Brighton studio The Chinese Room has had an interesting few years. The studio, known for titles such as Dear Esther and Everybody's Gone to the Rapture, laid off a large number of its staff in 2017 before being acquired by Sumo Digital in 2018.
Still Wakes the Deep ► Horror Game Review
Following the acquisition, the studio announced that it was working on games that simply didn’t fit into its usual catalog, including Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 and adventure-platformer Little Orpheus. So it was with some relief when the narrative horror film Still Wakes the Deep was announced for 2023. The studio was finally getting back to its narrative roots, and fans like me were happy about that.
While Still Wakes the Deep may seem like a return to the classic version of The Chinese Room, its beauty is only skin deep.
Still Wakes the Deep is set in 1975 and follows protagonist Caz McLeary, who (against his wife's wishes) signs up for a few months as an electrician on an oil rig off the coast of Scotland. Given that it's Christmas, I'd be pretty pissed off too.
