Thoughts about SOMA

Flareonz44 - April 29 2023

About a week ago, I was about to watch a video about SOMA, when I had an idea - “Why not give the game a try before watching the video?” So, I decided to play the game and quickly became completely engrossed in it. There was no escape.

Overview

For those who haven’t heard of it, here’s the game trailer so you can get an idea of what it’s about:

Before we continue, I should mention that this article will contain personal opinions and discuss various aspects of the game, so beware of potential spoilers. With that warning out of the way, let’s dive in!

Graphics

To be honest, I was blown away by the graphics. The entire environment and the emotions it evokes just make the gameplay even more thrilling. The scenarios are all meticulously designed, and you have the freedom to pick up any object and carry it with you or just inspect it. This mechanic is a signature of Frictional Games, mainly due to the 3D engine they use. This level of freedom is what I appreciate the most in video games because it immerses you deeper into the game world. For example, you can turn on/off almost any lamp that isn’t damaged or broken, and that makes the world feel alive. As for the texturing, I have no complaints. Each surface has a perfectly chosen color palette that brings every object and entity to life.

Mechanics

In terms of in-game mechanics, they are generally great and add to the fun and catchiness of the gameplay. However, the only issue I found was with the crosshair. It was too small and sometimes, especially in well-lit areas, it was almost impossible to find it. This made pointing at objects to pick them up or interact with the environment a bit frustrating. If you plan to make a perfectly timed plan to escape from some creatures, you might want to take the crosshair into account, otherwise, you are dead. Another little problem, is that some actions requires you to first interact with the computer screen, before pushing any button o command. The scene that perfectly illustrates this, is right after you run the Ark simulation at Theta. There, from the security room you can lock different doors, so the creature that is out there will be unable to catch you. If you are escaping from him and you want to get safe at the security room, then you have to make fast and accurate movements to lock the door quickly, before he manages to get in with you!. However, since this game is not a tactical game, it doesn’t make sense to blame it for this particular mechanic. (If you think about it, it makes sense, since it’s and horror game, felling that you can’t do things faster improves your stress…)

Lore

This is the best part of the game for me. I have fallen in love with SOMA’s universe. Every piece is perfectly placed to create such a nice context for the main story. Beyond that, the simple idea of someone living inside a cortex chip just blew my mind. This game really makes you feel lonely in a world devastated by the WAU. So, Catherine here is crucial, because she not only helps you, but also gives you some kind of hope about the future, which gives you the mental strength you need to finish your adventure. Then there are three other scenes that make you question yourself and the meaning of existence. The first one is when you discover old-Simon’s audio recordings made by your doctor just before you die. The next one is when you have to “copy” yourself to the diving suit. There, you have to make a decision. You can kill your older self, or you can let him wake up in a few days. But that decision is very difficult. If you kill him, you are destroying a part of yourself, of what you have been. Also, as you are about to go to the deepest area explored by humans, you don’t know what’s ahead, and if you die there, your existence will completely fade away. So, you have to decide. In my case, I decided not to kill him because he is some sort of “checkpoint” brought to real life. But I don’t know, it’s just a game. If I had to make this decision in real life, I’m not sure what I would do. Finally, the last scene is when you “copy” yourself to the Ark. Then, your consciousness doesn’t change; you are still there sitting on that chair. Therefore, you think that something went wrong. You can’t understand why you are still there after all your effort. This is also interesting because all you did, everything you suffered before, had a purpose: survival. But here, survival implies that you had to sacrifice for yourself, for your future version, not your current one. The whole game is about giving the “Ark version of Simon” a nice place to live in space. In so many films, the main character does impossible things to save, let’s say, their daughter. But here, you are saving yourself, but not YOU exactly. So, if you are saving yourself, but not your-current-self, what is the meaning of “yourself”? Who are you? Who (or what) is Simon?

Final words

This game has surprised me in so many ways that I have decided to include it in my top five best games ever played. The story and background are so complex and well-crafted that I thoroughly enjoyed every second of gameplay. It’s hard to put into words the exact feeling of playing SOMA, so I highly recommend playing it yourself if you haven’t already. Trust me, it’s worth it! See you!