Now Playing: Soma

I’m going to keep this review fairly short and vague, because Soma is the kind of game you’ll enjoy far more the less you know going in. All I knew when I picked up the game on sale recently, was that Soma is a science-fiction horror title and, going by the extremely positive Steam reviews, a pretty good one.

You play as a guy called Simon who finds himself in a rather unpleasant place full of rather unpleasant things. There’s a great level of interactivity in the game, allowing you to pick up, rotate and examine all manner of objects. It’s a bit of a gimmick feature, that soon loses its point or appeal, but it certainly has a novel value in the early stages of the game, particularly in the opening scene.

Soma is a narrative heavy game, with a story that, whilst not strikingly original, is extremely well constructed, paced and told. There will be times when you’ll be a couple of steps ahead of Simon in terms of figuring out exactly what the hell is going on, but he catches up quickly enough that it doesn’t get too irritating.

 

Visually, Soma is a great looking game. Interior environments have a fantastic attention to detail. This feels like a real place, and the level of detail contributes enormously to drawing you in and immersing you in this world. Exterior environments aren’t quite so good, but do the job. And the audio work in Soma is exceptional – from the VA, to the suitably creepy monster sounds, to the simple hums, clicks and clanks of the environment.

Story, visuals and sound all combine to create one of the most tense, immersive and compelling horror titles I’ve ever played. It’s just a shame the gameplay of Soma isn’t quite so compelling. Although the environments seem quite expansive, you soon realise how small and limited they actually are, with many blocked tunnels, stairwells and sealed doors.

Your progression through the game is incredibly linear. There’s a single set path which you’ll follow, and although there is some scope for exploration, you’ll often find the way forward inaccessible until you hit the appropriate story trigger. Unlike say, Alien: Isolation, which shares a lot in common with Soma, there’s no open map you can traverse or explore at your leisure. No, this is a straight shot from A to B to C.

 

Which is fine, and it certainly helps keep up the pace of the story, keeping things fresh and engaging. The downside, however, is that it does somewhat kill replay value. I completed Soma in about 8 hours, and although I might replay it again in the future, I know it won’t have the same level of impact the second time through.

Yes, that’s true of most narrative heavy games, and I wouldn’t say it’s a negative as such, just something to bear in mind. The game is split between two primary types of gameplay – the exploration element, and the stealth element. But the separation between these two elements is a little too great which harms the overall experience.

At the beginning of the game, every sound, every flickering shadow, will make you pause. It’s rather stressful, both for you and Simon. But then you encounter your first monster and that tension and fear is suddenly lost. Why? Well, whenever you encounter a monster, you receive some very specific audio and visual cues, letting you know that it’s time to move slowly, crouch and find somewhere to hide.

Once you understand this, you’ll be sprinting back and forth throughout the environments, making as much noise as you like, no longer concerned by the ‘scary’ noises because you know there’s not really a monster lurking in the shadows. The monster stealth sections are so clearly signposted that the game loses a lot of its tension in the moments between.

 

The monsters, however, look and sound fantastic. There are several types, although unfortunately, you’ll deal with each type in pretty much the same way – by running away or hiding. And I’d be okay with that, if you had more options for doing so. But there’s no real ‘stealth’ mechanics beyond ‘crouch behind box’ or, what I usually ended up doing – ‘leg it really fast out of the monster area’.

Because some of the monsters are just a bit tedious to deal with, especially the exterior ones during some overly lengthy ‘walk from A to B’ segments. And that’s really what Soma is ultimately all about – walking from A to B. And hey, it’s a really great walk. I played the game over two days, and it was hard to stop. I was thoroughly immersed and enjoying the story because it has some genuinely fantastic moments. The ending feels slightly rushed – at least, the build up to the ending does – but thankfully the final few moments make it all worth it.

Overall, Soma is best described as inconsistent. There are many aspects I consider to be fantastic, but others that fall rather flat. Fortunately, they don’t ruin the overall experience, but they do drag it down a degree. That said, Soma is still one of the best horror games I’ve played, and if you’re a fan of the genre, or just science-fiction in general, I’d recommend checking it out.

7/10