SOMA

In Defense of SOMA's Horrifying Villain

Also there's a weekly webisode prequel happening now, apparently:

Yeah, I think the disconnect between how much the player is able to deduce and how much Simon seems aware of is one game's main flaws. Still excellent psychological horror, though.

Well of course Simon is kind of dim. He is literally BRAIN DAMAGED.

edited 3rd Oct '15 9:57:35 AM by Psyclone

Honestly, I like the fact that SOMA doesn't attempt a spectacular twist of any sort. That would have cheapened the whole experience, which is remarkably consistent and deep by the standards of video game storytelling.

For example, as far as Simon's ignorance of the nature of Brain Uploading in this setting, I'm of the opinion that he realized the truth-that the coin toss, to use his analogy, was rigged-during the climber ride down to the abyss, but slipped back into denial not long afterwards.

It wouldn't be so irksome, if Simon wasn't a player avatar. In first-person games this just doesn't work (which is one of the reasons why silent protagonists are still so popular; it's a lazy but efficient way to circumvent such issues completely).

While that kind of player-character discontent worked against the Amnesia games, but in the case of SOMA, where the central theme is the nature of identity and how the concept would interact with Brain Uploading, I would argue it adds to the experience rather than subtracting from it.

edited 21st Oct '15 8:01:55 AM by CaptainCapsase

There's a difference between a character holding an attitude that doesn't click with the player, and ignoring crucial information that is being given the player to understand the plot. This immersion breaker is not good under any circumstance whatsoever, unless it is efficiently used as a deliberate narrative tool, which is definitely not the case here; it's just shoddy writing.

edited 21st Oct '15 8:33:31 AM by TAPETRVE

Thinking about whether or not to pull the trigger on SOMA. Some things to consider:

• Amnesia is the only horror game that's every really scared me. Alien Isolation and F.E.A.R. did virtually nothing for me (Yes, I know I haven't actually played many horror games).
• I like a game with a story / universe / etc. that I can really sink my teeth into. Bioshock Infinite, The Talos Principle, The Beginner's Guide, and Life Is Strange are some good examples (Totally not horror related, but you get the idea).
• Bad voice acting is kind of a turn-off for me and I'm hearing SOMA's is kind of iffy. I never could play much of Fallout 3 because the characters felt so lifeless to me. Compare that with Bioshock Infinite, for example.
• I dig a thoughtful game, but hamfistedness bugs me. I'm hearing that SOMA's philosophical stuff can be a tad shoe-horned in?

Any spoiler-free thoughts appreciated. Thanks.

I thought the voice-acting was perfect.

And I love the way it handled the philosophical aspects.

I found it a great experience.

Sounds good. For reference, my concerns about the philosophical stuff and voice acting came from here and here.

The kotaku guy criticizes both SOMA and Amnesia's voice acting. This is actually comforting for me because I largely enjoyed Amnesia's voice acting. The performances weren't among my favorites, but they were good in my book.

I'm that much closer now! Keep egging me on, folks.

edited 1st Nov '15 3:21:25 PM by ArbitraryValues

Definitely a bazungolf experience overall. I found the horror sequences somewhat shoehorned, but apart from that and severe immersion issue thanks to a very badly written protagonist, YMMV on that, there is really nuffink to complain about.

I mean, I don't mind Simon as a protagonist because. I mean. He doesn't seem like someone who's really all that smart or educated or just given a lot of thought to some of these questions or issues?

Like.

He feels genuine. And that's enough for me, really.

As said above, having a divergence between the perception of the player and the protagonist in a fist-person game is an absolute no-go. It's nowhere enough to ruin the game for me, but it's still a cardinal sin in terms of narration.

I don't think it is?

It's actually something I appreciate and like, personally.

Like, I question the idea of games as "immersive" per se.

Like, the benefit of games a medium is that you can interact with the story but.

Like. Some of my favorite experiences in games have been ones which highlighted the disconnect between player and avatar.

edited 1st Nov '15 4:50:17 PM by unnoun

The game isn't self-aware enough for that. You can do this in games that deliberately play with the fourth wall, but SOMA most definitely does not.

I mean, I don't think it needs to be? I don't think games, as a medium, absolutely require me to identify with the protagonist.

I mean, I don't anyway, usually, given that a lot of games star white men and I'm not either of those things.

But I'm thinking specifically of games like Silent Hill 2, which isn't a particularly "meta" game, at least not overtly, and yet it fosters a distinct disconnect with its protagonist and between the player and said protagonist.

It is not about identifying or agreeing with the protagonist, it's about a difference in the perception and processing of information. The protagonist is completely ignorant of things that the player knows, and that does not work. It works in films, it works in 3rd-person games, it works to some extent in first-person games with shifting points of view in cutscenes (if it is told well, that is), but it does not ever work in a first-person game that puts you in the shoes of the protagonist 100% of the time. That's like prematurely spoiling the ending of Bio Shock, and then expecting the player to be surprised once again when the protagonist finally learns the big secret himself.

edited 1st Nov '15 5:40:04 PM by TAPETRVE

I think it works just fine.

It worked perfectly for me.

I think all first person games working like that would be boring.

And the Bioshock example doesn't work because that twist is pretty blatantly meta commentary as well? Like, no, the Bioshock twist relies so heavily on the relationship between player and character.

And, so does SOMA, actually. We are constantly called on to pass judgement on Simon's perspective of things and contrast it and compare it with Catherine's.

That Simon's perspective is different than ours helps, not hinders.

I mean, the clearest example of this is in Omicron. There the player and Simon is presented with a choice where the fact that one of the choices is even an option extends entirely from Simon as a character and the way he perceives and interprets information.

It's not meta commentary, but what it is I would consider simply presenting an argument about one of the game's themes.

Catherine wouldn't make sense to present that argument, and adding another character might disrupt the game's tone and atmosphere. So Simon has to be the one to present it.

And the relationship between the Player and Simon means that the argument has to extend from something that happens to Simon and not anyone else, because the sequence is also presenting the player with a choice, and making the player confront how they personally would respond to something.

The game both separates the player from Simon but also relies on the fact that Simon's experiences are also the player's experiences, even though the two may perceive and process the information differently.

And I think that's fascinating and delightful storytelling, and I feel more games should do things similar.

edited 1st Nov '15 6:05:13 PM by unnoun

Played right up until about 2 hours. Last thing that happened was that I was in a tram or something.

What I like:

• The audio is superb.

What I'm not sure about:

• The voice acting is good enough, but I'm not loving it.
• The story hasn't really picked up yet.
• Audio diaries / text things. I love them in some games and find them totally uninteresting in others. I've hunted down as many of these things in Bioshock Infinite as possible. In Alien Isolation I quickly ignored them altogether. In SOMA, I'm having the urge to ignore them. They're just so...ambiguous. I feel like they've given me no useful information?
• Only seen one monster so far, but it doesn't scare me too much. I'm trying not to compare with Amnesia.

My question for those who kept playing: based on what I've said here, do you think I'll enjoy the rest of the game? What you guys are debating sounds interesting so I hope that I just haven't got to the good stuff.

EDIT: Here's one more really important thing.

I think I find natural things not really scary. I've seen the original Alien twice. Not scary. Played some 15-ish hours of Alien Isolation. Not scary. Aliens are just like lions or bears. They're dangerous, yeah, but they're doing what they're supposed to do. They're like animals. Natural.

Compare that to Amnesia. The stuff in Amnesia shouldn't exist! That freaks me out. The classic creepypasta Psychosis scares me too. Again, the stuff that happens feels weird and unnatural.

So what I want to know is whether SOMA will just involve robots and such. Robots aren't scary to me.

Does this make sense? Again, just a tentative theory about what scares me.

edited 2nd Nov '15 1:51:17 PM by ArbitraryValues

I decided to stick with SOMA. Played up to you and Catherine escape in a pod thing and it crashes.

I think the game's already picking up. It was obvious that your guy wasn't a normal person anymore, but I certainly didn't predict quite what happened. I was like, "Wait, it's a hundred years later? My guy is just a copy of the state of his brain at the time of the scan? NUTS THATS KEWLL."

I'm a little weirded out, however, by my guy's readiness to embark upon a benevolent mission to save The Ark. One moment he's freaking out wondering where he is. He just wants to leave. In two seconds he realizes he's a bot, the earth is toast, and he wants to help out the denizens of the Matrix. He's pretty chill about this entire business.

Still, I'm interested now.

edited 2nd Nov '15 5:27:07 PM by ArbitraryValues

Old thread, but I'm new to the game.

I've been told to go upstairs to the comm room but the stairway is blocked. What do I do?

It's been a while since I played the game, so my memory may be off; take my advice with a pinch of salt.

First, I'd suggest checking the computers near the entry by which you came in. If you lack a log-in, hunt around for documents that may have it. (I think that the log-ins were personal ID numbers, found on the name-tags of the people who were stationed there.)

Second, if you haven't explore the surrounding rooms, and see what you can interact with.

Yeah, a lot of the puzzles I've discovered require you to pull things you've found in the environment as you explore and investigate things.

I also picked this up recently due to it being free on Go G.com. I had no idea what this game was about, no idea what the premise was. Nothing. More like: oh...free game! YOINK!

But seriously, I'm pretty engaged right now and I've just finished...I think Theta Labs and now down in Maintenance being chased by some abomination after it attacked me once, seemingly scripted? Anyway, how much more do y'all feel I got left in the game? I'm already after quite a few revelations about the story, game world and characters involved. Is there more plot twists to come?

Theta... I'll confess that my memory was sufficiently uncertain that I double-checked where that was. ^^; (Although the mention of a scripted attack was a pretty big clue.)

Let's see... From memory, you have a few more significant sections to go, and a bit more plot left to uncover. I think that you're over halfway through—but you're not at the end yet...

[edit] As to plot twists... yes, there are more, I believe.

Edited by ArsThaumaturgis on Jan 3rd 2019 at 2:52:46 PM

Oh yeah, had some crazy, exciting times already. I've just entered Tau after a HAIR-RAISING sequence in darkness, water currents and lights. I think you know which place I mean... including one light....sneaky developers. That was a troll move. Anyway, getting my life handed to me with this creature in Tau that loves to instantly blind me the moment I look in its direction and finds me super easy. So I'm stuck there.