Halloween Beat: Brave the existential terrors of SOMA

1 month ago 10

Released in 2015 by Frictional Games, Soma is an underwater survival horror from the creators of Amnesia: The Dark Descent. Focused on stealth, puzzles and total immersion, Soma tackles heavy philosophical ideas with depth and grace, creating a haunting and emotionally resonant narrative about what it means to exist and be alive.

Soma follows Simon Jarrett, who suffers suffer brain damage after a car crash in 2015. He awakens in 2104, stranded in an abandoned geothermal power center, PATHOS-II. After discovering machinery that exhibit human characteristics, he delves deeper and further into the darkness to discover its history, he will have to figure out both his future and that of the machines.

Like previous titles from Frictional Games, the player character of Soma is unable to obtain any weapons, meaning you have to outrun or hide from monsters. If you fail to avoid them, you will die. Every monster is representative of the games themes in some way, with some of the most thoughtful enemy design I’ve seen. You progress the plot through puzzle-solving, based on various clues you encounter over the course of the game and exploring its world. It’s a less traditional take on survival horror, emphasizing total powerlessness and immersion into Simon’s perspective, but it does mean that some might be put off by its lack of combat encounters.

Conceptually, Soma is one of the most interesting horror games of all time. This game’s biggest strength is its themes, and how well it explores them throughout its story. It mainly revolves around the idea of consciousness; are we simply an accumulation of knowledge and memories? Does such a thing as a ‘soul’ exist? If we replicate our consciousness into another body, is that new body us, or are we simply stuck in the old one, watching ourselves slowly decay? The carefully crafted story unwinds with beautiful, tender flow, coming to a devastating and heartbreaking conclusion in one of the most jaw-dropping endings I’ve ever seen to a game. If you like your horror games thematically focused, this is one for you.

Soma is a truly one of a kind game. Whilst admittedly, it’s not often the most exciting or exhilarating gameplay experience, it’s truly remarkable story, with brilliant character work and beautifully rendered philosophical themes, makes it a total standout amongst a slew of modern horror games that move their focus away from combat. It’s also aesthetically stunning, wonderfully directed and gorgeously rendered for what is technically an indie game. It’s earth-shattering third act will linger in your mind long after the credits roll, and you’ll be left with a barrage of meaningful questions about existence and identity to consider as you ponder whether a machine can know, or even understand, what it means to be.