places. The atmosphere is very tense and I love that they had an oil rig as the game's setting. Much of the game uses body horror to scare you, with some big influences from the film, The Thing, which I thought was cool. The gameplay is akin to something like Soma, with some basic stealth mechanics and a lot of QTE segments. I’ve come to expect this from The Chinese Room, I just wish they would expand their gameplay formula, as just walking around and clicking on things can get boring after a while. Especially since they're doing the Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines sequel, which I’m a little concerned about.
The voice acting is pretty good overall and the game looks very realistic in Unreal Engine. But I’ve always been more of an artstyle kind of guy and while good graphics are nice to have, it's not going to impress me as much, since I care more about story and gameplay. Though I will say I loved the art direction they took when it came to the monsters and how the rig will change in strange ways because of them.
As for technical performance, the game ran smoothly for me most of the time, though there were some instances where the frame rate dipped a bit. Also what I found odd was that when it came to graphical settings, there were only two options of: high or epic (basically ultra) with no medium or low settings, which I found weird. But otherwise a good experience.
Overall, it's another narrative walking sim, horror game from The Chinese Room and you're either going to love or hate it. I enjoyed it, but that's mostly because it was on game pass and I didn’t have to pay for it, which is what I would recommend most people do or wait for a sale. The game is fairly short and outside of a good narrative experience for a few hours, there’s not much beyond that.
All Games I have Played and Reviewed Ranked - https://www.backloggd.com/u/JudgeDredd35/list/all-games-i-have-played-and-reviewed-ranked/
A beautifully atmospheric game set decades ago with dated gameplay and narrative to match. None of the sci-fi trappings feel fresh (with shades of The Thing, Solaris, and Soma). While the conversations between characters feel pleasantly natural, the two big emotional peaks in the story fell completely flat for me. One was trite and the other was so cringe it made me laugh. Most of the gameplay is walking down the only path available - condescendingly marked in yellow. There are no puzzles.
There are a few sections with enemies, one where you get chased and run down the only path available, and one where you're in a room being hunted. Fortunately these places are littered with vents that make you untouchable even if you're barely inside the one square meter entrance. There's no real danger in either scenario, and little tension. One of the enemy designs I can't imagine was intended to be anything but comical.
Where the game shines though is the atmosphere and sound design. It takes place over the course of a day, and as the wheels start coming off the weather changes appropriately, the rig starts creaking and groaning, the waves become more violent, the lighting gets more and more dramatic as night falls. Revisiting areas and seeing them changed as you trek all over the shop was well done. It's just a shame the presentation wasn't in service of a more engaging experience.
There are a few sections with enemies, one where you get chased and run down the only path available, and one where you're in a room being hunted. Fortunately these places are littered with vents that make you untouchable even if you're barely inside the one square meter entrance. There's no real danger in either scenario, and little tension. One of the enemy designs I can't imagine was intended to be anything but comical.
Where the game shines though is the atmosphere and sound design. It takes place over the course of a day, and as the wheels start coming off the weather changes appropriately, the rig starts creaking and groaning, the waves become more violent, the lighting gets more and more dramatic as night falls. Revisiting areas and seeing them changed as you trek all over the shop was well done. It's just a shame the presentation wasn't in service of a more engaging experience.
An extremely narrative-focused game, with excellent atmosphere, that even in a short time makes you care about the characters.
It's one of those extremely linear narrative focused titles with bits of tedious instant fail stealth sections where you have to dupe some super basic AI stalker enemy by hiding in lockers and under tables only it happens to feature some genuinely brilliant writing. The characters, plot and unique setting were good enough on their own to keep me invested until the very end, with some superb performances from the voice talent elevating all that stuff to something that is proper good.
If I was to throw one complaint at it, it is basically just a version of The Thing but doing a version of The Thing worked out pretty fucking well for John Carpenter, didn't it?
If I was to throw one complaint at it, it is basically just a version of The Thing but doing a version of The Thing worked out pretty fucking well for John Carpenter, didn't it?
L'ocean fait peur
What a wonderful surprise this was. I haven't lived in Scotland for many years now, but with the weather in Australia currently, I was right at home. Being sat in my oh so cold room that never gets any sunlight definitely helped to immerse me, as if the disarming and familiar accents weren't enough. Genuinely some of the most authentic and lovely dialogue and banter I've heard in a game in some time. I can imagine some being a bit confused or put off by constant (very unique) cursing and slang, but for me I of course loved it.
As if that wasn't already great, it also doesn't hurt that this is one of the best settings for a horror game ever. As soon as I read that synopsis and saw 'oil rig in Scotland', I instantly downloaded the game. If the game was just a walking simulator (which I suppose it is) around this oil rig, I'd have probably still felt the same dread throughout. I can't recall many games being set or even including oil rigs in this way, it's an absolutely menacing and horrific almost megastructure to traverse. (Megastructures have been on the mind since Daryl Talks Games' most recent and excellent video on them, they bloody terrify me, so they do.)
Another small detail I loved is how realistically timed the phone calls were. That's very specific, but often times I'd already left a room when a phone would ring and I'd have to go back in to answer it, as opposed to a perfectly convenient phone ring mere seconds after a beat. It's also worth mentioning that I was concerned the game would eventually devolve into Amnesia/Outlast hide and seek style gameplay, but it really doesn't at all. There are lockers to hide in, but the moment-to-moment encounters are brief enough that it doesn't become frustrating at all. I'm pretty sure I only entered one locker and then just braved it from there on.
Good game, though I will say it doesn't have the lasting story and existentialism of a SOMA, but what does?
As if that wasn't already great, it also doesn't hurt that this is one of the best settings for a horror game ever. As soon as I read that synopsis and saw 'oil rig in Scotland', I instantly downloaded the game. If the game was just a walking simulator (which I suppose it is) around this oil rig, I'd have probably still felt the same dread throughout. I can't recall many games being set or even including oil rigs in this way, it's an absolutely menacing and horrific almost megastructure to traverse. (Megastructures have been on the mind since Daryl Talks Games' most recent and excellent video on them, they bloody terrify me, so they do.)
Another small detail I loved is how realistically timed the phone calls were. That's very specific, but often times I'd already left a room when a phone would ring and I'd have to go back in to answer it, as opposed to a perfectly convenient phone ring mere seconds after a beat. It's also worth mentioning that I was concerned the game would eventually devolve into Amnesia/Outlast hide and seek style gameplay, but it really doesn't at all. There are lockers to hide in, but the moment-to-moment encounters are brief enough that it doesn't become frustrating at all. I'm pretty sure I only entered one locker and then just braved it from there on.
Good game, though I will say it doesn't have the lasting story and existentialism of a SOMA, but what does?
This one stings... So the Chinese Room is back...
I'm not new to Chinese Room games, I know their deal, I knew what to expect, I knew not expect steller performance or much actual 'gameplay' I've been on the offending end of the criticism, I've also been a vehement defender of interact experience/narrative at different points... so why did this one hurt me?
It's hard to articulate just how conflicted this game made me feel, far more so than any other title from this studio, it simultaneously made me want to swear them off eternally, and go back and play their entire backlog for a second time...
I'm going to do my best to actually break this game down in a way that I don't normally go into for other games.
Let's start with the obvious, this game released in an inexcusable state: I won't go too deep into my setup but lets just say I have a couple options for current gen games, and all of them had HEAVY issues running this game. It's pretty damn clear that Chinese Room got some kickback from the hardware manufacturers as this game is pushing all that new FSR upscalling bullshit, and it's absolutely dreadful for it. The performance chugged regardless of settings on hardware well beyond the specs for this game, entirely because of garbage optimisation. The bullshit upscalers make the whole thing look disgusting, and for much of the game, the visuals were extremely important. I could easily go on a rant about the hardware-driven graphics inflation of the 4k generation of gaming, but instead I have a question for devs: what the fuck do you think your game actually looks like? because if you think it looks like photorealistic AI upscaled immersive bliss you are out of your gourd, for the vast majority of players it looks like blurry experimental claymation and ITS ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT. You have the power to OPTIMIZE YOUR FUCKING GAME for realistic hardware so that it actually fucking looks good. Art direction is a choice and developers have been making it since before games had what we could even generously call graphics. I've seen games running on osciliscopes with a hand painted clear printout over top just to have art direction... I'll stop ranting now, this game does have some decent art direction, I'm just baffled that a game about walking forward couldn't manage to spend some time optimising performance, how much work could possibly have been in the way, because I know it wasn't the gameplay. Beyond that, the menus are terribly laid out, half the features didn't work consistently, the subtitles kept turning themselves back on which I personally despise, the gamma adjustment fully didn't work on my AMD system and defaulted to all-bright. There was a ton more but none of it game breaking.
By the time it was way too late I realised why they offered a 'story' difficulty, because the gameplay is the same tired 'horror stealth' that was shit in every other conceivable instance. Only this time it's extremely unpolished. Throwing objects was extremely unreliable, it was also visually pathetic, as it resulted in objects litering the floor in EXACTLY THE RIGHT PLACES. There's also some lockers you can hide in but they're never used, like they intended a ton more stealthing around monsters but but it when they realised how shit it was. You end up just crouching from convenient hole to convenient hole while a babbling soma monster 'patrols' above you. I can't comment on horror because (and I know how this sounds) horror never works on me. I don't know if I lack the imagination or the instinct, but fictional threats have zero effect on me, so I won't complain about the monster sections feeling more frustrating than scary because I'm not the judge of that. I will however, judge the underwater sections. Frustrating controls is not what makes people fear drowning. the parts where I got lost underwater were great, that accurately depicts the dangers of swimming in indoor scenarios, but struggling to get the hit detection to grab the stupid yellow painted handhold is not a part of that, and I give it zero credit. The chases worked great, I don't care if they're obviously on rails, they feel fine and that works.
My final complaint was the overall predictability. I guessed the ending in literal minute 16, I actually checked. Obviously there are only so many ways to skin a cat here, but some games need to take the other option, some games need to surprise you so that you don't take for granted that you know how the game will end. It's not just the overabundance of dismal games with bleak endings, but the fact the Chinese Room basically always kills their protag... I'm not even sure that's a spoiler it's so damn predictable. But in the end the narrative of this game did win me, which takes me into some major positives.
I said I was conflicted and I meant it. The narrative is superb. The game brilliantly introduces a world full of real people that I actually care about, (not that I could name half of them, but I'm not British so maybe that's a me problem.) The vocal performances are genuinely top notch and actual writing of characters was extremely successful throughout. characters have arcs, specific strengths and weaknesses, quirks, etc... Most of them aren't just fodder either, all of the monsters are named people that transformed from contact with the entity and all of the babbling speaks to a complex life they had that has been cruely taken from them, all while leaving them vaguely conscious enough to care about losing it. I genuinely teared up at losing my brother-in-law, the dude played his card right and stayed safe, his fucking diabetes is what killed him. My two capable companions were compelling and actually pulled their weight, I almost wish the one engineer lady had been stringing me along to blow the place up from the start, she seemed so unflappable that I almost didn't believe her when she broke in the end. The pieces of Caz's life are excellent and the ending is genuinely heart wrenching. I still think someone could have fucking survived that, in spite of everything that went down I really think Chinese Room needs to take some fucking prozac and give SOMEBODY an actual happy ending, it definitely cheapens the effect when I instantly predict that nobody makes it out. I can't root for people I know are doomed if you don't ever give me reason to hope for anything but a heroic death scene.
The atmosphere was the main reason I even played this game. I REALLY love games set at sea or under water, I have the literal opposite of thalasaphobia and claustrophobia, I love the beautiful isolation and endless wonder of an oil rig, or a submarine and this game did not disappoint. I was grinning through so much of this game. I'm sure I'm fairly alone on that one but I guess the same atmosphere I love has the inverse effect on others, and thus is successful horror... probably. Much as I dissed the graphics as being a crutch for bad art direction... this game actually has pretty damn good art direction. Even on my PS1 graphic settings the game looked pretty damn good at times, which is why I was all the more frustrated at the graphics. The 'entity' it paradoxically beautiful. it's not some lovecraftian horror, it's a glowing red and green crystalline plant. Like some toxic flower, it looks surprisingly innocent, like it really isn't doing anything on purpose, it's just defending itself with a disgusting toxic effect. I'm fairly certain the Chinese room did this deliberately since they had multiple scenes of us watching the thing peacefully, enjoying the glittering spores as we rise from the depths.
I suppose I have to try and come to some conclusion... The Chinese Room aren't new at this, they make walking sims and they're proud of it, they've had issues with graphics and performance in past games and chose to make it worse with this game. They continue to show talent at writing and voice casting but refuse to refine in the basic elements of walking games, they could easily have learned from other exemplars like 'What Remains of Edith Finch' by now and improved. I can no longer forgive their blatant shortcomings and it makes me all the more frustrated by their potential.
I deeply wanted to like this game, but in the end my experience was entirely mixed, with frustrations sounding in my memory as loudly as ellations. I will still be buying and playing the next game from this studio, but this is the last time I will be forgiving the overwhelming issues, if the next one doesn't run smoothly out of the box I'm refunding and moving on with my life.
Chinese Room: I love your work, now actually finish it.
I'm not new to Chinese Room games, I know their deal, I knew what to expect, I knew not expect steller performance or much actual 'gameplay' I've been on the offending end of the criticism, I've also been a vehement defender of interact experience/narrative at different points... so why did this one hurt me?
It's hard to articulate just how conflicted this game made me feel, far more so than any other title from this studio, it simultaneously made me want to swear them off eternally, and go back and play their entire backlog for a second time...
I'm going to do my best to actually break this game down in a way that I don't normally go into for other games.
Let's start with the obvious, this game released in an inexcusable state: I won't go too deep into my setup but lets just say I have a couple options for current gen games, and all of them had HEAVY issues running this game. It's pretty damn clear that Chinese Room got some kickback from the hardware manufacturers as this game is pushing all that new FSR upscalling bullshit, and it's absolutely dreadful for it. The performance chugged regardless of settings on hardware well beyond the specs for this game, entirely because of garbage optimisation. The bullshit upscalers make the whole thing look disgusting, and for much of the game, the visuals were extremely important. I could easily go on a rant about the hardware-driven graphics inflation of the 4k generation of gaming, but instead I have a question for devs: what the fuck do you think your game actually looks like? because if you think it looks like photorealistic AI upscaled immersive bliss you are out of your gourd, for the vast majority of players it looks like blurry experimental claymation and ITS ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT. You have the power to OPTIMIZE YOUR FUCKING GAME for realistic hardware so that it actually fucking looks good. Art direction is a choice and developers have been making it since before games had what we could even generously call graphics. I've seen games running on osciliscopes with a hand painted clear printout over top just to have art direction... I'll stop ranting now, this game does have some decent art direction, I'm just baffled that a game about walking forward couldn't manage to spend some time optimising performance, how much work could possibly have been in the way, because I know it wasn't the gameplay. Beyond that, the menus are terribly laid out, half the features didn't work consistently, the subtitles kept turning themselves back on which I personally despise, the gamma adjustment fully didn't work on my AMD system and defaulted to all-bright. There was a ton more but none of it game breaking.
By the time it was way too late I realised why they offered a 'story' difficulty, because the gameplay is the same tired 'horror stealth' that was shit in every other conceivable instance. Only this time it's extremely unpolished. Throwing objects was extremely unreliable, it was also visually pathetic, as it resulted in objects litering the floor in EXACTLY THE RIGHT PLACES. There's also some lockers you can hide in but they're never used, like they intended a ton more stealthing around monsters but but it when they realised how shit it was. You end up just crouching from convenient hole to convenient hole while a babbling soma monster 'patrols' above you. I can't comment on horror because (and I know how this sounds) horror never works on me. I don't know if I lack the imagination or the instinct, but fictional threats have zero effect on me, so I won't complain about the monster sections feeling more frustrating than scary because I'm not the judge of that. I will however, judge the underwater sections. Frustrating controls is not what makes people fear drowning. the parts where I got lost underwater were great, that accurately depicts the dangers of swimming in indoor scenarios, but struggling to get the hit detection to grab the stupid yellow painted handhold is not a part of that, and I give it zero credit. The chases worked great, I don't care if they're obviously on rails, they feel fine and that works.
My final complaint was the overall predictability. I guessed the ending in literal minute 16, I actually checked. Obviously there are only so many ways to skin a cat here, but some games need to take the other option, some games need to surprise you so that you don't take for granted that you know how the game will end. It's not just the overabundance of dismal games with bleak endings, but the fact the Chinese Room basically always kills their protag... I'm not even sure that's a spoiler it's so damn predictable. But in the end the narrative of this game did win me, which takes me into some major positives.
I said I was conflicted and I meant it. The narrative is superb. The game brilliantly introduces a world full of real people that I actually care about, (not that I could name half of them, but I'm not British so maybe that's a me problem.) The vocal performances are genuinely top notch and actual writing of characters was extremely successful throughout. characters have arcs, specific strengths and weaknesses, quirks, etc... Most of them aren't just fodder either, all of the monsters are named people that transformed from contact with the entity and all of the babbling speaks to a complex life they had that has been cruely taken from them, all while leaving them vaguely conscious enough to care about losing it. I genuinely teared up at losing my brother-in-law, the dude played his card right and stayed safe, his fucking diabetes is what killed him. My two capable companions were compelling and actually pulled their weight, I almost wish the one engineer lady had been stringing me along to blow the place up from the start, she seemed so unflappable that I almost didn't believe her when she broke in the end. The pieces of Caz's life are excellent and the ending is genuinely heart wrenching. I still think someone could have fucking survived that, in spite of everything that went down I really think Chinese Room needs to take some fucking prozac and give SOMEBODY an actual happy ending, it definitely cheapens the effect when I instantly predict that nobody makes it out. I can't root for people I know are doomed if you don't ever give me reason to hope for anything but a heroic death scene.
The atmosphere was the main reason I even played this game. I REALLY love games set at sea or under water, I have the literal opposite of thalasaphobia and claustrophobia, I love the beautiful isolation and endless wonder of an oil rig, or a submarine and this game did not disappoint. I was grinning through so much of this game. I'm sure I'm fairly alone on that one but I guess the same atmosphere I love has the inverse effect on others, and thus is successful horror... probably. Much as I dissed the graphics as being a crutch for bad art direction... this game actually has pretty damn good art direction. Even on my PS1 graphic settings the game looked pretty damn good at times, which is why I was all the more frustrated at the graphics. The 'entity' it paradoxically beautiful. it's not some lovecraftian horror, it's a glowing red and green crystalline plant. Like some toxic flower, it looks surprisingly innocent, like it really isn't doing anything on purpose, it's just defending itself with a disgusting toxic effect. I'm fairly certain the Chinese room did this deliberately since they had multiple scenes of us watching the thing peacefully, enjoying the glittering spores as we rise from the depths.
I suppose I have to try and come to some conclusion... The Chinese Room aren't new at this, they make walking sims and they're proud of it, they've had issues with graphics and performance in past games and chose to make it worse with this game. They continue to show talent at writing and voice casting but refuse to refine in the basic elements of walking games, they could easily have learned from other exemplars like 'What Remains of Edith Finch' by now and improved. I can no longer forgive their blatant shortcomings and it makes me all the more frustrated by their potential.
I deeply wanted to like this game, but in the end my experience was entirely mixed, with frustrations sounding in my memory as loudly as ellations. I will still be buying and playing the next game from this studio, but this is the last time I will be forgiving the overwhelming issues, if the next one doesn't run smoothly out of the box I'm refunding and moving on with my life.
Chinese Room: I love your work, now actually finish it.
Wish we had more short, sweet, dense on-the-rails experiences like this with minimal collectibles or time-wasters. It is refreshing, and Still Wakes the Deep does it all with excellent voice acting and solid character building behind the protagonist.
Besides that, it really wasn't anything special. Don't expect Amnesia-style puzzles (or any puzzles at all). There is enough gameplay to keep you physically engaged including QTEs, jumping, and very occasionally hiding/luring monsters, but it's clearly far from the focus of the title. It's one of those moments where I wonder "did this need to be a video game/is a video game the best platform for this story?" but in this case I think it was successful enough.
Besides that, it really wasn't anything special. Don't expect Amnesia-style puzzles (or any puzzles at all). There is enough gameplay to keep you physically engaged including QTEs, jumping, and very occasionally hiding/luring monsters, but it's clearly far from the focus of the title. It's one of those moments where I wonder "did this need to be a video game/is a video game the best platform for this story?" but in this case I think it was successful enough.
Um jogo de terror lovecraftiano existencial onde ainda tem subtexto sobre exploração trabalhista
Não preciso de mais nada, eu amei.
Não preciso de mais nada, eu amei.
they couldve released this as a playthrough on youtube — absolutely no reason to "play it" yourself. amazing sound design/voice work, irresistible setting, cool gross monsters ... total of five different buttons/fuses/doors to interact with. chase scenes all play themselves & hinge on goofy contrivances. cmon man. fuck off
From the depths, Still Wakes the Deep rises on chill winds, filling your mouth with brine and oil. The Chinese Room have conjured a nightmare, neat and heady, like a dram of whiskey. But, like all nightmares, it's the waking moments near the end that stay with you long after the credits roll.
Man this game made me feel something, I think it's brought back my love for story games, the gameplay wasn't anything special and I'm glad it was on game pass for its length but wow.
The setting, voice acting and story hit like a truck, it's not too scary but has that awesome world setting horror.
Great game.
The setting, voice acting and story hit like a truck, it's not too scary but has that awesome world setting horror.
Great game.
Still Wakes the Deep is a very good game. I really liked it! And I absolutely recommend it. However, it is not perfect. I think it has some big problems that stop this game from truly reaching its fullest potential.
First, the good. Still Wakes the Deep absolutely nails its characters and setting and choking the player in its oil-slick world. Set on an oil rig in the North Sea, off the coast of Aberdeen (the scariest thing about this game), you play as Cameron "Caz" McLeary, a man running from his problems. Speaking as someone who has lived in Scotland their whole life, I have known a Caz. I've known people who I see represented in this game. Hell, one of them has my surname. If you live in Britain and are aware of its history, then there is a lot to unpack in the game's seventies setting.
There's Trots, the proper seventies trade-unionist, working on the rig. A homage to a better time of worker's rights in the UK; the kind of man who voted Labour, back when the party actually had worker's interests at heart. Then there's Addair. He has a Britain First poster in his room, and the symbol of the National Front. He's a racist piece of shit. There's Finlay, the only woman on the rig, and our closest friend it feels. The dynamic between Finlay and Caz is so strong and realistic, I felt right at home. Next is Brodie, a hard worker and dear friend who gives his all. And finally, there's Rennick; the self-interested, unforgiving boss of the rig.
Once shit goes down, the beautifully haunting gore and viscera and... sinews of whatever you have awoken is able to really evoke a sense of terror and helplessness. Just as colossal and incomprehensible is the sheer size of the rig. Standing impossibly in the sea; a towering hunk of metal and concrete, burning gas in the sky. The game's environment artists have really focused on details, and pushed themselves. The game is simply beautiful. Lastly, I also appreciate the game's further representation of Scotland by actually have the game available in Scottish Gaelic (that's gah-lick, not gae-lick). Such an uncommon sight, but greatly appreciated (even if I can only say hello and introduce myself).
Now, the problems. While the beat-by-beat plot is easy enough to follow, and leads to some tense scenes, the overarching narrative is confusing, and a lot is not explained. There's a theme of running away and of regret, featuring flashbacks of Caz and his wife arguing. But that's about as much attention as this plot gets; a few flashbacks. Then it comes back at the end. It just feels underdeveloped. I feel these themes could have taken the stage a bit more, and have actually been elaborated on further. This problem of underdevelopment goes a bit further.
A character who I won't name dies, and it's a very emotional scene, with a moving performance from Caz's actor. But... it just falls a bit flat. The character who dies means a lot to Caz, and so the reaction is justified in that sense. But to the player, we have a few good moments with them, but that's it. We don't really see them again until their death. The game expects you to care for the death of a character you shared all of five minutes with.
Furthermore, Rennick, the big bad, isn't all that big. He is set up in the game's coda as this big threat, and you really start to worry. But his death is so uneventful. You see him about three times in the whole game, and the rest of his presence is through dialogue. I was really expecting a scarier finale with him, but that simply didn't happen. And I guess that's due to the game's walking-sim nature.
While I appreciate walking-sims, I can't help but feel the game could have been improved with some player defence. A better finale could have been done if, for example, we had an Alien: Isolation style flamethrower, or a deterrent of that nature. We could actually fend off Rennick while completing another task and ending him. I dunno.
All in all, Still Wakes the Deep is a five to six hour experience, with immense levels of world-building and polish, for £26.99 as of writing. It has some issues, but overall, I would seriously recommend it. Especially given its price. In a world where games with gigantic budgets are asking for gigantic prices, Still Wakes the Deep is a prime example of bang-for-your-buck indie titles putting the triple A industry to shame. You will not regret buying and playing this game.
First, the good. Still Wakes the Deep absolutely nails its characters and setting and choking the player in its oil-slick world. Set on an oil rig in the North Sea, off the coast of Aberdeen (the scariest thing about this game), you play as Cameron "Caz" McLeary, a man running from his problems. Speaking as someone who has lived in Scotland their whole life, I have known a Caz. I've known people who I see represented in this game. Hell, one of them has my surname. If you live in Britain and are aware of its history, then there is a lot to unpack in the game's seventies setting.
There's Trots, the proper seventies trade-unionist, working on the rig. A homage to a better time of worker's rights in the UK; the kind of man who voted Labour, back when the party actually had worker's interests at heart. Then there's Addair. He has a Britain First poster in his room, and the symbol of the National Front. He's a racist piece of shit. There's Finlay, the only woman on the rig, and our closest friend it feels. The dynamic between Finlay and Caz is so strong and realistic, I felt right at home. Next is Brodie, a hard worker and dear friend who gives his all. And finally, there's Rennick; the self-interested, unforgiving boss of the rig.
Once shit goes down, the beautifully haunting gore and viscera and... sinews of whatever you have awoken is able to really evoke a sense of terror and helplessness. Just as colossal and incomprehensible is the sheer size of the rig. Standing impossibly in the sea; a towering hunk of metal and concrete, burning gas in the sky. The game's environment artists have really focused on details, and pushed themselves. The game is simply beautiful. Lastly, I also appreciate the game's further representation of Scotland by actually have the game available in Scottish Gaelic (that's gah-lick, not gae-lick). Such an uncommon sight, but greatly appreciated (even if I can only say hello and introduce myself).
Now, the problems. While the beat-by-beat plot is easy enough to follow, and leads to some tense scenes, the overarching narrative is confusing, and a lot is not explained. There's a theme of running away and of regret, featuring flashbacks of Caz and his wife arguing. But that's about as much attention as this plot gets; a few flashbacks. Then it comes back at the end. It just feels underdeveloped. I feel these themes could have taken the stage a bit more, and have actually been elaborated on further. This problem of underdevelopment goes a bit further.
A character who I won't name dies, and it's a very emotional scene, with a moving performance from Caz's actor. But... it just falls a bit flat. The character who dies means a lot to Caz, and so the reaction is justified in that sense. But to the player, we have a few good moments with them, but that's it. We don't really see them again until their death. The game expects you to care for the death of a character you shared all of five minutes with.
Furthermore, Rennick, the big bad, isn't all that big. He is set up in the game's coda as this big threat, and you really start to worry. But his death is so uneventful. You see him about three times in the whole game, and the rest of his presence is through dialogue. I was really expecting a scarier finale with him, but that simply didn't happen. And I guess that's due to the game's walking-sim nature.
While I appreciate walking-sims, I can't help but feel the game could have been improved with some player defence. A better finale could have been done if, for example, we had an Alien: Isolation style flamethrower, or a deterrent of that nature. We could actually fend off Rennick while completing another task and ending him. I dunno.
All in all, Still Wakes the Deep is a five to six hour experience, with immense levels of world-building and polish, for £26.99 as of writing. It has some issues, but overall, I would seriously recommend it. Especially given its price. In a world where games with gigantic budgets are asking for gigantic prices, Still Wakes the Deep is a prime example of bang-for-your-buck indie titles putting the triple A industry to shame. You will not regret buying and playing this game.
the only thing scarier than cosmic horror are these workers conditions
Semmiképp se vethető össze az Alien: Isolation velőtrázó, kimért félelemérzetéhez, egy kézi kamera mentes Outlast rip-off, némi The Thing beütéssel sokkal inkább helytálló. Hangulatában, hangeffektjeiben egészen igényes, a paráztatás mérsékelten munkálkodott, a QTE-k nem zavartak, karakterek és sztori terén korrekt. A helyszín adta terep okán a feszültség simán átjött még úgy is, hogy a menekülés túlsúlyban volt a bujkáláshoz képest. A gyakran szájbarágósan feldobott útvonalmutató ellenére is marhára tudtam élvezni ezt az 5 órát.
Un juego que me sorprendió gratamente. El estudio que lo desarrolló es también el encargado de hacer uno de los peores juegos que jugué en mi vida (Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs), así que obviamente tenía mis prejuicios antes de empezar este. Con mis prejuicios en contra y todo, me terminó gustando mucho, creo que tiene una ambientación original y muy conseguida, un manejo del terror muy correcto, y unos personajes que están mucho mejor de lo que creía. Por supuesto que tiene sus errores, pero en general, lo recomiendo a cualquiera que le gusten los juegos de terror o narrativos.
Enjoyable but not The Chinese Room's strongest work imo. What their games have lacked in gameplay depth, they've made up for with rich and compelling narratives. Still Wakes The Deep lacks that although I did really like the protagonist and his interactions with the small, principal cast of characters. There was a grounded realism to the dialogue and characters that I really appreciated.
En el papel este juego no debería haberme gustado. Estoy algo cansado de los juegos que se sienten "sobre rieles" todo el rato con puzzles que no son verdaderamente puzzles y sin mayor mecánica que esconderse. Pero la ambientación es original y está muy bien lograda, los personajes, aunque no se llega a interactuar mucho con ellos, llegan a ser memorables y la historia tiene puntos que pegan muy fuerte, por mucho que se vean venir.
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On paper this game should not have appealed to me. I'm kind of tired of games that feel "on rails" all the time with puzzles that aren't really puzzles and no mechanics other than hiding. But the setting is original and very well done, the characters, though you don't get to interact with them much, become memorable and the story has points that hit very hard, as much as you can see coming.
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On paper this game should not have appealed to me. I'm kind of tired of games that feel "on rails" all the time with puzzles that aren't really puzzles and no mechanics other than hiding. But the setting is original and very well done, the characters, though you don't get to interact with them much, become memorable and the story has points that hit very hard, as much as you can see coming.
Still Wakes the Deep has a great premise: an oil rig drills into a cthulhu monster, chaos ensues, and you have to survive. Unfortunately, this premise is held back by the fact that the game is developed by The Chinese Room, the studio that popularized the walking simulator genre with Dear Esther. Now walking simulators aren't inherently bad, but they are handicapped by the fact that there main method of player interaction is walking. While you'll find yourself sprinting, jumping, crouching, and flipping switches in Still Wakes the Deep, a bulk of the run time is still unfortunately walking from place to place. No different and no more exciting than it was in Dear Esther 12 years ago.
The game is pretty I will give it that. Looking at the paint bubbles on the rigs many yellow ladders and the grotesque details of the horror monsters definitely adds to the immersive, horror atmosphere the game strives for. But the gameplay comes right back with rubberband-like whiplash as the tired horror game trope of hiding under tables and lockers while waiting for the enemy to pass by serves as the main gameplay hook for the game's action sequences. There are a few chase sequences that involve sprinting down linear hallways and sometimes even crouching through linear vents to spice things up though. The linearity and lack of player choice in these interactions saps all the tension and potential horror out of them
It could have all been saved by the story as it is the focus of the game and the developer as a whole. The focus on Scottish actors and languages gives the voice acting and writing a unique flair on the surface like the oil rig does for the level design. Unfortunately, characters are given too little screen time for you to care about them before they meet gruesome ends. And that's kind of the problem with the game as a whole. It doesn't really make me feel anything. Save for the interesting setting and level of environmental detail, there isn't much worth noting about Still Wakes the Deep.
The game is pretty I will give it that. Looking at the paint bubbles on the rigs many yellow ladders and the grotesque details of the horror monsters definitely adds to the immersive, horror atmosphere the game strives for. But the gameplay comes right back with rubberband-like whiplash as the tired horror game trope of hiding under tables and lockers while waiting for the enemy to pass by serves as the main gameplay hook for the game's action sequences. There are a few chase sequences that involve sprinting down linear hallways and sometimes even crouching through linear vents to spice things up though. The linearity and lack of player choice in these interactions saps all the tension and potential horror out of them
It could have all been saved by the story as it is the focus of the game and the developer as a whole. The focus on Scottish actors and languages gives the voice acting and writing a unique flair on the surface like the oil rig does for the level design. Unfortunately, characters are given too little screen time for you to care about them before they meet gruesome ends. And that's kind of the problem with the game as a whole. It doesn't really make me feel anything. Save for the interesting setting and level of environmental detail, there isn't much worth noting about Still Wakes the Deep.
Bust down, bust down, bust down, bust down, bust down, bitch I'm drowning
I was really looking forward to this one, and luckily, I wasn’t disappointed. It's a short, but extremely atmospheric horror title with a decent story (with obvious inspirations taken from Dead Space and John Carpenter’s The Thing, among others), great graphics (it’s not amazing, but still very pleasing visually in my opinion) and excellent voice acting. Also, you’ve got to appreciate the unique and extremely realistic setting: an oil rig in the 1970s in the middle of nowhere. When all hell breaks loose, you just want to escape from this place, and let me tell you, it won’t be easy!
If you hate jumpscares, don’t worry, there are hardly any here, but even so, this is definitely horror through and through, with lots of suspense, gore, death, mysterious creatures, and an underlying feeling of unease and tension all the time. Surprisingly, there are lots of platforming elements mixed in the gameplay, too, as some sections include crawling, jumping, balancing etc. As far as I’m concerned, I loved these parts, and found that they were a nice change of pace between two stealth and/or chase sequences. It’s cool how basically everything can kill you, not just the monsters: fire hazards, electrical cables, heights, tight spaces, flooded corridors… Nowhere is safe, and in my opinion, this is how a true survival horror should be.
Don’t expect any fights, you can only run and hide, and there are no weapons, either. We get a few light puzzles, nothing too difficult, and the whole game is extremely linear, with hardly any replay value (unless you want to get all the achievements). Even so, I think this is a solid horror experience, I enjoyed every second of it.
If you hate jumpscares, don’t worry, there are hardly any here, but even so, this is definitely horror through and through, with lots of suspense, gore, death, mysterious creatures, and an underlying feeling of unease and tension all the time. Surprisingly, there are lots of platforming elements mixed in the gameplay, too, as some sections include crawling, jumping, balancing etc. As far as I’m concerned, I loved these parts, and found that they were a nice change of pace between two stealth and/or chase sequences. It’s cool how basically everything can kill you, not just the monsters: fire hazards, electrical cables, heights, tight spaces, flooded corridors… Nowhere is safe, and in my opinion, this is how a true survival horror should be.
Don’t expect any fights, you can only run and hide, and there are no weapons, either. We get a few light puzzles, nothing too difficult, and the whole game is extremely linear, with hardly any replay value (unless you want to get all the achievements). Even so, I think this is a solid horror experience, I enjoyed every second of it.