Still Wakes the Deep is a beautifully crafted juxtaposition of the manmade, natural, and supernatural. This narrative-led, survival horror game from developer The Chinese Room is a brief but chilling adventure on the Beira D, a North Sea oil rig, set during the 1970s.

You play as Cameron ‘Caz’ McLeary, a humble electrician who has traveled to the rig for some escapism – in more than one sense. After the rig goes about its normal business on a normal December day, something happens. The rig changes. The crew changes. It soon becomes apparent that something else is now on board with Caz, and he must bring parts of the rig back from the brink in order to find his crewmates and work out what’s going on.

You soon learn that you can never escape the entity attacking and changing the Beira D, so making your way off the rig with as many crew as you possibly can becomes Caz’s main goal.

The game's rigged

It’s become a quasi-cliche now to say that the setting or place of a video game is a character in and of itself, but I will bang this drum – particularly when it’s in such a strong case like with Still Wakes the Deep. It’s an important character to the story given the crew’s relationship with it, and the horror that it can hide, and it’s also an active member of the story given how it changes and reacts to Caz and the North Sea (and something else) over time.

The foundations of this importance come from the meticulousness of its recreation that then gives way to a relatable and real location with a strong sense of place. The Beira D has been created with details in mind and it shows; the handwritten menu boards, the nuts and bolts of paneling, the metal gangways and bridges on the exterior, and so much more all bring the Beira D brilliantly to life. However, it’s also a game setting that works on both a horror and gameplay level; the rig is perfect for some genuinely good environmental scares, accentuated by the wider, raging, dangerous North Sea.

It’s simply an incredibly well-done and realized video game environment and setting and is a breathtaking deployment of Unreal Engine 5. The detail also extends to the audio with the Beira D groaning loudly at times, dripping quietly at others, and reacting to your movements always. It ramps up the immersion and helps to put you right in Caz’s shoes.

Seeing the 1970s decor and style of the Beira D reinforces its datedness. For example, much of the decor is plain and utilitarian, and there are only limited and simple means of communication, such as the Beira D’s phone line – the latter particularly helps to ramp up Caz's sense of isolation and solitude.

As a result, there’s certainly a distinct ‘USG Ishimura factor’ to the Beira D too. The way it groans and moans, creaks, and changes over the game, and acts as a character means that Still Wakes the Deep is often at its most tense or scary when it’s just you and the oil rig. 

A-crew-ing leave

The people aboard the Beira D are superbly voiced and acted and make it feel truly lived in. The crew are wonderfully presented as normal people. Most are just regular folk trying to earn a wage and live in the remote place they work in order to return to the mainland – and it shows. First through the terrific voice acting, but also through their behaviors and emotions; you can see one young worker so nervous about his day’s task that he won’t eat breakfast, there’s chat about taking industrial action and a smattering of lighthearted banter between the crew. They’re all relatable, likable, and refreshingly normal. 

A knock-on effect of this is that when this all changes down the line it has far greater impact. Seeing the crew members in states of genuine fear and terror, nigh-on panicking to get off the rig when trouble comes hits harder and makes it more impactful. This heightens the impact of seeing the fate of some crew members throughout the game too, something elevated also by the horrifying phone calls and environmental noises Caz encounters.

Caz is wonderfully portrayed, really feels like a normal bloke, and is immediately relatable. We get glimpses into Caz’s past and character too, with him being on the Beira D as a means to escape both in the poetic and literal senses. He seems like a run-of-mill, working-class electrician who’s a bit rough around the edges.

Beira-ing down on you

Caz’s relative normalcy is also mirrored in the limited range of actions and abilities he has during the game. As Caz, you’ll utilize only a few basic movements and interactive actions to traverse the Beira D, interact with phones and grates, and get around enemies.  

The enemy in question is unknown in the early parts of the game. The tension and horror setup works superbly well because you just don’t know what has caused the chaos and what is affecting the crew. I really enjoyed trying to figure it all out with Caz and at the same rate as him. 

The manifestation of your foe becomes more visible and clear as the journey goes on – it’s always there and ever-present, constantly exerting its effect on Caz and the Beira D. I’m loathe to give much away but its effect on the crewmates – some very specifically – is particularly harrowing. There are some very grotesque changes happening throughout the rig, fuelled by body horror. 

Encounters with enemies aren’t particularly drawn-out, but they do make for some heart-pounding chases and tight and intense sneaking sections. Given you only have two options in these moments – sneak past or sprint past – there’s some strategic thinking necessary, and your awareness of hidey-holes, items to throw and distract, and the route to the next door or your escape is paramount, adding to the tension.

Opening grates under pressure feels tense, reaching for a door wheel while looking back can be genuinely scary, and the use of the rig’s environment in darkness and light is very effective too.

This restrained and pared-back action is never frustrating or shallow, however, and given your investment in Caz, the crew, and finding out what exactly is happening to the rig, it’s never a chore to take part in. 

McLeary as mud

There are a few creases. You’re able to easily and quickly navigate the Beira D due to overt use of ‘video game yellow’ a bit too easily and quickly, in reality. On one hand, this evokes Caz’s familiarity with his place of work and life, but on a practical level it detracts and degrades the tension, especially in large enemy encounters. However, The Chinese Room is updating Still Wakes the Deep at launch with a patch that will give you the option to reduce the number of yellow paint indicators which should go a long way to mitigating this issue.

This also relates to the overall level of exploration and discovery on the Beira D, which is a little limited. While you get to revisit parts (that have changed) over the course of the game, I’d have loved more time and freedom to poke about every nook and cranny, discover things, and break free from the guided experience.

Another crinkle is that some environmental puzzles are very simple and would benefit from a bit more complexity. You can utilize Caz’s electrician training at times but pressing a button to change a fuse is about as complex as it gets.

Elsewhere, while it’s a punchy and short experience, I was left pining for more upon finishing the game. It’s not a huge criticism, and it feels intentionally open, but I was immediately yearning to know more and do more, straight after rolling the credits.

A waking nightmare

Still Wakes the Deep’s story is a truly gripping one and I always felt compelled and intensely interested in playing the next bit to find out what’s going on. The narrative, characters, and place, all work seamlessly together to pull you along, setting up the next areas, or tempting you on with an engrossing mystery.

The juxtaposition of man-made, natural, and supernatural I mentioned at the beginning is pulled off beautifully with all the game’s elements and makes for some superb tension and immersion.

While there are a few loose rivets, Still Wakes the Deep is a tremendous experience. It’s a game exceptionally well-grounded in its time and setting, has an engrossing story supported by strong writing and performances, and is truly elevated by the Beira D’s incredible atmosphere and sense of place.

Still Wakes the Deep isn’t a long experience – but it is one that will stay with you. 

Should I play Still Wakes the Deep

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Accessibility

Still Wakes the Deep has a dedicated accessibility tab in the options menu, which covers subtitle options like size and color, interface adjustments such as having objectives always displayed or not, and motion sickness settings like head bob and head roll amounts. 

There are three colorblind modes (Deuteranope, Protanope, and Tritanope), and there is also a high contrast mode, and the option to turn off flashing lights. There are two difficulty modes for two styles of play; a standard experience for more jeopardy, but also a story-focused mode that reduces the danger, making the game more accessible.

How we reviewed Still Wakes the Deep

I played Still Wakes the Deep for about six hours on PlayStation 5 with a DualSense Wireless controller and in that time I completed the main story and had a good poke about in every corner of the Beira D. I tested both difficulty modes to see the differences and took time to read all the lore I could find along the way. I played the game on my Samsung Q6F 4K QLED TV soaking up the audio through my Samsung soundbar as well as my SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless headset.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door for Nintendo Switch is a faithful remake of the fondly-remembered Gamecube classic. A turn-based role-playing game (RPG) that sees Mario partner up with several colorful characters in an entirely papercraft world, it’s one of the most charming games from Nintendo’s sixth-generation purple cube. It’s also a game that’s held up tremendously well for the most part, as demonstrated handily by this phenomenal remake for Nintendo Switch.

Developer Intelligent Systems has decided to keep things extremely faithful with this remake, keeping the engaging turn-based combat and general flow of the original largely intact. But that’s not to say there aren’t improvements. A number of welcome quality-of-life changes - not to mention an absolutely stunning update to the game’s presentation - make Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door essential play for fans of the portly plumber or of RPGs in general. 

Gone rogue(port)

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door has always been memorable for introducing some notably seedier elements to the Mushroom Kingdom. The town of Rogueport, which acts as the hub for Mario’s adventure, is a veritable hive of scum and villainy and is decidedly much dingier and dangerous than the series’ typically lighthearted affair. Its streets are run down, it’s dominated by mafia activity, and there’s an honest-to-goodness gallows in the town square. While never unwelcomely grimdark or edgy, Rogueport remains one of the most unique and memorable locations in the entire Mario franchise thanks to its shadier elements.

But it’s where Mario and friends are setting up shop in their search for the Crystal Stars, which will help them unseal the titular Thousand-Year Door in order to prevent a catastrophe that’s, fittingly, a millennium in the making. Mario’s search will lead him to several interesting locales, including an ancient tree populated by monochrome denizens, a curse-afflicted pirate island, and even a fighting arena floating in the sky. The game and its story are full of surprises, and the unfolding adventure will be as much a treat for newcomers as it will be for those nostalgically experiencing the RPG for the first time since the Gamecube days.

Despite the grim centerpiece of Rogueport and the plot’s high stakes, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door doesn’t forget that ultimately, it is still a Mario game. That means you can expect heaps of charming dialogue, and delightfully familiar characters such as Piantas, Bob-ombs, Koopa Troopas, and the like. More front-facing Mario stalwarts including Luigi, Peach, and Bowser are along for the ride, too. 

All the world's a stage

One of the best aspects of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is its turn-based battle system, which honestly feels like it hasn’t aged a day. It’s a battle system that’s easy to learn and seems simple on its surface given Mario can only be accompanied by one partner character at a time. Additionally, Mario will only have access to some basic jump and hammer attacks in the game’s first couple of chapters.

However, the game does a fantastic job of introducing gameplay elements at a brisk but effective pace. Most abilities have unique action prompts that boost their power when inputted correctly. For example, pressing ‘A’ the moment Mario jumps on an enemy will follow up with an additional stomp for extra damage. Similarly, you’ll need to hold the analog stick left and let go at the right moment in order to swing Mario’s hammer for maximum damage. Mario’s partners all come with their own unique moves and action prompts, too, and the system is extremely effective at adding an element of strategy to even the most mundane battles.

On top of this, Mario can also be equipped with badges that you can find hidden throughout the game world. These cost badge points (BP) to equip, but provide a wide range of benefits to you in combat. Badges can unlock whole new moves for Mario, boost stats, or even alter his appearance and battle sound effects for a bit of extra fun. Badges are perhaps the most crucial element of determining your success in combat, especially as the game’s difficulty ramps up towards the mid and late game. Thankfully, you can increase your BP when leveling up, allowing you to equip even more as the game progresses.

The standout element of battles, though, has to be the stage. And in Paper Mario’s case, it’s a very literal one. Battles take place on a theater stage complete with an audience. Said audience grows and shrinks depending on your performance in battle. And as your level increases, so too does the size of the stage. This means larger audiences can be accompanied, but it also introduces stage hazards like falling background objects or fog lights that can hinder both you and the enemy. Furthermore, not all audience members are made equal; some can toss helpful items, while others keen to throw rocks or tin cans will need to be chased out when the button prompt appears.

All this makes for an incredibly dynamic turn-based battle system that skilfully incorporates more action-oriented elements. As a result, there’s very rarely a dull battle in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door and the huge enemy variety succeeds at keeping Mario and pals on their toes. 

An enchanting overhaul

Much like The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening before it, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is an incredibly faithful remake, warts and all. The visual overhaul is jaw-dropping, rendering familiar environments with tons of added depth and detail. The papercraft aspect of the game’s world is really apparent in the remake, and it’s still so impressive to see elements of the world unfold or shift perspective as if they were pages in a pop-up storybook. 

The immaculate presentation is helped along by an utterly fantastic remixed soundtrack which adds even more layers of instrumentation and strong percussion. And if you’re somehow not a fan, fear not; the original Gamecube soundtrack can be accessed by equipping a badge available from Rogueport’s shop early on.

As mentioned, though, the Nintendo Switch remake is faithful to a fault, meaning that some of the game’s original irksome aspects are present. Particularly noteworthy are some sidequests and the occasional spot of mazelike level design, which often have you undergoing a tedious amount of backtracking. Such moments are few and far between but do occasionally grind progress to an unwelcome halt in an otherwise excellently paced experience.

Thankfully, there are a handful of quality-of-life updates that help make the remake a bit more palatable. A room in the sewers beneath Rogueport can provide quick travel to locations you’ve visited as you complete their relevant chapters, thus making some of the more laborious sidequests a bit easier to stomach. Additionally, a new ‘partner wheel’ accessed by holding ‘L’ lets Mario quickly swap between party members, meaning you won’t have to dive into the menu every time you wish to access their unique abilities.

Overall, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is an exceptional remake that will undoubtedly introduce a whole new audience to one of the Gamecube’s finest games. The papercraft aesthetic remains gorgeous and unlike anything else in the RPG genre. While the visual touch-ups are a highlight here, the game nonetheless remains a deeply engaging and challenging turn-based RPG packed with memorable characters and story beats. If you own a Switch, then Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door should absolutely be your next RPG fix regardless of whether you’ve played the original or not. 

Accessibility

Disappointingly, there aren't any dedicated accessibility options in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. In fact, the settings menu is incredibly barren, only offering you the options to adjust rumble strength and screen brightness. Bizarrely, you’re not even able to adjust the game’s volume settings. 

Should I play Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door?

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How we tested Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

I played Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door to the end credits on Nintendo Switch OLED, which took me just over 30 hours in total. This playtime, alongside the main quest, also included ticking off the majority of sidequests and exploring areas for items, badges, and optional boss encounters.

I largely played in docked mode using my current go-to Nintendo Switch controller: the GameSir Nova. I love this controller for its exceptional HD Rumble feedback, and The Thousand-Year Door does a fantastic job of implementing the feature. Given the high quality of the game’s soundtrack, I often paired my play sessions with the Bluetooth-ready Asus ROG Cetra Speednova gaming earbuds which provided a more full-bodied audio experience compared to my TV’s speakers. 

Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 is a narrative-driven action game almost like no other. Developer Ninja Theory’s sequel to the 2017 game Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice delivers a harrowing, bleak, and heavy experience that will live long in the memory.

Subtle and unobtrusive traversal, exploration, and combat mechanics collide with world-beating audio-visual design, out-of-this-world motion capture, and stellar character performances to bring a captivating adventure across Iceland in an unmissable tale.

While Senua’s journey in Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 starts in relative simplicity - to confront slave traders and end the theft of her fellow Orkney people by Icelandic raiders - it soon becomes something much deeper and darker as she crosses a clutch of distinct and rugged Icelandic landscapes that are rich in a thick sense of place and atmosphere. 

Some parts of that journey are overly slow and empty, and combat does get repetitive, but this sequel improves greatly on all that came before it in the first game. Senua’s experience and endurance of the world, her enemies, and herself is an intensely gripping one.

Norse code

This intensity is tangible from the beginning with Senua’s mental condition and voices in her head (The Furies) providing a constant soundtrack. Ever present in every step of her thought process, they immediately help to remind us of Senua’s mental state, but this time looking more outward than inward, informing how Senua sees the world.

Bringing this to life is breathtaking voice acting and performance capture, spearheaded once again by a stunning performance from Melina Juergens. Such is the conviction, grit, and intensity of Juergens’ portrayal of Senua, that it often feels like you’re channeling what Senua feels. The binaural audio design once again works video game magic to disorient, trick, and immerse you further into a unique cerebral experience.

From battling deep fear, guilt, and self-loathing, to concepts of sacrifice, a weight of responsibility to others, and the struggle to balance all these and keep pushing through the darkness toward the light, this is a character performance for the ages. 

The supporting cast is an excellent addition too. A clutch of allies and companions join Senua across parts of her journey, offering insight, friendship, worldbuilding, and background. They are all voiced and portrayed excellently, and help to bring the journey and world to life with acute humanity and realism.

Barren but beautiful

One of the other stars brought to life with intense realism and accuracy in Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 is the world and its spectacular environments. The landscape of Iceland has been rebuilt with such care and accuracy that you, and Senua, can almost feel the fury of the volcanoes and the tranquility of the ocean that formed it.

It’s one of the most atmospheric game worlds I’ve ever experienced, and one of the best-looking Xbox Series X games to date. The sense of place it has is so rich in every location: from the most isolated, destroyed fishing shack on a stormy cliff edge, to the deepest darkest caves subtly lit with flickers of Senua’s torch, and from gloomy mysterious misty forests to desolate barren Icelandic landscapes, each location is beautiful and vividly brought to life. In every location this sense of place is heightened by other design elements; the score, the audio design, performances, voices, the weather, and lighting - it all comes together in moments across the landscapes and environments in such a powerful way.

As a result, the world demands to be appreciated and soaked up, which complements the slower-paced parts of the game. I always found myself peering into every nook and cranny, searching rock formations for secrets, taking in views (and screenshots) through trees and over cliff edges, and rounding every corner to find one of the game’s lore stones to pull me deeper into the world. 

Dotted throughout the larger areas of the environments are puzzles that expand on the first game and offer a greater range of interactions with the world. While some are similar to the first game’s - finding rune symbols in the landscape to open doors, for example - and none are particularly taxing, there are some reality-bending, world-altering puzzles that are exquisitely executed and satisfying to solve.

Fjord play

Combat is markedly improved from the first game - though remains a close relative. Senua’s moves and strikes are much slicker than in the first game, and each hit feels weighty and brutal. New graphic and bloody finisher animations emphasize this further, with each killing blow traveling from Senua’s hands to yours.  

Timing is crucial and is the point at which you’ll find the most risk and satisfaction. One well-timed heavy strike can break an enemy's guard with a ringing clang, while one poorly-timed strike or dodge can leave you exposed. With the latter, enemies are quick to take advantage of such mistakes to beat you down. This is where the combat can feel hard, heavy, and brutal - even if you never really feel in danger of ever dying.

The tools available to Senua are stripped back with only a light and heavy attack, a dodge, a block, and her focus ability (which slows down time) available to utilize. While I can recognize that the game is gunning for a more cinematic experience, enlivening combat with some more moves or weapons would have helped spice things up on a moment-to-moment level.

Imperfect ripples

For all it does expertly and impactfully, however, there are chinks in the leather armor of Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2. For example, that excellent and detailed audio design can often go too far. In some darker environments, it appeared that some ‘scary-sounding’ noises were added to an already-tense environment too heavy-handedly for the sake of it. Elsewhere, the Furies that reside in Senua’s head can offer too much chatter, strange commentary that doesn’t match the action, or over-explain things repetitively. In these instances, letting some silence do the talking could have worked wonders.

It swings the other way at points, however, when some long walks through the Icelandic landscapes become far too long and empty. These can drag on, making for some uneven pacing at points, especially when all you’re doing is pushing forward on the left stick.

Combat is lean to a fault too; mainly because it becomes repetitive. You only ever fight enemies one-on-one, and once you learn the different enemies’ movesets, you’ve basically seen all the combat on offer. However, this is slightly offset by the gruesome and slick animations and finishers.

Minor grumbles aside, every single one of Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2’s elements, be they design features and details, puzzle nuances, or gameplay mechanics, combine to create an experience that is far greater than the sum of those parts.

It is such a well-designed, well-polished, and well-crafted game that it’s a clear demonstration of video games being the art form they can be. Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 might not take you a long time to finish - but it will leave an indelible mark on you. 

Accessibility

There are a number of accessibility features in Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2. Graphically, there are motion blur adjustments to be had, as well as three color blind modes on offer: Deuteranope, Protanope, and Tritanope. On the audio front, there are menu narration settings to tinker with, adjustments to be made on the SFX mix, and you can change subtitles’ display settings while making adjustments to text size, some animations, and UI color schemes. 

You can also change bits in the game’s action such as initiate self-play for offensive and/or defensive combat actions (where the game takes control of fights for you, removing any difficulty), customize your inputs, and adjust the camera bob settings. 

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How we reviewed Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2

I played Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 for about nine hours, finishing its main story as well as exploring as many nooks and crannies of the game world as I could. I played the game on Xbox Series X on a Samsung Q6F 4K QLED TV, with my Thrustmaster eSwap X 2 controller and SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5 headset. While Ninja Theory advises to play with a headset or headphones, I found that the game’s audio does perform nicely on a soundbar.

Revisiting the first Hellblade game to completion in the past few weeks also gave me a great reference point for this sequel, enabling me to appreciate and interrogate the second game and where it differed or advanced from its predecessor.

First reviewed May 2024.