Still Wakes the Deep
| Still Wakes the Deep | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | The Chinese Room |
| Publisher(s) | Secret Mode |
| Director(s) |
|
| Producer(s) | Bruno Julien |
| Designer(s) | Rob McLachlan |
| Programmer(s) | Louis Larsson-De Wet |
| Artist(s) |
|
| Composer(s) | Jason Graves |
| Engine | Unreal Engine 5 |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release | June 18, 2024 |
| Genre(s) | Survival horror |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Still Wakes the Deep is an upcoming survival horror video game developed by The Chinese Room and published by Secret Mode. The story follows an electrician named Caz McLeary who is trapped on a damaged oil drilling platform in the North Sea in 1975, having no ways to escape while being pursued by a mysterious monster under harsh weather conditions. The game is set to be released for Windows PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and Series S on June 18, 2024.
Premise and gameplay
Still Wakes the Deep is a psychological horror video game played from a first-person perspective. The game is set in December 1975, on an oil rig named Beira D in the North Sea. In the game, the player assumes control of a Glaswegian electrician named Caz McLeary, who must navigate through the oil rig following a catastrophic event looking for a way to escape while surviving the harsh weather and evading the pursuit of a mysterious creature. The player character can run, jump and climb ladders. However, the game does not have a combat system, and players have to rely on stealth and solving light environmental puzzles to progress.[1]
Development
Development of the game was led by The Chinese Room, the studio behind Dear Esther, Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs, and Everybody's Gone to the Rapture. The concept of the game was created by the studio's co-founder, Dan Pinchbeck, who directed the game till his departure in mid 2023. John McCormack, the game's art director, was then promoted to replace Pinchbeck.[2] "The Thing set on an oil rig" was the game's original pitch, while Who Goes There? inspired the overall atmosphere of the game. The team believed that the setting, which sees a group of professional stranded in a remote place with no outside connections, provides an excellent venue for character drama.[3] An oil rig was chosen to be the game's setting because it provided opportunities to explore various types of fears such as "vertigo, drowning, claustrophobia".[2] A wide range of films, such as Annihilation, Midsommar, The Southern Reach Trilogy, Sapphire & Steel, and Suspiria all influenced the game.[4]
As the game is set in Scotland, the team used the opportunities to include voices not commonly represented in games set in the United Kingdoms. Voice actors from Isle of Skye, Dundee, Aberdeen and Glasgow were recruited.[2] The team spent an extensive amount of time interviewing people who used to work on an oil rig, and viewed British Petroleum's documentary archives to ensure that the oil rig pepresented in the game was authentic and period-accurate.[5] McCormack, who is a Scot himself, advised the team on the aesthetic of Scotland in the 1970s. Abigail's Party, Scarfolk Council, Don't Look Now and Rosemary's Baby were cited as inspirations for the game's overall look, which was intended to be "unnerving" and "unsettling" despite its initial innocuous presentation.[6] The Poseidon Adventure was cited as a major inspiration for the team, and the team wanted players to "fear the waves, and to feel trapped above the cold dark water as it floods the rig" The team also wanted to capture the feeling of "dreich", a Scottish word representing grey and gloomy weather, one that "has taken all the colour and joy out of the surroundings".[7]
The game does not have any combat system, and the team emphasized that the player character is no an action hero. Reverend Frank Scott from The Posideon Adventure was described as the "perfect archetype" to McLeary, the game's "unathletic" main character.[3] This is an intentional choice to make players feel "powerless", so that every decision the players made by players will feel impactful.[1] Puzzle solving and transversal, therefore, become the main ways for players to progress. Early sections of the game focused on knowing the oil rig crew. This section of the game was inspired by the works of Ken Loach. These sections were used to juxtapose with the game's later parts which focus more on horror and action.[6] Players sometimes have to backtrack to certain areas of the game, though they will be changed as they are either destroyed or flooded, potentially opening up new areas for players to explore.[8]
The game was announced in June 2023 by The Chinese Room. It is set to be released on June 18, 2024 for Windows PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and Series S. The Chinese Room and publisher Secret Mode partnered with Microsoft to promote the game, which will also be released for Xbox Game Pass subscribers at launch.[9]
References
- ^ a b West, Josh (August 31, 2023). "I was sold on Still Wakes the Deep with three evocative Unreal Engine 5 gameplay clips". GamesRadar. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
- ^ a b c Phillips, Tom (November 16, 2023). "Under the surface of Still Wakes The Deep". Eurogamer. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
- ^ a b Skrebels, Joe (October 25, 2023). "Xbox Partner Preview: The Unexpected Inspirations That Make Up Still Wakes the Deep". Xbox Wire. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
- ^ Nunneley-Jackson, Stephany (October 25, 2023). "Xbox Third-Party Preview round-up: Still Wakes the Deep, Spirit of the North 2, Manor Lords, more". VG 247. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
- ^ Blake, Vikki (August 27, 2023). "The Chinese Room reveals how Still Wakes the Deep's environment will evolve". Eurogamer. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
- ^ a b Packwood, Lewis (August 17, 2023). "'Trapped on an oil rig with an unknowable horror': Still Wakes the Deep is a dark 70s throwback". The Guardian. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
- ^ Evans-Thirlwell, Edwin (October 26, 2023). "Still Wakes The Deep gameplay trailer asks which is worst, the monsters or the weather?". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
- ^ Smith, Nat (February 15, 2023). "Still Wakes the Deep release date window, trailers, and gameplay". PCGamesN. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
- ^ Hester, Blake (June 11, 2023). "Still Wakes The Deep Is The Next Game From The Chinese Room". Game Informer. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
External links
- Official website