Still Wakes the Deep
Games review
As of Aug 12, 2026, Still Wakes the Deep is rated 74/100 on Metacritic (46 critic reviews), and 88% positive on Steam (12,763 reviews). Each source is shown in its own units, never blended into one score.
Opens Still Wakes the Deep's own site, not a review site.
Is Still Wakes the Deep worth it in 2026?
Still Wakes the Deep is a 6-hour cinematic horror experience set on a 1970s North Sea oil rig that excels at atmosphere, voice acting, and emotional storytelling, and almost nothing else. The 88% Steam positive rate from over 12,000 reviews reflects a player base that forgives the on-rails linearity and thin mechanics for the sake of a genuinely affecting story; the 74 Metacritic score reflects critics who didn't. The core gameplay loop is closer to busywork than design, with weak mechanics and zero agency, so if you need puzzle-solving or exploration, this isn't your game. The more urgent risk is technical: crashes preventing main menu access, fatal errors that survive the -dx11 workaround, and 15fps on high-end hardware are documented complaints that represent a real compatibility lottery, and for a 6-hour linear game, an unplayable session isn't a setback, it's the whole purchase gone.
Story-first players who want a short, atmospheric horror narrative with exceptional voice acting and don't require meaningful gameplay agency, and who can confirm the game launches stably on their specific hardware before buying.
Crashes, fatal errors, and severe performance degradation on some systems appear to be an unresolved compatibility problem rather than a patched launch issue; the -dx11 workaround is not reliable, and AMD driver conflicts are specifically flagged. Verify before you buy.
ReviewPond's conclusion, drawn only from the verified scores and review themes below. Not a paid or editorial opinion.
Different sources measure different things, so each is shown in its own units and never merged into one number.
Pros
- story and characters19
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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...
- atmosphere and setting13
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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...
- 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 quality9
see reviews +-
- 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...
- A beautiful, story focused, horror experience that combines the terror of the open ocean with a narrative about pushing through obstacle after obstacle to return to your family ali...
- 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...
- emotional impact8
see reviews +-
- 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...
- A beautiful, story focused, horror experience that combines the terror of the open ocean with a narrative about pushing through obstacle after obstacle to return to your family ali...
- Great story that had me crying by the end with interactive and heart-racing gameplay. There's a story mode that let's you just get the story without the stress of fighting for your...
- visual 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...
- The Thing + Alien Isolation + Lovecraft + Das Boot + Barotrauma + The Abyss extremely kino ending, super cool analog 70s tech everywhere very atmospheric, and the beginning is cozy...
- Great story, very heart touching, Note even for me with a God like PC build the game in some areas is very hard to run on max everything 2k
- appropriate length4
see reviews +-
- 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...
- Awesome freaking game! It didnt need more than 6-7 hours. Also for a horror story-driven game this is the perfect length, does not overstay its welcome at all. Highly recommend. Am...
Cons
- poor performance optimization8
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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.
- crashes and fatal errors5
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- Couldn't even get to the main menu without it crashing on me. Story is probably great and the horrors might be scary af, but for some reason I can't run the game.
- 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...
- 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...
- linear on-rails design4
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- Ultimately pretty disappointed with this. The setting of the oil rig had me hoping this was going to be a bit more of a miniature open world puzzlebox type of experience, traipsing...
- 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...
- Beautiful, but very poorly optimized, lagging at even the lowest settings. Instriguing concept, but lackluster story. Interesting characters with a beautiful language, but poor gam...
- driver compatibility issues4
see reviews +-
- 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...
- A good game but rolling back Nvidia Drivers just to play is a pain in the ass.
- weak gameplay mechanics3
see reviews +-
- 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...
- 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...
- Beautiful, but very poorly optimized, lagging at even the lowest settings. Instriguing concept, but lackluster story. Interesting characters with a beautiful language, but poor gam...
- unsatisfying story resolution3
see reviews +-
- 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...
- Beautiful, but very poorly optimized, lagging at even the lowest settings. Instriguing concept, but lackluster story. Interesting characters with a beautiful language, but poor gam...
- Loved the atmosphere of this game and the feeling of being stuck in the middle of massive open water. Amazing story and good amount of horror. And the psychological aspect of the "...
Themes and quotes are drawn from 40 sampled reviews with text; the scores above reflect all 12.8K ratings. Counts are how many of the sampled reviews mention each point.