The story of Soma is mind-bending, mysterious and filled with twists and turns, better than the story of any science fiction film I've seen over the past decade. Without spoiling anything, I'll just say that you're a man finds himself trapped in a eerie, lonely and unfamiliar complex. At first it has a System Shock 2 atmosphere, it's a bit like a space station, that overused "space isolation" theme. But this isn't space: it's an underwater station, submerged miles and miles down beneath the surface; this sprawling, malfunctioning base surrounded by the endless murky depths. Strange things are afoot, horrible things howl and scrape in the dark, shadowy forms swim out in the gloom and nobody else is around, at least not any people. How did we get here, what the hell is going on. How to escape? That is how Soma begins.
The gameplay itself is not dissimilar to Amensia: The Dark Descent. You walk around without weapons, you explore this maze of detailed, connected environments. There aren't any weapons on consumables, there isn't combat. Many of the sections are very open and cluttered, inviting you to dig around for clues. Throughout the game there is some light puzzle solving, exploring. There are hostile enemies and each enemy has certain quirks; you must figure out how to circumvent them or find other means to deal with or distract them. But it feels much less like Amnesia with a greater focus on narrative, suspense, exploration and interaction.
While playing Soma, I couldn't help but remember the first time I played Half Life. Up until that point, first person 3D games were like Quake or something. Shoot the bad guys, get the key, unlock the door. Maybe fight a boss. Rinse and repeat. But Half Life changed the formula. Instead of finding arbitrary keys, it was like watching an engrossing, tense, brilliant action/adventure film but you were the protagonist. This style is common nowadays, but I've haven't felt that same intensely immersive feeling until Soma. Although the game is linear, I really felt like I was part of something, making my own choices, moving through this surreal space as the situation unfolded. There are no cutscenes: the whole story is cleverly told through the environment itself, notes and objects scattered around and voice recordings left behind by others. At times I was also reminded of System Shock 2. The story is a sci-fi/horror masterpiece, and it unfolds with impeccable pacing, impossible to turn away or put it down.
Unlike Amnesia (the developer's prior game), Soma feels so much bigger. The lore and the world feels so detailed and expansive. You learn more about the people and the world and so much thought and structure has been poured into every element of the game. Nevertheless, despite the grand narrative, Soma doesn't lose sight of its horror roots. At its core, it is still a horror game. Looking back, by comparison Amensia just feels like a spooky ghost train. Conversely the world of Soma is profoundly disturbing on a much deeper level. This idea of "deep sea isolation" is ingenious and completely original and I found this setting to be refreshing and far more terrifying. As you move deeper through the adventure, the surroundings become more obscene and surreal. The horror elements aren't jumpscares; it comes from a place in the pit of your stomach, that eerie horror that grows as you uncover more evidence and the grisly truth becomes apparent. It has a HP Lovecraft element: those malformed shapes in the depths of the ocean, unseen, unheard, writhing and shifting. Some of the scenes and set pieces are nightmare fuel, reminiscent of HR Giger's paintings, these grotesque twisted forms, where horrible things have warped and contorted, for no one has been here to keep things under control.
Another layer is the depth of meaning and the ideas/themes within the game, the philosophical explorations. This was another unexpected element which was surprising and thought provoking. The game looks at a variety of themes. Where is humanity going, where is technology going.. what happens if technology becomes more powerful than man? Can machines become conscious? Questions about cloning, and identity, the subjective and objective experience, the human condition, the apocalypse, the afterlife, immortality. Downloading a mind as software, and is that software "mind" not a person too? This game is wonderfully deep in its elaborations on these ideas, and you're forced to make decisions in the game with real consequences, these great tests of will, direct challenges to you as the player, moral conundrums where you're forced to think on these questions and then act according to your belief. It's deep, it makes you think, and it'll keep thinking long after you leave the game.
The last things I wanted to address were the little details.. these environments with all the debris and detritus, the scattered remains. It's not a beautiful world, it's an underwater "station" long abandoned, and the textures, models and game art has such depth and character. The sound design is also immaculate, complete with these haunting and unusual sounds, peculiar in their submerged liquid quality with drips and dull echoes. But the truly breathtaking moments are when you see outside of the station. You're miles deep under the ocean, and the imagery of this landscape is a new horror that I've never seen before in a game. Usually when we see underwater settings it's always clear blue water, rolling fields of seaweed like freshly cut grass and brightly-lit coral reefs, bright yellow sand. Instead, in Soma, we see a true depiction of such a place.. disgusting masses of dead barnacles, moss, dirty sand and rocks.. plankton and unpleasant particles floating around, rusted debris and the all the rotting things that have accumulated on the ocean floor, illuminated by a couple weak lights (it's so deep that natural light won't reach; the eternal night of the deep sea. It's like an alien landscape of horrible forms, murky water and suspicious shadows; this is a far cry from the cheery aquatic setting from Finding Nemo or ABZU.
I have only a few small complaints about Soma. The story, the setting, the concept, the art, everything is spot-on and provides an enthralling experience with profound horror elements. However I must admit that the game is lacking a little in terms of characters. The protagonist has all the personality of a paper towel, and the other main character could have been fleshed out much more. At one point a 'villain' arrives, but his story is never fully explained and he felt somewhat unnecessary. Perhaps the protagonist would have been better off silent (like Gordon Freeman) and much of the dialogue could have used some polish (though there are occasional moments of brilliance). There was nothing inherently wrong with these characters, they just seemed somewhat unnecessary and underwhelming for the most part, especially since everything else in the game was on a much higher quality level. But in many ways the characters aren't really the focus on this game, it's not what this game is about.
Well, so much for my short review! and I could still keep writing if I wanted to, I have so much more to say and I'm still unravelling it all in my head. Soma is more than just a horror game.. it's something totally new. The setting brings forth horror from such an inspired and unexpected realm. The game draws you in to consider some of the most fascinating and uncomfortable philosophical material. The art, sound and the world, it's a gorgeous conglomeration of dread and awe. It's a beautiful layered experience, like an elaborate cake or perhaps more like the abandoned autopsy of some nameless deep sea creature hauled up on the pier. Highly recommended!
