Still Wakes The Deep - Siren's Rest: What became of Beira D Oil Rig?

Racula
Jun 28
5 min read

On 18th June 2024, developers known as The Chinese Room, with the help of Secret Mode released Still Wakes The Deep. A first-person, narrative, horror game, with outstanding graphics and textures, that bring out the nostalgia of the early 70’s. A year later on the same day and they are back, with the DLC - Still Wakes The Deep: Siren's Rest.

Spoiler Warning for Siren's Rest:

The following review does contain a bit of a spoiler for the end of Still Wakes the Deep. Please do not read on unless you have completed the main game!

The Story so far......

December 1975, a massive disaster struck the Beira D oil rig off the coast of Scotland. All communication was cut to the mainland, the crew on board lost their lives that day and the rig itself, became nothing more then a groaning, steel catacomb at the bottom of the freezing North Sea waters. What happened to cause the oil rig to sink to the murky depths?

The Story Now.....

11 years later Mhairi, pronounced as Mary and the character players will be playing as, leads a saturation dive to the wreck of the Beira D. Her task is to uncover the fate of the rig, her Da and the crew, recover what remains of the crew's passing and give a bit of closure, to their grieving loved ones.

Her trail into the mangled rig marked by red flares, Mhairi descends into the gigantic broken maze - a coiled network of rusted steel crushed and bent out of shape by sharp outcrops of rock. It's barely recognisable, save for the decaying crew quarters and relics left behind by its inhabitants. However that task quickly falls by the wayside, as Mhairi's only concern becomes survival and making it out of the creaking hulk alive, before it falls down on top of her.

Thalassophobia & Pokemon Snap!?

Being underwater is one thing, but to play a game that takes place underwater, is genuinely terrifying. As I do suffer from Thalassophobia - a fear of the ocean and other large bodies of water and Bathophobia - a fear of depths including deep water. Siren’s Rest makes sure that we cannot take a breather, as the game is about 95% mainly played underwater, so every moment is filled with tension and anxiety. My anxiety levels were on a constant state of high levels, which my heart rate did peak at 153 on my heart rate monitor as a result of this. But I did manage to push myself through it all and finish the game in one playthrough. As for the Pokemon Snap reference, well this is the new interesting part. You are armed with a camera, as snapshots are an important part of the mission, as you will be taking photos of the lost crew, if you come across any. A bit morbid I know as the dead should not be disturbed, nor would I really want a pic brought to me of how a lost loved one looked 11 years after they have died, in all honesty I think I would need therapy for that (haha). But apart from the camera, we do have a crowbar as well - for opening the interior of the vessel and drawers and lockers and an arc cutter - used to chop through any rusty doors that may get in the way.

Siren's Rest Loses The Magic

Sadly a lot of what made Still Wakes The Deep special, is missing here within the game. Where SWTD crafted a meticulous setting in its oil rig, with time-authentic details and melded it with The Thing inspired body horror, Siren’s Rest by comparison feels characterless. There's only Mhairi and Rob that are there in person and someone named Hans that speaks over the intercoms and that's all there is character-wise and possibly something else. Compared to the amount of people and creatures that you see in the first game, this is why I say characterless and also the lacking of horror as well. Don't get me wrong, Siren's Rest does have some thriller qualities with the tension and anxiety of being underwater with an added bit of claustrophobia here and there. But with the lack of creatures, having to sneak around them and also the chases, it just doesn't feel the same as SWTD.

Also the game ending doesn't feel right either. With out spoiling too much, you find out who Mhairi's da is and yes, I know it's one of the crew members of the Beira D, which one I won't say, but it doesn't really work for me and it makes you go "huh"? In my opinion, if the developer's could have gone down a whole different route with that part and the creature, for example: if the creature was a specific crew member, again not saying who for spoilers, it would've made more sense, also it would have paid more of a homage to the first game as well. The ending left me with some more questions about the whole game as well, which I have discussed with other people who have played the DLC and they also agree with me about it to.

Siren's Rest Graphics are on point

Just Like Still Wakes The Deep's graphics, Siren's Rests graphics are just as outstanding as the first game. Attention to environmental details: The structures of the Beira D, immersed in darkness and decay, become more than just a scenario, they are fragments of embodied memory, brought to life by photography and torchlight. The environmental direction works effectively, using lighting as a narrative tool. In many sequences, the flashlight fails, forcing Mhairi to rely only on flares, which illuminate limited sections of wreckage and make any movement uncertain.

There are some small visual stumbles, such as the umbilical cable on the diver's suit, which behaves a bit awkwardly in the animations, but nothing that compromises the experience.

If it’s possible, play Siren’s Rest while wearing headphones, it makes the experience all the more horrifying. On the sound front, the voices are clear, the muffled noises do their job and give back the feeling of being deep, isolated and vulnerable. The Scottish voicing, gives an authentic and personal flavor and it is advisable to keep it, so as not to lose that typical imprint of the original game.

Final Thoughts

Overall I enjoyed playing the game, but for me Siren's Rest just doesn't compare to Still Wakes The Deep. I like where they went with the story line, of what became of the Beria D Oil Rig and her crew, but for me they could've changed the story line for Mhairi, like who her Da was and maybe answered some other questions as well. If you’re a fan of the original game, you’ll likely get some enjoyment here, as there are some genuine moments of tension and I loved getting to hear the wee tidbits about the Beira D disaster. However, what it does more than anything else is make me want to go back and play the base game.

Thank you to everyone who took time out of their day to take a moment to read this review, your support is always appreciated and means a lot to us.

Still Wakes The Deep: Siren's Rest is available on:

Steam

Xbox Series X/S

Playstation 5

Base Game: Still Wakes The Deep is required before purchasing

XPN Rating 3 out 5