SOMA Reviews
SOMA is a survival horror game that is undoubtedly one of the best of the genre, and its setting and plot are shining examples of how to engage an audience.
A masterpiece of audio and visual design, SOMA is atmospheric, cerebral, and occasionally frustrating.
The makers of Amnesia ease back on the horror, ramp up the philosophy and strike a satisfying balance between narrative and gameplay.
If this isn't survival horror, nothing is. The story is deep as the ocean in which it is set, and it is well acted throughout. Terrifying but never unfair, controls more than fit for purpose.
SOMA is smart and scary science fiction. Not all of its ideas work, but it's worth playing for the story alone.
A disturbingly different take on interesting sci-fi concepts let down by a slow start and disappointing monsters, but worth it overall.
Playing cat-and-mouse with monsters feels formulaic at this point, but Soma's engrossing subsea environment and intriguing narrative keep the entire experience afloat
SOMA may not be as scary as Amnesia, but it is without a doubt a stronger game
It may not stir the hordes of wailing YouTubers looking for the next best haunted house, but SOMA succeeds at crafting something much more meaningful than jump-scares.
If sweating profusely and screaming into the void is your idea of fun, SOMA absolutely delivers.
SOMA is at its best when it's challenging you on a philosophical level rather than on a mechanical one. As a horror game, SOMA feels old and archaic.
While it is an enormously satisfying and well-crafted game, SOMA never managed to convince me that its themes and plot were in tune with its more traditional first-person frights. It scared me and it gave me cause to think about some of the issues raised, but now that I'm done, I doubt it'll stay long in my mind, or plucking at my nerves.
In a spectacularly immersive setting supported by masterful sound design, SOMA is solid evidence that the Friction Games is still in total control when it comes to horror.
Soma's slowly-unfolding story, and the choices you live with, make the experience one that will stay with you for some time, the ending hitting all the right notes.
If you're a fan of Frictional Games, you'll find Soma equally spooky and thought-provoking. At times it was difficult for us to maintain our immersion in this nightmare under the sea.
SOMA surpassed my expectations of what a psychological science-fiction horror story could be. I expected to be scared but not absolutely fucking terrified to the point where I had to stand up and physically walk out of the room on multiple occasions. I knew the story was interesting and I would be rooting for the protagonist, but I was not expecting the introspective emotional reaction it ignited as I watched the epilogue that followed the credits.
I've never played a game that's affected me as much as SOMA, and to be honest I'm not sure I want to ever again, although I'm very glad I did. It has the DNA of movies like Alien, 2001, Sunlight, and Event Horizon, with a splash of the original Dead Space and Bioshock, but brings plenty of new ideas to the table. It makes you think about what it means to be alive, and indeed how you classify life, and is a brilliant example of just how far video games have evolved.
SOMA gets everything right about the the survival horror genre. It's like someone created the perfect video game mixtape -- a little bit of abandoned underwater atmosphere from BioShock, detailed environments a la Gone Home, and (of course) the frenzied monster mechanics from Amnesia. Even if you dislike non-combat-oriented games, I dare you to give it a try.
A daringly complex ode to the works of Philip K. Dick, and although the mix of survival horror and existential storytelling doesn't always work it's never less than gripping.
All the stumbling around trades away any sense of suspense. It's hard to feel scared of monsters after you've walked circles around them several times. Not even tricks like suddenly switching off the lights saves the mood. Soma does a great job of making me feel lost and frustrated. Perhaps too good.