Still Wakes the Deep is a wonderfully authentic Scottish horror story
The term ‘walking simulator’ has, rather unfairly, become shorthand for a game lacking in interactivity.
In reality, not every game has to be an open-world romp, and games like What Becomes of Edith Finch and its ilk are perfectly legitimate forms of entertainment.
The reason a number of these games tend to suffer is that action-focused games can get away with shonky writing and performances, but when the game’s main aim is to carry the player through a narrative, that narrative has to in turn carry the game.
Few studios manage to pull this off effectively – which may be why the genre has developed its unwarranted reputation – but The Chinese Room, the UK studio behind Dear Esther and Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, has already proven its ability to deliver engaging plots which keep the player engaged.
Still Wakes the Deep is the studio’s most ambitious attempt at a narrative-led adventure, and it’s another impressive effort that, despite a couple of niggles, gets it right where it counts.
Set in 1975, the game takes place on an oil rig off the coast of Scotland. The player is Caz McLeary, a Scottish worker who’s about to be sacked and made to leave the rig for reasons we don’t yet know.
Before he gets to board the helicopter that takes him off the rig, however, a loud bang rattles the rig and Caz finds himself thrust into an escape mission where he has to not only help his colleagues get off the rig, but also figure out who – or what – has caused the incident.
An aside is really needed at this point: as a proud Scot who’s lived through decades of awful Scottish accents in video games, this writer beamed with delight throughout the entirety of Still Wakes the Deep thanks to the brilliantly believable dialogue and deliveries.
The cast mainly consists of experienced Scottish actors and the writing features plenty of Scottish slang, all of which is used properly and doesn’t feel forced. The Scots are masters of colourful language and gallows humour and both are perfectly
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