Siren’s Rest DLC – Still Wakes the Deep, 10 Years Later

“The thing about the ocean is that the surface won’t always tell you what is going on underneath.” – Jennifer Arnett

Overview

Note: This review contains spoilers for the base game, Still Wakes the Deep.

Siren’s Rest is a new DLC that takes place in the depths of the North Sea in 1986, ten years after the unexplained events of Still Wakes the Deep. It follows Mhairi as she dives amongst the wreckage to try to deduce what happened to the sunken oil rig and bring back some mementoes for the family left behind by those who died.

Narrative

Siren’s Rest takes place beneath the surface of the ocean, within the remains of the Beira D oil rig, after communications with the mainland were lost and it sank without a trace back in December 1975. Players take on the role of Mhairi, the leader of a dive to explore the watery grave, with the objective to discover the fate of the crew and recover evidence of what occurred.

The narrative is delivered largely through dialogue between Mhairi and her colleague, but also through the gameplay and exploration, and small snippets of the rig’s log that are recovered throughout the game. The dialogue is well-written and expressed through believable and emotive voice acting of a familiar quality, matching that of Still Wakes the Deep.

A key part of the game is finding objects that belonged to the deceased crew. Unfortunately, this was reduced to a simple collecting exercise; it did not serve to expand on the base game and felt like a missed opportunity to reveal more about their characters, backstories, and their lives on the rig.

Gameplay

Siren’s Rest plays similarly to the base game, using primarily walking simulator mechanics, though Mhairi must swim and climb more than actually walk! The unstable nature of the sunken rig and the ocean pressure ensure that the wreck is ever changing and adds a disconcerting unpredictability to the environment. The emphasis is on exploring different areas and discussing findings with Mhairi’s diving partner. There are some tools to be utilised, such as a cutting implement, a torch, a crowbar, and some flares and these help to increase the player’s sense of interaction. A camera also allows photos to be taken of the crew members’ remains to help document the findings.

Whilst Siren’s Rest builds some level of suspense and tension as the game progresses, it fails to instil the same level of unease and curiosity as the base game. Where Still Wakes the Deep sees players engage in multiple stealth sections and enemy encounters, and presents a multitude of disturbing and often gory visuals to pique the player’s interest, Siren’s Rest feels comparatively tame, with only a mild sense of danger and offering only one tangible run-in with an enemy.

Styling

As with Still Wakes the Deep, Siren’s Rest boasts a detailed and realistic art style using a mostly cool, moody colour palette and lighting effects that are both atmospheric and dramatic. The soundtrack is stunning, with music that ranges from intense, suspense-building numbers to emotional and moving tracks that are much more melancholy. The aesthetics of this DLC are where it most lives up to the standards of the base game and feels like a cohesive addition.

Summary

Siren’s Rest provides a good couple of hours of gameplay, and while it is not in any way a bad game, it feels sub-par when compared to Still Wakes the Deep. The narrative lacks the depth of the base game, and the gameplay fails to match the intensity and sense of danger seen in the previous instalment. The protagonist seems to be an interesting character, but her personality and backstory are merely touched upon and not explored in a satisfying way. Similarly, the exploration of the Beira D and the discovery of different items and crew members could have been a great opportunity to expand on the characters and narrative of the first game, but was instead implemented so that it added very little and felt purely mechanical. I did enjoy Sirens’ Rest, but I can only recommend it with the proviso that it is inferior to Still Wakes the Deep and is one of The Chinese Room’s weaker titles.

Looking for more Lovecraftian titles? You may also enjoy these reviews:
100 Hidden Cthulhu Fish – A Lovecraft-Inspired Hidden Object Game – Transient: A Lovecraftian Cyberpunk Thriller – Free Prologue for In-Development Horror Game Lust from Beyond

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