Still Wakes the Deep provided the best performance in a videogame in 2024, so I'm happy that it's finally been shown some love at the Bafta Game Awards

Key art for Still Wakes the Deep, showing the game's doomed oil rig setting enclosed within a human silhouette. — (Image credit: The Chinese Room)

The best part of Still Wakes the Deep, without a doubt, was the acting. Every member of the cast gave outstanding performances, which made the events of the game even more heartbreaking, but hats off to Alec Newman, who absolutely smashed it as the protagonist Caz.

Caz's story in Still Wakes the Deep was already pretty tragic. After getting into a stupid bar fight, he decides to run away to a rig off the Scottish shore to hide from a police investigation and potential prison time. But to do this, he has to leave behind his wife and children. It's a tough choice to make, and he doesn't leave on very good terms, so when all chaos breaks out on the rig and a monster crawls on board, his sole focus is just to survive long enough to see his family again.

That story alone is sad enough, but Alec Newman makes it hurt even more with his fantastic performance, especially during the final act, which I won't spoil here. I know Still Wakes the Deep came out a year ago, but the story is so amazing I'd feel really guilty if I ruined it for even just one person.

Alec Newman isn't the only actor who gave a fantastic performance. Shaun Dooley as Roy broke my heart, especially during his penultimate performance. Stewart Scudamore as Addair and Nicholas Boulton as Trots were also amazing. But aside from Newman, the best acting on the rig had to go to Karen Dunbar as Finlay.

Finlay plays such an important role towards the end of the game, and is really one of your last allies. This, coupled with the fantastic voice acting, made me really attached to her character.

Seeing that both Alec Newman and Karen Dunbar were celebrated at the Bafta Game awards, as they won best leading performance and best supporting actor, respectively, made me really happy. Still Wakes the Deep didn't really get the acclaim I thought it deserved when it was released last year, so it's completely deserved, as these two actors, alongside most of the cast, gave some of the best performances I've seen in any game for a long time.

Elie is a news writer with an unhealthy love of horror games—even though their greatest fear is being chased. When they're not screaming or hiding, there's a good chance you'll find them testing their metal in metroidvanias or just admiring their Pokemon TCG collection. Elie has previously worked at TechRadar Gaming as a staff writer and studied at JOMEC in International Journalism and Documentaries – spending their free time filming short docs about Smash Bros. or any indie game that crossed their path.

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