When in 2015, British Games Studio The Chinese Room released Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, it was to largely positive reviews.

The game centered on a quaint fictional British village whose inhabitants had mysteriously disappeared. As the protagonist, players wandered the streets, hillsides and structures of a beautifully realized world, interacting with objects, and following glowing orbs to discover the ultimate fate of the townsfolk. 

Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture made up for a lack of physical in-game characters by leaning into that feeling of solitude and isolation. Through a series of replayed conversations, recordings and other means, voice actors brought a number of colourful characters to life, inviting the player to glean some meaning in those last tragic moments of their lives. In a heartbreaking twist, the game’s theme, a meditation on loneliness, or perhaps loss, only made sense in its final moments.

Nominated for several accolades, Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture was praised by IGN at the time as “a beautiful, heart-breaking journey into the end of the world.” GamesRadar called it “brave, challenging, and essential.”

Subtle, subdued, and elegantly brought to life, Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture was one of this reviewer’s favourite offerings of that year.

Cut to 2024, and The Chinese Room has managed to recapture at least some of that lightning in a bottle with its latest offering Still Wakes the Deep.

Set in the mid 1970’s on an oil rig stationed in the North Sea, this survival horror focuses on our protagonist, Cameron “Caz” McLeary (voiced by Alec Newman) an electrician with a secret recent past. Now fleeing from the police, Caz takes up a position with a skeleton crew working over Christmas and New Year onboard the Beira D.

Unlike Rapture, Still Wakes the Deep initially introduces a whole slew of characters from Scotland, England, Northern Ireland and Ireland at the game’s outset. However, there’s no need to keep tabs on who’s who. In the grand tradition of terrible things happening in enclosed unescapable spaces, the crew begins to get picked off one by one after they accidentally drill into an eldritch horror from the deep and bring it back to the surface. Once on board the drilling platform, the creature begins to mutate not only the structure itself but several of Caz’s companions. It’s a shame to see them go because the game is bursting at the seams with authentic voice talent throughout.

Fans of classic cult movie The Thing will definitely feel the inspiration behind the game’s creeping claustrophobia and the terrifying knowledge that the environment poses an equal threat as the creature oozing through the tight corridors and flickeringly lit rooms.

As Caz, players are tasked with saving the lives of his erstwhile crew-mates, and keeping the rig from sinking into the churning depths, all while squeezing through tight dark spaces, swimming through water, muck and oil, and trying not to drown or freeze to death in the process. And just like its predecessor, Still Wakes the Deep’s story is woven from subtle observations on the human condition not directly addressed until the game’s final moments. Instead, emotional flashbacks offer clues as to the nature of Caz’s inner demons.

While there is no combat system (in fact the game offers only a minimal heads up display) Caz can climb ladders, press buttons, pull levers, and use a flashlight. He can also choose to hide in various locations (under tables, in air vents, and lockers etc.) while being pursued by a creature (Discretion being the better part of valor in some instances).

While being weaponless throughout the game certainly increases the stakes and forces the player to consider how best to be stealthy, the game map and mechanics are perhaps a little too straight-forward. Not quite a “game on rails” Still Wakes the Deep does like to keep things simple. There are never two ways to achieve the same end. Paths to the next level are marked clearly with yellow paint. The only way to die is to fail at grasping a ledge or a rung on a slippery ladder during a quick-time event, or to fail to flee in a timely manner from an approaching monster.

Puzzles are likewise pretty basic. The challenge often involves returning to a previous location, now under water, or ablaze, or filled with monster tentacles, in order to press a sequence of buttons, or pull a critical lever.

Frustratingly there is a feeling of being pulled along at times, almost as unwilling spectators in Caz’s nightmare, rather than being fully immersed in proceedings, with Caz’s friends appearing at intervals to tell him where to go and what to do next.

However, these level design decisions feel less like an oversight than a deliberate storytelling choice. Like its predecessor, the game is a cinematic experience that seems intent on pulling players completely into its richly detailed world (I found myself smiling at the 70’s decor and period-accurate decorations on a Christmas tree in the game’s initial stages) to such a degree that nothing else is permitted to get in the way of the story being told. 

Some players will no doubt rail against Still Wakes the Deep’s linearity. Others will appreciate the game as the rich narrative-driven experience it is.

Our score: 7/10. A richly detailed world, top-notch acting, and a satisfying horror theme are marred by a linear progression system and over-simplified puzzle-solving, leaving the player feeling a loss of control over their overall gaming experience.

Platform: PS5, X-box Series X/S, Windows

Release: 6/18/2024 

Studio: The Chinese Room

Publisher: Secret Mode