RecommendedSteam player
Thank god for developers like Frictional Games, that are willing to take the risk and time to explore more complex themes and ideas. SOMA isn't perfect, but once the screen fades to black for the last time it makes up for any deficit. It sets an impossible standard for most indie developers. This was not the game I was expecting. If, like me, you have only glimpsed some early build trailers, then the design has clearly changed. Placed underwater, amongst the remains of humanity, you must come to grips with almost a century of change, and ultimately redefine the term human. Talking robots, mechanized humans and corrupted marine life all play their role in convincing you that something has gone horribly wrong. Frictional maintain a number of elements from their previous outings, including physics based puzzles. Almost any object can be grabbed, dropped and thrown; levers can be pulled; wheels can be twisted; doors pulled or pushed open. The concept lends a welcome tactile nature to the story which, sadly, falls back on a familiar trope: your all alone, EXCEPT for a voice to guide you. While you identify the owner of the voice, and ultimately take on their objective as your own, it still feels like a commitment to revealing the story through environment and atmosphere would have strengthened the isolation, making searching out information a puzzle in itself. The look and setting of SOMA will bring obvious comparisons to Bioshock, but it's tenuous link at best. Skulking through the confined, industrialized corridors of Pathos II feels far removed from the Art Deco inspired, living spaces afforded to Rapture. No guns and plasmids, only exploring and hiding. Worth a special mention is the sound design, music and voice acting. Certain games lend themselves to headphones more than others, and you would be doing a disservice not to use them in this case. The effect is universally excellent in creating a sense of place, whether the groan of stressed metal or the muted, calm of the seafloor. Previous Frictional releases have relied on enemies to provide constant tension and scares, leaving you cowering in darkened corners. SOMA's mechanized enemies don't appear as frequently, and tend to be solo when they do, but I personally found them to be frustrating. My main issue was their completely random nature. In one example I was left with the enemy blocking my only way forward, unresponsive to sound or light, and refusing to budge until I ran at it, died and restarted past that point. While they are fitting to the story and environment, I couldn't help but feel they may not have been necessary, and instead the developer felt pressured to include them. There are some other issues, I experienced, that may or may not concern others. Loading times are looooong (up there with The Witcher 3), with intermittent loading occuring at strange intervals. Pacing is slower in the first half than the more compelling second. Objectives are not marked which leads to wandering and backtracking trying to find items and puzzles to solve. The best test of the success of an idea is how it stays with you afterward. Like Life Is Strange, SOMA has remained with me since finishing, debating the choices I made and trying to reconcile the events into chronological order. It's Frictional's best story yet, offering a rich message that never takes away from the terror of playing. In fact, that message questioning what it means to be human, is SOMA's most terrifying element. The game isn't perfect, none are, but if an amazing story, wrapped in an absorbing atmosphere and sprinkled with puzzles is your thing, then it's an easy choice.Show moreShow less
11.1 hours at review854 people found this helpful