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

Update was released. Need to choose "public_beta" from the Properties menu on Steam

Fixes:
- Stuttering frame-rate
- SOMA refuses to start
- Crashes at various places
- Stungun not functioning at lambda
- Missing levers / cabinet doors.

Will go live in the release branch, and be available on GOG, tomorrow

PS4 Patch will come late next week
 
Just finished it, my earlier assessments still mostly ring true, story picked up a bit more at least. However, I still can't deny my disappointment, more than anything I just can't call this a horror game personally; the themes are interesting but I don't find them scary. It was a poor substitute for me.

Couple questions though:
1)
are there multiple endings?
2)
do your choices through the game affect anything?
 
AHA-Lambda said:
Just finished it, my earlier assessments still mostly ring true, story picked up a bit more at least. However, I still can't deny my disappointment, more than anything I just can't call this a horror game personally; the themes are interesting but I don't find them scary. It was a poor substitute for me.

Couple questions though:
1)
are there multiple endings?
2)
do your choices through the game affect anything?
Click to expand...

I was wondering 2 as well. But i don't think so.

This morning i noticed that they have a poll results with what other people have picked compared to you. So maybe its just like a sociological outlook on some of the questions of the premise. Very interesting stuff.

I have a screengrab of one of those. Here.
 
I need a hand with a puzzle if you guys would be so kind. I need to build a simulation
of the Ark. I got the terminal plugged up and I see a bunch of asset files I can toggle on and off. I'm not sure what I need to toggle though.
Any advice?
 
Gold_Loot said:
I need a hand with a puzzle if you guys would be so kind. I need to build a simulation
of the Ark. I got the terminal plugged up and I see a bunch of asset files I can toggle on and off. I'm not sure what I need to toggle though.
Any advice?
Click to expand...

de-select everything then look at the required assets in red on the right
 
AHA-Lambda said:
Just finished it, my earlier assessments still mostly ring true, story picked up a bit more at least. However, I still can't deny my disappointment, more than anything I just can't call this a horror game personally; the themes are interesting but I don't find them scary. It was a poor substitute for me.
Click to expand...

Just because you didn't find it scary, doesn't mean it's not a horror game. Very few games are scary. Very few movies are scary. They can still be horror. Horror can be a fairly broad term in gaming. SOMA is definitely a sci-fi horror adventure game.
 
This is cool, Ethan Carther dev has been praising the game on Twitter
- "I highly recommend checking it out. #SOMA is an important game and, luckily, it's also a fantastic game."
- "Anyway, it's 6am here so I should probably go to sleep. More on #SOMA in a blog post soon. TLDR: OMGOTY."

drotahorror said:
Just because you didn't find it scary, doesn't mean it's not a horror game. Very few games are scary. Very few movies are scary. They can still be horror. Horror can be a fairly broad term in gaming. SOMA is definitely a sci-fi horror adventure game.
Click to expand...
"Causing feelings of fear, dread, and shock"

Yes, I'd say SOMA definitely qualifies as a horror game
 
omgkitty said:
Can someone tell me how scary this game gets? I've watched Patrick from Kotaku play 2 hours of it now
(he's at the shuttles)
, and while it's definitely tense, nothing has bothered me. I don't generally play / like games like this, and the closest comparison I can think of is maybe Bioshock which I love, but that's not really that scary. I want to pick it up, but if it ramps up from what I've seen already, I don't know if I can deal with that.
Click to expand...

As a horror enthusiast, this isn't the scariest game I've played or anything, but it did get me a few times. I think the sound design is well done, and I've found what's scared me more than anything is that sound design in a few places, and the dynamic AI of some of the encounters that ends up surprising me. I will say, in the 6 hours I've played, there are three moments in the last three hours I played that have spooked me. I find it less creepy or scary than the Penumbra games by the same developer personally, though.

I'm not sure if you saw this in the two hours you watched, but some monster spoilers from the first half of the game;
the couple of encounters with the glowing head monster that can teleport up to you if you look directly at it, and the monster who's blind who you go into a maze with where you need to turn on the server controls
both got me pretty good, and I found these last two monsters much creepier than the first two, personally.

But scariness is subjective, I'll note I'm not in a state of overall fear from atmosphere or anything, and this might in part simply be an unfortunate side effect because the game has such an interesting world and narrative, so you get kind of wrapped up in that, and a good portion of the game is designed around it, but then the horrors almost at times feel like a contrast with this. They don't contradict, but it means that suspense and certain feelings aren't built up. I do think it's worth playing and there are some moments the game has, though. I also might find is scarier since, apparently unlike most people here, I don't play these games from hiding for periods at a time, and as I've been playing, I've been learning there's different ways to take care of each monster rather than running and hiding, so I'm more in the action of dealing with these monsters, and maybe as a result, find them more terrifying because I'm more engaged with them.

I do think the custom campaigns of the game that will be made hold promise to be something quite special, though.
 
More_Badass said:
Besides throwing things to distract them and then sneaking around?
Click to expand...

From reading this thread I don't think people figured something out about one of the later enemies.

You can walk right by the ones that scream. Soon as they scream stop moving, let them calm down (light on face will dim) rinse and repeat. Only exception is the one that is scripted to chase you down the hall into the dive room.
 
Finished.

Man, this was incredibly disappointing. It tried desperately to be scary, and it failed, it tried to be smart and thought-provoking, and it failed too. The "twists" are really obvious and overall the story feels very derivative.

I'll probably forget about the game in a week or so, even A Machine for Pigs was more memorable.
 
More_Badass said:
Besides throwing things to distract them and then sneaking around?
Click to expand...

Yup, I'm only half-way through, I'll mention that I don't hide for too long in any of Frictional games, Amnesia sort of had more forced hiding than Penumbra and the like, but I think this is Frictional's game where they tried to provide the most strategies. Here's my basic notes about the monsters so far:

The first monster is the 'Frictional Games' monster, the one who walks around on patrol, and so both times I encountered it I tackled it as I did a Frictional Games monster, I snuck around and progressed, I haven't toyed with it much tet so this is the one that I've only tested this straight-up tactic with since it was early in game and I was still adjusting to how they worked.

The second monster, which I consider those underwater red-light scanning robots, are honestly hardly a threat in my opinion. At least in the big open spaces I've found them in so far. They don't move that fast and they're basically the Light Scanners from Penumbra Black Plague but can talk and move around. I just run past them while off to the side of the main path. They hear me and look for me but they're fairly easy to outrun.

The third monster, the light-headed diver thing, all you need to do is not stand still and not look at it. Even if its in the same room as you in some closed off space, it won't aggravate if you don't look at it and move, you can tell what its doing by the sounds it makes, and as long as you're not looking at it and not standing in one place for too long, it won't get right on top of you, it's kind of like a reverse Weeping angel/SCP-173 deal.

The fourth monster I've had a bit of fun with, it's audio based and blind, but you can mess with her senses by making a LOT of noise I've found, so a liable (and admitably adrenaline-fueling) method to deal with her is just to make as much noise as possible, run around, grab things as you run and quickly toss them over, jump a lot and and go to different corners to make noise to confuse her. Apparently she's really sensitive to it since she starts acting up and lashing out randomly trying to bang into each source of noise.

What I've discovered thus far.
 
More_Badass said:
Update was released. Need to choose "public_beta" from the Properties menu on Steam

Fixes:
- Stuttering frame-rate
- SOMA refuses to start
- Crashes at various places
- Stungun not functioning at lambda
- Missing levers / cabinet doors.

Will go live in the release branch, and be available on GOG, tomorrow

PS4 Patch will come late next week
Click to expand...

Good. Not playing until this crash bug in Lambda is fixed.
 
drotahorror said:
Just because you didn't find it scary, doesn't mean it's not a horror game. Very few games are scary. Very few movies are scary. They can still be horror. Horror can be a fairly broad term in gaming. SOMA is definitely a sci-fi horror adventure game.
Click to expand...

Eh, I can't say I was outright scared with Amnesia/Penumbra but I still felt unease or an oppressive atmosphere. This? Nothing.
 
An idea: Since Steam achievements are awarded based on story progression, maybe everyone can refer to how many achievements they've had so far in order to describe their progress. I currently got the fourth and stopped there.
 
This game is being a huge let down right now, at least the story is interesting but feels done before, but after Alien Isolation, this feels very very meh.

Everything is a corridor.
 
Wow, I'm about 9-10 hours in going at leisurely place, the
deep
sea section was legitimately creepy and unique.
 
Anyone else gets lost easily? I died of the first encounter like twice because I didn't know where to go and which door to open. I wish the environment had a different feel to it because it feels like a labyrinth most of the time.
 
A great review from The Washington Post
But whereas other sci-fi horror games like “Dead Space” or “Alien: Isolation” focus on delivering a series of visceral jolts via the near-omnipresent threat of violent death, “SOMA” goes in for the mind game. The emotionally uncomfortable situations Simon is placed in will bite at your nerves more than any pesky xenomorphs.
Click to expand...
 
faridmon said:
Anyone else gets lost easily? I died of the first encounter like twice because I didn't know where to go and which door to open. I wish the environment had a different feel to it because it feels like a labyrinth most of the time.
Click to expand...

That's me right now, I'm in
Tetha
heading for the
elevator
past the
Ark Prototype
and I'm in a maze of office cubicles with a monster roaming. No idea where to go from there. I think I need a chip for the
security office
.
 
I feel like I've gotten wimpier since the days I played Amnesia. No lights, middle of the night, great headphones. I was terrified but I finished it.

Even playing with my desk light on and my wife doing stuff in the other room, SOMA is kicking my ass. Ever since the start I've had such a feeling of dread and unease because even though I know the encounters are few and far between, I never know when they'll come up exactly. The impeccable sound design really has me on edge and second guessing almost constantly.

As for progress,
I've just gotten to wreckage of that CURIO ship where there's a working submersible. Got to the sub but that fucking weird looking thing with the head full of lights is killing my nerves, lol.
Ended up dying twice and then just ran my way through the halls until I
found the ladder
and barely made it out. I was too damn scared to even check half the rooms in that big area.

Then I get in the
damn sub and the damn A.I. tells me to get my ass back out there with the monster again.
Ended up calling it a night and will continue tomorrow, lol.[/SPOILER]
 
Wandering Soul said:
I feel like I've gotten wimpier since the days I played Amnesia. No lights, middle of the night, great headphones. I was terrified but I finished it.

Even playing with my desk light on and my wife doing stuff in the other room, SOMA is kicking my ass. Ever since the start I've had such a feeling of dread and unease because even though I know the encounters are few and far between, I never know when they'll come up exactly. The impeccable sound design really has me on edge and second guessing almost constantly.

As for progress,
I've just gotten to wreckage of that CURIO ship where there's a working submersible. Got to the sub but that fucking weird looking thing with the head full of lights is killing my nerves, lol.
Ended up dying twice and then just ran my way through the halls until I
found the ladder
and barely made it out. I was too damn scared to even check half the rooms in that big area.

Then I get in the
damn sub and the damn A.I. tells me to get my ass back out there with the monster again.
Ended up calling it a night and will continue tomorrow, lol.
Click to expand...
Ha, same here.
"Yes, made it to the sub. Wait...I have to go back in there...fuck"

And talking about the sound design, I love how even the main menu and loading screens have that pulsing heartbeat sound. Very eerie
 
Just finished and damn, I loved it. It's definitely not a traditional horror game but for what the game was trying to do, it really hit the mark for me. Really dug the way it wrapped up as well.

PS4 wise I hope they patch the performance though. It gets really rough at times.
 
Just finished it, loved the ending. Def hit me emotionally in a way few games manage to, excellent job Frictional did they really made something highly memorable here. In a just world this studio would be granted a AAA budget. Would love to see what they could do with it.
 
Despite being utterly terrified of the underwater sections (irrational fear of open water) and the horrifying drops at the edge of the levels (again fear of open water) in these sections, I don't really think the game is going for "scary", it's definitely horror but it's not a scary game and I don't think it was conceived as one.
 
SomedayTheFire said:
Despite being utterly terrified of the underwater sections (irrational fear of open water) and the horrifying drops at the edge of the levels (again fear of open water) in these sections, I don't really think the game is going for "scary", it's definitely horror but it's not a scary game and I don't think it was conceived as one.
Click to expand...
Several reviews have said similar things, that it's less traditional horror game and more of sci fi mystery/sci fi adventure with unnerving horrific elements
 
More_Badass said:
Several reviews have said similar things, that it's less traditional horror game and more of sci fi mystery/sci fi adventure with unnerving horrific elements
Click to expand...
Yep it has a horrifying theme, at least it's horrifying to me. It's not set up to make you jump or scream but its made to get into your head and chip away at you there.

Where Amnesia was set for cheap thrills, this is trying to stick with you
 
Two things:

1) I'm hopelessly stuck:
Just entered the first shuttle station and found Amy hooked up to the machine. I've removed the tentacles in the power box, she dies, power says all stable, but the door I assume I need to get through (by the derelict shuttles) just says 'power off'.
Must be missing something!

2) The torch doesn't cast dynamic shadows. This is a shame, I figured it would seeing as the monsters light sources do. Love dynamic shadows, just looks a bit cheap without it.

Oh well.
 
bosseye said:
Two things:

1) I'm hopelessly stuck:
Just entered the first shuttle station and found Amy hooked up to the machine. I've removed the tentacles in the power box, she dies, power says all stable, but the door I assume I need to get through (by the derelict shuttles) just says 'power off'.
Must be missing something!

2) The torch doesn't cast dynamic shadows. This is a shame, I figured it would seeing as the monsters light sources do. Love dynamic shadows, just looks a bit cheap without it.

Oh well.
Click to expand...
1)
No, you don't go through the door. You need to take the shuttle
 
I just played an hour and half of it, man, disappointed so far. Everything was going well until the monster showed up. Amnesias monsters freaked me the hell out, this thing had me laughing. Seeing it waddle about and clip through scenery, the fucking thing looks like an upturned VW Beetle on legs. Ugh. Not even a little scary. Hell not even intimidating, I was literally just looking at it like "wait, is that it?"
 
You all expect to be scared shitless and screaming in terror because you see fake "entertainers" screaming loud and being "scared" on a YouTube video in order to get views.

The game was never going for sheer terror, just unsettling and disturbing subject matter.
 
MadClacker said:
You all expect to be scared shitless and screaming in terror because you see fake "entertainers" acting on a YouTube video in order to get views.

The game was never going for sheer terror, just unsettling and disturbing subject matter.
Click to expand...

Nah man Amnesia legit terrified me long before I ever saw anyone fake screaming their way through it. Like I said this has cool atmosphere and setting, but the first monster you come across is genuinely goofy looking. The animation on it is terrible (its waddle is comical) and its design is really, really lame. If all the monsters are like this then theyre easily the worst part of the game so far, tho admittedly I am still early on in it
 
Brerlappin said:
Nah man Amnesia legit terrified me long before I ever saw anyone fake screaming their way through it. Like I said this has cool atmosphere and setting, but the first monster you come across is genuinely goofy looking. The animation on it is terrible (its waddle is comical) and its design is really, really lame. If all the monsters are like this then theyre easily the worst part of the game so far, tho admittedly I am still early on in it
Click to expand...

Funny, cos I always thought the monster in Amnesia was incredibly stupid looking, and pretty comical. Looked like a really bad halloween costume. Unfortunately, the game never really scared me in the slightest. Once I realized that death had no punishment and infact just made the game easier by removing the enemy in that area - then the game was a breeze. Story narrative wasn't as prominent as I'd have liked and meh, it was just an unremarkable experience. Penumbra was far better.
 
Are there multiple choices in this game ?.
I killed/plugged Amy out.
Was that absolutely necessary to proceed?, or could i have progressed without doing so ?
 
StaffyManasse said:
I should buy Ethan Carter already, don't I?
Click to expand...

It's a great little game. Definitely not scary, and definitely not quite as... cohesive in terms of narrative as SOMA, but they're in a similar genre. It's also shorter, it took me maybe 3-4 (?) hours to beat.
 
I'm watching Lirik play this [because I'm way too big of a pussy to play it myself], the atmosphere is incredible but the music is nothing short of amazing.

does anyone know it there's word of a soundtrack releasing any time soon?
 
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