Summary
Still Wakes The Deepis an exciting horror game from The Chinese Room. It’s one ofthe biggest releases of 2024but has released to middling review scores. Critics and gamers alike seem to be enjoying the game’s beautiful graphics and compelling story but aren’t so enamored with its linearity. On top of that, others have complained that the game just isn’t that scary.
Lots of people are also pointing out just how similar the game is to other survival horrors. Its developers have clearly taken inspiration from other survival horror titles in crafting a game that is focused on the narrative and building atmosphere, rather than combat. That being said,Still Wakes The Deepdoes feature a handful of new ideas, and taking inspiration from other games isn’t the same as plagiarizing them. Those who enjoyedStill Wakes The Deepand are looking for something similar have plenty of options to choose from.
The parallels betweenSOMAandStill Wakes The Deepare pretty obvious.SOMAis a first-person horror game set in an underwater research facility where the player explores eerie environments and confronts existential horror.Still Wakes The Deepis basically the same, except it’s set on an oil rig instead of underwater.
Both games excel at creating a claustrophobic atmosphere while focusing on telling a good horror story. The drenched setting and sense of isolation are also vital elements in both games. The biggest difference between them is thatSOMAis one ofthe darkest sci-fi games evermade, whileStill Wakes The Deep’s terror is more cosmic and Lovecraftian.
Readers may notice that there are a few titles by Frictional Games on this list. The reason for this isAmnesia: The Dark Descent. SayingStill Wakes The Deepis inspired byAmnesiais a little like sayingCall of Dutywas inspired byDoom.The Dark Descenttook the internet by storm when it released in 2008, and while it didn’t create the survival horror genre, it did change it forever. The game is renowned for its intense atmosphere and psychological horror and is considered one of thebest survival horror games ever made.
Both games require the player to navigate dark corridors while avoiding terrifying creatures. TheDark Descentcreated a sense of vulnerability and fear through its dark, oppressive environments and impressive sound design - things that feel very familiar while playingStill Wakes The Deep. Both games use their environments to evoke a sense of unease. It’s just thatThe Dark Descentis set in a castle, whileStill Wakes The Deepis on an oil rig.The Dark Decentalso places a much bigger emphasis on exploration and puzzle solving.
At first glance,Layers of FearandStill Wakes The Deepmight not seem all that similar. One is set in an old Victorian mansion, and the other on a Scottish oil rig.Layers Of Fearis about an artist driven crazy as he tries to complete his masterpiece, andStill Wakes The Deepis about an oil-rig worker; there isn’t much common ground.
However, scratch the surface, and it’s clear the two games share some design DNA.Layers of Fearis one ofthe best psychedelic horror games, andStill Wakes The Deepalso gets pretty psychedelic in spots. Much ofLayers Of Fear’s horror comes from its detailed environment and the unpredictable nature of the mansion, something echoed inStill Wakes The Deep. Likewise, both games focus on their protagonist’s gradual descent into madness, driven by their unsettling surroundings. Plus, of course, they’re both walking simulators with no combat.
Alien: Isolationmight be famous for being one of themost terrifying games set in space, but isn’t a space station kind of like a big, orbital oil rig? Both are incredibly isolated and just about the worst places imaginable to be hunted by something monstrous. The settings of both of these games place the player in a confined, isolated environment to heighten both the sense of danger and suspense.
Still Wakes The Deep’s stealth sections will also feel familiar to anyone who’s playedAlien: Isolation, even if the latter arguably does it better. InAlien, the enemy is pretty much ever-present, while inStill Wakes The Deep, the player is only being stalked during certain sections.Still Wakes The Deephas received a lot of praise for its detailed design, something that can also be said forAlien. The meticulous environmental crafting and leveraging of sound design and lighting in both games create an immersive and terrifying experience, even if their gameplay isn’t all that similar.
Most of the similarities betweenOutlastandStill Wakes The Deepare in their gameplay. Both are first-person survival horror games where the protagonist must avoid, rather than fight, monstrous enemies. The stealth mechanics in both games are pretty similar, and they both endeavor to make the player feel as vulnerable as possible.
In both games, there is a real sense of struggling against overwhelming odds, even if the monsters themselves are very different.Outlast, with its videocamera and nightvision, heavily utilizes atmospheric design and lighting, as doesStill Wakes The Deep.
Thebest games by Frictional Gamestend to share a lot of traits, but the problem with this approach is that their games can get a little repetitive as a result. To combat this, the studio tried to mix things up a bit by adding self-defense in the form of a revolver inThe Bunker. Unfortunately, the game still fell back on the same tropes that some fans felt had grown stale. In particular, the “complete task-hide-explore-complete task-hide” gameplay loop.
This is a loop thatStill Wakes The Deepcopied to a fault. Both games have the player fixing an annoyingly high number of generators and pieces of machinery while trying to avoid enemies. It can all become a little bit repetitive. On the upside, however, both games do a great job of using period settings to great effect. Frictional Games put a lot of effort into theBunker’s World War I setting, something that can also be said forStill Wakes The Deep’s clearly well-researched 1970s Scottish setting.
The terms “Lovecraftian” and “Cosmic Horror” get tossed around a lot these days. If a piece of media so much as features a tentacle, it gets compared to Lovecraft’s works. However,Call of Cthulhu, one ofthe best Cosmic horror games, is clearly meant to evoke the great author’s writing. Set on a secluded island, the player must investigate a series of mysterious events, uncovering cosmic horrors along the way.
That lines up pretty nicely withStill Wakes The Deep, which has the player investigating strange events on an oil rig and also uncovering cosmic horrors. Both games also have the protagonist questioning their own sanity thanks to the psychological horrors they’ve witnessed and focus on the protagonist’s relationships with others. Both games proudly wear their Lovecraftian inspiration on their sleeves and do the material justice.
