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SOMA |OT| I Have No Mouth but I Will Scream, on The Dark Descent into A Machine
- Thread starter More_Badass
- Start date
_illmatic_
Member
Run and hide with gameplay elements and story.
More_Badass
Member
Amnesia always had puzzles and adventure game elements, and this is in that vein. The devs mention different play styles, and outsmarting your enemies. So while that run and hide aspect is still there
I really hope controller works well and there isn't too much fine-detail mouse stuff to be done.
This is the kinda game I want to sit back and chiiiiiiill with. Mouse and keyboard just gets me too... tense.
_illmatic_
Member
Not sure if I overlooked it, but when does it unlock on Steam?
Says in about 7 hours.
ebullientprism
Member
According to the steam store page, yes.
3 AM EST / 12 midnight PST
WordsintheWater
Member
Woah I didn't even know this was coming out so soon. Is there some pre-order special on PSN that I don't know about for Plus members? Really interested in this
They mentioned on Twitter earlier it will go up on the PS store at midnight. Can't remember which timezone, so I'm assuming it's probably PST.
Karspankey
Banned
Brian_FETO
Banned
Gah....loving the art direction and themes but the fact that it's a defenseless horror game has me hesitant...
(I think I'll grab it though)
(I think I'll grab it though)
WordsintheWater
Member
More_Badass
Member
Well you can throw boxes at enemies and lock doors behind you and distract them then sneak around...
The devs and game page has stated that you "outsmart" enemies, and figure the unique ways to deal with them, and approach them differently based on your "play style"
derExperte
Member
You smart.
I feel the exact same way. The "you can run away and nothing else" is *terrible* game design and Outlast was boring after the first hour. The only reason I'm interested is because of the subject matter.
drotahorror
Member
It's not a retail, $60 game so no
N++ and I believe Galak-Z had preloads.
More_Badass
Member
- "You will need to figure out how to deal with each one of them. Just remember theres no fighting back, either you outsmart your enemies or you get ready to run"
- "The biggest thing with encounters is not just about figuring out "hide or run?", but to understand how they work."
- "In some cases you can use the environment to your advantage, but you won't be going on any killing sprees"
- "Though there are definitely sections in the game where it's a good idea to "lock doors behind you" depending on your play style
- You're able to throw boxes at enemies, but "it's often not wise to do so"
- You can distract and sneak past enemies
So while the game does feature that "run and hide" aspect, it's a bit deeper than that
Karak
Member
You can get hit many times and the AI isn't spectacular,. Basically for many of the creatures, and there aren't that many, you can kneel and hide or stop moving until they pass, the robots I just walked away or ran away from for a couple seconds and they lose track of you.
Or if you get hit you will wake up and the enemy will probably be gone leaving you free to move on anyway.
Its pretty easy to be really honest especially with the healing.
I'll be interested to check it out and give it a chance. I know very little about it, which I think is good. I think Alien Isolation nailed the SH stuff perfectly. YOu do have some tools and options and occasional combat, but it's not a combat game (for most of it).
More_Badass
Member
I'd be a tad disappointed if the devs have talked about outsmarting enemies and figuring ways to deal with them or having different play styles, if all you can do is sneak around them
Do you rush things or overlook anything? I mean, you had the shortest play time of any review. Most say 10,11,12 hours while you finished in 7
vainglorious
Member
Yeah. And the enemy featured in the latest trailer had a "do not look at or you will die" mechanic that was interesting. Good stuff.
NavyPharaoh
Member
This helps a lot because I'm interested but I feel the same as Jobbs, speaking of which...
So you enjoyed Alien Isolation but you hate run and hide SH games? Not trying to start shit but that's what scared me off from AI. I would like to know if someone who hates run and hide can like Isolation.
Enter the Dragon Punch
Banned
Outside of SOMA, what other horror games would you guys recommend? Played through Amnesia, Penumbra series, Alien: Isolation, REmake
Karak
Member
Talking to other youtubers I have heard 8 as the normal and I am right around that actually, so not fastest by far. Then again I can't magically travel faster than other people. I may read faster or figure things out faster but people pretend firecrawling somehow magically makes the game more immersive.
But as for monsters. There are different styles. Kneel, hide in the dark, stop moving. Technically those are all styles. But even watching some lets plays today there is nothing more complicated than that. Despite the description that it may be.
There is other creatures that you can't stare at but thats sort of hilarious as most of them you won't be staring at anyway because of how you are hiding in the dark or not moving behind something.
But I think you have followed my channel you know how much I adored Alien, Ethan Carter and many other gamers in this nature including the older Call of Cythulu and those type of slower games, System Shock 2 being a special favorite. Much of this just felt cribbed and much of the design felt a bit...PR'sh in its explanations of somewhat normal stuff.
Appollowexx
Member
Played the first hour or so just up to where the developer play-through that released a few months back ended.
First impressions -
- Opening is very unexpected. Though a little slow.
- Graphics have a fantastic art style but don't expect anything visually stunning.
- Environmental sound design is unbelievable, very eerie and rich in detail. Voice acting is decent.
- Story is intriguing so far.
- Not massively scary, but very creepy and unsettling at times.
- Puzzles are so far logical and well thought out.
I'm enjoying the game so far and I can't wait to play some more after work tomorrow and all day Wednesday. It shows a lot of promise so far, and for what it's worth, I say that as a big horror / sci-fi fan. Definitely very different in tone and style to the developers previous work, with much more focus on narrative and psychological creepiness.
First impressions -
- Opening is very unexpected. Though a little slow.
- Graphics have a fantastic art style but don't expect anything visually stunning.
- Environmental sound design is unbelievable, very eerie and rich in detail. Voice acting is decent.
- Story is intriguing so far.
- Not massively scary, but very creepy and unsettling at times.
- Puzzles are so far logical and well thought out.
I'm enjoying the game so far and I can't wait to play some more after work tomorrow and all day Wednesday. It shows a lot of promise so far, and for what it's worth, I say that as a big horror / sci-fi fan. Definitely very different in tone and style to the developers previous work, with much more focus on narrative and psychological creepiness.
Karak
Member
Well my lowest rating is Don't Buy. I just gave this a wait for a big sale. Luckily the game isn't full price so if you DID take a risk it wouldn't be the full 60 bucks many games cost.
I hate run and hide games that have no other gameplay. Outlast is the perfect example. Utter repetition. Avoid a patrol, then typically enjoy safety as you'll have only funhouse scares for a while that don't pose a real threat. It was effective initially but very quickly it wasn't scary or fun, it was only tedious.
Alien Isolation was unpredictable. Dynamic. You also have a range of tools to deal with things. Some enemies can be killed, and the alien itself can be distracted or scared off in various ways. Alien Isolation was the best horror game ever made.
NavyPharaoh
Member
True, I'm a give it a shot
Yeah outlast was my first & I determined last run & hide horror game. So I'm a give this a try and check on Alien Isolation. Thanks
Karak
Member
There you go! So many people take the fact that I didn't like this as some kind of personal threat. Its just an opinion based on my past experiences and games Iike and even that doesn't mean much, just like people who liked it. Everything you buy has SOME chance of being experienced differently than someone else.
To give you an example I currently have 13 hate messages on youtube in my folder from users
The best of which is, "I hope that eyeless creature rapes you and your sister b*tch"Funny enough I have no sister and am sort of wondering what that person was thinking lol
If you like oddly creepy you should check out Albino Lullaby. That is whacked out.
SlasherJPC
Banned
Just to give some backing in my 9.5 review. I like Ethan Carter, didn't care for Everyone's gone to Rapture at all, liked Alien Isolation but thought it was wayyyyyy to long. This game reminded me of a combination of Dead Space, Bioshock, and The Thing at times.
That all said, I haven't played a better Sci fi horror experience that had just the right amount of puzzles, beautiful vistas, moments of dread and a story that was really well told even if the setting felt like mash of other games. The ending was immensely satisfying and I had a bunch of conflicted emotions.
I can't wait to play it again. It doesn't do anything new gameplay wise that Amnesia didn't, but that's not neccesary to be a memorable and we'll told story with some emotional punch.
That all said, I haven't played a better Sci fi horror experience that had just the right amount of puzzles, beautiful vistas, moments of dread and a story that was really well told even if the setting felt like mash of other games. The ending was immensely satisfying and I had a bunch of conflicted emotions.
I can't wait to play it again. It doesn't do anything new gameplay wise that Amnesia didn't, but that's not neccesary to be a memorable and we'll told story with some emotional punch.
Karak
Member
System Shock 2 has the rebuilt mod still which ups it graphically.
Clive Barkers Undying though its a bitmore action packed.
Also
Also Albino Lullaby which is an odd title for sure
NathanNAVY
Neo Member
About 3 hours into the game. While I am enjoying it, I'm absolutely APPALLED that this game is receiving rave reviews while Alien Isolation received negative reviews from IGN and other game critics.
Alien Isolation is a far better game! My biggest complaint with Soma is that it just isn't scary.
Alien Isolation is a far better game! My biggest complaint with Soma is that it just isn't scary.
SlasherJPC
Banned
Scary is very tricky thing. You also don't review a game based on just scares. Alien was scary for me the first half, once I got a flamethrower, fear went out the window. Alien also was overly long and tedious with too little occurring over the long span of game time. Alien is a amazing experience, but it's not hard to see why it was rated by some for what it was, to include the unfair and downright broken Alien ai at times.
Akiyama_AE
Member
System Shock 2 has the rebuilt mod still which ups it graphically.
Clive Barkers Undying though its a bitmore action packed.
Also
Also Albino Lullaby which is an odd title for sure
Albino lullaby fuck that cover how am I gonna sleep now...
Karak
Member
LOl. Brother when those things start moaning "Why does it not resonate with JOY!?! Or Run little bunny RUUUUUUUN" it can get a bit creepy. The nice thing is it is NOT in the same line as most steam scary games. It is both architecturally advanced as well as thematically even in its use of lighting depending on relationships and danger.
More_Badass
Member
"Far better" and "scary or not scary" are completely subjective. Pretty obvious that this game hit a chord with reviewers that Alien Isolation didn't. Doesn't mean Alien is a bad or worse game.
Kind of amazing this is your only post.
Karak
Member
...find a subject you want to talk about it and make a post about it with some discussion. Everyone starts at one lol
Well yeah, just saying hes been around for a year+ its a wierd first post.
But how are so many people playing this? Im seeing lets plays everywhere and random people on this forum talking about playing it. Was there a physical ps4 release?
Karak
Member
A weird first post???
Anyway I am a reviewer. I am not sure about the rest. Most likely a large campaign of PR through various companies that spread the game around to get public talking about it.
Also just looking I actually see just a few youtubers and twitch peeps but they are posting many videos. Once I collated them it looks like more than it actually is. Not saying there aren't a good number. But less than it instantly looks
VanCityGamer
Member
Question for those who have played it:
- I'm not a huge fan of puzzles: how many puzzles does this game have? I don't mind some simplistic ones sprinkled in, but even Amnesia had a few too many for my tastes. Did enjoy Amnesia, but that was my main complaint. Along with not liking how the story was delivered.
- I'm not a huge fan of puzzles: how many puzzles does this game have? I don't mind some simplistic ones sprinkled in, but even Amnesia had a few too many for my tastes. Did enjoy Amnesia, but that was my main complaint. Along with not liking how the story was delivered.