Still Wakes the Deep Gets Summer Release

I’m not very nice with particular games, and I think when I previously spoke about The Chinese Room’s Still Wakes the Deep I wasn’t the kindest. I tend not to be when the last notable release from the studio was Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, coming out after the wonder that was Gone Home and The Stanley Parable but regressing the genre into oblivion. However, on Friday we got another look at Still Wakes the Deep with some cinematic shots, and minor gameplay elements. In the end, we got a release date too.

“Still Wakes the Deep, the upcoming narrative horror game from award-winning developer The Chinese Room and publisher Secret Mode, will be unleashed on 18 June 2024 across Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation®5, and PC. It will also be available with Game Pass for console and PC,” notes the press release. The press release also mentioned that there was a Future Games Showcase on Thursday, which showcased the trailer. However, I don’t think many people knew about that because no one sent out press releases far and wide for it. That’s me being “not kind” again, snarky some might say.

There isn’t much else to be said that hasn’t been already, though the press release does give a bit of backstory. “[The trailer], showcasing the Beira D oil rig situated off the coast of Scotland – and the first glimpses of the unknowable horror that has taken root. Still Wakes the Deep is a narrative horror from the masters of interactive storytelling at The Chinese Room. Players must navigate the perilous, sinking oil rig they call home, with nothing more than their wits to protect them from whatever has entered the rig, and the roiling sea below.

[…] You are an off-shore oil rig worker, fighting for your life through a vicious storm, perilous surroundings, and the dark, freezing North Sea waters. All lines of communication have been severed. All exits are gone. All that remains is to face the unknowable horror that’s come aboard.” I’m certainly intrigued by The Chinese Room’s latest outing, even if I was willing to dismiss it initially upon the announcement. It helps that it is set in Scotland. It somewhat sounds authentic, the showcase of horror helps, and I’m just left wondering how well it stacks up with the studio’s other horror offering, Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs.

Much like with Doctor Who, I’m confused when horror games or horror-adjacent games are released in the Summer. It feels less scary when I have the sunshine trying to glare on my screens or a neighbor opening a door to blind me with a reflection. However, Still Wakes the Deep is still (tehee) releasing June 18th, for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.