Annoying Monsters, Beautiful Game. (Review)

[SocioPsycho]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jo3b9Bvi2Zo

This is a summary of my review video, which I encourage you to watch if you are looking for a more in-depth review.

SOMA is an atmospherically heavy first person adventure that takes place 50-100 years in the futures. The story is the core element of this game, which draws into question the very nature of what life and death are. The video quality of the game is pretty good, with an adequate amount of customization options.

The Story;

Your character wakes up in an underground sea lab, trying to figure out where you are and how to escape the dangerous area you are in. You face intelligent AI, robots who believe they are human, and other hybrid elements that draw into question what it means to truly be human, and who has the right to proclaim whether they are alive or dead? The environments, music and puzzles give an overall atmosphere of fear, without the ever present jump scares that are found in so many so-called horror genre games. The story throws you into situations where you have to make hard decisions that may be uncomfortable for some, and makes you think about how life is defined both inside and outside of the game, and it synchronizes everything together in a beautiful matter. The only issue I had with the story was that the decisions you make throughout the game do not make any impact on the ending. The story itself stands on it's own, and the ending fits well, it would have been nice to have multiple ending options that would reflect the decisions you have made.

The Monsters;

The monsters in the game do have a feeling of weight behind them, and they do a good job when they are used minimally. The game did a good job of spacing them out so you weren't expecting them around every corner. They are dangerous, and they can kill you. The system is forgiving when you are killed, as you are given at least two chances to retry before you are sent back to the previous checkpoint. The checkpoints occur fairly frequently, so you don't have to replay too much to gain what you lost. The main issue I have with the monsters is how your character reacts when you see them onscreen. You have a chip in your head that reacts to the monsters, so the screen will shake and distort. It can be a good concept but is overdone. It is more annoying than suspenseful, as it was intended. The enemy is like a dog with a bone; once they see you, even if you find a place to hide, they will sit right there for you, and you are not able to use objects to block or slow them down, or to lock a door to escape them (they open doors easily), pushing the player more towards trying to outrun the monsters rather than using a stealth, or witty approach.

Summary;

The environment is beautifully done, and ties everything together well, and the story delves into personal exploration into what it means to be human. They puzzles, while simplistic, are still satisfying and fit into the story. The monsters are the games strongest environmental aid, and it's weakest gameplay mechanic. They help to add a sense of fear or dread, and they don't overstay their welcome, but when they are there, the violent screen shake takes away immersion into the game. I did not feel as if my time was wasted, and I enjoyed the strong story. I would say the game is definitely worth $20, but for its current $30 on Steam, I would like to see a bit more replay-ability.Then again it does have access to Steam workshop so you have to decide what the strong story and possible extra content via Steam workshop is worth to you?

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http://www.youtube.com/user/SocioPyscho

[dnrob7]

I thought the mosters were great.

[Urthdigger]

I found the monsters in Lambda and Curie especially frustrating. Oops, caught sight of it, time to spend 10 minutes with my head in a corner waiting for it to go away. Can't even look to check >.>

[SocioPsycho]

Originally posted by Urthdigger:

Can't even look to check >.>

Makes you feel like a naughty child sent to the corner for being bad. Having to slowly peek behind you by looking at the floor like someone who is shy.