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[BeeDog]

Need some minor help since I was last playing this while drunk and sleep-deprived;

(minor spoilers, around where you get the second trophy)

Spoiler

After loading in Catherine into the Omnitool, where are you supposed to go? There doesn't seem to be anything more at Lambda, and I'm stuck wandering around the seafloor outside, backtracking.

 

[StaffyManasse]

Need some minor help since I was last playing this while drunk and sleep-deprived;

(minor spoilers, around where you get the second trophy)

Spoiler

After loading in Catherine into the Omnitool, where are you supposed to go? There doesn't seem to be anything more at Lambda, and I'm stuck wandering around the seafloor outside, backtracking.

Spoiler

Check the submarine wreck outside Lambda.

 

[Wind's Howling]

Jesus.

That part before you

Spoiler

drain the water in the sewage

was fucking tense.

 

[family_guy]

Just finished the game. It felt about the right length. I liked it. Alien Isolation felt too long. That was about 20 hrs. However after coming off this game, I want to go back to Alien to do the DLC content like the Nostromo. I hope there's some cool mods for this game to extend the story or do something new.

 

[Fractal]

While I didn't mind the underwater sections like most (not my favorite part, but enjoyable), I think the underwater sections were almost entirely justified for the last underwater section that happens when you go into

Spoiler

deep sea

. One of the highlights of the game for me, but I wish more of the underwater sections could of been like that final one.

True, that one was damn good, completely stands out from the rest. Was one of those game moments where failure was not an option, since I really didn't feel like finding out what happens if you fail.

Oh, and I enjoyed your previous posts in this thread, some great thoughts on horror in general!

I guess some see them as boring, but i think the work really well because they give you some time to catch your breath and mull over things. The underwater sections tend to happen after a big story revelation or enemy encounter. It's the classic peaks and valleys, build-up, peak, then decline in action. It's one of the reason I felt the game was so well paced

I know, and I too appreciate a few quiet moments after a major event to let things sink in properly... but here, these sections weren't just a small break from the "action", to me they were bringing the game to a full stop. Even during the moments of pause I like a bit of tension and the sense of some latent danger, but here I felt entirely safe and ultimately bored. The idea is good and fits the setting, but it ends up being a bit overbearing.

Still, at least they go out with a bang, the last one is indeed one of the game's highlights!

 

[Diancecht]

As a huge fan of System Shock, Penumbra and Amnesia series, I really want to play this game but I am afraid my crappy laptop gpu (M265x) won't be enough for this bad boy. I have 2.4 Quad Core and 16 RAM though but I dunno...

(First post after 4 years of stalking, it feels good dayum.)

 

[Wind's Howling]

How far am I? I just reached

Spoiler

Omnicron

 

[The Technomancer]

How far am I? I just reached

Spoiler

Omnicron

Spoiler

Almost there...

 

[Wind's Howling]

Spoiler

Almost there...

Really? Damn.. I am enjoying this game so much.

 

[StewboaT_]

holyshit the constant loading on PS4 is awful backflash to last gen..

Yep, performance is pretty shitty.

 

[Fractal]

And I'm done...

Spoiler

love the bittersweet ending, that Simon's rant at the end is probably the most "human" thing I ever saw in a video game. He "saves" humanity but as a reward has to unceremoniously die completely alone(?) in a hellhole... I don't know of anyone who wouldn't be damn pissed. Also, the post credits scene was a nice touch.

In any case, while the underwater sections did leave some bad taste behind, I'd still have a hard time picking which game is better, SOMA or the original Amnesia. But in any case, I'm very glad Amnesia finally got a worthy successor, and I'm looking forward to see where Frictional goes next. I don't often pre-order games and play them on release, but here it was well worth it!

 

[Fractal]

As a huge fan of System Shock, Penumbra and Amnesia series, I really want to play this game but I am afraid my crappy laptop gpu (M265x) won't be enough for this bad boy. I have 2.4 Quad Core and 16 RAM though but I dunno...

(First post after 4 years of stalking, it feels good dayum.)

Hm... I'm not an expert on laptops, but I do believe it'd work. You'd have to sacrifice a decent chunk of image quality for a stable and consistent experience as it usually goes on non-gaming laptops, but SOMA is no graphical showcase, so you should be safe. And these days with the refund system on Steam, you can easily get your money back if it doesn't turn out playable.

Oh, and welcome to GAF, I guess!

 

[SomedayTheFire]

I'm not sure how I finished Amnesia as it scared the daylights out of me. I've never been able to finish most horror games (Silent Hill 2, Fatal Frame) as I quickly chicken out. I really want to give Soma a whirl to try out my new headphones (MrSpeaker Ethers) but now I'm worried. Ha!

Better does not mean scarier!

 

[galvenize]

I can only play this game for an hour max per session. Just reached Omnicron and oh boy is it tense.

 

[wanderingprostheyltite]

For those saying they thought the horror-less sections hurt the flow I heartily disagree. All monsters in this game follow a predictable pattern of behavior that's almost identical to Amnesia's. Monster in view>hide>monster goes out of view>monster disappears for awhile. Some enemy types didn't follow that pattern but for most they did, and in several sections where you want to get to they conveniently spawn near you for maximum tension! I dunno after 3/4 of the way through I actually did want to see more story and interactions with Catherine than go through the same rote routine with the cat and mouse gameplay with the monsters.

I think the pacing worked excellently the way they did it. Maybe I'm getting old for this shit or whatever but loading up Outlast for a rttp last night and dealing with this near constant barrage of jump scares got old fast. As I've mentioned earlier in the thread ditto with Isolation, the Xeno just becomes a nuisance to progression rather than a legit scare at a certain point. If there's one thing Frictional could have done better then it was create more terror through the existential themes through more interactions with robots, humanoids etc. I get the budget probably didn't allow for it, but early promo videos (robot that thinks its human) hinted there'd be more interactions rather than the glut of computer entry and pda log exposition. Obviously you "interact" with Catherine quite a bit, but they could have served up more chilling examples of those dealing with the repurcussions of

Spoiler

being copied, uploaded into different bodies etc

. Despite those niggles this is one of the more memorable story focused first person games I've played in a good while, so I do feel quite satisfied by the experience overall.

 

[paragonpro]

I really want to play this game, any chance of it hitting the bone?

 

[Diancecht]

Hm... I'm not an expert on laptops, but I do believe it'd work. You'd have to sacrifice a decent chunk of image quality for a stable and consistent experience as it usually goes on non-gaming laptops, but SOMA is no graphical showcase, so you should be safe. And these days with the refund system on Steam, you can easily get your money back if it doesn't turn out playable.

Oh, and welcome to GAF, I guess!

Yeah I guess I can give it a try. If nothing, I can always play it on my desktop when I return to my home.

Thanks for the welcome!

 

[vladdamad]

Finished. The entire first third of the game should have been cut, because at one point the game kicks into high gear and becomes absolutely spectacular, from about

Spoiler

Theta

onwards. This is both plot-wise, where the themes of the game actually start being addressed in some genuinely fascinating ways, and gameplay wise. I don't know how people can say this game isn't scary, some of the later encounters had me in a state of tension that I haven't felt since the first Dead Space.

My main issue is the ending, unfortunately. I appreciate what they are trying to do with it, but I think that it doesn't tie in with the main theme as well as it could (unlike The Swapper, for example, a game that ends its sci-fi narrative in a perfect combination of gameplay and story), and it lacks subtlety somewhat, which is kind of hard to explain without spoilers. Off to the spoiler thread I go, 7/10 from me, hope we continue to get more games of this sort.

 

[BeeDog]

Spoiler

Check the submarine wreck outside Lambda.

Thanks!

Gotta give it to this game, didn't really find it that captivating at start, but it just gets better as it goes on. Loving the world design, and the sound! Some of the things I dislike so far though are the frame drops/save/load stutters, the voice acting of the main guy that's not very convincing and the occasional lack of direction.

 

[More_Badass]

Finished. The entire first third of the game should have been cut, because at one point the game kicks into high gear and becomes absolutely spectacular, from about

Spoiler

Theta

onwards. This is both plot-wise, where the themes of the game actually start being addressed in some genuinely fascinating ways, and gameplay wise. I don't know how people can say this game isn't scary, some of the later encounters had me in a state of tension that I haven't felt since the first Dead Space.

Way better the way it is IMO. The slow build up works here. I don't think the pacing and such would have the same impact with the cautious exploration and slower pace of the beginning

 

[saunderez]

Thanks!

Gotta give it to this game, didn't really find it that captivating at start, but it just gets better as it goes on. Loving the world design, and the sound! Some of the things I dislike so far though are the frame drops/save/load stutters, the voice acting of the main guy that's not very convincing and the occasional lack of direction.

The lack of direction is both a blessing and a curse. I'm glad its not handholdy but by god I've walked around in circles an unfathomable amount of times.

 

[big_z]

I just finished the game and to be honest I've got mixed feelings. The story was very good and I don't mind it had a similar ending to what I thought would happen.

Spoiler

especially the part about creating copies was very easy to predict

I also liked how there were a lot of interesting letters, reports etc. that weren't fillers and could actually help in figuring out what the hell is going on or in discovering some extra bits

Spoiler

like what happened to Simon's girlfriend or to Earth itself

The gameplay part is where it got dissapointing for me. I was hoping for a sci-fi horror game, not sci-fi with a drop of horror. There was no tension like when I was playing Alien Isolation (or Amnesia) and no constant feeling that I'm in a shitty situation and just prolonging the inevitable (and painful ) death. I didn't like the "monster" designs with the exception of the

Spoiler

underwater creatures

The puzzles were a mix of good and bad. I liked the environmental ones, but sadly they weren't in the majority.
Overall this is a 7, maybe 7+/10 for me. I hoped for a different product and a one with more emphasis on delivering interesting gameplay and not just an intruguing story.

Im surprised most people seem to be positive on this game. I was expecting a much more of a mixed bag of opinions. I thought some of the subject matter in the game was interesting even though its presented in B movie quality, beyond that it feels really dated. Its just penumbra with a different setting and that doesn't cut it anymore.

And I'm done...

Spoiler

love the bittersweet ending, that Simon's rant at the end is probably the most "human" thing I ever saw in a video game. He "saves" humanity but as a reward has to unceremoniously die completely alone(?) in a hellhole... I don't know of anyone who wouldn't be damn pissed. Also, the post credits scene was a nice touch.

Spoiler

that's why in star trek the transporter disintegrates the original copy. even Hugh Jackman had it figured out but I guess people in this world are a little slow despite having the brain clone technology for 100+ years .

As a huge fan of System Shock, Penumbra and Amnesia series, I really want to play this game but I am afraid my crappy laptop gpu (M265x) won't be enough for this bad boy. I have 2.4 Quad Core and 16 RAM though but I dunno...

(First post after 4 years of stalking, it feels good dayum.)

i played it on a 3770k and 670GTX and it ran poorly even with the shadow option down one notch.

I read some people claiming the in game vsync is broken and that could have been why it ran the way it did for me but it got consistently worse towards the end of the game. Possibly memory leaks or something going on.

 

[Yabberwocky]

I was bitch-slapped by a monster so hard I went out of bounds, and watched in awe as the building slowly disappeared above me. Stuck down in a light-blue abyss with nothing but Simon's breathing was an hilariously unnerving experience. Had some really unfortunate framerate drops in the same area too -

Spoiler

Curie

. It was dropping to what felt like five frames a second, though it's thankfully gone back to normal-ish after I left the area.

I have to admit I quite enjoy the ocean sections, as it's nice for a bit of a breather. Of course, then I spend my time thinking something is going to kill me, when 99% of the time there is nothing there.

Up to 3rd trophy spoilers -

Spoiler

eeey, Team Catherine and Simon are heading to Theta. This can't end horribly. I'm curious to see if there are variations in decisions, re: Carlos, Amy, and poor talking robot you harvest for a chip. I left Carlos alive (did Carlos become the enemy that patrols the same area?), I killed Amy (arrgh), and later took the chip from the talking robot. I'm not sure if the chip could have also come from the ED-E lookalike - who I was over the moon to see again! - but I didn't want to try.

 

[samueljustice00]

Probably worth making a new thread for, but the live action stuff has come to light! It's a mini series inspired by SOMA. First episode is up here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8I_J2VjsqQ&feature=youtu.be

 

[Granjinha]

Loved the game. Thought the monsters were quite boring, by the end

Spoiler

(especially the proxys, couldn't see shit in that section)

, but everything else is top notch. Begins quite slowly and really builds up in the end. Really liked the story and how the game treats its twists.

And damn, that (end-game spoilers)

Spoiler

abyssal sea part is really, really scary. Had to pause the game a lot of times cause i couldn't go on lol.

My favorite Frictional game, but i didn't get to finish any of the Penumbra games yet.

 

[Fractal]

Spoiler

that's why in star trek the transporter disintegrates the original copy. even Hugh Jackman had it figured out but I guess people in this world are a little slow despite having the brain clone technology for 100+ years .

Spoiler

Sure, they had the technology for some 100 years, but I got the impression it was meant to be experimental and not so widely used... it only started to play a significant role when the ARK project was conceived after the apocalypse.

Besides, if I blacked out and woke as a diving suit a 100 years from today while also having to ponder various philosophical undertones on the very concept of humanity, you'd have to excuse me for being a bit slow.

I stand by my previous post... I think the story does a very admirable job of exploring the presented themes while ending in a fitting and satisfying manner.

 

[Aurongel]

Getting wrecked by the monster in

Spoiler

....Tau, the one with the cthulu mouth

.

Is there any trick to that? Because he's absurdly fast and the game respawns you in dead ends with no way out.

 

[silva1991]

I'm stuck in the

Spoiler

cargo room in Tao. the third floor is locked and I have no idea what to do.

Getting wrecked by the monster in

Spoiler

....Tau, the one with the cthulu mouth

.

Is there any trick to that? Because he's absurdly fast and the game respawns you in dead ends with no way out.

Spoiler

Make him follow you to the as far as possible from the main door to continue( it's looks like teh door that revealed the monster). the purpose of the other rooms and doors are to slow him dawn a bit so make sure to lock most of them to slow hem even more

 

[Granjinha]

Getting wrecked by the monster in

Spoiler

....Tau, the one with the cthulu mouth

.

Is there any trick to that? Because he's absurdly fast and the game respawns you in dead ends with no way out.

The one

Spoiler

in the same diving suit as you?

What i did was basically open the doors (the big ones that take time to open) and hide in the room that are next to them. Then, i waited for him to look at the door and go somewhere else and immediately crawled by the door. You have to do it like, two times, i think.

 

[vladdamad]

Getting wrecked by the monster in

Spoiler

....Tau, the one with the cthulu mouth

.

Is there any trick to that? Because he's absurdly fast and the game respawns you in dead ends with no way out.

Spoiler

There's only one door in this area that you need to go through, which is left at the first intersection and left again. It takes a while to open so while it's opening make sure to hide in the dark somewhere. The rest of the area is just to confuse you.

That's the hardest part of the game imo, was stuck on it for a while as well.

 

[Wind's Howling]

Getting wrecked by the monster in

Spoiler

....Tau, the one with the cthulu mouth

.

Is there any trick to that? Because he's absurdly fast and the game respawns you in dead ends with no way out.

Open the doors in the first hallway so you have an easy exit strategy. Wait for the door to open, and when it sees you run as fast as you can towards the previous doors you opened.

It should follow you and eventually lose track of you so you can circle the path and have it behind you. Go through the door and take your first left and then another left. Open the door with the rotating locks and quickly run opposite the hallway and wait..

 

[Anung]

This game just got the cheapest scare on me.

Spoiler

on the ocean floor and my character pulling out the Omnitool scared the fucking shit out of me.

 

[Shredderi]

Finished it yesterday and absolutely loved it. It's also one of scariest games I've ever played. At first I was like "yeah it's tense but I'm actually pretty ok with this" and it just keeps ramping up and I found myself having to quit periodically. The story and the characters really stayed with me after the credits rolled in a way that is rare with a video game. Such a fantastic experience and I'm proud of myself for completing it all by myself as I very rarely have the nerve to play horror games alone.

 

[Fractal]

I'm stuck in the

Spoiler

cargo room in Tao. the third floor is locked and I have no idea what to do.

Spoiler

If you are where I think you are, you need to enter the Infirmary, but the door is locked. In one of the other rooms is a terminal where you can override the lock, I think it's the "Dispatch" one. Things should be self explanatory from that point on.

 

[Anung]

I really hope Frictional Games put a patch for the PS4 version as the near constant loading/saving and stuttering is murdering the amazing atmosphere.

 

[schadenfood]

Help, I need encouragement! I'm a scaredy cat and got to

Spoiler

The CURIE

, but had to quit after I

Spoiler

got killed by the monster lurking inside it. I was fine running and hiding from this guy in the lab, but underwater--which is way spookier--it just too much for me. Any tips for avoiding him? I know you're not supposed to look at him or stare, but if I just look at my feet he seems to find me anyway.

I really wish there were a "non-combat" option for this game so you wouldn't have to worry about running and hiding...but, I guess I could've just watched a longplay. Oh well. Really want to keep going, just gotta change my pants.

 

[Granjinha]

Help, I need encouragement! I'm a scaredy cat and got to

Spoiler

The CURIE

, but had to quit after I

Spoiler

got killed by the monster lurking inside it. I was fine running and hiding from this guy in the lab, but underwater--which is way spookier--it just too much for me. Any tips for avoiding him? I know you're not supposed to look at him or stare, but if I just look at my feet he seems to find me anyway.

I really wish there were a "non-combat" option for this game so you wouldn't have to worry about running and hiding...but, I guess I could've just watched a longplay. Oh well. Really want to keep going, just gotta change my pants.

I'm pretty sure that if you don't

Spoiler

look at him and just keep walking he doesn't attack you or anything. At least i remember doing that and got past that part quite easily, although i was terrified lol

 

[big_z]

Getting wrecked by the monster in

Spoiler

....Tau, the one with the cthulu mouth

.

Is there any trick to that? Because he's absurdly fast and the game respawns you in dead ends with no way out.

this ones super cheap because it can hear/see you even when your behind something or in the dark so playing hide and seek doesn't work well.

theres a map on a computer, use it to see where you need to go. what I did was memorize the turns and ran a lap as the doors opened.

 

[Dusk Golem]

Help, I need encouragement! I'm a scaredy cat and got to

Spoiler

The CURIE

, but had to quit after I

Spoiler

got killed by the monster lurking inside it. I was fine running and hiding from this guy in the lab, but underwater--which is way spookier--it just too much for me. Any tips for avoiding him? I know you're not supposed to look at him or stare, but if I just look at my feet he seems to find me anyway.

I really wish there were a "non-combat" option for this game so you wouldn't have to worry about running and hiding...but, I guess I could've just watched a longplay. Oh well. Really want to keep going, just gotta change my pants.

Just

Spoiler

don't look at him

and don't stay in one place. He/She slowly approaches you all the time, but very slowly, so staying still is not the best option.

 

[PolishQ]

Getting wrecked by the monster in

Spoiler

....Tau, the one with the cthulu mouth

.

Is there any trick to that? Because he's absurdly fast and the game respawns you in dead ends with no way out.

I think there's a trick ...

Spoiler

he seems to move slower when you're looking at him.

 

[schadenfood]

Just

Spoiler

don't look at him

and don't stay in one place. He/She slowly approaches you all the time, but very slowly, so staying still is not the best option.

I'm pretty sure that if you don't

Spoiler

look at him and just keep walking he doesn't attack you or anything. At least i remember doing that and got past that part quite easily, although i was terrified lol

Ooookay, I figured there was just some mechanic that I wasn't getting. It's like they programmed that section specifically to spook me. MAN. Loving everything else about this though--thanks for the info!

 

[silva1991]

Spoiler

If you are where I think you are, you need to enter the Infirmary, but the door is locked. In one of the other rooms is a terminal where you can override the lock, I think it's the "Dispatch" one. Things should be self explanatory from that point on.

Thanx. will try it later.

 

[Anung]

I've just left Delta and I'm not finding some of the monsters to be particularly threatening but as a Thalassophobe this game is getting under my skin and making me feel really panicked in certain places.

 

[Lingitiz]

Just got past Theta labs. That whole section was way scarier than anything the game has thrown so far. The way the whole scenario builds up in creepiness was really unnerving. The sound design in this game is fantastic.

 

[jabuseika]

Even thought some sections of the game felt repetitive, I think this game will safetly make it into my Top 5 of the year.

Amazing storytelling.

That ending... speechless.

 

[StaffyManasse]

Even thought some sections of the game felt repetitive, I think this game will safetly make it into my Top 5 of the year.

Amazing storytelling.

That ending... speechless.

After completing the game a few days ago, I watched the ending from a let's play.

The impact was still there, maybe even more so, after thinking about the game and the themes for a couple of days.

I'm pretty sure this game will be remembered.

 

[galvenize]

I'm in the

Spoiler

deep sea

, making my way towards the

Spoiler

ARK

, following the blue lights as told. I reached a small outpost and used the healing thingie in there. By doing so the whole

Spoiler

area turned off and only darkness remains

. Fuck, I don't want to

Spoiler

get eaten by that fish

, where do I go haha? The red lights are still working so I can get back to the climber.

 

[Wind's Howling]

I'm in the

Spoiler

deep sea

, making my way towards the

Spoiler

ARK

, following the blue lights as told. I reached a small outpost and used the healing thingie in there. By doing so the whole

Spoiler

area turned off and only darkness remains

. Fuck, I don't want to

Spoiler

get eaten by that fish

, where do I go haha? The red lights are still working so I can get back to the climber.

Don't follow the red lights. Look carefully, the path is still somewhat linear and you should either see blue lights or a fluorescent green light.

 

[silva1991]

Just finished the game I LOVED IT!

why do some say it has

Spoiler

bad

ending?

Spoiler

it's not like they suggest that there was hope for the real earth or anything.

earth is doomed, and the only way to live a great life is artificially in the ark. I knew she Cath will make another copy of me and her. it's not Cath's fault that Simon was that stupid.

the Ark looked so real and realistic I loved it.

 

[Wind's Howling]

Just finished the game I LOVED IT!

why do some say it ha s

Spoiler

bad

ending?

Spoiler

it's not like they suggest that there was hope for the real earth or anything.

earth is doomed, and the only way to live a great life is artificially in the ark. I knew she Cath will make another copy of me and her. it's not Cath's fault that Simon was that stupid.

the Ark looked so real and realistic I loved it.

Spoiler

Simon was not really stupid, but more or less ignorant for the obvious.

He even had the choice to unplug his own version of Simon back at Theta when he had to fit that diving suit.

Refusing to acknowledge the simple truth because ignoring the obvious is the easiest way out. I am pretty sure a lot of people would do that in such situations.