Still Wakes The Deep is the latest psychological horror game from British game developer The Chinese Room. Set on a remote oil rig in the middle of the Black Sea, the game has been making headlines since it first premiered on June 18th. Developed using the ultra-realistic Unreal Engine 5, Still Wakes The Deep is now available for all users on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S and X, and PC. The claustrophobic experience of Still Wakes The Deep is a non-stop rollercoaster from start to finish, with many players feeling too scared to even make it to the final cutscene.

So let’s take a quick look at the plot of Still Wakes The Deep to decode the chilling horror and explain the events and meaning of the game’s terrifying final moments. Needless to say, there will be major spoilers for the entire content of Still Wakes The Deep. So if you don’t want to go in as unprepared as possible, bookmark this page and come back after you’ve finished the game. For everyone else: let’s get started.

The Game’s Plot & Setting

As already mentioned, Still Wakes The Deep is set on a fictional oil rig called Beira D, located in the notoriously fickle waves of the North Sea. From a first-person perspective, the player takes control of a man named Kaz from Glasgow who works as an electrician on-site. The game is a sort of period piece, set in the winter of 1975, before modern gadgets like mobile phones and computer-controlled electrical appliances became the norm. Kaz is a perfectly competent electrician, but not really suited to life on an oil rig. In fact, he only got the job because of a connection he made with his best friend Roy, who is on the run from the Scottish authorities and works as a cook on the Beira D.

One night, while the oil rig is operating with a skeleton crew at Christmastime, a catastrophic failure of the rig causes Kaz and several others to fall into the treacherous surf. Of the men who fell overboard, only Kaz manages to crawl back onto the rig, but he nearly collapses from hypothermia. After warming up, Kaz quickly realizes that things on board have gotten out of control. Pieces of the rig break off and fall into the sea, and a terrifying Lovecraftian monster spreads its tendrils across the lower deck.

What Are The Monsters In Still Wakes The Deep?

Kaz is not a seasoned veteran of combat, so there is only so much the player can do to protect him. Still Wakes The Deep does not have any weapons or melee combat system, so players must rely on puzzles and stealth to run, jump, swim, and climb to escape the mysterious creatures. The origins and motivations of the Lovecraftian tentacle monsters are never fully explained, but we can assume that they are supernatural forces of nature that were destroyed by the excavation of Beira D. The game never reveals any Umbrella Corporation-esque conspiracy to provide additional background on these monsters, leaving the player to interpret their presence with little context. In fact, it is this lack of information that drives the atmosphere of the game to a terrifying conclusion, forcing the player to confront their own fear of the unknown.

Lovecraftian monsters aren’t the only enemies in this game. Some of Kaz’s coworkers have been turned into mutated zombie-like creatures after being exposed to some kind of contaminated radioactive oil. These evil zombified men, still retaining some of their true personalities even under infection, start hunting down the surviving crew members. Still Wakes The Deep clearly pushes the envelope when it comes to horrifying monster design, with every enemy offering a nightmarish escape route.

How Does Still Wakes The Deep End?

At the end of Still Wakes The Deep, Kaz and his remaining compatriots find themselves completely surrounded by an oncoming army of monsters, mechanical failures on the oil rig, and harsh weather conditions. As his friends are killed one by one, Kaz decides to blow up the oil rig and eradicate this terrible plague. This is a last-ditch effort to prevent these creatures from invading the mainland and wreaking havoc on its inhabitants. In his final moments, Kaz sets fire to the entirety of Beira D, blowing the oil rig into a thousand pieces and heroically sacrificing himself for the good of humanity. Before the game’s credits begin, we see a flashback of Kaz and his wife Suze. Kaz reminisces about their loving marriage, the birth of their children, and the fun days they had before he took his dangerous job on the oil rig.

The player never sees the outcome of Kaz’s sacrifice, so it remains unclear whether his attempt to destroy the tentacle creatures that overrun the rig was successful. As a result, fans online are divided on what exactly happened. Some fear the monster will return in the next game, while others believe the monster successfully transformed into a squid. The best way to find out which theory works best for you is to play the game yourself and make a guess based on your own experience.

What Is Still Wakes The Deep Based On?

Still Wakes The Deep is a completely original idea, first conceived by The Chinese Room co-founder Dan Pinchbeck. Pinchbeck initially pitched the game as a reimagining of John Carpenter’s 1982 classic horror film The Thing, set on a remote oil rig. The co-founder served as the game’s lead director throughout much of its development, before leaving the Chinese Room team in 2023 and handing the reins over to art director John McCormack. The decision to set Still Wakes The Deep entirely on an oil rig was made due to the range of fears that can be posed in such a remote environment. As a result, players will face fears of drowning, fear of heights, dizziness, claustrophobia, and more. Other influences that helped the game developers set the tone for Still Wakes The Deep include films such as Midsommar, Suspiria, Annihilation, and Rosemary’s Baby.

Although the development team did not state this in interviews, it is clear that they were also inspired by the works and imagery of H.P. Lovecraft. The design of this tentacle monster resembles that of the extremely rare giant squid and the mythical Kraken, making the game’s North Sea setting the perfect place to explore these images. In addition, videos showing life on the high seas have been going viral on social media apps such as TikTok on a regular basis in recent times, with many users expressing that they would not want to work on a ship in the Black Sea if it were for the money. This may be pure coincidence, but it certainly contributes to the viral marketing of a successful new game.

How Long Does It Take To Complete Still Wakes The Deep?

Like all games, Still Wakes The Deep can be played at countless speeds depending on your skill with the controls, familiarity with the plot, and your inclination to explore every nook and cranny of the game or run for your life at the first sign. Dangerous. According to How Long To Beat, the average time it takes to follow the game’s plot from start to finish is about 4.5 hours. However, if you’re interested in finding every collectible item in Beira D and achieving a 100% clear score, you can expect to spend more than 6 hours sprinting through this terrifying horror game.

It may seem a bit short, but Still Wakes The Deep is an indie production made by a small studio with a much smaller staff than a traditional AAA developer. If you’ve been wanting to try the game but aren’t yet confident enough to give it a go yourself, there are plenty of exciting playthroughs available daily on sites like YouTube and Twitch. If you do decide to brave the hell out of this terrifying experience, just remember that there’s no shame in only playing in daylight and in the comfort of your own home with the blinds open.