Oil Strike ‘75

Oil Strike ’75 is a free spinoff prequel to Still Wakes the Deep, set in the perilous North Sea oil fields of 1975, where players undertake high-stakes tasks on an offshore rig to discover new oil deposits. Through a series of action-packed mini-games, including piloting a helicopter to deliver supplies while evading storms and wildlife, climbing towering derricks to extend drill pipes amid rolling barrels and fire hazards, and conducting seismic surveys from a ship to locate underwater reserves, the game satirically explores the ruthless business of oil exploration, blending platforming challenges, direct control vehicular action, and subtle horror elements in a side-view European setting.

Oil Strike ‘75: Review

Introduction

Imagine firing up a dusty old floppy disk on your Commodore 64, only to discover it’s not just a relic of 1970s edutainment—it’s a gateway to cosmic horror lurking beneath the North Sea. Oil Strike ‘75, released in 2024 as a free Steam title, masquerades as a cheerful corporate training sim for aspiring oil rig workers, but peel back its pixelated veneer, and you’ll uncover a sly prequel to Still Wakes the Deep, The Chinese Room’s acclaimed 2024 narrative horror masterpiece. Developed by the Sumo Digital Academy, this deceptively simple mini-game collection hooks players with its retro charm before plunging them into a web of glitches, hidden lore, and unsettling revelations about industrial exploitation and eldritch depths. My thesis: Oil Strike ‘75 is a brilliant meta-experiment in game design, using the trappings of outdated edutainment to subvert expectations, educate on oil industry perils, and foreshadow the parental game’s terrors, cementing its place as a must-play artifact in modern indie horror.

Development History & Context

Oil Strike ‘75 emerged from an unlikely cradle: the Sumo Digital Academy, a talent development program under the veteran UK studio Sumo Digital (known for titles like Sackboy: A Big Adventure and Hitman 2). In 2023, a cohort of academy recruits—fresh-faced aspiring developers—were tasked with creating a companion piece to Still Wakes the Deep, a psychological horror game set on a 1970s Scottish oil rig where supernatural entities devour the crew. The result? A “resurfaced” edutainment title framed as a lost 1975 artifact from fictional energy conglomerate Cadal Corp., blending historical simulation with modern interactivity.

The vision was ambitious for students: mimic the era’s clunky educational software (think Oregon Trail meets industrial safety videos) while embedding narrative Easter eggs that tie into Still Wakes the Deep‘s lore. Technological constraints were self-imposed to evoke 1970s home computing—raster graphics, side-view platforming, and text-based interfaces—despite running on contemporary hardware. Released on May 9, 2024, via Steam by publisher Secret Mode (a Sumo Group imprint), it arrived amid a booming indie horror scene, post-Amnesia and Outlast, but stood out by satirizing real 1970s North Sea oil boom. This was a time when rigs like the Piper Alpha (which exploded in 1988, killing 167) symbolized unchecked ambition; the game nods to this via “super-safe” drilling rhetoric that crumbles into horror.

The 1970s gaming landscape was nascent: arcade cabinets and early micros like the ZX Spectrum dominated, with edutainment scarce and often dry (e.g., The Factory for BBC Micro). Oil Strike ‘75 retroactively inserts itself here, “remastered” with intentional glitches to simulate emulator bugs, a nod to preservation efforts like those on MobyGames. Sumo Sheffield’s oversight ensured polish, but the academy’s raw creativity shines—evidenced by post-launch dev diaries detailing how they wove horror into “educational” mini-games. Priced at $0.00, it democratized access, amassing quick Steam traction and tying into Still Wakes the Deep‘s summer hype.

Narrative & Thematic Deep Dive

At first glance, Oil Strike ‘75 has no overt plot—it’s a corporate pamphlet come to life, narrated in bubbly prose by Cadal Corp.: “Earn while you learn! Discover oil deposits—no matter the cost!” You play an anonymous rig worker, funding a drill’s extension through labor, embodying the era’s blue-collar grind. But this facade unravels like a frayed drill pipe, revealing a prequel narrative that foreshadows Still Wakes the Deep‘s apocalypse.

The “plot” unfolds nonlinearly via escalating drill depths: complete mini-games to burrow 300m deeper per success, hitting 4,400m where the screen glitches into a faux 1970s OS (Cadal v3.24). Here, the Sea Fax Teletext interface activates—a simulated Ceefax/Prestel system with pages of “news” that blend mundane rig life with ominous hints. Company News (p310) touts a “new electronic game for kids,” but lingering corrupts it, unveiling anomaly reports (IR-1101) and phone numbers (e.g., 0325 22) that “download” files like eerie images of the Beira D rig or audio of protagonist Caz McLeary’s howls from the parent game.

Themes of exploitation dominate: Cadal’s cheery safety quizzes (Health and Safety, p360) mask April 1975 incidents—barrel rollouts, bird strikes, harness failures—mirroring real oil worker perils. Seabird Watching (p340) lists guillemots colliding with helis, a subtle critique of environmental devastation. Deeper dives expose horror: Aberdeen News (p320) reports bridge collapses and mysterious beach wreckage (protested by Elspeth Anderson, a Still Wakes NPC), while Staff Messages (p330) gripe about Bovril rations and lost “Cathodes,” hinting at sabotage. Secret pages like Diagnostic (p666, accessed via puzzle number 01 1496) lead to “The Trawlermen” poem (p974) by Craig Henry Campbell, recited in Still Wakes post-escape, evoking fishermen’s doom.

No characters speak directly—dialogue is fragmented in quizzes (“Hardhat! Notify onsite health!”) and corrupted text—but implied protagonists emerge: the Derrickman (R. O’Leary, saved from a fall) and pilot dodging pelicans. Underlying themes probe capitalism’s abyss: shareholders’ “happiness” trumps safety, drilling “too deep” summons the eldritch (red targets in Seismic Survey morph into “aquatic life”). It’s a thematic prequel, planting seeds of infection and madness, using satire to indict 1970s oil greed amid UK’s economic woes.

Gameplay Mechanics & Systems

Oil Strike ‘75 thrives on deceptively straightforward loops, masking depth in its mini-games and meta-progression. Core gameplay: three escalating-challenge mini-games fund drill extensions, unlocking narrative layers. Each has five levels across Normal/Hard modes, with checkpoints for retrying failures. UI is minimalist—direct control via arrow keys/WASD, no tutorials beyond in-game “help” prompts—evoking era authenticity.

Helicopter Run is a side-scrolling vehicular challenge: pilot a chopper from Aberdeen shore to rig, hauling supplies. Dodge lighthouses, pelicans, balloon debris, and lightning; crashing into water/lighthouses explodes you (restart from checkpoint), but minor hits detach cargo—dive to retrieve it, minding fuel (refuel at buoys). Later levels amp currents and storms; success nets cash, tying to economy sim where earnings buy pipe extensions. Innovative: physics feel weighty, with rotor whir simulating inertia.

Derrickman channels 2D platformers like Donkey Kong: climb a towering derrick, avoiding rolling barrels, swooping birds, unstable platforms, and fires. The camera auto-ascends, vanishing lower sections for tension—grab flags as checkpoints, summit to pull a green lever inserting pipes. Flawed yet fun: hit detection is forgiving, but Hard mode’s speed ramps frustration; progression feels earned, mirroring rig labor’s peril.

Seismic Survey innovates with naval puzzle-platforming: steer a ship dropping explosive charges to map ocean floor via “seismic stratigraphy.” Drag returning waves to hit red oil targets, avoiding marine life (bubbles indicate currents pulling waves astray). Fail by missing deposits or uncaught waves; levels intensify with stronger flows. It’s the most “educational,” teaching wave propagation, but flaws emerge in imprecise dragging—waves can glitch, foreshadowing narrative breaks.

Overarching systems: a clicker-economy meta-game tracks depth/money, with 27 Steam achievements (e.g., “Only 731 to go” for calling 011246). Post-4400m, Teletext commands (“page 310,” “connect 0325 55”) unlock files (7 total: images/audio of horrors like “Infected Muir”). Bugs are intentional—glitches, freezes (e.g., Trots’ screams on p975)—reset via menu, blending immersion with frustration. UI shines in TTY output: arrow keys cycle history, “login CDL-332 DERRICK” accesses credits. Overall, mechanics loop addictively, but accessibility lacks (no remapping), rewarding persistence with horror payoffs.

World-Building, Art & Sound

The game’s world is a stylized 1975 North Sea rig off Scotland—Europe’s oily frontier—rendered in pixel art evoking ZX Spectrum limitations: blocky sprites, 8-bit palettes of grays, blues, and hazard reds. The surface layer builds a gritty industrial atmosphere: choppy seas, skeletal derricks, helipads battered by wind. Art direction satirizes corporate gloss—cheery title screens (“Super-safe exploration!”) contrast derelict rigs, with pelicans as cartoonish foes masking ecological dread.

Deeper, world-building excels in Sea Fax: a teletext simulacrum with monospace fonts, page headers (e.g., “Aberdeen News | Page 320”), and ASCII art (wreckage sketches). Corruptions—flickering text, bleeding colors—craft unease, revealing hidden pages like error 500s with flashing canteen menus. Downloadables enhance lore: “Beira_D” logo closeups, “Addair’s Howl” audio (distorted screams), tying to Still Wakes‘ infected crew. Setting feels lived-in via trivia: real Aberdeen locales (Royal Infirmary), April 1975 dates aligning with oil boom news.

Sound design amplifies immersion: chiptune beeps for jumps/drills, rotor thumps in Heli Run, explosive booms in Seismic. No voice acting, but subtle horror cues—distant waves crashing, glitch static—build tension. The Trawlermen poem recitation (upon p974 freeze) overlays Trots’ screams, blacking the screen to Still Wakes‘ store page. These elements synergize: visuals lure with nostalgia, audio unnerves, creating a claustrophobic rig-world where “education” devolves into nightmare, masterfully contributing to thematic dread.

Reception & Legacy

Launched May 9, 2024, Oil Strike ‘75 garnered immediate acclaim on Steam: 96% positive from 95 reviews, praised as “a clever horror appetizer” and “retro gold with teeth.” Players lauded its free accessibility and secrets, with tags like “Dark,” “Puzzle,” and “Education” reflecting its hybrid appeal. No Metacritic score yet (TBD), but MobyGames notes zero critic reviews—likely due to its brevity (2-5 hours) and spinoff status. Commercially, as a free title, it drove Still Wakes the Deep traffic, collected by 17 MobyGames users, and sparked forum buzz on glitches as “easter eggs.”

Reputation evolved via August 2024 reveals: Sumo confirmed academy origins, dev diaries (Oct-Dec 2024) detailing ties to Still Wakes, boosting visibility. Early adopters called it “nostalgic edutainment gone wrong,” influencing discussions on horror prequels (cf. P.T. demos). Legacy-wise, it pioneers student-led meta-horror, influencing indie scenes by blending preservation (teletext revival) with satire—echoing The Beginner’s Guide or Doki Doki Literature Club. In industry terms, it highlights talent pipelines like Sumo Academy, potentially inspiring more “lost media” experiments. As a bridge to Still Wakes, it endures as essential context, evolving from curiosity to cult artifact.

Conclusion

Oil Strike ‘75 masterfully juxtaposes 1970s edutainment whimsy with creeping horror, its mini-games and Teletext depths forming a taut prequel that critiques oil’s dark underbelly while honoring retro roots. From Sumo Academy’s innovative vision to its glitchy revelations, it captivates through subversion, earning its Very Positive status as more than a spinoff—it’s a historical footnote turned horror milestone. Definitive verdict: Essential for Still Wakes the Deep fans and retro enthusiasts alike, securing a niche in video game history as a free, fearless experiment in narrative archaeology. Play it, drill deep, and brace for what surfaces. 9/10.