2023 was a feast for gamers who love the horror genre. With RE4, Dead Space, Dead Island 2, and the anticipated Alan Wake sequel, we’ve had our fill-off “Why are you running?” meme-worthy moments. This year, though, things have seemed a little too quiet on the spooky front. But it looks like we’ll be quivering soon enough with releases like Hellblade 2 and Little Nightmares 3.
There is another, set for a June release, that seems to have players on the edge of their seats- Still Wakes the Deep. Labeled a disaster story, the game takes place in a contained space on an oil rig. While many horror games provide a vast map or a larger premise of a property (like The Quarry or Until Dawn), developer Chinese Room wants to push the envelope and provide players with a true horror experience in a claustrophobic environment.
Still Wakes the Deep looks to shake things up, literally!
Taking control of Caz McLeary, players will need to navigate through a collapsing oil rig off Scottish shores. It’s a fresh take to see Scotland as a setting, given that Scotland is popularly known for its moody weather and folklore like the Loch Ness. Moreover, having an entire game set up on an oil rig makes things even scarier as the oceans are filled with unknown terrors, let alone those that are going to be onboard with us in the game.
One might wonder, “Is an oil rig a vast enough space to contain so much terror?” Well, The Chinese Room seems to have worked out. In a post-show interview at the Future Games Show Spring Showcase (via PC Gamer), lead designer Rob McLachlan confirmed how the team is all set to ensure the best horror experience.
“Our oil rig, the Beira D, has many antecedents in fiction, such as the Ishimura from Dead Space and the ship in Event Horizon. It is effectively a spaceship hovering over the cold North Sea. In such a small environment, there’s a risk that the player will get bored with or overfamiliar with the environment.”
A fear valid for anyone who loves the genre. Games like RE4 tackled this by having the player start off in a contained space, and then slowly open up the map as the story progresses, gradually giving access to areas that were already mastered. McLachlan continued-
“So, to address that, we made sure the rig evolves over time. As the event progresses, the rig starts to shake, crack, and crumble. It starts to sink, it starts to tilt, and it starts to flood. I hope that people still feel after playing the game that they’re on that oil rig.”
It’s certainly a hard task for the team. But for players, this would mean always having to be on their toes and not just deal with one big scary monster.
Shaping up to be a unique entry in the horror genre
While it’s not the first time we’re getting a game set in one singular room, or contained space, Still Wakes the Deep seems to have been inspired by Dead Space, as confirmed by McLachlan, as well as other psychological-horror thrillers like Hellblade. With Senua’s psychosis, it can often confuse players about their reality, an element that The Chinese Room seems to have implemented with an ever-evolving rig.
Another game that boasted similar mechanics was P.T. of the Silent Hill series. With so many classics seemingly incorporated into the mechanics of this June release, Still Wakes the Deep is shaping up to be an explosive hit for players! This is set to the developer’s return to the first-person experience after their outings with Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs, Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, and Dear Esther.
Wishlist this game now to access it on your Game Pass, or Steam account, or on your latest-gen consoles this June 18th.
