Horror Game Reviews: SOMA

Today I will be reviewing a game which I consider to be a top contender for the most interesting, creepy, and also beautiful horror piece that I've played in the past 2 years, SOMA. SOMA is a science fiction/horror survival game that was made back in September of 2015. It was developed and published by Frictional Games for the PC as well as Playstation 4. Though, the version that I will be reviewing was the PC version. Frictional Games has made some well received previous horror titles in the past such as Amnesia: The Dark Descent, as well as the Penumbra series. I was a bit disappointed with their second Amneisa game, and thought that game was quite flawed and a step in the wrong direction for their company. However, I have to say SOMA is definitely a great successor to their first Amnesia game and was an awesome surprise of a game. 

SOMA hands down has the best narrative and story of any game that Frictional Games has put out thus far. It takes the core horror/survival mechanics of Amnesia and refines them into a lean, mean, psychological horror machine (But, not the type for pigs). The story and message that the game drives into the player might be one of the more terrifying elements of the game, that message being a question: What does it mean to be human? The psychological elements in this game crawl under your skin and stay with you after you play. I was particularly left feeling crushed for hours after I finished the game. Something that almost no game has been able to do. 

SOMA takes place deep underwater in a futuristic structure that is quite worn down, where a cataclysmic disaster has happened. This has led to the robots previously used to aid the humans into being given free reign into changing their environment entirely as they please and trying to evolve themselves in a way. Though, this isn't an I, Robot type AI uprising or anything like that.The robots themselves most of the time seem like dementia patients, and come off as pitiful at times with how confused they are about what is happening. 

To give a short summary of the game without getting heavily into spoilers, I'll just briefly go over the beginning of SOMA. The game starts off in 2015, with us playing a man named Simon Jarrett who has been involved in a car crash which left him with severe brain damage. Later on after his discharge from the hospital, Simon receives a phone call in regards to doing an experimental procedure involving scanning his brain. The procedure is run by a Dr. Munshi, who is hoping that with this technology he's developing that he'll be able to reverse any and all kinds of brain damage. Simon agrees to the scan, but midway through it appears to blacks out. He regains consciousness again but finds himself in the abandoned and run down deep sea research structure, PATHOS-II.  

You quickly learn that the current year that you've awoken into is 2104, and that one year ago in 2103 a massive comet had crashed into the Earth and destroyed the entire surface level of the planet. This leaves PATHOS-II with the last remnants of humanity remaining on the planet. After exploring the section of the structure you've awoken in, Simon remotely contacts someone going by the name of Catherine Chun, who then instructs the player to come to her location in another area of the structure. This leads the player into exploring different areas of PATHOS-II, and encountering the AI controller robots, as well as the mutated hybrids of human-robots who happen to be quite hostile. 

I really can't tell you enough on how great the story is without spoiling it for anyone, though a good way to put it is that it's like combining Blade Runner with H.P. Lovecraft. It's sci-fi roots run deep, and it handles it's horror elements perfect for the story. It's one of the most interesting psychological horror games ever made, having you peer into the meaning of being alive and human but leading you with a feeling of existential terror. I feel that this is a refreshing take on horror, as it actually makes you think and feel in other ways besides just the feeling of being terrified from the bizarre creatures and depressingly awful situations you find your way into. 

The game has some of the best handled pacing I've seen in a horror game in some time, littered with some of the best twists I've seen in any story of a game. It doesn't rely on jump scares really at all which was great to see, as it was something I questioned going into playing it considering the studios previous titles. The game slowly unravels itself as you proceed deeper in, and continues to hint at more and more unsettling things as you go on. It starts adding more and more weight to the answers you find, making each piece of the puzzle you find more unnerving than the last. 

The gameplay itself is in a very similar vein to how Amnesia The Dark Descent handled. So, I would say if you were familiar with playing that game, you should settle into the controls and mechanics of this game pretty easily. Players of the game will explore a large, dark world that doesn't have many residents and gives a feeling of isolation due to the abandoned feeling it gives off. You'll be trying to run and hide from the monsters which you encounter throughout the game, and if you get too close or stare at the monsters for too long the game screen starts getting distorted putting the character and player into a panic. 

This also tends to bring the monster to your location when it happens if you already haven't been discovered. Though one difference from Amnesia is that there is no insanity system to the game, so besides panicking your character won't go insane from staring at them or hiding in the dark. However, there's more realism to these creatures that makes them a bit more frightening, in my opinion. Because unlike with Amnesia, these monsters have an actual backstory to them, they've evolved from the environment and had a science fiction genesis being born from a mixture of organic tissue and technology. 

Each monster you encounter also has it's own specific behaviors and patterns which you'll have to try and figure out. When you encounter one during the game, the monsters will give chase to you upon you coming into their sight. They do this all in different ways. One will teleport to your location, in a very similar way to how Slenderman teleport's around. Another one seemingly can only hunt after you while you move, so if you sit still it stops. Another type has a sonar like based sight and can only find you while you make noise. With these types of creatures, you can come up with a gameplay on how to get past them. 

However, the really challenging monsters are the one which the game doesn't help you figure out. You'll have to start from scratch on understanding the behavior and patterns for these ones, which can lead to a lot of anxiousness and nervousness as you try and creep by them in a multitude of ways. However, once you get it down it'll be a fair amount easier to get past them, though you'll still be sweating bullets as they make their way past the spots where you're hiding. Well then and also when you realize that all of the monsters can open up doors as they chase you, which never stops making the hair raise on my arms while freaking me out. 

One interesting feature involving the monsters in the game is the fact that it isn't an instant game over once when catches you. Instead of meeting a miserable demise upon being caught, you'll instead just wake up shortly after with new injuries applied to your body. This gives you a chance to get back on your feet and try again, of course after getting your things back in order and figuring out where the monster has moved you. Sometimes this will let you grab the item you need and give you a chance to run away without being rediscovered. 

Other times, this can lead to an even more terrifying feeling than just being insta killed by the monster. As the more times you're injured the closer you come to death, and when you take new injuries eventually you'll find yourself limping and slowing down to what feels like a crawl. This becomes nerve wracking since you have to slowly try and make your way to safety, all while hoping that the monster hasn't realized you're still alive where it needs to come finish you off. Of course, when it does come find you after you're seriously injured, you'll be finding yourself into the game over screen. So be on the lookout for health refills as you play if you've taken injuries. 

Now, while I appreciate these changes from their past horror games, I do have to say it leaves the monster encounters themselves less scary. The reason being is because you'll encounter them more often than in the past titles, so you'll start to lose that unexpected and surprising feeling you get from randomly stumbling into one. The monster designs themselves are fairly creepy for the most part, but most of them don't scare you on their own by just looking terrifying. 

However, when you're not running away and hiding from the sci-fi monsters you'll have plenty of time to enjoy the amazing story which is told in this game. This is honestly one of the best, yet unsettling stories I've seen in a horror game without any exaggeration. The worldbuilding that they've done is beyond excellent, with clues being consistently hidden within plain view of the player while you're trying to get from story point to story point. And, between piecing together what has happened to the crew and realizing the terror of what is happening now, there's just so much to love about the game. 

So, to sum it up, this is an absolutely stunning game and a wonderful example of storytelling within the horror genre. I have a hard time finding many horror games that actually tell as good of or a better story than SOMA. The unsettling environment, creepy monsters and confused robots who are tragic in their own way only add to how great the story is. I can only say I highly recommend this one for anyone who hasn't played it, and that you're missing out if you skip this one. 

Thanks for checking out my review! Hope you've enjoyed it!