Still Wakes the Deep
Games review
As of Aug 20, 2026, Still Wakes the Deep is rated 74/100 on Metacritic (46 critic reviews), and 88% positive on Steam (12,837 reviews). Each source is shown in its own units, never blended into one score.
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Different sources measure different things, so each is shown in its own units and never merged into one number.
Is Still Wakes the Deep worth it in 2026?
Still Wakes the Deep earns its 88% positive Steam rating from nearly 13,000 reviews through genuine strengths: emotional storytelling, some of the best voice acting in recent horror games, and atmospheric design that makes a 1970s North Sea oil rig feel viscerally real, with Lovecraftian horror threading through all of it. Critics landed it at 74/100, and that gap is honest: the gameplay is essentially a walking simulator with monotonous fetch-and-fix tasks and no combat, the runtime is around 6 hours, and several reviewers feel the story setup outpaces its payoff. The uglier problem is technical, 8 sampled reviews cite frequent crashes, 7 flag poor optimization, and Fatal Error crashes persist even with the -dx11 workaround on high-end machines, meaning this is an actively unreliable product that some users describe as unplayable; the DX12 path is reportedly broken outright, and the DX11 fallback degrades visuals and performance.
Players who prioritize narrative immersion, voice performance, and Lovecraftian atmosphere over gameplay depth, and who are prepared to refund immediately if it crashes on launch, because that outcome is common enough to plan for.
AI-generated editorial synthesis of the source scores and sampled review themes, not a hands-on test. Reviewer experiences and allegations are not independently verified facts.
Pros
- emotional storytelling9
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- Only 6hrs to complete. Really enjoyable game. Some people complain that it's too short, but it's not the size, it's what you do with it. Probably the best voice acting I've seen in...
- Very nice game if you like lovecraftian themes. The mechanics are so-so overall but at the same time are surprisingly polished. I absolutely loved the characters. The plot is quite...
- In todays age Still Wakes the Deep might be perceived as boring as its not packed with enough stimuli. If you dont mind the slower pace and linear storytelling then this will hit d...
- voice acting quality8
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- Only 6hrs to complete. Really enjoyable game. Some people complain that it's too short, but it's not the size, it's what you do with it. Probably the best voice acting I've seen in...
- One of the best games I've ever played. Great voice acting, great story, definitely play this one!
- It's not perfect but it's an amazing journey - with one of the better-written character dialogues and voice acting I've seen in horror genre, and lots of jaw-dropping moments. 8/10
- atmospheric design6
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- The Chinese Room's best work to date. I'll say outright that the visuals and the audio are just perfect. I've never been to one, much less a 70s one, but this is really how I'd ex...
- Absolutely loved the main story! The atmosphere was AMAZING from start to finish. The dlc content was "okayish", but the base game is a MUST PLAY and easily one of the best experie...
- A very interesting adventure with a great, heavy atmosphere. Setting a horror game on an oil rig was an interesting idea. The gameplay was a typical "walking simulator," but the na...
- character development4
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- Only 6hrs to complete. Really enjoyable game. Some people complain that it's too short, but it's not the size, it's what you do with it. Probably the best voice acting I've seen in...
- Very nice game if you like lovecraftian themes. The mechanics are so-so overall but at the same time are surprisingly polished. I absolutely loved the characters. The plot is quite...
- great universe, theme, and character development. gameplay is a complete walking sim with some occasional stealth/chase segments. story didn't hit as much as i'd like. characters...
- lovecraftian horror themes3
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- Seemingly unplayable in 2026, Fatal Error crashes, even with the -dx11 workaround, and when the game runs for a couple minutes at a time, it runs at about 15fps on my beast of a ga...
- Very nice game if you like lovecraftian themes. The mechanics are so-so overall but at the same time are surprisingly polished. I absolutely loved the characters. The plot is quite...
- Amazing visuals and atmosphere. I strongly recommend for fans of cosmic horror. Gameplay is simple so treat it more like a visual/narrative treat. Also the dlc is great if you're n...
- appropriate game length3
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- Only 6hrs to complete. Really enjoyable game. Some people complain that it's too short, but it's not the size, it's what you do with it. Probably the best voice acting I've seen in...
- Very nice game if you like lovecraftian themes. The mechanics are so-so overall but at the same time are surprisingly polished. I absolutely loved the characters. The plot is quite...
- Really fing good game. Beatiful graphics, good story, good controls. the sort of 3.5-4 hour length is good. If it would be 1 hour it be too short but 10 hours would feel too much o...
Cons
- frequent crashes8
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- Seemingly unplayable in 2026, Fatal Error crashes, even with the -dx11 workaround, and when the game runs for a couple minutes at a time, it runs at about 15fps on my beast of a ga...
- For the past month or so, this game is completely unplayable on DX12 and crash on the main menu screen without fail. DX11 is an option, but the game looks, sounds, and feels far ch...
- this is so dissapointing and im honestly pissed, cant play the GAME. everytime i load it up, it just crashes and says "fatal error" even after reinstalling to multiple different dr...
- poor performance optimization7
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- Seemingly unplayable in 2026, Fatal Error crashes, even with the -dx11 workaround, and when the game runs for a couple minutes at a time, it runs at about 15fps on my beast of a ga...
- For the past month or so, this game is completely unplayable on DX12 and crash on the main menu screen without fail. DX11 is an option, but the game looks, sounds, and feels far ch...
- Crashes instantly. Forcing DX11 stops the crashes, but outdoor FPS plummets to 10 FPS on a high-end PC. Unplayable in its current state. Refunded.
- limited gameplay mechanics4
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- Interesting premise and setting, but the gameplay leaves a lot to be desired. It reminded me of the monotonous busywork from Dead Space 1, but without any combat to break it up. I...
- This game is a miss but it did have potential for higher. Outlook of the game is very nice and oil rig as theme is one that is less used in gaming. Problem of this game are primar...
- great universe, theme, and character development. gameplay is a complete walking sim with some occasional stealth/chase segments. story didn't hit as much as i'd like. characters...
- weak story payoff3
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- Interesting premise and setting, but the gameplay leaves a lot to be desired. It reminded me of the monotonous busywork from Dead Space 1, but without any combat to break it up. I...
- great universe, theme, and character development. gameplay is a complete walking sim with some occasional stealth/chase segments. story didn't hit as much as i'd like. characters...
- Easily the best game made by The Chinese Room but that is a low bar to beat having played some of their other titles. I would happily play a sequel and have yet to play the Siren's...
Themes and quotes are drawn from 40 sampled reviews with text. Each score above uses its source's displayed count. Theme counts are how many of the sampled reviews mention each point.
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