OS Neutral Soma - FP Horror for Win Maclin

[Renzatic]

I've been interested in this one for awhile now. I loved Amnesia, and the thought of a game like it, from the same company, albeit with more of an emphasis on plot and environment over OMG JUMP SCARES was too good to pass up.

The one thing that got me most interested were the story teaser trailers they released long, long before they even showed the first screenshot. They have this SCP vibe to them. People playing with phenomena and technology they don't quite understand. They're really interesting...

Of course all that tinkering comes around and bites everyone in the ass. Because...

It comes out in 6 hours, which of course means I won't be able to play it tonight. Stupid west coast and work.

Oh well, I'll enjoy giving it a run tomorrow night.

 

[ErikGrim]

Purchased based solely on this post alone. Looks like my kind of game (let's hope it skews cerebral and not just jump scary).

 

[Renzatic]

Purchased based solely on this post alone. Looks like my kind of game (let's hope it skews cerebral and not just jump scary).

Going by the Polygon and PC World reviews, it look like it's lending itself more towards the psychological than the visceral. Though it does have the occasional jump scare thrown in for good measure.

The one thing that's getting me most excited are the claims that it's more in line with a Harlan Ellison or Phillip K. Dick style of story than the more Lovecraftian Penumbra and Amnesia.

 

[ErikGrim]

Going by the Polygon and PC World reviews, it look like it's lending itself more towards the psychological than the visceral. Though it does have the occasional jump scare thrown in for good measure.

The one thing that's getting me most excited are the claims that it's more in line with a Harlan Ellison or Phillip K. Dick style of story than the more Lovecraftian Penumbra and Amnesia.

Yeah, I read the Kotaku reviews and skimmed the others (some of them seemed more spoiler prone than others). Very promising!

 

[Renzatic]

Okay, now that I've clocked a good half hour into it, I can say without a doubt, that it's worth getting.

Unlike Amnesia, which threw you right into the thick of things without much setup, Soma takes its time to establish its setting. Plus, it builds more of its atmosphere on the eerie and strange, rather than all out fear. The way it shows you things, lets you discover things you could miss entirely if you weren't looking around, it makes for a much more immersive game.

Plus, I can understand why they didn't want anyone to spoil the introduction. It colors everything in an entirely different light than what you'd expect going in.

 

[ErikGrim]

I made it to the first room after waking up before my heart rate said nope. Such a wuss.

 

[Renzatic]

I waiting for it to get dark out so I can enjoy it to the fullest extent.

 

[Renzatic]

I clocked a few good hours into this last night.

For one thing, it is excellent. As has been mentioned ad infinium by this point, it's not quite as relentlessly scary as Amnesia. But that's not necessarily a knock against it, because when it does place you in a horrific situation, it somehow feels even worse. I think this is because when you keep the dial jacked up to 11 at all times, that familiarity eventually breeds contempt. For the first half of Amnesia, you're practically jumping the shadows, scared of the monsters that can and usually do show up at any given moment. The latter half? You become used to it, learn what to expect, and how to game the AI. It loses its magic. Soma? For the most part, you're in a tense calm that can stretch on for an hour or more, but you never know when things will take a turn for the worst. And when they do...

Something else I've discovered. Those videos aren't just window dressing. Their relevance is more a realization than anything direct, but it's interesting seeing how they tie in with the actual game.

 

[ErikGrim]

Going to give it another shot on the weekend I think. Usually when I get home from work I need to relax, not elevate my heart rate further. Nice chill game of XCOM Classic Ironman usually hits the spot

 

[Renzatic]

Going to give it another shot on the weekend I think. Usually when I get home from work I need to relax, not elevate my heart rate further. Nice chill game of XCOM Classic Ironman usually hits the spot

Heh. XCOM classic Ironman. Wouldn't imagine I'd see those words alongside "relaxing" in the same sentence.

By the way, have you played the XCOM Long War mod? After all the good things I've heard about it, I'm thinking about giving it a go.

 

[ErikGrim]

Heh. XCOM classic Ironman. Wouldn't imagine I'd see those words alongside "relaxing" in the same sentence.

By the way, have you played the XCOM Long War mod? After all the good things I've heard about it, I'm thinking about giving it a go.

I tried installing it, but it nuked my XCOM install. Had to reinstall from scratch, and even still I can't open XCOM in El Cap without cancelling Game Center login.