SOMA review: how to stay yourself?

I admit, I am not a big fan of the Swedish company Frictional Games - the creators of the game, which we will talk about today. Despite the fact that their previous works Penumbra and Amnesia: The Dark Descent, as well as several plot additions to them, were perceived by the press and players very positively and turned a relatively young company into actually masters of horror-games, I was not very impressed with these games. They seemed to me somewhat boring and monotonous. Therefore, coming to the new game SOMA at first without much enthusiasm. However, going deeper and deeper into history, I radically changed my view.

Plot

The usual task of horror is to scare the player. You are placed in a certain space inhabited by monsters, and they are told that they can kill you, which means you need to be afraid and avoid encounters with them. In this regard, SOMA departs from the traditional approach and puts the plot at the head of the picture. That is, they are trying to tell you an interesting story and only then flavor it with various horror stories so that you do not relax. Monsters too, but they fade into the background. They also still need to hide from themselves, but the primitiveness of stealth mechanics, which we could see in many games before SOMA, does not create any difficulty in this.

The game starts in 2015. The main character, an ordinary guy named Simon, the owner of a small bookstore, wakes up after a nightmare, in which he again experienced the horrors of a car accident experienced by him, in which he miraculously survived, but his girlfriend died. After the accident, Simon suffered a serious head injury, and now he needs to undergo a special therapy course to restore the functions of his brain and avoid the hemorrhage that is about to kill him. He is offered to do a brain tomography, and he goes to a private medical center.

Arriving at the appointed meeting place, Simon sits in a chair. After tomography, he experiences some disorientation and does not understand where he is now. From the light office, he gets into a dark room, there is no doctor who did him a tomography, and everything around is dirty with some kind of incomprehensible liquid.

Getting out and going further along the storyline, we learn that we got into the underwater research complex "Paphos II". The yard is now 2104, and a lot of time has passed since Simon sat down in the tomography chair. In the course of the plot narration, we will find out what actually happened to the main character, why he found himself at the station, and also why some strange monsters and robots who consider themselves humans roam around the complex. Then it will only become more interesting, and by the end of the story a very unexpected, but very logical plot twist awaits us.

Game process

Game mechanics SOMA follows the trend of previous games Frictional Game. Wandering through the numerous corridors and laboratories of the complex, we will familiarize ourselves with the station’s history, the fate of its inhabitants (Simon will mentally move in the dead and learn about the last minutes of their lives), get acquainted with the diaries and audio messages left by its staff, try to find the last survivors while hiding from unknown horror. Before us is Survival Horror, if not forgotten.

Frankly, just the last here is not so much. And true fans of the genre, this can be very upsetting. Walking along dark corridors, abandoned complexes and the ocean floor (yes, there will be tasks outside the station) in some places can be really physically scary. The effect is enhanced by a very competent sound. Various squeaks, squeaks and incomprehensible sounds often make you think about whether you should go at all for that turn. But as mentioned above, SOMA is first of all an interesting story, and then everything else. The developers of Frictional Games themselves are not ashamed to talk about this either, who pointed out in an interview that the game itself is mostly devoted to the plot itself rather than horror stories. But as I indicated above, the latter are also present and will not make you bored for a minute.

The great advantage here is that we will have to walk and hide not along the same corridors and rooms. The station consists of many different complexes with their own features and details. Unlike previous games, where everything was increasingly reduced to endless wanderings in gloomy caves and abandoned castles, at SOMA we will move around abandoned research offices and laboratories that are really interesting to explore.

Shoot here is not necessary. There are no weapons here. Your only weapon is your sense of self-preservation, which will help you to avoid meeting unknown for the time being life forms “settled down” at the “Paphos II” station. The same sense of self-preservation will help you find the right further path. Because there are no maps here, and you will have to navigate around the surrounding objects and surroundings.

The mechanics of interaction with objects, if you played the previous games of Frictional Games, you will also be familiar. We will need to not only push the buttons, but actually physically simulate the opening of doors and locks, twist objects in their hands, examining them in detail. Speaking of things. The game does not forgive inattention. When exploring the station, try to look into every available corner and without fanaticism pay attention to every detail of the room, otherwise a nuisance may occur, as a result of which, for example, you will not be able to open this or that door.

The game has puzzles. Some of them are simple, some more complicated and will require even more care from you. Nevertheless, their decision, like themselves, is woven into the plot in a logical and harmonious way and is not at all annoying. At least as long as you remain focused and attentive in their decision. Throughout the entire game I have never experienced difficulties with them, but nevertheless such a problem may arise.

Visual component

The game is completely undemanding of resources. Despite the fact that it is built on a new engine, compared to the Penumbra and Amnesia engine, visually it has not advanced too far. No, the graphics here are quite pretty. But not more. Cut-scenes are not here at all. Fans to see beautiful videos - I'm sorry, here you will not find it. Animation also can not boast anything expressive. In some places she may even push aside. Despite this, the presence of many surrounding details, sound and excellent plot compensate for this loss completely.

I do not know why, but for some reason SOMA reminds me of the Bioshock series (and not only by the setting of the underwater city, which is present in two parts of this franchise). The game, although it had good graphics, was valued primarily not for it, but rather for an interesting presentation of the plot, a great story, atmospheric and soulfulness, or something. Fortunately, SOMA (in my humble opinion) has all these qualities. Station "Paphos II" is really interesting to explore.

Sound

Since I love horror games very much, I usually try to tune in to their atmospheric conditions and therefore I prefer to play at night when no one interferes, and the lack of light only enhances the effect of immersion. Therefore, the passage of the game I was engaged in precisely this environment. I don’t know about you, but I would advise you to play SOMA at night, or at least in the evening, without light and with headphones. The effect will increase many times, believe me. Ambient noises will not make you bored for a second.

During the passage, I was so accustomed to the role of Simon that I became more and more empathetic with him about his past, present and future fate. I constantly thought about what he might experience, being completely alone in this abandoned complex. Believe me, this feeling is worth a lot, because not many games are able to give it.

Outcomes

Despite the primitiveness of the mechanics, the presence of some hackneyed cliches in the plot plot and poor graphics, SOMA can easily keep you in suspense all the few hours that are required for its passage. This is facilitated by an interesting plot, moral dilemma, which the main character has to face, and the atmosphere itself of what is happening. The game is much more mature than it may seem at first glance, and can make you sharply experience an emotional shake. Fans of the genre, as well as science fiction lovers are strictly forbidden to ignore SOMA. As, however, and all other game lovers with a good storyline and story.

Pros:

• Interesting plot and plot twists;
• Deep atmospheric;
• Excellent sound support;
• Ability to immerse yourself in the character and empathize with what is happening with him.

Minuses:

• Non-tier 2015 graphics;
• Some monotony and small number of enemies;
• The horror itself is still less than you expect from the game;
• The lack of maps and tips for assignments may confuse some players.

Final rating: 9 out of 10 . In general, we face one of the best representatives of plot horror of recent years, which will not let you get bored thanks to an interesting plot and, in general, of short (and this is rather a plus) duration. The game was played in the PC version. No bugs and crashes were noticed, however, owners of Nvidia video cards and PS4 gaming consoles noted a slight frame rate drop. In the first case, the problem is treated by installing new drivers. In the second - patches.

The article is based on materials https://hi-news.ru/entertainment/obzor-igry-soma-kak-ostatsya-soboj.html.