I find it's such a great example of how less is more. I started playing Alan Wake 2 before it, and ended up giving up because I found the game was just tedious. There was just too much stuff going on like the memory palace, and environments where you just had to amble around without a clear purpose. I feel like there was a good core game idea that they just ended up adding to much stuff on top of. With Still Wakes the Deep you just have a really lean game that stays focused on its core concept. And I think it's a good example how a smaller studio ends up making a much better game because it has limited resources.

I find short is actually a feature. There are very few games that can really justify the hours you need to beat them. Things just tend to get repetitive and the game turns into a chore. Keeping the game short means it doesn't outstay its welcome.