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

The Technomancer said:
I have always found "this relentless thing is charging after you and you can hear it and fuck fuck its catching up" to be much more terrifying than any jump scares, so I was quite happy

If people find the "hide and seek" sections monotonous I encourage them to look for opportunities where they can just bolt for it. If you plan it carefully you totally can do it and its absolutely terrifying every time
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That's why Outlast gave me so much anxiety. It's "something's about to catch you" The Game.
 
SomedayTheFire said:
Only about an hour in, without spoilers, is the plot as obvious as it seems?
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Sort of no. If you're asking the question, this answer is spoiler free, just black-barred for others:
if you think you've guessed what "the twist" is, the game isn't building towards that being some big end game reveal.
 
The Technomancer said:
Sort of no. If you're asking the question, this answer is spoiler free, just black-barred for others:
if you think you've guessed what "the twist" is, the game isn't building towards that being some big end game reveal.
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Yeah
I sort of assumed it wasn't an end game twist. Everything seems too obvious.
 
SomedayTheFire said:
Yeah
I sort of assumed it wasn't an end game twist. Everything seems too obvious.
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Yeah, thats one thing I like a lot about it. Its much more interested in engaging with its themes than just trying to "getcha" with some big "and it was allllll an illusion *wavy hands*" storytelling
 
I'm in the middle of Theta now and have a couple questions plot wise:

1)
I know that on the surface an extinction event occurred but how have the robots come to revolt down here then? How did the WAU revolt?

2)
I just escaped a monster in Theta, but it doesn't look like any sort of machine, what is it?

I just want to check I've not missed anything obvious or if this gets answered later.
 
SomedayTheFire said:
Only about an hour in, without spoilers, is the plot as obvious as it seems?
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It's hard to answer. If you're wondering if the
protagonist is a robot: yes. But that's not framed as a twist - it's framed as obvious, he even says dejectedly "I guess I've known it since I came here...."

But the plot is extremely good and certainly worth playing for. It doesn't culminate in
some mind blowing twist, but it's very disturbing and thought provoking. I think a big part of the narrative is sort of... post-twist. Like, OK, you're a human mind in a robot body, now what are the implications of a reality in which that is possible?
That's what you play for.
 
The Technomancer said:
Yeah, thats one thing I like a lot about it. Its much more interested in engaging with its themes than just trying to "getcha" with some big "and it was allllll an illusion *wavy hands*" storytelling
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Excellent. I do like how they're getting it out of the way early and as you say engaging with the themes behind it is much more interesting.

CHC said:
It's hard to answer. If you're wondering if the
protagonist is a robot: yes. But that's not framed as a twist - it's framed as obvious, he even says dejectedly "I guess I've known it since I came here...."

But the plot is extremely good and certainly worth playing for. It doesn't culminate in
some mind blowing twist, but it's very disturbing and thought provoking. I think a big part of the narrative is sort of... post-twist. Like, OK, you're a human mind in a robot body, now what are the implications of a reality in which that is possible?
That's what you play for.
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Exactly what I was wondering.
would have been disappointed if the whole game lead up to that as a reveal. I'm wondering if we find out what happened to Simon back in Toronto. I don't want an answer to that I'll find out myself!
 
Played for a few hours last night, and absolutely love it so far. The game is closer to A Machine for Pigs than it is the original Amnesia, and I don't mind one bit. There is less gameplay here than Amnesia: TDD, but the story has been so intriguing, I don't mind. I feel like it has the perfect mixture of gameplay and story for the story it's trying to tell. Straight up walking simulators like Gone to the Rapture bore me, so having more involved gameplay like what's in SOMA is great.

-The section where you are
exploring the sunken vessel trying to initiate the escape pod was really creepy and well done.
-The reveal that
There is nothing left on the surface and the only thing that remains are these robots in this base that are trying to save themselves as a "species" is super creepy, didn't know that's where the story was going. I like the premise so far.
-Do they ever explain why/how
You get transported to the future/PATHOS-II in the first place after you were just getting that surgery with the doctor at the beginning of the game?

I feel like I might've missed something.
 
AHA-Lambda said:
I'm in the middle of Theta now and have a couple questions plot wise:

1)
I know that on the surface an extinction event occurred but how have the robots come to revolt down here then? How did the WAU revolt?

2)
I just escaped a monster in Theta, but it doesn't look like any sort of machine, what is it?

I just want to check I've not missed anything obvious or if this gets answered later.
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Answers to both of those exist. I won't say if they form plot points or not, but even if they don't the material is there in notes and emails if you look
 
Joseph Merrick said:
there are no twists
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I certainly wouldn't say that but there are no "ohh you were just a cog in the machine of my amazing master plan!" type moments.

I would say the
ending is a bit of a twist, but one that you could totally see coming if you thought hard enough. Sitting there after the upload was successful, knowing that copying your personality has no real feeling, it's just another branch of you popping into existence. We're trained from fiction to expect some moment where Simon appears at the pearly gates of the Ark, happy forever. While it does happen, we as the player just aren't that version, as fate would have it.
Which is pretty mind-blowing, I thought.

SomedayTheFire said:
Exactly what I was wondering.
would have been disappointed if the whole game lead up to that as a reveal. I'm wondering if we find out what happened to Simon back in Toronto. I don't want an answer to that I'll find out myself!
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Direct answer, but no details:
You do. It's depressing.
 
Turning off chromatic aberration ("color separation") and screen distortion makes the game much more enjoyable. You can look at scary stuff without the glitchy effects. I played with it on but I think I'll do another run without it.
 
CHC said:
I certainly wouldn't say that but there are no "ohh you were just a cog in the machine of my amazing master plan!" type moments.

I would say the
ending is a bit of a twist, but one that you could totally see coming if you thought hard enough. Sitting there after the upload was successful, knowing that copying your personality has no real feeling, it's just another branch of you popping into existence. We're trained from fiction to expect some moment where Simon appears at the pearly gates of the Ark, happy forever. While it does happen, we as the player just aren't that version, as fate would have it.
Which is pretty mind-blowing, I thought.



Direct answer, but no details:
You do. It's depressing.
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I was afraid of that.
I instantly felt sad for Simon. That opening 10 minutes in the apartment really made what came after so much better and I assume harder hitting once I know more details. Amazing that something so simple can have that effect. It's why I love these kinds of games
 
CHC said:
Turning off chromatic aberration ("color separation") and screen distortion makes the game much more enjoyable. You can look at scary stuff without the glitchy effects. I played with it on but I think I'll do another run without it.
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that's not how you roleplay as a robot! those lens effects are true to life possibly for the first time ever in a game since you're looking at the world through digital lenses, appreciate them damn it.

CHC said:
I certainly wouldn't say that
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I would! and I guess I already did. I don't want to start writing huge posts in spoiler tag, so I'll just say I don't agree at all there are any twists. I loved that they lingered on him that third time and really enjoyed that scene playing out, but it wasn't a twist at all.

edit: oops.
 
Rivyn said:
I can proudly say I purchased SOMA. I love these kind of games.

How is the PS4 version performance wise?
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Some weird frame rate hits which seem to happen when parts of the level get loaded in. Doesn't really distract though and it's not that often.
 
vainglorious said:
The first half of your post needs to be spoiler tagged. A lot of people go into these games blind dude.
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Eh, it's pretty obvious, especially when you see the flashes when you die. Plus, one of the trailers showed him looking down to his
robot hands
.
 
The game keeps crashing on me :/ I just (~2 - 3 hours in)
heard about ARK and went on search for a ship to Theta. I'm travelling through water and I went through some shipwreck and underwater air ducts. Then I came outside into an open area littered with debris
and..... CRASH. And pushing "continue" crashes the game after it has loaded about 60%.

Anyone else experience this bug? I can't continue, only option would be to restart the game and I don't want to do that.
 
Finished it.

Loved it for the most part, I miss these games where you have to use your brain a tad bit both in puzzles (pretty easy though) and story.

Is there a spoiler thread?
 
While the art direction and atmosphere do a good job, my biggest complaint I think is how dated this engine looks.
 
Two questions:

- Is the PS+ discount for this week only?

- How does this compare to Outlast?

I got through Outlast, but did it in several short sittings and was quite stressed the whole time! (Yes, I'm a little weeny.)
SOMA intrigues me, as a big fan of Dead Space, exploration games, and sci-fi in general.
 
So this game is just like amnesia/isolation? Also how is fps on ps4? Sub 30 like usual or have a steady fps? Also can a gtx 760 run this game well?
 
So if I really don't like jumpscares and sudden loud music stings, but the whole sci-fi man/machine/underwater/what-the-fuck-is-going-on premise of this game fascinates me, should I get this?
 
Z3M0G said:
How does it play on PS4?

How is this stacking up against Alien Isolation?
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So far... Soma has a more interesting story and premise. Just the themes alone are very interesting, and the presentation through visual keys on what happened is superior.

AI has better art, pacing and flare, and i guess the Alien was a lot more exciting than the enemy in Soma.

Overall... i think Soma would benefit from better art to help sell the mood... the sound design is already good, but it could be even better. P.T comes to mind when i think of fantastic sound design. Also... the VA... hmm.. i think they are on even terms. Not the best at all. I wish they had better people doing the VA. But its not a deal breaker.

Soma is a great walking sim so far. Very interesting story.

banefirelord said:
So if I really don't like jumpscares and sudden loud music stings, but the whole sci-fi man/machine/underwater/what-the-fuck-is-going-on premise of this game fascinates me, should I get this?
Click to expand...

so far... not that many jump scares if any at all.. some tension in some bits... but i don't think this is like amnesia in that respect. they give more importance to the story this time around. Which i think is better.
 
Just finished it, holy shit what an incredible experience.

I didn't thought i would enjoy it as much as i did wow. From the atmosphere, to the story, voice acting, sound design, ending etc. I liked it all.

Everything was just so well done.

I heard some people saying the game isn't scary.... uhm wat? there are parts in the game that were so freakin scary, the monsters in this game are just insane.

Kudos to Frictional Games, i hope their best work yet sells well.
 
aro52 said:
- How does this compare to Outlast?

I got through Outlast, but did it in several short sittings and was quite stressed the whole time! (Yes, I'm a little weeny.)
SOMA intrigues me, as a big fan of Dead Space, exploration games, and sci-fi in general.
Click to expand...

Honestly, in terms of pure scares, Outlast is up there as one of the scariest of these 'first person walking around a place with no weapon' games. SOMA is nowhere near that bad, and it goes for a completely different kind of horror to Outlast's balls-out
literally, hahaaa!
gore and jump scare tactics. I think you'll be absolutely fine.
 
banefirelord said:
So if I really don't like jumpscares and sudden loud music stings, but the whole sci-fi man/machine/underwater/what-the-fuck-is-going-on premise of this game fascinates me, should I get this?
Click to expand...

there aren't that many jumpscares, but there are some. maybe some of the audio cues are sudden, can't remember. there is some bad times ahead music creeping in when you're in danger, and fading out when you're safe. like in amnesia. but that's not really what you mean I guess. the audio is definitely a huge part of the tension overall.
 
aro52 said:
Two questions:

- Is the PS+ discount for this week only?

- How does this compare to Outlast?

I got through Outlast, but did it in several short sittings and was quite stressed the whole time! (Yes, I'm a little weeny.)
SOMA intrigues me, as a big fan of Dead Space, exploration games, and sci-fi in general.
Click to expand...
I'm only a couple of hours in buts its nowhere near as stressful and jumpy as Outlast.
 
Joseph Merrick said:
there aren't that many jumpscares, but there are some. maybe some of the audio cues are sudden, can't remember. there is some bad times ahead music creeping in when you're in danger, and fading out when you're safe. like in amnesia. but that's not really what you mean I guess. the audio is definitely a huge part of the tension overall.
Click to expand...

A few jumpscares here and there are fine; I didn't bat an eye all the way through Until Dawn (different game type, obviously), so if they're few and far between that sounds fine. Looks like I'll be picking it up then, thanks!
 
Mister_Bubbles said:
Honestly, in terms of pure scares, Outlast is up there as one of the scariest of these 'first person walking around a place with no weapon' games. SOMA is nowhere near that bad, and it goes for a completely different kind of horror to Outlast's balls-out
literally, hahaaa!
gore and jump scare tactics. I think you'll be absolutely fine.
Click to expand...

SomedayTheFire said:
I'm only a couple of hours in buts its nowhere near as stressful and jumpy as Outlast.
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Thanks guys! Looking forward to it.
 
iMax said:
Eh, it's pretty obvious, especially when you see the flashes when you die. Plus, one of the trailers showed him looking down to his
robot hands
.
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It is obvious, especially for those who have been following the development of the game closely. But it's not up to us to make that judgement for those who haven't been. :)
 
Just finished it, took me about 10 hours.
I have mixed feelings, though the second half of the game is definitely stronger, mostly because it's better paced and more tense
The underwater section after the elevator was brilliant with the ocean finally feeling apropriately menacing
I have serious issues with both the gameplay (there's too little of it, also classic "hide-and-seek" sections come off as dated compared to other recent games) and the story (I like it, but sometimes the game feels a bit too heavy-handed about its themes, I also could have done with way less dialogue in general) but overall I quite enjoyed my time with SOMA.
 
Early game spoilers
I'm stuck. I want to get out of Lambda to get to the Ark but I can't figure out the way to go. Assuming I go back into the ocean, do I backtrack towards Upsilon or do something else? There's a little red robot you pass before Lambda's airlock, is the goal beyond that?
 
Funyarinpa said:
Early game spoilers
I'm stuck. I want to get out of Lambda to get to the Ark but I can't figure out the way to go. Assuming I go back into the ocean, do I backtrack towards Upsilon or do something else? There's a little red robot you pass before Lambda's airlock, is the goal beyond that?
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Check the robot/pod outside of the airlock
 
I got hit with the game ending, no way around it, submersible (Delta) bug. Too bad. It was starting to get semi-interesting.
 
Funyarinpa said:
Did it, got some dialogue, stuck again. Where next? I think I'm supposed to find another pod somewhere... I should turn the subtitles back on.
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There should just be a path you can keep going towards once you leave the small pod, you don't backtrack here. I believe you go left?
 
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