I’ll admit it, I was late to Still Wakes the Deep. Originally landing back in June 2024, it somehow slipped through the cracks until it popped up on PS Plus. Free? Horror? Scottish oil rig? Aye, go on then.
Quick word of advice before we start: download it. Don’t stream it. PlayStation’s streaming stability is about as reliable as my emotional state during a Liverpool match, and this is not the game you want stuttering mid-sprint while something unspeakable is breathing down your neck.
Once downloaded, though, Still Wakes the Deep immediately gets its hooks into you.
A rig full of misery, and it looks the part
Developed by The Chinese Room, Still Wakes the Deep is set aboard an oil rig off the Scottish coast, and it absolutely commits to that setting. Everything is grey, damp, rusted, and miserable, in the best possible way. Pipes groan, metal creaks, and the North Sea weather batters the rig like it’s got a personal vendetta.
This isn’t a flashy horror. It’s oppressive. Claustrophobic. The kind of place where you already feel uneasy before anything supernatural starts kicking off. And when it does? The environment becomes your enemy just as much as the… thing… stalking you.
Scottish voices done right (finally)
One thing Still Wakes the Deep absolutely nails is its dialogue. The accents don’t sound like someone watched Trainspotting once and gave it a go. The language, the rhythm, the gallows humour, it all feels authentic.
Chatting with Roy, the chef, was a highlight. Promising to pray for you, reminding you that Jesus loves you… But everyone else thinks you’re a cunt. It’s that perfect Scottish balance of warmth and brutal honesty, dropped right into the middle of a nightmare.
Even as the rig is being overrun by a hostile entity unleashed by drilling where it really shouldn’t have, there’s humour threaded throughout. Not enough to break the tension, just enough to make the characters feel real.
Horror without cheap tricks
This isn’t a jump-scare factory. In fact, Still Wakes the Deep avoids that route almost entirely. Instead, it leans hard into dread.
You’re hunted. Constantly. Crawling through vents, hiding in cupboards, holding your breath as former colleagues, now twisted, broken versions of themselves, stagger past, muttering, twitching, searching. It’s not loud. It’s not flashy. It’s deeply uncomfortable.
The horror comes from helplessness. You don’t fight back. You run, hide, and hope your timing’s good enough. When it works, it’s genuinely tense. When it doesn’t… well, enjoy falling to your death again.
The controls fight back a bit too much
Here’s where things stumble.
Movement feels sluggish at times in Still Wakes the Deep. Running doesn’t always register cleanly, and jumping can feel imprecise, which is not ideal in a game where missing a leap often means a long, embarrassing plummet into the abyss. I died more than once, not because I panicked, but because the game simply didn’t respond how I expected.
And then there’s the item throwing mechanic.
In theory, you can toss nearby junk, hard hats, tools, whatever’s lying around, to distract enemies and sneak past. In practice? It’s hit and miss. Mostly miss. You’ll aim carefully, thinking you’ve got a clean shot to lob a wrench across the room… and instead it pings off the inside of your hiding spot and clatters to the floor at your feet like the world’s most pathetic boomerang.
When you do stick the throw, it still doesn’t guarantee success. Sometimes the infected rig worker you’re trying to lure away just… stands there. Other times, they’ll slowly wander in the general direction of the noise, but not far enough to actually clear a path. It feels inconsistent, which is a shame, because it could’ve been a great stealth tool in your limited arsenal.
A slow burn that sticks the landing
Despite those control hiccups, the story carries the experience. The pacing is deliberate, the mystery unfolds gradually, and the emotional beats land harder than expected. There’s a real sense of loss, guilt, and inevitability baked into the narrative.
By the end, it’s less about the monster and more about the people trapped on that rig, their regrets, their bonds, and what they leave behind. It lingers in your head long after the credits roll.
Tail-end thoughts on Still Wakes the Deep
Still Wakes the Deep isn’t perfect, but it’s memorable. It’s a horror game that understands restraint, atmosphere, and character far better than most. The setting is inspired, the dialogue is superb, and the sense of dread is constant without ever feeling cheap.
If you can tolerate slightly awkward movement and you download rather than stream it, this is absolutely worth your time, especially if you enjoy slow-burning, story-led horror that trusts you to sit in discomfort.
You can play Still Wakes the Deep across all major platforms. For more information on the game, check out the official website. And if you’ve completed it like us, you can continue the story with the game’s DLC, Still Wakes the Deep: Siren’s Rest. For more reviews of the games we’re playing, just click right here.
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