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- Still Wakes The Deep is set up in an isolated oil rig in the middle of a roaring ocean, with a creature that destroyed our oil rig.
- It has dark basements, where water touches our knees, and screams can be heard as we make our way out.
- The game lets us explore the oil rig before and after it has been destroyed, making for a very immersive experience.
Still Wakes The Deep is making waves, pun intended, not only within the psychological horror genre but also beyond it. It has, to an extent, redefined the horror genre by merging many human fears in a game.
A True Visual Storyteller
It is no wonder that most people crave narrative-driven games that visually portray their story. While a lot of games try to do that, not all of them succeed in doing so, and most of them only tell a direct story, which gets boring after a while.
While we thought 2024 would disappoint horror game fans, Still Wakes The Deep has changed our minds and has provided the best experience by being one of the greatest offerings of 2024.
Incredible Hook
I judge games and movies by their first few scenes, and Still Wakes The Deep has deeply impressed me. The game’s first shot opens up in an ocean with fog spread across its far ends, and emotional music plays behind a voice-over.
The game begins with us present in our tiny room with the letters of our loved ones present on the table. The narrative has been set right from the beginning, revealing to us that we’ve gone to an oil rig away from our wife and kids for quite a while.
Before Vs After
Still Wakes The Deep uses the environment to set the scene and manipulates the contents that reside in the same environment to provide a visual masterpiece. Let me break it down for you.
The game lets you have objectives that allow you to travel around the oil rig and our crewmates have a quick chat with us at several points. All of this is to ensure that you are familiar with the locations of the oil rig and the people working in it.
Afterward, a catastrophic event takes place that destroys and infects the oil rig. Now, the game lets you go through the same spots again but with falling objects, destructed environments, and clutter placed all around the place.
This before and after is incredible since it has more impact than just throwing us in an infected place and telling us about what had happened through a cut-scene. The game has let you experience it, so it feels like you’re watching a movie and the second arc has begun.
Lighting & Sound Design
A few objectives include going to a dark basement-type place where water touches our knees. We have to go through a maze-like place with only a torch and we can hear screams and roars of our inflected friend trying to threaten and warn us simultaneously.
This, in and out of The Shape, threatens us and our crewmate, gains control, and warns us in the middle of a maze, creating a feeling of watching an intense thriller movie. With all of these things, it is safe to say it has both gameplay and narrative.
Redefined Psychological Horror
Still Wakes The Deep is said to have combined all human phobias in only a 4-5 hour-long game. This is mostly true because this game uses many ways to play on a wide range of human emotions. It is similar to Alan Wake 2, which also set a high bar for this genre.
So, the game throws you in the middle of the ocean and you have to balance through thin metal structures over the surging waves. These structures may break, causing the player to fall unless they quickly press buttons. This plays on the fear of heights and the fear of falling.
Narrative-Based Visual Effects
Most often, when the monster is very close to us, random and quick patterns distort the screen. When we’re attacked, these effects completely take over the screen, and when they slow down, you can see that our memory is playing back the images of our family.
Cutscenes are also initiated, with this distorted effect in the center of the screen. This depicts the great emotional bond of our character with his family, and he frequently gets these images, especially when he is in distress.
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[News Editor]
Obaid is pursuing a Law degree while working as a content writer. He has worked as a gaming writer for over three years because of his passion for the medium and reporting the latest updates in the industry. Having played hundreds of games, Obaid finds himself coming back to Elden Ring, Cyberpunk 2077, and Red Dead Redemption 2, with these games being among his favorites. He has also been mentioned on highly regarded websites, such as Wccftech, Metro UK, PS Lifestyle, GamePressure, VGC, and Gamespot.
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