Soma
Table of Contents
SOMA is a mind-bending ride down a rabbit hole (or an abyss in this case) that leads to an unforgettable end. You’ll travel through tight corridors and open oceans while solving puzzles, uncovering mysteries, and avoiding hostile creatures. Keep your thalassophobia in check, relax, and soak in all that SOMA’s story has to offer. I’d be shocked if you were left disappointed.
ABOUT SOMA
SOMA is a sci-fi horror game from Frictional Games, the creators of Amnesia: The Dark Descent. It is an unsettling story about identity, consciousness, and what it means to be human.
The radio is dead, food is running out, and the machines have started to think they are people. Underwater facility PATHOS-II has suffered intolerable isolation and we’re going to have to make some tough decisions. What can be done? What makes sense? What is left to fight for?
Enter the world of SOMA and face horrors buried deep beneath the ocean waves. Delve through locked terminals and secret documents to uncover the truth behind the chaos. Seek out the last remaining inhabitants and take part in the events that will ultimately shape the fate of the station. But be careful, danger lurks in every corner: corrupted humans, twisted creatures, insane robots, and even an inscrutable omnipresent artificial intelligence.
You will need to figure out how to deal with each one of them. Just remember there’s no fighting back, either you outsmart your enemies or you get ready to run.
THE STORY
SOMA offers an unforgettable story. You are Simon Jarrett. You have been in a car accident that has led to tragedy and brain damage. Simon seeks a cure for his brain damage and finds his way to experimental therapy. He visits a ‘doctor’ who straps him into a chair and takes an image of his brain. Everything spirals out of control from here.
I’m not going to spoil the game. There is so much to take in and I suggest you not read about the story. I suggest you experience the story. Either play the game yourself or watch my playthrough. I left the game feeling a mix of emotions. I felt triumph, defeat, dread, loneliness, horror, and more. However, I loved the story and appreciated how such a deep story can affect my emotions.
THE GAMEPLAY
The gameplay in SOMA is familiar. You’ll solve several puzzles along the way. Some of the puzzles are easy and some of them will take a bit of thought. SOMA doesn’t use a lot of visual clues so you’ll have to search for answers. I got slightly frustrated a few times but once I powered through, I appreciated the work. My advice on the matter is to look around if you get stuck. The answer is near.
I found myself getting lost a few times. I had to do some backtracking in the tight corridors but I didn’t mind too much. However, I got lost a few times while in the ocean and did some major backtracking that I didn’t need to do. It’s hard to see in the ocean and I got turned around rather easily at some points. I edited this out of my playthroughs but it happened, I promise.
SCI-FI HORROR
SOMA borrows science fiction and horror elements to craft the world Simon travels through. They make a good pair and complement each other well. The robots are sentient and ooze liquid from their components. The tight corridors create a claustrophobic atmosphere and the open ocean will tug at your thalassophobia. Things chase you and you have to run because you are defenseless.
I get a lot of vibes from the original Alien movie, the environment in particular. Look at my screenshots and you’ll see what I’m talking about. The technology and structures look similar. The only difference is where you are. I dig it because I’m a huge fan of the Alien series.
AS I SEE IT
The most impressionable impact of SOMA on me is the end. I’ll never forget the end. It’s like the end of Battlestar Galactica. I knew something big was coming and all the signs were there but I didn’t pay attention enough and got slapped in the face with emotions. The end is worth checking out the game alone.
SCREENSHOTS
