Last year’s BAFTA-winning Still Wakes the Deep should have been a smash with me, as it fuses the craftsmanship of The Chinese Room along with Scotland. But it ended up being a walking simulator that nailed its story and atmosphere, but fell well short in terms of interactivity and gameplay. This is an issue with the walking simulator genre as a whole, of couse. You just try to move through the world as the tale unfolds around you. If you are lucky, you get some extremely light puzzles and interactions for you to do along the way. Well, The Chinese Room are back with a bit of a surprise, as Still Wakes the Deep has just received a story-focused DLC. Still Wakes the Deep: Siren’s Rest basically takes the action from a walking simulator to floating simulator.
Set eleven years after the events of the main game, you play as Mhairi, a saturation diver, as she explores the wreckage of what is left of the Beira D oil rig, hoping to find out just what happened to the rig and those aboard it.
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Which is also what we, the players, are left wondering, as once the credits rolled, we were left with more questions than answers about Caz and co. But the North Sea is a dangerous place, and if you did finish the main game, you’ll have an idea of what awaits beneath the waves.
A Hook
The DLC’s biggest hook is the introduction of underwater exploration, as you spend most of your time in the big deep blue which, on one level, is a shame given the time leap to the 80s from the 70s, as down there it could be 2025 for all you know.
Right off the bat, this sets a tense and foreboding setting due to low visibility. And when exploring what’s left of the Beira D, it’s a maze of broken metal and pipework, often only lit by the flare in your hand or the light from your diving helmet torch.
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The tale is broken into chapters, though the third is extremely short. You’ll be swimming around the hulk of the rig, collecting info and items as you get breadcrumbed bits of lore and new detail, though sadly it’s never the revelation or smoking gun you may have hoped for.
Well, other than one reveal that, I’ll be honest, if you haven’t worked out by the end, I’d be surprised.
Treading Water
Gameplay is mostly swimming, cutting your way through doors and just exploring. It’s very much a game that trades on its atmosphere once again rather than actual set-pieces. There is a bit of walking about due to air pockets, which brings in some hit-and-miss platforming of sorts. There’s the odd QTE, but nothing groundbreaking. But again, it’s a walking simulator, what should I expect?
The biggest issue with the DLC, though, is the time to beat. You can easily do it in two and a half hours. People have been doing it in under two hours, which, for a £9.99/€12.99 asking price, is a bit wild. And on top of that, Still Wakes the Deep: Siren’s Rest can honestly be seen as more of a prologue than a resolution. Like the main game, you’ll walk away with more questions than answers.
Striking Presentation
Visually, Still Wakes the Deep: Siren’s Rest is just as striking as the main game. Everything has a rust and grimy look as the ocean bed reclaims the rig. Sound is top-tier again, with an atmosphere-building soundtrack and outstanding voice acting. Lois Chimimba, Lorn Macdonald, and David Menkin absolutely smash it.
Though worth noting, the game is a bit rough in places, from visual glitches and just odd choices such as instant death if you don’t go the way the game wants you to.
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Still Wakes the Deep: Siren’s Rest gives a new perspective on what the main game delivered. But, again, for me, falls into the same traps. And, the switch from walking to floating doesn’t change the way the tale is delivered. It’s too many unanswered questions.
If you loved the main game, this is a no-brainer as it’s a return to the world. If you were not fussed with it, then it’s an easy miss, especially at the short run-time. I honestly want to love this series as, at times, it’s the most Scottish thing in gaming. But, beyond the voice acting and a so-so tale, I just bounce hard off its gameplay.
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