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

Holy shit the abyss. That was amazing. And horrifying. Pathos II is such a great location too. I love the progression between the various section of it split up by the lovely (or scary) underwater sections. They did a great job of making you feel alone and under tons of water, just as Alien Isolation did with outer space. The story keeps getting better and better as well. I can't believe we got this game and Blooborne in the same year. Both great horror, and great stories.

Gonna be bummed when I beat this game, but the pacing and length feel really excellent thus far. I assume I'm nearing the end.
 
Fancy Clown said:
Holy shit the abyss. That was amazing. And horrifying. Pathos II is such a great location too. I love the progression between the various section of it split up by the lovely (or scary) underwater sections. They did a great job of making you feel alone and under tons of water, just as Alien Isolation did with outer space. The story keeps getting better and better as well. I can't believe we got this game and Blooborne in the same year. Both great horror, and great stories.

Gonna be bummed when I beat this game, but the pacing and length feel really excellent thus far. I assume I'm nearing the end.
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The story blew me away. I actually just finished it last month and although it's technically a 2015 game, it's currently at #1 for my personal game of the year for 2016 (I just count what I play in the year). I realize there is a ton of time left to go, but I doubt it will get knocked out of the top 10.
 
Enordash said:
The story blew me away. I actually just finished it last month and although it's technically a 2015 game, it's currently at #1 for my personal game of the year for 2016 (I just count what I play in the year). I realize there is a ton of time left to go, but I doubt it will get knocked out of the top 10.
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Yeah SOMA would have probably come right after Bloodborne as my #2 GOTY if I had played in 2015, and as it stands it's easily the best I've played this year, new release or otherwise. It's a phenomenal game. I particularly love how subtly and seamlessly the puzzles and choices are woven into the game and narrative. It feels so effortless and natural, and not at all gamey. I feel like people kinda sleep on the actual game design of SOMA and just praise the writing aspect of the narrative, when everything else is so good too. Even the monster encounters are mostly quite good, and make use of interesting mechanics and layouts. And I've mentioned it before but how the monster encounters are paced is sooooo good. You don't get tired of them and they are infrequent enough that they are impactful when they happen, but leave a lingering sense of dread and tension throughout most of the game since you're never 100% sure when they're gonna pop up.
 
Good to see SOMA getting some love! It had a really tight fight with the Witcher 3 for #2 spot on GOTY vote.

I also think SOMA shines in how it ties together the interactive game elements and the themes it explores in the story. I don't think it gets the praise it deserves from this.
 
Not sure what I've missed guys. Game bored me and I loved amnesia and alien. I quit half way,no interest in going back. Havnt been scared once. Enemy encounters are lame,not even what id call tense at any point. Environments are boring/fuck ugly and I can't see shit underwater. There was that one point where I got lost for 30 minutes as I had no idea there was a console near the zeppelin call down. Also why do people keep saying this game has any form of puzzles? Go here. Press button, oh door is locked. Go back there press button. Oh door is open. Press button on door. Yeeeeeeep.
 
LeeRoyBrown said:
Not sure what I've missed guys. Game bored me and I loved amnesia and alien. I quit half way,no interest in going back. Havnt been scared once. Enemy encounters are lame,not even what id call tense at any point. Environments are boring/fuck ugly and I can't see shit underwater. There was that one point where I got lost for 30 minutes as I had no idea there was a console near the zeppelin call down. Also why do people keep saying this game has any form of puzzles? Go here. Press button, oh door is locked. Go back there press button. Oh door is open. Press button on door. Yeeeeeeep.
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If you don't like the areas/themes/story/characters then I guess you wouldn't find it interesting
 
LeeRoyBrown said:
Not sure what I've missed guys. Game bored me and I loved amnesia and alien. I quit half way,no interest in going back. Havnt been scared once. Enemy encounters are lame,not even what id call tense at any point. Environments are boring/fuck ugly and I can't see shit underwater. There was that one point where I got lost for 30 minutes as I had no idea there was a console near the zeppelin call down. Also why do people keep saying this game has any form of puzzles? Go here. Press button, oh door is locked. Go back there press button. Oh door is open. Press button on door. Yeeeeeeep.
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Enemy encounters aren't the strongest point, while Alien and Amnesia are better than SOMA in terms of mechanics in the monster sequences, they aren't nearly as good in pacing and variety which keep them feeling fresh and unexpected, and they rely too much on killing the player which adds frustration and repetition and kills the scariness. There are certainly some very tense encounters as well, like the section with the proxies, or the abyss. And I'm in Tau now and the first encounter here is scary as shit.

Environments are great too. Graphically they're nothing special I guess, but the art direction is wonderful. Super gritty industrial designs with nice use of lighting and great details that make every location distinct, look like how they function, and have great environmental storytelling. And the underwater sections are great, you're not supposed to have perfect vision because you're...underwater. Seeing blurry lights off in the distance to guide you is a great way to signpost where you're supposed to go in an organic way, and it's something that gets exploited to AMAZING effect for tension and horror later in the game, in one of the best sections of any horror game ever honestly.

And the game does have puzzles, idk what you're going on about. Opening doors aren't puzzles. Figuring out how to run the computer simulation, get a cortex chip from a robot, etc. About half the computers you use in the game have some form of puzzles. They're not particularly hard, but they are clever and more importantly feel totally natural to the world and don't feel like puzzles in the gamey sense. They're very logically motivated, not abstractions like you'd find in Resident Evil game with puzzles often having nothing to do with the game world itself.

And then on top of that you have the story itself, which is where most of the horror comes from. It's a more pervasive and unsettling type of horror, because instead of relying on adrenaline fueled fight or flight like Amnesia, Alien, and Outlast rely on, which dissipates after you're done with the game, SOMA's incredibly disturbing and contemplative themes (that are expertly woven into the gameplay) will unsettle you in pretty profound ways and continue to do so as long as you think about them, long after the game is shut off. In that sense, I think SOMA succeeds as being truly scary horror in a way most games are not.
 
StrongBelwas said:
I really enjoyed SOMA, but enemy encounters are by far the weakest part if the game in my opinion.
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Yeah after finishing the game I think that there were some issues with some of the encounters, and I think they could have made some of them more varied and unique and mechanically interesting. I still appreciate that they really only use each type once or twice, and again the pacing for them was fantastic.
 
Yeah they don't actively ruin the experience at all and did ramp up the tension. And I agree they did a nice job of varying each enemy type. I just remember thinking I don't want to stare at the floor and clumsily run around, I want to explore the environment and find all the notes and stuff because I really loved the world they created
 
I played it back when it released so my memory isn't perfect, but there was definitely one area that was patrolled by a monster that also had terminals and such to read I think it culminated in mad dash for an elevator while being chased by said monster.

And obviously the monster I referenced in my previous post there probably wasn't anything important to find but I still think making a monster force you to look at the ground isn't the best enemy encounter
 
I played this with the wuss mod (because I read up on the enemy encounters beforehand, and I knew I would hate them with a passion..), and it's (still, or maybe because of it..) one of the best entertainment experiences I've had in a long time. This is serious good stuff.
 
The Rizza said:
How is the sound design? I'm on the edge about getting it, but if it's anywhere near as good as Alien: Isolation's I might bite
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Not sure how it stacks up technically since I'm on boring old stereo but the sound design in general is excellent. Really evocative soundscapes and incidental effects.
 
MaKTaiL said:
I love sci-fi. Does it have a good story? (that's the main thing for me when I look at games to buy).
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Best sci-fi story I've had the pleasure of enjoying in a while. I usually can't handle horror games. I've only lasted ten minutes into Amnesia

But I finished SOMA because I had to see what happens next. It was my 2015 GOTY
 
More_Badass said:
Best sci-fi story I've had the pleasure of enjoying in a while. I usually can't handle horror games. I've only lasted ten minutes into Amnesia

But I finished SOMA because I had to see what happens next. It was my 2015 GOTY
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Awesome. You definetly sold it for me. :)
 
This was just posted on Frictional's FB page.

Fun Fact: In a really early version of the SOMA design you were meant to play as a robot submarine. Here is a piece of concept art showing that:
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OxoTCUo.jpg
 
I was going to do a LTTP post on Soma after I finished it because this game has blown me away. I am pretty close to the end I believe -
Just loaded the Ark and about to leave Tau I believe.
.

The story is incredible and might be one of the best SciFi stories ever in any medium imo. The atmosphere and sound design is just incredible and the story just really sticks with you as there really is not anything else like it.

I love how the story is unfolding so far with certain events
switching bodies was so powerful
. I have found that Simon says usually what I am thinking most of the time which is refreshing in this game where many times these types of games have silent protagonists or just bonehead ones.
 
Just finished this. It's one of the absolute best first person horror games I've played. Right up there with System Shock 2 and would have placed as #2 on my 2015 Top Ten Games of the Year behind Bloodborne. Fantastic job, Frictional!
 
I'm replaying this game with the wuss mode modand it's really amazing. I loved the game the first time but felt that the monster encounters were annoying and seemed like they belonged to an entirely different (worse) game. The actual scariness of the game isn't actually diminished at all since instead of attacking you, the horrendous abominations just silently roam the halls, subtly gravitating towards your location. It makes for a deeply unsettling exploration experience.
 
StrongBelwas said:
I really enjoyed SOMA, but enemy encounters are by far the weakest part if the game in my opinion.
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TBH it would have been better with fairly minimal encounters I think, even less than what was there. The couple of attempts to have tougher encounters just didn't really work. Creatures that were relatively easy to avoid but remained a constant threat requiring vigilance as you snoop out clues and complete tasks to proceed would have worked better it think.
 
CHC said:
The
sea floor on the way to Tau Station
is pretty much that scary. Jesus that area was just so alien and wrong. Who needs fantasy nightmare realms when parts of reality are that terrifying.
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Yeah. That's one of my favorite gaming moments in recent years. They really pulled off the effects there perfectly.
 
Just finished it tonight. That ending.....man.

What a fantastic story. I have rarely played a video game with a narrative that gripped me from the outset, but SOMA did just that...and it never let up. This could easily work as a film. A really great, yet unsettling, experience overall.

Hopefully Frictional is working on another PS4 / PC game with this level of quality.
 
It could work as a film, but I thought interactivity was paramount to how impactful the story was. Some of those choices man...and just how the medium was used to leverage the themes, even if unintentionally, was fantastic stuff. Feeling inherently disconnected because you're not physically there, yet fully emotionlly invested in the experience and in full control tied the whole thing together.
 
OrbitalBeard said:
Just finished it tonight. That ending.....man.

What a fantastic story. I have rarely played a video game with a narrative that gripped me from the outset, but SOMA did just that...and it never let up. This could easily work as a film. A really great, yet unsettling, experience overall.

Hopefully Frictional is working on another PS4 / PC game with this level of quality.
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Yep, loved the ending too, and the story overall. Stuck with me for days after I completed the game.
 
Fancy Clown said:
It could work as a film, but I thought interactivity was paramount to how impactful the story was. Some of those choices man...and just how the medium was used to leverage the themes, even if unintentionally, was fantastic stuff. Feeling inherently disconnected because you're not physically there, yet fully emotionlly invested in the experience and in full control tied the whole thing together.
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Oh, I completely agree. SOMA absolutely used the strengths of the video game medium to enhance the overall experience.

My point was simply that the writing and overall narrative was a massive step above the vast majority of games I've played in my life and is easily on the same level as a good book, TV show, or film.
 
Just completed it after picking it up on sale last week. I can't reiterate what everyone else has said about the story enough. It was incredible from beginning to end with some legitimately disturbing parts and a fantastic atmosphere. I had asked this thread earlier about the sound design of the game and I can now confirm that is also amazing. Loved the game and would recommend it to anyone who loves scifi, story, and/or horror.
 
The Rizza said:
Just completed it after picking it up on sale last week. I can't reiterate what everyone else has said about the story enough. It was incredible from beginning to end with some legitimately disturbing parts and a fantastic atmosphere. I had asked this thread earlier about the sound design of the game and I can now confirm that is also amazing. Loved the game and would recommend it to anyone who loves scifi, story, and/or horror.
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I got it from last week's sale as well. Best sci-fi game I've ever played for sure. I will definitely keep a look out for future Frictional games from now on. SOMA was amazing.
 
I also played and beat it after getting it on sale.

Cool game. Too bad the bad entity was a bit of a cliche. But otherwise pretty well done.

I like how they bothered doing the two scenes in 2015. It really gave the main character a lot of his realness.
 
PuppetMaster said:
I also played and beat it after getting it on sale.

Cool game. Too bad the bad entity was a bit of a cliche. But otherwise pretty well done.

I like how they bothered doing the two scenes in 2015. It really gave the main character a lot of his realness.
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Except it was never a bad entity...
 
Fancy Clown said:
It could work as a film, but I thought interactivity was paramount to how impactful the story was. Some of those choices man...and just how the medium was used to leverage the themes, even if unintentionally, was fantastic stuff. Feeling inherently disconnected because you're not physically there, yet fully emotionlly invested in the experience and in full control tied the whole thing together.
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I mean,
seeing through your characters eyes and not being able to see your body
was literally a major plot point

Just a tremendous take on the unreliable narrator. And unique to this medium.
 
Dreathlock said:
Soma is on sale on PSN right now and i consider buying it.
Were the framerate issues resolved on ps4? With a patch maybe?
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I finished the game last week and there were definitely a few really bad instances of extremely poor framerates.

Fortunately, the game is really slow paced, so it was only a minor annoyance. The game is pretty amazing.
 
This page of the thread alone sold me on buying this ASAP.

Couple of unmarked spoilers in here though, some of those looking like big spoilers too. Please be careful.

Naming and shaming below, with added spoiler tags ;)

HueyFreeman said:
Just a tremendous take on the unreliable narrator. And unique to this medium.
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MaKTaiL said:
Except it was never a bad entity...
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PuppetMaster said:
Cool game. Too bad the bad entity was a bit of a cliche. But otherwise pretty well done.

I like how they bothered doing the two scenes in 2015. It really gave the main character a lot of his realness.
Click to expand...
 
So now I have to wait years for another Frictional game :(

Any other games that can compare to SOMA in terms of story and atmosphere?

GinoFelino said:
This page of the thread alone sold me on buying this ASAP.

Couple of unmarked spoilers in here though, some of those looking like big spoilers too. Please be careful.

Naming and shaming below, with added spoiler tags ;)
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Yeah, those should probably be spoiler tagged. But out of context I'd say they don't really give anything substantial away.
 
Bonfires Down said:
So now I have to wait years for another Frictional game :(

Any other games that can compare to SOMA in terms of story and atmosphere?


Yeah, those should probably be spoiler tagged. But out of context I'd say they don't really give anything substantial away.
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Well, I haven't played it yet so I can't be sure, but linking those comments together, also considering the parts of the posts I left out, reveals more than these comments in isolation. That's how it always goes, isn't it. Ten individual small but related spoilers adding up to a big one :)

It's okay, I guess, I'd play it for atmosphere alone.


Edit:
By the way, regarding your question (and again, I haven't played SOMA yet), recent story- and atmosphere-heavy games I played and loved recently are Firewatch, Until Dawn, Alien: Isolation, Heavy Rain and Everybody's Gone To The Rapture. But then, those are the usual suspects so I doubt those will be very surprising to you :)
 
GinoFelino said:
Well, I haven't played it yet so I can't be sure, but linking those comments together, also considering the parts of the posts I left out, reveals more than these comments in isolation. That's how it always goes, isn't it. Ten individual small but related spoilers adding up to a big one :)

It's okay, I guess, I'd play it for atmosphere alone.


Edit:
By the way, regarding your question (and again, I haven't played SOMA yet), recent story- and atmosphere-heavy games I played and loved recently are Firewatch, Until Dawn, Alien: Isolation, Heavy Rain and Everybody's Gone To The Rapture. But then, those are the usual suspects so I doubt those will be very surprising to you :)
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Yes, I see there was a bit more in the original posts. But don't worry, there is still plenty to find out and think about.

I don't have a PS3 or PS4 so two of those are out. Will check out Rapture when it comes to PC. Firewatch seems cool and I will play it eventually, but I don't know if it has a particularly oppressive atmosphere? Would like to play Alien, but I'm not sure I have the balls for it. The monster encounters weren't exactly my favourite parts of SOMA.
 
I heard that Peter Watts' books were an inspiration to the devs working on Soma so I started reading Starfish and I can totally see the connection. It's pretty great so far so if you like books I'd recommend checking it out. Starfish covers more of the deep-sea side of Soma while his book Blindsight focuses more on consciousness.

Edit: I forgot to mention that his books are free on his site though of course I'd recommend buying it if you plan on reading the whole thing.
 
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