The Verdict
Set on a 1975 Scottish oil rig in the North Sea, from the studio behind Dear Esther and Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs, Still Wakes the Deep is the rare horror game that earns its dread from a place rather than a monster closet. The story, atmosphere, graphics, sound design and Scottish voice performances all drew critical praise, and rightly so: you turned cold steel and dark water into one of the most convincing horror settings of the year.
Then I reached for the gameplay and my hand closed on air. Critics flagged thin mechanics, a linear walking-sim structure and a short runtime, which is the polite way of saying the rig is a stunning corridor you mostly stroll through while the writing does the heavy lifting. When the scariest decision you give me is which catwalk to walk along next, you are leaning on craft to paper over a slim design.
Here is the genuine bright side, and it is a big one: users disagreed with the critics, hard. Metacritic user scores ran around 8.5 to 9.4, notably higher than the critic consensus, because for a lot of players that atmosphere and brevity is the whole point, not the flaw. Launching day-one on Game Pass and PS Plus was the smartest move you made, because at no extra cost a short, gorgeous, perfectly paced horror story is an easy yes.
What it nails
- ▲Story, writing and the doomed-rig premise land with real emotional weight and dread.
- ▲Atmosphere, graphics and sound design make the 1975 North Sea oil rig one of the year's best horror settings.
- ▲The authentic Scottish voice performances ground the cast and earned specific critical praise.
- ▲Day-one launch on Game Pass and PS Plus made a short, premium experience feel like a steal.
What it botches
- ▼Thin gameplay leans heavily on walking and scripted moments rather than meaningful mechanics.
- ▼A linear walking-sim structure leaves little room for player agency or survival decision-making.
- ▼Short length means the experience is over before its setting fully pays off for some players.
- ▼Critic consensus landed only mixed-to-positive despite the obvious production craft on display.
Who it's for
Players who want a beautiful, tense, story-first horror night and treasure atmosphere over inventory management, especially on a service subscription.
Who should skip
Anyone who measures a survival horror game by its systems, resource scarcity and combat, because there is barely any of that here.
The whole story lives on the hub