Posted on: October 1, 2023

LunarD3ATH

Spiele: 290 Rezensionen: 7

A Thought-Provoking Story Behind Horror

I have actually already watched the entirety of this game played through on YouTube once before, many years back. When I realized there was a "Safe" difficulty, I put aside my reservations and finally put in my own 8h30m to beat the game myself. The Safe difficulty certainly takes away a lot of the tension and (obviously) difficulty of the game, but I don't actually ever play horror games to be scared. I play them because they have interesting worlds, characters and concepts, which means I tend not to play many of them at all because they're designed around tension and extremely dangerous enemies that will instakill you the moment you get in their sights. But enough about that, my preferences for difficulty aren't that important because I'm here to talk about how well-written the story for this game is. Simon might come off a bit whiny, but I feel like he's a fairly likable person at his core. The game will, of course, test your own moral code at several places in the story. There are no right or wrong answers, philosophers would argue about which is the better option all day like it's the trolley problem, but you will have to make some hard calls. The game will also force you into a few right at the start because of Simon's ignorance about his situation and the requirements to progress. That is probably my least favorite part of the story, that you are given no choices in that regard, but it's very early on in the game and is set aside. The game will ask you to make decisions, though, that I would argue should be difficult (and if they aren't difficult for you, then I don't think I want to know you as a person because either you're incredibly boring and can't connect with a piece of fiction or you're a sociopath and neither is appealing). I know you're probably thinking "I don't want to", but I feel like if you want to engage with a good story a little mild discomfort shouldn't dissuade you. It's up to you, but I loved Soma. I have very VERY few complaints.

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Posted on: November 22, 2023

kenadrian

Bestätigter Besitzer

Spiele: 359 Rezensionen: 77

One of the best horror walking sims

SOMA is a horror walking sim from the creators of Amnesia, and probably one of the best of its type. You play as Simon Jarrett, a man who woke up in an underwater facility overrun by mutated humans, machines, and sea creatures. It's kinda like if BioShock 2 was a horror game. The overgrown underwater aesthetic, mutated humanoid enemies, even has the "seawalking" chapters. You might wonder why SOMA is so good. Simply put, the setting is great, but of course this may differ if you don't like creepy underwater areas. Enemy design is really great as well. And then there's the theme about consciousness and perception of "self" that will make you think... I won't say anymore though as it might spoil your experience. If you want to experience the story and setting but cannot handle horror games, fear not as there is a safe mode. In this mode enemies won't kill you, but they'll still be all scary and follow you around if you are spotted. Honestly, I like this game more than the Amnesia ones, and if you like those you'd most likely love SOMA as well.

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Posted on: August 17, 2024

A.G.B.

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Spiele: 823 Rezensionen: 84

Surpasses what came before

Played everything the developers put out up to and including this one and this was definitely the best of them. I definitely did miss some of the things they removed but the overall is superior. I'm going to go as far as to say that if this does not scare you you are not actually letting yourself be transported by it. I fully realize that different people disagree on what is the most terrifying thing. But if this does not have a strong impression on you it's because you're going out of your way not to let it get to you. You're not impressing anyone, you're just ruining the experience for yourself. A lot of the puzzles do boil down to key hunts since they did away with the inventory. Sometimes you do carry items but when you get to a place where it makes sense for you to use your character will just automatically bring it into view of the player. From what I understand this was in response to feedback and I do definitely appreciate that Amnesia the Dark Descent has a lot of complex brain teasers that revolve around this mechanic. I didn't personally think it was too many but I do really respect listening to your audience. Frictional really hit the ground running. Really the only thing of theirs that I didn't think was amazing for the time and budget was Penumbra Requiem and honestly if that one just didn't try to have anything to do with the first two parts of the trilogy I would like it a lot more but because it keeps reminding us of them without being up to the standard they set. Each time they come up with something fundamentally horrifying and with this one not only did they top their previous work as they usually do they hit on something that universally really strikes a nerve and they take a jackhammer to it. Death is thought by many to be the single thing that causes the most anxiety but as this proves it is nothing when compared to the idea of living on possibly forever in loneliness and struggling to come to terms with the reality of how trapped you are.

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Posted on: November 23, 2024

weaselfeet

Bestätigter Besitzer

Spiele: 184 Rezensionen: 3

As good as everone says it is

Has a great atmosphere that doesn't rely on jump scares, rather a sense of mild dread permeates everything. Big enough to explore but tight enough that you never feel lost. It has a constant sense of exploration with puzzle elements that fit the scene and have meaningful purpose. A few elements of the story kept me guessing at how they would resolve, and a satisfying ending - great stuff.

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Posted on: March 10, 2025

rosumek

Bestätigter Besitzer

Spiele: 145 Rezensionen: 26

Safe Mode for whimps - Is it worth?

The Penumbra and Amnesia games left a huge impression on me. They were the first "true" horror games I played, and several times during gameplay I though "why am I doing this to myself?...". Point for immersion and atmosphere, for sure. I started Soma a few years ago and played 1/3 of it, until I got stuck in a given part and lost interest. Fast forward to now, I don't think I have the mental structure (or the patience) for the traditional sneak-and-run Frictional gameplay, but the setting and atmoshpere were enough to make me want to play it. So I tried the Safe Mode. In case you don't know, it's a mode where the monsters cannot kill you. But it's not only a lazy God Mode. They actually tweaked the AI of the creatures, so they are there, but behave in different ways. They may never get close to you, run away from your, ignore you, or even attack you without causing damage. You can play the whole game without worrying about sneaking, dying or losing progress. Ok, they basically removed THE main gameplay mechanics, and what is left? Well, a pretty good game. It helps that Soma, even in its "normal" way, isn't as focused on scares as the other games. It's bleak and dreadful, sure, but there is a lot of philosophical thinking and even light-hearted dialogue in between. There is a good deal of simple puzzles to make it still feel as a game, but story and atmosphere by themselves keep you going. It's very linear, zero replayability, but the first experience is a great one. I still felt tense, even knowing that I was "safe", but can't say the implementation of Safe Mode is perfect. Some monsters became just an annoyance, insisting in following you close like stray puppies, and spoiling exploration sometimes. There is a couple of times where this gets real bad, but doesn't harm the whole experience. In short, if you have anxiety/patience issues with this kind of games, Safe Mode still is a good option to experience a good story.

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