SOMA. What a superb sci-fi horror game. It’s more than that - it’s a freaking masterpiece of storytelling. I was a big fan of Frictional’s Amnesia: The Dark Descent so when this came out in 2015, I knew I had to play it. However, I didn’t get around to getting it until recently when it came on sale. And man I should have played it sooner. I recommend going into this game completely blind like I did, so avoid the rest of the review if you haven’t played it yet.

--- SPOILERS ---

I came into this game without any prior knowledge on it at all other than knowing that it was made by Frictional games. SOMA starts off kind of slow and you soon come to realize that it’s not heavily focused on gameplay mechanics or has as much complexity in puzzles as Amnesia or Penumbra; it’s mostly centered on its story and world-building. But what a story it is. I was engaged from start to finish and the simplicity of the gameplay (not being given marked quest objectives or inventory) added to my immersion.

This story will take you on a ride. A ride with a ♥♥♥♥-ton of emotions and self-deliberation. The graphics and atmosphere are truly stellar, and completely mesmerize you with the surroundings you’re shunted into. Creepiness and scares abound in this game, but I learned that they don’t really make up the focal point of the experience. The monsters are plenty terrifying, however the true horror, as you’ll learn, is the dreadful realization that humanity is all but extinct and the few that remain are digitalized into artificial intelligence entities (including yourself). You come to this understanding slowly as you progress, and the sheer gravity of that sinks in – especially since the character you were playing (Simon Jarrett) was living the nice urban life in Toronto mere moments ago. Being immersed in the story evokes a jarring, vicarious cognizance in the player to this shift. Moreover, what this game does more than engross, is bring about many moral and philosophical quandaries that have you contemplating even outside of playing. Some of the key themes that it touches upon are the concept of identity, the parameters that define life, the digitalization of human minds, and many more. All in all, a multifaceted, idiosyncratic, exploration of the human condition.

More specifically, the game will have you questioning things like ‘what constitutes life’? Is it our consciousness or the biological components that make up our body? If, consciousness exists but in an artificial form, is it really living? Does your identity only belong to the original body you first inhabited? Or do your mental projections on the outside world delineate that?
SOMA also touches on some specific cogitations of the mind that I previously thought only I had – which gave the game even more meaning to me as I played. As a religious person, it even provokes some befuddling questions about the afterlife and the soul. When two or more consciousness exists of the same person, whose metaphysical presence takes precedence? Which life matters more and which one is the impostor? After all, they have the same exact memories and mind. AI and cloning could very well be just as sentient as we are in the near future, so this question may not be too far out.

In the same vein, the game also hits you with some difficult hypotheticals about how you value your own being compared to others. Is it the ethical choice to put other lives in front of your own despite self-preservation being one of the core parts of being human? Is choosing self-preservation really that unethical, since our whole universe is governed by our own physical perceptions?. This becomes even more complex when the ‘lives’ hanging in the balance here are basically collections of data and the effects of your actions will go unseen by you.

I also think that the ending of the game was perfect. It’s the perfect exemplification of how a story such as this needs to end. It was heart-breaking and dismal, yet also hopeful and beautiful depending on how you see it. Overall, it’s an ambivalent experience that’ll make you cry all the same. I know I did. The music that plays at the end, and throughout the entire game, are phenomenal.

The only con I might find about this game is that the gameplay is really simple. There isn’t really any survival element from other Frictional Games, the puzzles aren’t that hard, and most of the monsters follow similar patterns. However, that didn’t detract from the experience at all for me – in fact, it helped me to move along and focus on the story, making myself fully involved without having to worry too much about hampering gameplay factors.

To sum it up, this is a game that stays with you. This is a game that is one of the best sci-fi horror mediums of all time. This is a game with which I still don’t have all the answers to; I still have many questions about story aspects that I came across while playing. This is a great game.

10/10

SOMA. What a superb sci-fi horror game. It’s more than that - it’s a freaking masterpiece of storytelling. I was a big fan of Frictional’s Amnesia: The Dark Descent so when this came out in 2015, I knew I had to play it. However, I didn’t get around to getting it until recently when it came on sale. And man I should have played it sooner. I recommend going into this game completely blind like I did, so avoid the rest of the review if you haven’t played it yet. --- SPOILERS --- I came into this game without any prior knowledge on it at all other than knowing that it was made by Frictional games. SOMA starts off kind of slow and you soon come to realize that it’s not heavily focused on gameplay mechanics or has as much complexity in puzzles as Amnesia or Penumbra; it’s mostly centered on its story and world-building. But what a story it is. I was engaged from start to finish and the simplicity of the gameplay (not being given marked quest objectives or inventory) added to my immersion. This story will take you on a ride. A ride with a fuck-ton of emotions and self-deliberation. The graphics and atmosphere are truly stellar, and completely mesmerize you with the surroundings you’re shunted into. Creepiness and scares abound in this game, but I learned that they don’t really make up the focal point of the experience. The monsters are plenty terrifying, however the true horror, as you’ll learn, is the dreadful realization that humanity is all but extinct and the few that remain are digitalized into artificial intelligence entities (including yourself). You come to this understanding slowly as you progress, and the sheer gravity of that sinks in – especially since the character you were playing (Simon Jarrett) was living the nice urban life in Toronto mere moments ago. Being immersed in the story evokes a jarring, vicarious cognizance in the player to this shift. Moreover, what this game does more than engross, is bring about many moral and philosophical quandaries that have you contemplating even outside of playing. Some of the key themes that it touches upon are the concept of identity, the parameters that define life, the digitalization of human minds, and many more. All in all, a multifaceted, idiosyncratic, exploration of the human condition. More specifically, the game will have you questioning things like ‘what constitutes life’? Is it our consciousness or the biological components that make up our body? If, consciousness exists but in an artificial form, is it really living? Does your identity only belong to the original body you first inhabited? Or do your mental projections on the outside world delineate that? SOMA also touches on some specific cogitations of the mind that I previously thought only I had – which gave the game even more meaning to me as I played. As a religious person, it even provokes some befuddling questions about the afterlife and the soul. When two or more consciousness exists of the same person, whose metaphysical presence takes precedence? Which life matters more and which one is the impostor? After all, they have the same exact memories and mind. AI and cloning could very well be just as sentient as we are in the near future, so this question may not be too far out. In the same vein, the game also hits you with some difficult hypotheticals about how you value your own being compared to others. Is it the ethical choice to put other lives in front of your own despite self-preservation being one of the core parts of being human? Is choosing self-preservation really that unethical, since our whole universe is governed by our own physical perceptions?. This becomes even more complex when the ‘lives’ hanging in the balance here are basically collections of data and the effects of your actions will go unseen by you. I also think that the ending of the game was perfect. It’s the perfect exemplification of how a story such as this needs to end. It was heart-breaking and dismal, yet also hopeful and beautiful depending on how you see it. Overall, it’s an ambivalent experience that’ll make you cry all the same. I know I did. The music that plays at the end, and throughout the entire game, are phenomenal. The only con I might find about this game is that the gameplay is really simple. There isn’t really any survival element from other Frictional Games, the puzzles aren’t that hard, and most of the monsters follow similar patterns. However, that didn’t detract from the experience at all for me – in fact, it helped me to move along and focus on the story, making myself fully involved without having to worry too much about hampering gameplay factors. To sum it up, this is a game that stays with you. This is a game that is one of the best sci-fi horror mediums of all time. This is a game with which I still don’t have all the answers to; I still have many questions about story aspects that I came across while playing. This is a great game. 10/10