SOMA - Are you ready to NOPE?

[angel]

I was the opposite, it took me a good few goes because I didnt realise there was a route around. I thought it was a brilliant nod to system shock too, and the corridor got me a few times.

I've just coerced a pal into getting it so we can discuss it, he loves these games and didnt realise this was by frictional. I also laughed at how short the credits are compared to another game I fairly recently completed, Halo 5. Soma is about 3 mins of credits, slow scrolling, Halo 5 is about 10 minutes of a ridiculous amount of people. Both great games of course, I'm just amused by how much more memorable Soma is than other blockbusters, but made by significantly less people. Imagine a world where the standard blockbuster shooters didn't sell boatloads, and actually attracted a stigma for playing it fairly safe, while people hung on for games like Soma and they were the chart toppers of the day instead, with a whole nation of people discussing the significance of the story, the questions it asks, like living in a higher society that reveres this stuff instead of FIFA and Celebrity Juice. Just a rambling thought.

[angel]

I was a bit meh at the end, but the more I've read up on what I missed, and examined it's themes, the more I like it. This is it with frictional, they have a consistent logic, no stupid mad macguffins at the end, the logic played out, you were copied, you were left behind - only this time, the player got to see both sides of the coin toss. Their games have an engineering logic like quality to them, if events are heading in a certain direction, they play out, no about turns, you expect some revelation in the last room, you perform a mundane movement puzzle, you hit the button, and....nothing. Task complete, still there. Its realism versus videogame logic. You don't grab a handy escape pod, or magically flee an exploding base....nothing...youre stuck there, literally stuck in the seat, you've pissed off catherine to the point of frying her circuits, the ending is precisely what was going to happen - and in video game land of jetskiing your way through an exploding tunnel to freedom, just being stuck there is a revelation.

Personally..i kept the last human alive, i let simon 2.0 live, i killed the WAU

[Distinct muttering]

Not sure if I just dont like these kind of games but I spent ages trying to find some liquid thing in the very first room, now I am running back and forward in dark spaceship type rooms trying to figure out what to do next. Doesnt help in back of my head I am waiting for the first cheap scare to arrive.

Does it get better? I am considering using a guide to hopefully get me past these first bits and get invested in the game and story a little more.

[Jamin]

Yes. It gets a lot better. A LOT better. Stick with it.

PS that opening 'spaceship' bit really doesn't have that many places you can go. Grow some balls and go exploring (quietly).

PPS beware that this game does very little hand holding straight from the off. It is initially a little jarring but its all the better for it. Bear that in mind for when you're asking yourself if you might be missing something obvious, because you most likely will be.

[Yewone]

Not sure if I just dont like these kind of games but I spent ages trying to find some liquid thing in the very first room, now I am running back and forward in dark spaceship type rooms trying to figure out what to do next. Doesnt help in back of my head I am waiting for the first cheap scare to arrive.

Does it get better? I am considering using a guide to hopefully get me past these first bits and get invested in the game and story a little more.

Don't use a guide!!

It's all about the exploration. Take your time and thoroughly check everywhere. You'll find similarly structured areas throughout the rest of the game so rushing past it won't really help much.

[Mentazm]

I think I had to look at a video once to figure out the bit about plugging in a cable. It was only time the mechanic appeared in the whole game.

[Simmy]

Fancy picking this up but the thread title is putting me off - is it properly terrifying? Because I don't want to play a game that is.

[womblingfree]

Fancy picking this up but the thread title is putting me off - is it properly terrifying? Because I don't want to play a game that is.

It's not proper terrifying. If you could handle Alien you can easily handle this. It's more atmospheric and at times creepy, with the odd BOO.

[Yewone]

Yep it's more oppressive than terrifying.

On reflection the likes of PT, Alien and amnesia still have the edge in the actual scare stakes. But that doesn't detract from the experience one bit.

[angel]

Fancy picking this up but the thread title is putting me off - is it properly terrifying? Because I don't want to play a game that is.

I played at at night, exclusively from past midnight to 6am 3 nights in a row, 3 feet from a 50" telly, with surround headphones. Its not terrifying, its unsettling and jump scary, but not creep into your bones insidious scary like Amnesia.

I would call it bioshock without the combat, hype, or black and white moralising, if you wished for that, here is your dream game - unnerving, intriguing, undersea, full of exposition, asks moral questions, and instead of basing itself on one twist (which it reveals early doors), it goes from start to finish as an exercise in modern gaming storytelling. Its a masterpiece. For 15 quid. Im still thinking about it a week later, it poses some superb questions and it doesnt bog you down in stupid gaming crap like collectibles or sliding block puzzles - the entire world makes sense as a world. Want to drain something or fire up a switch? Well pull the panel off, operate the buttons, pull the lever. No macguffins, just sensible problems and solutions.

[krenzler]

Whatever these guys do next will be my most anticipated game.

[angel]

itll be a while, they have other stuff on pc, penumbra, amnesia

[df0]

Try Amnesia: The Dark Descent. Utterly frightening and unsettling.

[Stanley]

I wonder if there's any chance of them porting their earlier games to PS4. I hope Soma has done well.

[krenzler]

I started Amnesia quite a while ago and then I think I got to a NOPE part and put it down. Something about that foreboding evil atmosphere. Will have to start over with it again.

[Nespresso]

Absolutely fantastic from start to finish. Perfect pacing, brilliant audio design, thought provoking narrative and superb voice acting make this an incredible package. Easily one of the best horror games out there and possibly a classic on its own right. Even if you weren't a fan of the developers' previous titles or didn't get on with them for whatever reason you still owe it to yourself to give SOMA a go. The attention to detail is staggering and the sense of both the exploration and isolation is expectional. If you're in for a thinking man's horror game then look no further! 

If I had to nitpick I'd say the facial animation is a bit lacking and the UI somewhat dated as far as aesthetics go. These are very minor issues though. 

Oh and how refreshing it was to just launch a game and play it from start to finish without any performance issues or game breaking bugs. Kudos to Frictional Games!

[Nathan Wind]

I bought the two Amnesia games as I enjoyed this so much. They're on sale at the moment for six quid or so.  I know Machine For Pigs isn't meant to be that great but I've played a couple of hours of Dark Descent and the atmosphere (headphones in the dark) is something else.

[davejm]

Loving this so far.  I'm quite early in the game, but it's really nicely done and amazing through headphones.

Early game spoilers...

Spoiler

When powering up the shuttle I chose to remove only one of the power conduits; as I assumed removing both would kill Amy.  Not sure if that was the right decision; I feel kinda bad that she's sat there half dead and suffering.  I thought I may be able to find help for her; but the bleakness of the game makes that feel like only a remote possibility.  I guess I made it harder for myself, as I assume the shuttle doesn't crash if you fully power it?  Bypassing the need to walk over to the Lambda?

Looking forward to cracking on with this later...

[davejm]

Finished.  Fucking superb.

 

Now time to read up on some thoughts around the game and fully digest what I've experienced.

[V3zna]

This is £13.59 currently on PSN. Might be time for me to give it a go. 

[K]

I'm quite enjoying this, but after playing through Firewatch, I almost wish this had taken the same approach of just letting the player progress through the story at their own pace. The story bits are excellent, but it feels a bit like the stealth bits are in there just to stop you running through the story so quickly - it feels like a less refined version of Alien Isolation, or alternatively, like a version of System Shock 2 designed by someone who's a much better writer than Ken Levine, but not as good a game designer.

 

I think I'm about halfway through

(I've just reached the bit where you have to find a security cipher to unlock a submarine)

, and I've started to dread the stealth bits - not in an "oh god, no" way so much as an "oh god, not this again" sort of way. It's very atmospheric, and the monsters are well-designed, but the mechanics of hiding and fleeing seems a bit crude compared to Alien. 

I'm quite enjoying this, but after playing through Firewatch, I almost wish this had taken the same approach of just letting the player progress through the story at their own pace. The story bits are excellent, but it feels a bit like the stealth bits are in there just to stop you running through the story so quickly - it feels like a less refined version of Alien Isolation, or alternatively, like a version of System Shock 2 designed by someone who's a much better writer than Ken Levine, but not as good a game designer.

 

I think I'm about halfway through

(I've just reached the bit where you have to find a security cipher to unlock a submarine)

, and I've started to dread the stealth bits - not in an "oh god, no" way so much as an "oh god, not this again" sort of way. It's very atmospheric, and the monsters are well-designed, but the mechanics of hiding and fleeing seems a bit crude compared to Alien. 

I'm quite enjoying this, but after playing through Firewatch, I almost wish this had taken the same approach of just letting the player progress through the story at their own pace. The story bits are excellent, but it feels a bit like the stealth bits are in there just to stop you running through the story so quickly - it feels like a less refined version of Alien Isolation, or alternatively, like a version of System Shock 2 designed by someone who's a much better writer than Ken Levine, but not as good a game designer.

 

I think I'm about halfway through

(I've just reached the bit where you have to find a security cipher to unlock a submarine)

, and I've started to dread the stealth bits - not in an "oh god, no" way so much as an "oh god, not this again" sort of way. It's very atmospheric, and the monsters are well-designed, but the mechanics of hiding and fleeing seems a bit crude compared to Alien. 

[angel]

Its standard frictional stealth stuff, but its not unintelligent. They have patrols but you can throw things etc to get by. I disagree, I think its beautifully designed, almost hudless, it focusses on the story without bogging you down in naff mechanics. You never have to worry you've missed something, and its full of purely amazing plot moments. What you've got to come is so brilliant, I would stop comparing it to these other things and just enjoy it.   Its on a lot of peoples GOTY list for good reason.

 

[K]

I completed this last night. I stand by my comments about the stealth bits – they’re by far the least interesting bits of the game. The mechanics gave rise to some great moments – there was a bit where I had to repair the button for a lift stage-by-stage, flipping levers and pulling switches while a monster slowly advanced towards me, and you couldn’t have had a better-paced setpiece if you scripted it – but a lot of the time, it felt like busywork, and occasionally descended into Benny Hill-style chases.

 

But that aside, the overall effect of the game is stunning. I don’t think I’ve played a game where the story was so well-executed –

there isn’t a single bit that fell flat. Every single bit builds on the core themes, and every plot development adds an extra dimension to the story, rather than layers on a ridiculous twist that doesn’t make any sense. All the way through, I was dreading that:

 

·         WAU would turn out to be Simon from the future or an alternate timeline

·         Catherine would be revealed as the WAU

·         OMG, we were on the ARK all along!

 

…but none of that actually happened. The game gives you moral choices that are genuine dilemmas, and respects you enough to leave you to consider the implications in your own time, rather than to smack you over the head with them via two endings, helpfully labelled as ‘good’ and ‘bad’. It had the feel of really good SF, where the world and the technology are rigorously worked out, whether it’s little details like the way that a ship that can be orientated vertically or horizontally has toilets and staircases on both the walls and the ceilings, or whether it’s huge things like the implications of a technology that can copy minds to a new substrate, but can’t transfer them.

 

The game shows up how bad videogames are at this sort of thing generally, like when Bioshock Infinite turned up, and everyone lauded it for its profound messages like “people who overthrow tyrants are as bad as the tyrants themselves”, and “there’s always a lighthouse, there’s always a girl”. You’re right Bioshock Infinite, that’s so true! Games have finally come of age! There *is* always a lighthouse, and always a girl. Hang on a minute, no there fucking isn’t. That’s complete gibberish. Lighthouses are, at best, relatively rare. Still, it’s more than made up for by the amazing twist, where it turns out you are the baddie. Yes, he’s much older than you. Did we mention that travelling across parallel universes makes you really old? Pretty sure we mentioned that.

 

Anyway, Soma makes Bioshock look like the daubings of a Labrador. It’s got the intelligence to think through the implications of the technology it deals with, and the balls to carry those implications through to their horrifying conclusion. Not many developers would have the courage to end their game with the protagonist stuck in the darkness at the bottom of the ocean, alone and incoherent with rage and grief. Once it switched to the ARK, I was certain that they’d have WAU corrupt it and it would reveal that you’d sentenced the digital copies of humanity to eternal torment, but again, the developers commendably didn’t feel the need to introduce any pointless twists into their story.

 

The developers, to their credit, don’t overuse the stealth sequences, and use them for dramatic purposes rather than as the core mechanic that the whole game is built around. I still kind of feel like the game would have been improved for me if those sequences weren’t in there at all – it was horrifying enough seeing those wheezing wrecks of former people dotted around the station, kept alive by a machine that preserves their lives while removing their humanity. There was enough to keep me going without having to run away from monsters every so often, but it’s hardly a major problem.

 

I can’t see myself playing through this again in a hurry, but, man, I can see myself thinking about this one for years.

[angel]

I think you're being a little unfair on Bio, its not saying there's always a lighthouse everywhere, only in this particular grouping of the infinite possibilities. In a Bioshock, there is always a lighthouse. Also re:  Comstock - the Luteces pluck a young Booker each time they grab one. They take him from when Elizabeth is a newborn, and the Comstock in Infinite is from when she's 18 or so (you specifically see this on the blackboard showing her powers develop as she gets older even including getting her period. I might be wrong about that, it's been a while, but also the fact that Comstock was using tears constantly made him sterile and aged him aswell, thats also why he's older. I love Soma but its like comparing a very dry and thoughtful adult Sci Fi to a bombastic mainstream action film, I think they can co exist happily. They're just serving different audiences too, Soma was designed to meet Frictionals standard under 1M sales target and audience, BI was meant to be mainstream.

 

There are hundreds of things to ponder in Soma though, I would recommend watching/reading some plot analysis to showcase some stuff you may have missed. I certainly missed some brilliant touches, there are multiple choice sections that do affect things (not the ending), and I loved how matter a fact things are played out. There is never a magic bullet, even..spoiler..

 

 

 

at the end, in any other game you'd expect a cut scene, an explosion, a jet ski and an underwater cave to reveal themselves, and you blast out to safety. Nope. Youre still sat there, nothing happens here, in a dead world under the sea, unless you do it. No magic, no escape route, just you stuck there watching a copy of yourself fly off into some paradise. Youre literally sat there watching the standard ending of another game, but you're not taking part. And that's Soma, it never breaks its world, a total engineering like game. You perform an action, you get the expected result, not some absurd flashy spectacle. Where did you think your journey would end, youve venture to the arse end of the entire world, the bottom of the sea in a trench, you weren't suddenly going to walk off into the sunset.  All actions in it have consqeuences, predictable, science and engineering based answers, it almost plays with you, and the main character is there to represent the player disbelieving this all. He constantly refutes the inevitable passage of events, ignores Catherine telling him how things will go, right up to the end. The end (I think) is reflecting this too, the game (represented by Catherine) tells you the player than no, this is the path we were on, of bloody course this is how things go, I've been telling you for 15 hours. And the player, as one of his last actions, starts to shout and curse because he's not been given the magic jet ski cave, and thats when the Catherine (the game) has had enough, and shuts down. Perfection.

[Stanley]

Good write up K. I don't really agree with your thoughts on the stealth/gameplay, which I found teffifying and lifted the whole thing into real horror territory. But that's my favourite post this year

[Teabag]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but I'm about two thirds through this and am completely gripped. Can only echo thoughts above really. I actually found it more gruelling than Alien as the tension there was pretty much constant, where as here you can spend quite a while bumbling around being inquisitive before OH GOD PLEASE DON'T MAKE ME GO DOWN THERE AND REBOOT THE ROUTER

[glb]

Thanks for bumping it, reminded me I also still need to pick this up! Avoiding reading too much so I can go in without knowing anything too significant about the story, but sounds great from the snippets I've caught.

[Teabag]

...and finished it. Brilliant ending, which I saw coming only because I was so involved in the story. Would play again, maybe with some valium.

[Ferine]

This is currently £4.09 (£6.49 for the non-Plussed) on PSN. I'd be very surprised if you found a better use for a fiver this year.

 

If you tend to steer clear of horror games, give it a shot anyway.  Obviously the game isn't all smiles and sunshine but I don't think SOMA is about challenging you to keep playing: the game wants you to finish it, there's just a few spots where you're left to say, "well, guess I'm doing this..."

[Stanley]

£4 is an insane price for this. I'd not have felt shortchanged if I'd paid £50.