SOMA |OT| I Have No Mouth but I Will Scream, on The Dark Descent into A Machine

Just started this, and man, someone finally made a sci-fi game that is actual, proper, sci-fi. As in, scientific concepts and ideas and their philosophical impact in the same vein as Solaris and 2001 A Space Odyssey (or at least, that's what the plot seems to be hinting at). I enjoyed The Fall quite a bit, but that was much smaller in scale, even though it seems to have similar themes. At the moment, it seems pretty obvious where the story is headed (ENDING SPECULATION:
you are one of the brain models that is being bombarded with stimuli, the stimuli being this broken down lab
but I will be glad if I am proved wrong. Even if this is exactly what happens, it's exciting to explore these ideas in a video game.

I thought Dark Descent was ok and loved Machine for Pigs, so the gameplay simplification doesn't bother me that much. The only thing that annoys me a little bit is the UI and general art direction, which seems a little bit too cobbled together from other video games for my taste. Even so, playing this just reminds me of being 14 and reading Ubik for the first time again - can't wait to keep going and see what surprises are in store.
 
vladdamad said:
Just started this, and man, someone finally made a sci-fi game that is actual, proper, sci-fi. As in, scientific concepts and ideas and their philosophical impact in the same vein as Solaris and 2001 A Space Odyssey (or at least, that's what the plot seems to be hinting at). I enjoyed The Fall quite a bit, but that was much smaller in scale, even though it seems to have similar themes. At the moment, it seems pretty obvious where the story is headed (ENDING SPECULATION:
you are one of the brain models that is being bombarded with stimuli, the stimuli being this broken down lab
but I will be glad if I am proved wrong. Even if this is exactly what happens, it's exciting to explore these ideas in a video game.

I thought Dark Descent was ok and loved Machine for Pigs, so the gameplay simplification doesn't bother me that much. The only thing that annoys me a little bit is the UI and general art direction, which seems a little bit too cobbled together from other video games for my taste. Even so, playing this just reminds me of being 14 and reading Ubik for the first time again - can't wait to keep going and see what surprises are in store.
Click to expand...

You should definitely play the Talos Principle if you have not done so already. Based on your tastes, I think you'll love it.

Without saying too much there are definite similarities to Soma - it's like two very different writers working off the same prompt.
 
Just watched Lirik finish this game on his stream. One hell of a ride!
I thought it was very compelling and executed very well for the experience it wants to deliver. Great voice acting too.
If I had to name 1 negative:
Some of the enemy encounters don't add much to the experience imo, they feel a bit forced.
 
CHC said:
You should definitely play the Talos Principle if you have not done so already. Based on your tastes, I think you'll love it.

Without saying too much there are definite similarities to Soma - it's like two very different writers working off the same prompt.
Click to expand...

Yep, it's definitely on my list! I've heard comparisons to Portal as well, which is always a good sign
 
I'm about to sit down and start now :D I'm in two minds. I want to do some videos on it but I also kind of want to just get a pure experience first without worrying about the writing/editing/ malarkey.

Lights out, Snacks at the ready. Time to get scared :D
 
As a long time horror and Frictional fan, I'm loving this. I'm 2 hours in on PC and just
got to Lambda
where I'm stopping for the night. I don't want to blow by this too fast. I've gone through two very unsettling situations and my mind is uneasy.
 
Quikies83 said:
As a long time horror and Frictional fan, I'm loving this. I'm 2 hours in on PC and just
got to Lambda
where I'm stopping for the night. I don't want to blow by this too fast. I've gone through two very unsettling situations and my mind is uneasy.
Click to expand...
Right? That moment in
the station before you reach Lambda
was haunting. I'm still thinking about it
 
Holy shit, this game went completely under my radar. How did I miss this?
 
Turin Turambar said:
I still can't say until I'm finished, but I don't think it's as "bad" (I didn't like it) as A Machine for Pigs.
Click to expand...

For me this is much closer to machine for pigs(which i didnt like) than the others. soma hasnt impressed so far but I will see it through. People expecting to be scared will be disappointed, jump scares aren't there and there isn't really any tension. It's relying on the not so well acted story and your brain to make the scary.
 
So.. I think I have a glitch on PS4
I'm at the shuttle station to go to Catherine and I had to disconnect Amy from the power supply, but when I go to the power switch to turn on the shuttle the switch isn't there. Am I missing the switch or something
thanks for any help.
 
SexyFish said:
So.. I think I have a glitch on PS4
I'm at the shuttle station to go to Catherine and I had to disconnect Amy from the power supply, but when I go to the power switch to turn on the shuttle the switch isn't there. Am I missing the switch or something
thanks for any help.
Click to expand...

Wait, you're on PS4?

Yikes, this might be a problem. I'm on PC and the lever for the power box is missing in that scene for me too. I contacted Thomas from Frictional about it and he said it's a rare bug that they're working to fix.

Translation: We might be screwed.
 
Aurongel said:
Wait, you're on PS4?

Yikes, this might be a problem. I'm on PC and the lever for the power box is missing in that scene for me too. I contacted Thomas from Frictional about it and he said it's a rare bug that they're working to fix.

Translation: We might be screwed.
Click to expand...
Well fuck. Guess I'll wait for an update.
 
I like this game a lot, GAF. Much less survival horror-y than Amnesia but the universe and story are far more interesting.

And! And it does that Doom 3 thing where computer UIs are modeled right into the gameworld! I love that stuff.
 
Holy hell the
deep sea floor outside Tau station
is quite honestly one of the most terrifying game levels I have ever played. It has nothing to with the inhabitants either, it's just so... wrong feeling. Completely alienating and hostile.
 
raphier said:
just beat the game...not very satisfied with the ending. :/
Click to expand...

Even though I wasn't satisfied with most of the game, the ending didn't bother me so much. I may have checked out by that point but for some reason it didn't resonate with me much.
 
Xpliskin said:
Guys is this game actually scary, as in first time amnesia/PT scary or ?
Click to expand...

It depends on what type of scary. Amnesia relies on running from monsters to get you scared, PT relies on jumpscares an grotesque stuff, SOMA relies on provoking disturbing ideas mixed with a little bit of monster escape.

The best way I've found to put it is, did you ever as a child or even an adult think about how you can prove you're even alive? How can you prove anything you see is what it is? If the concept of misunderstanding of perception can scare you then it taps into it pretty well.
 
I seriously can't get over how bad the graphics and performance are. The game looks like it could be a Doom 3 mod.

Just finished it, overall decent puzzle game. This was NOT a horror experience.
 
NathanNAVY said:
I seriously can't get over how bad the graphics and performance are. The game looks like it could be a Doom 3 mod.

Just finished it, overall decent puzzle game. This was NOT a horror experience.
Click to expand...
In your opinion

It may not rely jump scares or over-use enemies, but it's absolutely a horror game based on its atmosphere, themes, and pacing

Or perhaps the better description is a sci-fi game with horror elements
 
CHC said:
Holy hell the
deep sea floor outside Tau station
is quite honestly one of the most terrifying game levels I have ever played. It has nothing to with the inhabitants either, it's just so... wrong feeling. Completely alienating and hostile.
Click to expand...

You're telling me. Watching that on Liriks stream and I was legit terrified. A rational fear of the deep sea. I honestly can't fathom how I would actually feel once I play it.
 
About to jump in. I thought Amnesia was good but not great (and certainly not as scary as most people thought). In terms of horror, I'm more of a Silent Hill kinda guy... Something more cerebral. This game seems like it will be more my kind of thing, hopefully.
 
BLOODED_hands said:
You're telling me. Watching that on Liriks stream and I was legit terrified. A rational fear of the deep sea. I honestly can't fathom how I would actually feel once I play it.
Click to expand...

Yeah definitely, it was just so existentially terrifying, you can't explain why other than to say it makes you feel insignificant and lost.

Anyone who says this isn't a horror game it crazy, also. It's fucking terrifying on so many levels... But then I'm starting to suspect it's just this game's de facto flyby post, basically Soma's version of "Dark Souls isn't hard!"
 
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