[QUOTE=Jojje;52940587]This may spur me to finish the game, I never did.[/QUOTE]
The enemy encounters are really frustrating. I never would have completed the game if it weren't for the story that gave me the determination to keep pushing ahead. With Safe Mode added, I think now is a good time to jump back in. The narrative explores some really provocative concepts.
I personally didn't mind the monsters at all, they were a nice change of pace for me. [sp]git gud[/sp]
[QUOTE=Talvy;52940888]I personally didn't mind the monsters at all, they were a nice change of pace for me. [sp]git gud[/sp][/QUOTE]
oh sure
get good when you literally cannot see the enemy you are about to run into and get killed by harr harr [sp]/s[/sp]
In all seriousness, I'm not entirely sure WHY exactly they included the Flesher. It looks pretty spooky and they needed an enemy for that environment, but why not switch places with a toned-down Yoshida? You get this spooky fuck slowly chasing you throughout this maze ship and for your ultimate final test you get an enemy that is an observatory hazard. Why not save the toughest enemy for the very final event where shit starts to go down? Hell, it'd even let you use that terminal I mentioned without powersuit-man fisting you.
[QUOTE=Dick Slamfist;52939826]Minority opinion here, the monster encounters genuinely hampered SOMA
It's such a compelling powerful narrative that I found myself genuinely irritated anytime a monster showed up because it just wasn't fun or interesting to hide from them, and stalled me from experiencing amazsing storytelling.
This is the better way to play this game[/QUOTE]
That's a majority opinion I think
Never played, but I did watch Markplier's play through of it with my girl, and the only monster that I really found to be scary was the one that was chasing you while you tried to activate an elevator (?) And really the only reason that was scary was the tension of trying to get to the elevator while it chased you, but even then it wasn't scary because of the monster, but more because of the chase it seemed. Like a scared excitement, but not a horror scared.
And maybe the water areas, but that's because I have a fear of giant sea creatures so I can't say much about that, you put me in a game where there's a chance of something in the water attacking me, I'm more likely to try to avoid the water areas if I can.
[QUOTE=Daddy-of-war;52940938]And maybe the water areas, but that's because I have a fear of giant sea creatures so I can't say much about that, you put me in a game where there's a chance of something in the water attacking me, I'm more likely to try to avoid the water areas if I can.[/QUOTE]
SOMA has some [I]good[/I] spooky underwater segments. The abyssal plain stuff was incredibly unnerving in a way that I don't know I've experienced in a game. I think a lot of it was because most of the things you see in there probably aren't even far from what's actually down there. They do a really good job of playing up the extreme environment.
This thread and the new mode make me really want to go through and replay the game. I played it at the beginning of this year and I was thinking about it for [I]months[/I] after playing it. I've been wanting to do another play through, but I was planning on doing it with a mode that removed the monsters because I wanted to make sure I didn't miss any of the environmental stuff.
[QUOTE=Why485;52941066]SOMA has some [I]good[/I] spooky underwater segments. The abyssal plain stuff was incredibly unnerving in a way that I don't know I've experienced in a game. I think a lot of it was because most of the things you see in there probably aren't even far from what's actually down there. They do a really good job of playing up the extreme environment.
This thread and the new mode make me really want to go through and replay the game. I played it at the beginning of this year and I was thinking about it for [I]months[/I] after playing it. I've been wanting to do another play through, but I was planning on doing it with a mode that removed the monsters because I wanted to make sure I didn't miss any of the environmental stuff.[/QUOTE]
Like I said, never played, but I bet I shit myself on the water parts. Hell the creatures don't even gotta be all infected with that black goop, just make a game where the main enemy is a colossal squid chasing you, and I'd have my fill of horror for the rest of my life. Fucking hate giant squids...
i think soma's biggest problem was that it's narrative was actually hindered by it's gameplay. a monster maze that doesn't relent is not fun to run through, the tricks got real old by the end
[editline]2nd December 2017[/editline]
so you have this brilliant, interesting narrative that is absolutely cheapened by the game's really bare bones and boring monster maze gameplay that serves to be more annoying than anything
I mean, I played through Penumbra, Amnesia and Alien Isolation, and honestly, while the first few times you encounter a monster is scary and even tense at times, it always got me really frustrated past the mid-game.
Having to stop every 5-10 minutes to hide, or die and go back to a fucking checkpoint is a pain in the ass, especially when generally the strong point of these games is the overlying narrative making the atmosphere and situation creepy and scary. A roaming monster just rampaging around and instagibbing you is just a pain in the ass when you lose dozens of minute of progress until their AIs decides to look at a wall for 30 seconds.
Even more so annoying in Alien Isolation when they throw like two aliens at once (iirc) or they have you go through the same area twice just for a fetch quest. it's grating and impedes the progression in a bad way.
[QUOTE=Dick Slamfist;52939826][b]Majority[/b] opinion here, the monster encounters genuinely hampered SOMA[/QUOTE]
Minority opinion here, I personally enjoyed/didn't mind the monsters, but that's me. I died maybe 2-3 times in my first playthrough so my experience in whole ended up feeling different than what seems to be the majority. The story was gripping and that kinda made me feel incentivized to get it right the first time around so that I could continue the narrative. They felt like a driving force in my experience.
[QUOTE=Feuver;52941338]I mean, I played through Penumbra, Amnesia and Alien Isolation, and honestly, while the first few times you encounter a monster is scary and even tense at times, it always got me really frustrated past the mid-game.
Having to stop every 5-10 minutes to hide, or die and go back to a fucking checkpoint is a pain in the ass, especially when generally the strong point of these games is the overlying narrative making the atmosphere and situation creepy and scary. A roaming monster just rampaging around and instagibbing you is just a pain in the ass when you lose dozens of minute of progress until their AIs decides to look at a wall for 30 seconds.
Even more so annoying in Alien Isolation when they throw like two aliens at once (iirc) or they have you go through the same area twice just for a fetch quest. it's grating and impedes the progression in a bad way.[/QUOTE]
but with Alien Isolation you can at least develop strategies and tools to save time. like you can just straight up rush the alien with a molotov if you want. but the gameplay in Soma and to a lesser extent Amnesia is so barebones it may as well not be there
Can I just say the those enemies that know when you're looking at them are fucking garbage.
There is one encounter that comes to mind. It's in the completely flooded and partially destroyed part of the base with one of those enemies that knows when you looking at it. I believe the goal was to lure it into a side room that had two exits and then sneak around it but because of its AI and the layout of that section of the level I could never get it into that room and stay there long enough to get around it. As soon as I was out of its view it would return to its very short patrol route which was basically just a straight line in the one room you needed to get through.
Pissed me off and eventually I just gave up and brute forced it.
[QUOTE=chunkymonkey;52941548]Can I just say the those enemies that know when you're looking at them are fucking garbage.
There is one encounter that comes to mind. It's in the completely flooded and partially destroyed part of the base with one of those enemies that knows when you looking at it. I believe the goal was to lure it into a side room that had two exits and then sneak around it but because of its AI and the layout of that section of the level I could never get it into that room and stay there long enough to get around it. As soon as I was out of its view it would return to its very short patrol route which was basically just a straight line in the one room you needed to get through.
Pissed me off and eventually I just gave up and brute forced it.[/QUOTE]
Cheapassing frustrating game sections by using speedrun strats/mechanics exploitations can be pretty amusing.
It says it's 'Out now' but I've had no update for SOMA in my queue yet. Is it really out?
SOMA is possibly the first Frictional game that can stand on it's own without the """combat""" of penumbra and amnesia, and it's great how they're both adding this option and publicizing it so heavily, live action actors and all.
Got some big Carl Sagan vibes at the start, there. Good stuff.
I've always loved the danger in Frictional Games and SOMA was no different, but I'm looking forward to replaying this with the time to explore the map without fear of being bumrushed by some enemy.
The story itself was fantastic. Really recommend going through tier short stories on Youtube. The tone and setting is amazing, I love this clip specifically.
[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxK99dgajVM[/media]
While SOMA's still a great game, as like a billion other people have already said, it would've been a lot better as a Myst-esque story heavy walking simulator with puzzles
[QUOTE=Thechuz1337;52942256]I've always loved the danger in Frictional Games and SOMA was no different, but I'm looking forward to replaying this with the time to explore the map without fear of being bumrushed by some enemy.
The story itself was fantastic. Really recommend going through tier short stories on Youtube. The tone and setting is amazing, I love this clip specifically.
[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxK99dgajVM[/media][/QUOTE]
remember this? all the speculation was great.
[hd]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLVOif6CHgE[/hd]
This is the only game that I've ever watched a Let's Play video of through it's entirety. I was too puss puss to play the game myself, so I just watched some dude play it on YouTube and I was hooked to the story.
Ok everyone is talking about the game, but I can't find anyone talk about the actual trailer.
Is that Tom Hiddleston? You know, the guy who plays Loki in Marvel movies. Did they actually cast him in their trailer?
[QUOTE=Greendead;52949007]Ok everyone is talking about the game, but I can't find anyone talk about the actual trailer.
Is that Tom Hiddleston? You know, the guy who plays Loki in Marvel movies. Did they actually cast him in their trailer?[/QUOTE]
no, it's the voice actor of Ross from the game
[QUOTE=Thechuz1337;52942256]I've always loved the danger in Frictional Games and SOMA was no different, but I'm looking forward to replaying this with the time to explore the map without fear of being bumrushed by some enemy.
The story itself was fantastic. Really recommend going through tier short stories on Youtube. The tone and setting is amazing, I love this clip specifically.
[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxK99dgajVM[/media][/QUOTE]
I'm extremely late, but I only just now pieced together that Imogen Reed [sp]Foreshadowed the entire ending of the game with what she said around the two minute mark.[/sp]
[quote][sp]No. No. It's not for us. We're going to die down here.[/sp][/quote]
[QUOTE=JerryAnderson;52963900]I'm extremely late, but I only just now pieced together that Imogen Reed [sp]Foreshadowed the entire ending of the game with what she said around the two minute mark.[/sp][/QUOTE]
[sp]the ending was foreshadowed in the first 20 minutes when you get scanned. at the very latest when you find out simon is a cyborg diving suit. the ending isn't meant to be some big twist anyway.[/sp]
[QUOTE=Zezibesh;52963921][sp]the ending was foreshadowed in the first 20 minutes when you get scanned. at the very latest when you find out simon is a cyborg diving suit. the ending isn't meant to be some big twist anyway.[/sp][/QUOTE]
[sp]I agree, and I think it really makes the game even better. The player knows what's going to happen,
but the main character doesn't, and this dramatic irony impresses upon the character how really powerless they are.[/sp]
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