SOMA

Short review after playing for few hours. Good: - Graphic style, I like level of detail in the world. Although I have to admit I've seen some ugly textures. - Almost every object in game can be taken and rotated. This satisfies my OCD. Bad: - Level design has lots of amateur decisions. Some places that seem traversable are not. It's ridiculous that some bumps in the terrain remind me of VVVVVV. In room with generator a lot of "pillars" are placed randomly - I don't know what they were trying to achieve. When running away from monster to escape pod you don't know where to run. Locking monster in a room does not work. That leads to my next point. - Game mechanics are lacking. Main decisions are made by your companion. You're just there for a ride. I know that it was a concious decision. But I thought that they wanted to make a game for hardcore fans too. - Female companion is overused trope. Amnesia was fresh in sense that all story was delivered via texts and you have to think and ponder yourself. Now everything is casual and laid back and the game is talking to you. BUT with defined voice which is far from what I would expect. I hate main protagonist because he is so cheerful. I would like more self aware protagonist who comments rarely but to the point. That's why you don't give voice to main character. - The story is only interesting if you are completely new to AI. If you have not read about chinese room go and read it. Also read any book about AI to understand that science cannot grasp the concept. - The game takes place underwater with bad visibility and low fidelity levels. I don't know why it could not be avoided. Main character would probably be crushed by pressure under the weight of the ocean. They could show underwater locations behind the glass if they wanted. Just don't let us navigate these levels. - Pacing problems. It was not interesting to get to lambda and then immediately marching for theta. This game tries to be existential but fails.

The game lacks interesting Story points or puzzles. It is pretty much a connect-the-dots level of complexity game. I loved both Amnesia games, but this on is frankly not even close. Yes, the philosophical questions in the game are very deep and detailed, but not enough for a entertaining game.

A boring game that is inferior to popular titles of this genre, like Observer and Alien Isolation. There is absolutely nothing original about Soma. The gameplay is the most basic "hide-from-monster" variant that I've ever seen. There are only two types of enemies that are both non-threatening, unless they are blocking your only path and won't move, forcing you to reload. The AI is a joke. The graphics look 15 years old. The graphic style is absolutely generic and contibutes nothing to the game. The levels are mostly empty and you spend a lot of time just walking through them without anyting happening. The only thing that gets you going is the story at the beginning. This is the only time that the game builds up suspense.

The story looks interesting and unique, and the atmosphere is great, but this horror "walking simulator" with a few puzzles is just not my cup of tea.

I'm deducting one star because this version doesn't have achievements, while other store versions do. :( I'd heard so much about SOMA, praised it as one of the best horror games. But sadly I didn't feel any "horror" while playing it. At most, there was annoyance when the monsters kept interrupting. And I couldn't even figure out whether the "monsters" react to sound or light or what, since their behavior kept changing. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯