Watch The Thing to Understand Still Wakes the Deep Monster
Still Wakes the Deep is a new horror hit. Players are charmed by its atmosphere. However, the monster is in the spotlight.
Still Wakes the Deep is an intriguing psychological horror, which charmed players. Moreover, the game is available in Game Pass, so people with Xbox subscription can test the title “for free”. The game is acknowledged for its atmosphere and interesting design of opponents, especially “the monster”. The main “opponent” is a mysterious creature with almost magical abilities. So, many players wonder what it is. The answer may lay in The Thing (1982) directed by John Carpenter.
The article contains some spoilers about the monster’s nature. We do not discuss the ending or plot details, but if you want to have a fresh gaming experience, you should close this article and come back later.
Still Wakes the Deep is “The Thing on an oil rig”
First of all, we need to say it straight: the alienation of the oil rig, the mysteriousness of the monster, its ability to change people – these are familiar, aren’t they? At least they should be for old sci-fi horror fans, as developers acknowledged in “Xbox Partner Preview” that one of the major inspirations for the game is The Thing (1982). “The Thing on an oil rig” was a main theme of the game and it seems that creators have managed to accomplish it.
Monster in Still Wakes the Deep
Taking above into consideration, it is not a surprising thing that we don’t know origins of the main monster in the game. The creature is mysterious and for a good reason – we tend to fear unknown.
It shares a lot of familiar features with the Thing from the movie. Both organisms spreads through other living beings and assimilates them. In this aspect, the monster from Still Wakes the Deep is also similar to Necromorphs from Dead Space. It also mutates bodies of crew members, but it leaves a spark of the original person intact. We may say that the creature “works” on genetic level, changing living hosts, not killing them entirely.
Of course, we can’t forget about strange visions of the main protagonist. We also learn that he is not the only one who sees them, as other people experience them, too. So, why does the monster show family members / dear people to the crew? It may be a form of adaptation to the environment. It is known that many deep-sea fish are bioluminescent (they can produce their own light) to, among others, attract prey. It is possible that we can observe similar case in the game.
But what is it? As I have mentioned, developers used an old trick in this game – fear of the unknown. Additionally, they used water as a habitat of the monster. What is more mysterious than creatures which live in the deep parts of the seas? So, we should accept that some things are better when we don’t fully comprehend them. Maybe we will learn more in Still Wakes the Deep 2 if it ever happens.
