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!

Well, if you like looooong walks occasional sneaking and some puzzles, the game is definitely for you. If not, just suffer through the gameplay for an interesting story. The game is built on the Frictional engine so if you liked Penumbras and Amnesia, you'll feel home. The graphics are quite OK (there aren't many outdoor scenes so the usual gfx and physics engines with winds, sun, rain and such don't apply here). There are some small issues with the concept - I didn't like the floating objects - you mistake pressure with density! A part of the plot involving the Ross character was confusing for me, to be honest. But the rest of it - well, some of the story was a bit predictable but all in all very solid writing, very consistent atmosphere and - typical for Frictional - great job of revealing the history gradually through bits and scraps of information. I know that if you're into sf and stuff you've probably already encounterd similarily themed works but nevertheless it still raises valid questions about existence, humanity and such.

For a long run, this is a deeply atmospheric game practically oozing with storytelling and good pacing. But like oh so many games of its genre, it will eventually pitch the player against an obscure adversary that does not respod to anything the player has been learning up to that point, suddenly ramming the so far atmospheric experience head-on into a rock face of frustration.