Still Wakes the Deep is a riveting premise, and unique gaming experience. You play a man named Caz McCreary who decides to work a side job as an electrician on a oil rig despite his wife's best interests. After some time, the oil rig encounters a deadly force and you spend the entire game navigating the rig and attempting to escape unscathed.
It is listed as a horror game and while it does have some scary moments, I wouldn't go into this experience assuming to be scared. It's more of a thriller with intense moments in between.
What the game does right:
1) Immersion. You really get invested in this character and, over time, you do start to care about key side characters.
2) Visuals. It's fairly beautiful, albeit mostly dark, somber and rustic (oil rig obviously).
3) Voice Acting. Top tier, honestly. I haven't heard this organic of voice acting in a long time and really helps the immersion and the connection to the characters.
What the game lacks:
Controls/Gameplay. The controls are a little wonky and your character is slow as molasses. You certainly get used to it, and this isn't COD... but running is barely any faster than walking. The developers clearly wanted this character to be no different than your average man, but it's rough sometimes.
The Progression. You pretty much get the gist of what this game has to offer in terms of progression within the first hour. It's pretty linear (which doesn't bother me) but you get tired of looking for vents instead of doors, turning wheels and shut off switches, and climbing ladders the whole time.
The Why. It doesn't really explain why any of this is happening. It doesn't explain how it exists and where it comes from. Maybe it doesn't need to? After all, if you and I were someone stranded on an oil rig running away from dark entities, we wouldn't get to know why it's happening either. Maybe that IS the point.
Overall, its enjoyable. It doesn't require more than one playthrough so if you buy it, don't go into it assuming there's much replay value. If it's on Game Pass (like it was for me) it's definitely worth a run-through.
