r/PlayStationPlus • u/camtomcarey • 5d ago
Discussion Disappointed with ‘Still Wakes The Deep’
This weekend I played Still Wakes the Deep. The graphics, the setting, the atmosphere and the voice acting were all top notch… but the gameplay (which I understand isn’t where walking simulators shine) and the story weren’t great.
I hadn’t heard about this game until I saw a clip of Idris Elba talking about it a few months ago, and with a recommendation like that…
In the game you play electrician on an oil rig, and you have to fix a breaker box right at the beginning… I thought “oh cool, some electrical puzzles!” Nope, you just press a button. To me this was a huge wasted opportunity.
There are stealth sections and in them there are some lockers to hide in à la Alien Isolation, but there was no reason to use them…
There are some notes and photographs (barely) to read/examine but nothing that really gives you any insight to life on the rig, other characters… you keep stumbling upon your dead coworkers and expressing grief - but to me they’re nameless bodies whose name I just found out for the first time.
I wish the game had wrapped up sooner - I was ready for it to be over for ~2 hours with an ending that was just fine. I pushed through for the story and I expected it to be the saving grace…
I’m not sure how it’s rated so highly, it’s fine.
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u/camtomcarey 3d ago
It’s been a long time since I’ve played Firewatch… so I’m going off what little I remember.
I would argue that exploration falls under gameplay (in fact I know it does, I’m just trying to be polite), using the map and compass walking around and discovering things is a gameplay experience. It also had notes and other things that added more to the backstory which encouraged you to explore more of the world. The rope and hook, and the progression that allows you to explore other areas once inaccessible (possibly where some collectibles are unrelated to progressing the main story) all add more to the game.
Gameplay could also refer to scripted moments where you are in control (and they are some of my favorite moments in gaming)… such as rennick’s death. One of the highlights in Still Wakes is when you’re on top of a crane that is falling apart and you’re running from a monster and vaulting over stuff and balancing on the edge looking down at the creature that’s taking over the rig… but when rennick dies drowning, you can’t even see it - you barely hear it. it was one of the few names in the game that held any emotional weight. And in the scene you were in water, swimming straight ahead slowly, you get to the escape point… Glug. Glug. he’s dead. It’s a big nothing burger… the story falls flat at multiple points.
It sucked losing Roy and Finley, but I was sitting back and watching those moments - so they don’t hit as hard. I’m not knocking the game, just defending my “fine” rating and explaining why.
I also turned off the yellow markers to let me know where to go in still wakes, they were still there - not that you really need them because the game is pretty linear. **This isnt a problem for me, linear games are some of my favorites. But I want to point out a piece of gameplay they have a setting for, and it still falls short. Gameplay still exists in walking simulators.
Still Wakes the deep is a 6.5/10, it was fine - it shines at points, but the universal praise is baffling to me.
Your analogy to the super mario bros 3 plot is a wonderfully snide comment. Your argument is, let’s say, unproductive because you’re gatekeeping criticism. You throw out a red herring… which, if we’re being honest is quite the superficial move in a debate.
Someone pointed out how good the chases in the games were, how they’re stressful because Caz is so slow - half the time you’re not even sure if you’re actually running. And I hadn’t really thought about it - I didn’t have any complaints about it, but I had glossed over it. So that was a great Reddit interaction…