I finally have gotten around to playing SOMA. I got it in 2017 and always put off playing it for other games. So far, it’s been keeping me engaged for the most part, but some parts have also been bothering me, which is leaving me with mixed feelings that I haven’t completely sorted out.

By my count, SOMA is actually the first pure horror game I’ve played! I’ve played games with horror sections (like Half-Life Alyx) and comedy horror games (like Anthology of the Killer, though it’s only mild horror). SOMA is my first time playing a game that’s entirely about being scared. As a result, my impression of SOMA is also mixed in with my first experience with a horror game.

Quick info about SOMA

SOMA is by Frictional Games, the same company as the Amnesia series. After undergoing a brain scan for therapy, the player character wakes up in a high-tech base at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. The game is particularly famous for its atmosphere of existential dread.

My current status (spoilers)

spoiler

I’ve just found Catherine and we’re exploring the wreck of the CURIE for an escape vessel.

Thrills

As someone with little experience with horror games, I find some of the scary moments in the game very thrilling! It’s the same kind of thrill I feel when action games get intense, and sometimes even more. I’ve found myself sweating or breathing weird while playing SOMA.

SOMA’s story is the thing that everyone talks about because of how it questions how you perceive your conscious existence. I’ve gone a bit into the game and I’m hooked on the plot. The story really got me once I realized (I think) what was going on with the strange growths the player character can touch.

I have also been appreciating the sound design. The ambience, with all the creaking and clanging, keep me on edge all the time. As well, I’m impressed by the quality of the spatial audio in the game. It seems to be oddly rare for non-VR games to have sounds feel like they come from certain directions, but SOMA manages it.

Stuff that sinks

I’m not a fan of stealth games, yet some parts of SOMA feel just like a stealth game. Some navigation challenges are about hiding and waiting to sneak past a guard, except the guard is a scary monster, and your screen distorts as a signal that you’re in danger of being spotted and chased. These are the parts of the game that feel less scary and more like a chore to me. In these cases, it feels more like I’m only roleplaying being scared than actually being scared, especially since I have to hide or run away even if I know what action I want to take.

Also, the ocean exploration parts bore me. And I can barely see what’s in front of me in those parts!

I’m torn about the horror experience

Sometimes, during SOMA’s slow moments while I wait for a scary monster to waddle away, I wonder to myself if I should have played in safe mode so I wouldn’t have to hide from monsters so much. The story is really interesting to me, but the spooky gameplay is not as important. So why should I keep doing something that I don’t enjoy?

That’s the point that’s making me argue with myself. I would expect that using safe mode would significantly reduce the hostile atmosphere of the game. But this is my first horror game and I do want to have the full experience. It’s not that I dislike the horror and being scared — some of the scary parts felt great! It’s just that other scary parts feel more like chores than thrills.

SOMA is pretty cool

Game is cool. Story is cool. Some scary parts are really cool.