SOMA

It's hard for a game to come off as an intellectual pursuit. It either falls in the category of "Why did you even try?" (See: Bioshock: Infinite) and "Look at us. We are very smart." (See: Everyone Has Gone To The Rapture). Soma is something else, giving you as the player lots to think about without beating you to death with it. Every decision is there for a reason, and every beat of the story perfectly in sync with the overall narrative. That narrative not necessarily being what happens to the protagonist, Simon, but a question that hangs over everything: "What does it mean to be you?" Are you the collection of your thoughts, memories and personality? If these things were copied into another, would they be you? A different you? Is the original you more you than the copy? Question upon question upon question is explored as you make your way through the underwater research facility, PATHOS-II. All of this cerebral work is wrapped in a dark, dilapidated remnent of a destroyed world at the bottom of the ocean. As you sneak by enemies and solve puzzles you are constantly making decisions based on those questions and are forced to move forward with the consequences. All of this culminates in a final ending that is both surprising and glaringly obvious. If you want a sci-fi survival horror game with a solid philosophical core, then this is the game for you. Keep in mind that this game will leave you wanting more, but there's absolutely no other like it.

If you are a fan of horror games or a fan of games that are just downright good, then you should buy SOMA. Frictional Games really outdid themselves this time and made what I believe is one of the best games this decade! SOMA was made by the same people who created the lesser known Penumbra series and the more well known Amnesia series. Personally, I thought that Penumbra and Amnesia were okay games. They were kind of scary, but I didn't think that they were anything very special. SOMA takes the same gameplay formula as those older games but throws in an amazing story, far better graphics, and even more scares! I don't really want to spoil it at all, but this game has a great story. I went in really not expecting too much from it, since I didn't really care too much for their past game's stories. Just know that SOMA has an interesting, engaging, and frightening story from start to finish though. SOMA is also very good at scaring the crap out of you. With prior Frictional games I got kind of used to the scares after a while of playing. Once I realized that the monsters would behave in a certain way, they just weren't very scary anymore. SOMA does a great job of varying the pace and totally switching things up on you though. I don't know if the scares would last after multiple playthroughs, but, if you're like me, you'll find yourself jumping throughout the game on more than just a few occasions! Not only would I say that SOMA is the best horror game that I have ever played, I would say that it is also one of the best games that I've ever played. Even after beating it, the amazing atmosphere and story have drawn me back in several times. This game is certainly worth your time and money!

Never before have i felt so emotionally attached to a video game like i did with SOMA, it is a wild ride of emotions from beginning all the way to the end, and oh boy what an ending!. I'm not going to spoil the ending but it hits you like a sucker punch in the guts and you feel utterly devastated and empty at first and then you're struck with powerful euphoria. The atmosphere in this game is thick like tar and this being Frictional Games you don't expect anything else. SOMA is a perfect example that you don't always need a big shot game developer to deliver a wonderful game, big props to Frictional Games for giving us this amazing game, i will be sure not to forget it anytime soon. Well, this certainly deserves a 5-Star rating and i just can not praise this game enough. Over and out!

Je viens de "finir". Voilà un jeu, que dis-je une oeuvre exceptionnelle. Peu de titres peuvent se targuer de faire réfléchir et retourner le cerveau de leurs utilisateurs à un niveau métaphysique, remettant en cause les notions de bien, d'humanité, de survie, de logique, de bon sens, d'anticipation, de temps... Ce titre le fait admirablement bien, en laissant le joueur prendre des décisions tout en ne lui expliquant pas nécessairement la portée de ses actes... Vraiment exceptionnel. A faire absolument.

Je n'ai pas joué à beacoup de jeu d'horreur mais j'ai décidé de me laisser tenter ici. Et je ne le regrette pas. Ce jeu est vraiment une perle dans l'art du jeu-video. Même si les graphismes ne sont pas fabuleux, même s'il m'est arrivé d'avoir bien plus peur devant un jeu, nous retrouvons enfin un projet qui sait lier le frisson et la reflexion (ce qui devient rare, que ça soir dans l'art du jeu vidéo ou l'art cinématographique). Mais je ne parle pas de reflexion destinée à resoudre les embuches du jeu, je parle de reflexion destinée à revoir certains aspects existentiel sur l'humanité et sa survie. Je ne spoilerais pas mais ce jeu m'a fait passé par toutes les émotions : la peur, la joie, la colère, la tristesse (j'ai même versé une larme), ou encore la honte. Il y a des étapes du jeu où je suis litteralement resté figé en ressentant les émotions qui me parcouraient. Les créatures de ce jeu m'on parfois repoussé dans mes derniers retranchements et (et c'est là qu'on reconnais un bon jeu d'horreur) m'ont même ammené à réagir sans logique, par pur "instinct de survie". Vous ne vivrez néamoins ces émotions que si vous choisissez le mode Normal. Le mode Sûr d'apportant, en comparaison, pas de réel défi. Une ambiance glauque comme pour tout bon jeu d'horreur qui se respecte. Un scenario complexe et psychologique. Des dialogues constructifs. Je ne risque pas d'oublier ce jeu et les reflexions qu'il m' ammené à avoir. Fan de Black Mirror, ce jeu est fait pour vous.