SOMA is one of those games I didn't even bother thinking about before it came out because I knew it was a horror game. I just can't play those. The only game I have beaten "normally" is F.E.A.R., mostly because the scary parts where infrequent and the shooting was awesome. I hid under a staircase in Doom 3 back in the day, never played it again. Got a few hours into Dead Space before noping out of that. Did beat Dead Space 2 though, but I barely had any sound on. Was still hard as hell.

But the more I heard about SOMA after release made me want it. I love that kind of story, and I often play games for the story. Started watching a playthrough on Youtube, but decided that I wanted to experience it for myself. Find everything, read everything. So I got it. And I played a bit. And it is just so fucking hard to play for someone that just can't deal with first-person horror. The "I am helpless" makes it all so much worse. I got just past finding Catherine, but even the first monster freaked me out. And he/it/they mostly stayed out of my way. Not even sure if that one attacks.

As far as I have gotten on the GOTY podcasts for 2015 the crew have repeatedly said that the game would have been better without monsters. The good parts about the game is the atmosphere, the story and the locations. And I agree. Those parts are awesome, and if further on in the game I have to run past awesome stuff because a crazy Gonk Droid is chasing me, then that is a shame.

Which is why I pulled the trigger and installed the "Wuss Mode Mod". With that mod on the monsters no longer attack or run after you, save for some instances it seems where the chase is a part of the story. Which, as the creator mentions, kinda makes it even better. Having the monsters patrol the corridors, mumbling and screaming, or following you around being angry at you changes the atmosphere into something kinda worse in the "this is fucked up" way. I have only played a bit of it, and have either managed to stay away from a monster or I have just not encountered a new one yet, but the game still freaks me out. I know I cannot be attacked now, or die because of something attacking me as the monsters give off no damage with the mod on, but I still feel the dread. The fact that some of the chases will happen due to story stuff makes it, in a weird way, more tense. I have no idea what monster will chase me. Which means I will still crouch-walk everywhere, stay out of sight of whatever is walking around. But knowing I cannot die at least takes some of the paralyzing dread I feel in games like this away. I can now play it, experience it, beat it, while still being pretty scared. Which is awesome. So if you are like me, one who wants to experience the game for themselves but just cannot sit down and play it because of the scares; try the mod.