Still Wakes the Deep

Still Wakes the Deep was placed before me for judgment. 

They said it was horror set on a 1970s Scottish oil rig.
They said it was “immersive.”

4 cups of sake down and I prepared to be scared.

What I got instead was a five-to-six-hour story about a working man having the worst day of his life while the North Sea tries to kill him and something from the deep turns his coworkers into fleshy nightmares. The atmosphere is thick. The voice acting is excellent. The rig feels cold, wet, and real. The dialogue sounds like actual men who have been stuck on a platform too long and are tired of each other’s nonsense. That part works.

The problem is that this is barely a game.

You walk. You climb. You crawl through vents. You hide in lockers. You hold a button when the screen tells you to. You follow the yellow paint. Occasionally you throw something to distract a monster and then run. There is no combat. There is almost no meaningful choice. The path is so linear you could play it with one eye closed and still not get lost. You are not surviving so much as being escorted through a well-made horror short film.

I am an old sensei. I have played games where you actually do things. I have also sat through enough interactive movies to know when I am just along for the ride. Still Wakes the Deep is that ride. A handsome, well-acted, atmospheric ride. If you want to experience a solid story with good performances and some effective tension, it delivers. If you want systems, agency, or the feeling that your decisions matter, look elsewhere.

Some will call it a masterpiece of narrative design.
Others will call it a walking simulator with better production values.

Both are correct.

I finished it. I respected the craft. I did not once feel like I was playing a game in the traditional sense. I felt like I was being told a story and politely asked not to wander off the path.

For what it is, it works.
Just know what you’re signing up for.