SOMA - Safe Mode
SOMA is a horror game unlike any other, and there are many arguments as to why the horror-monster encounters are the weakest aspect of the game. Enter SOMA – Safe Mode. Introduced in late 2017, safe mode alters enemy AI patterns and nullifies the requirements for stealth through the game, allowing players who don’t enjoy that type of gameplay to access the horror game. The developers were unwilling to add the mode into the game initially as it clashed with their original vision for the game, but over two years later safe mode was completed. (There was also an unofficial mod out much earlier as well). (I’ll also mention that I myself am a complete coward who does not play horror games usually, but was convinced to play SOMA for the narrative.)
SOMA has a clean UI, with just a small dot interface which reacts when you can interact with something. The controls require players to hold down the trigger and move the right stick to manipulate the environment (opening cupboards, pulling out drawers etc), forcing the player to take their eyes off their surroundings and feel vulnerable. If there’s a monster in the area, this design choice makes simply pulling a lever or turning a wheel feel far more tense, and when it’s relatively safe it immerses you in the world, keeping players on edge.
[Minor early plot spoilers]
SOMA broadly explores themes of consciousness and humanity in the post-apocalyptic underwater station PATHOS-2, which used to manufacture and launch satellites before the destruction of the surface. The main protagonist, Simon, arrives on the station unexpectedly allowing for the player’s lack of knowledge of the situation to allow information to be assimilated by him and the player in a natural way. PATHOS-2 has clearly seen better days, with destroyed hallways, areas seeping mysterious black goo and robots wandering around which seem to think they’re human, or are otherwise disoriented.
The station, as with most any horror game, is mostly abandoned with just a smattering of life remaining in the halls. The environments are littered with insightful documents and scenery, which gives a glimpse into what life was like on PATHOS-2 prior to the apocalypse, whether from reading old emails, listening to voice recordings on old tablets or simply seeing the stacks of dry food in the employee staffroom.
The different station zones all have different functions, and the environment and narrative aids clearly show what the zone was for, and some of the staff who work(ed) there as well. For example, Simon starts off in Upsilon, a geothermal power plant which provides power for the rest of PATHOS-2, but it’s immediately clear at some point after the apocalypse all remaining staff were evacuated and the plant is running unmanned, whereas the much larger Theta is home to the dorms of dozens of staff members and houses science labs as well as advanced medical facilities.
The station is divided into 8 different buildings and you will traverse through almost every sector of PATHOS-2 during the story. The gameplay alternates between calm exploration segments with puzzles (often using a simple computer terminal alongside the environment) and tense monster encounters where there is an enemy which must be avoided whilst finding the path to the next objective.
The puzzles are not too challenging, but feel fun and satisfying to solve, and gives the player a chance to fully explore each safe environment. The stealth sections, as I’ve noted above, are redundant in safe mode, but the scary atmosphere is still omnipresent throughout these sections, and if stealth is abandoned completely then the monsters are still going to be hostile, charging at the player and causing the characteristic sound and screen effects around, encouraging players to give monsters a wide berth, without any annoying restarts and game overs.
Main criticisms are that in a few areas the environments can become very disorienting and becoming lost may be a little too easy. I found myself wandering around completely lost for a while before finding a landmark (which was often back where I started). Although it can be argued this adds to the feelings of fear, confusion and being completely lost the protagonist feels, after a while it can get annoying (particularly in ocean environments where it takes a full minute to open an airlock only to find you were here 5 minutes ago). Additionally, some areas felt like the textures were a little lower resolution than perhaps necessary, as well as some occasional framerate drops (although this review is of a 3 year old game!), causing a somewhat blurry effect on text. That said, the game always provides plain text alternatives if you’re having trouble reading something, you just lose some of the character by not reading the handwritten text.
Overall SOMA is a chilling story which will make you question your definition of human and consciousness, explored in a way that takes full advantage of the games medium. The sci-fi environments often make the game feel like you’re lost in a spaceship, at least until you walk through a glass tunnel with views of the ocean and the warped fish, or else get launched out there for a walk to the next building. The game has unanimously great voice acting which is very important, as large amounts of character is built upon conversations between the two main characters as well as audio logs. The emails, posters and scribbled notes are constant during exploration sections (and not entirely absent from the “stealth” areas either). The game presents several choices to the player throughout the narrative, and whilst they do not sway the flow of the story significantly allows the player to evaluate themes of the game as the narrative unfolds. If you’d like to experience only the broad story directly relevant to the plot, this is covered by the protagonist and his companion, but with exploration the life (and often, deaths) of over a dozen PATHOS-2 crew are explored.
If you enjoy sci-fi, and narrative games this game is a must play – Don’t be put off by the horror branding, at its heart the game is a sci fi thrill with one of the strongest narratives I’ve encountered in a game. The horror sections don’t lose too much atmosphere by playing through on safe mode, and whilst the game might not be scary enough to keep you awake at night, you might find yourself thinking about the story well into the early hours after completing it.
