Still Wakes the Deep: to play on Story Mode or Standard?

Still Wakes the Deep is the latest story-driven horror game from The Chinese Room of A Machine for Pigs fame. Basically, if you like Amnesia-style horror, but you want to experience it on a crumbling oil rig in the middle of the North Sea, this is the one for you.

Having played Dear Esther and the aforementioned Machine for Pigs, I’d been holding out that the developer’s latest release was going to tick my narrative-loving and terror-craving boxes. So far – for I’m still playing the game – it’s working out pretty well (save for the occasional quick-time event, but this isn’t about that).

If you are interested in checking the game out, there are two modes you can select depending on how brave you’re feeling. With that, here are the differences between Still Wakes the Deep‘s Story Mode and Standard Mode.

Brave but not stupid

The reason I wanted to talk about this is because it reminded me very much of my first encounter with a “story mode.” This was in 2015’s SOMA, and at the time, I’d never encountered a game that would allow you to switch off the hazards and enemies so you could just enjoy the narrative pace stress-free.

Given this, I absolutely expected Still Wakes the Deep‘s own Story Mode to offer a similar respite from the stalking monsters. If you select this mode when you play, there will be fewer scares and you won’t be in as much danger. However, this does not include falling from great heights because you missed a button prompt (did I mention them already?).

Story Mode, however, doesn’t remove the enemies. The game will still have the scares and tense moments, but there’s more leeway when it comes to running from and escaping the horrors that await. I must confess that I did start off on Story Mode, but eventually switched to Standard. Because I have a girlfriend to impress.

Standard Mode seems to be more for those who are used to these types of horror games. If you don’t mind being a bit more cautious when something’s around, such as avoiding the likes of Muir, then this is probably how you’ll want to play the game. You can, of course, do what I did and switch partway through the game. Ain’t no one going to judge.

Also, if you’re still on the fence about trying out Still Wakes the Deep, it’s currently on Xbox Game Pass if that’s how you typically go about your business these days.