Frictional Games has unveiled what was behind the teasers of SOMA. As expected, the project is a sci-fi survival horror game. It is set in a research facility called PATHOS-2 where strange things start to happen, machines behave abnormally and dangerously. Almost no way out and no weapons. A bit more details, screens and gameplay teaser inside. The title is coming in 2015 on PC and PlaySation 4.
From Frictional Games, creators of the groundbreaking Amnesia and Penumbra series, SOMA is an aberrant tale of scientific inquiry and survival; an entropic exploration of synapse and circuit that wades through the delusions of human consciousness.
Three years in the making, SOMA is a unique continuation of Frictional Games' signature style of explorative horror, provocative storytelling, and unfathomable tension, free of distractive cut-scenes and combat. SOMA is coming to PC and PlayStation 4 in 2015.
All comments (41)
The fear is not supposed to come from potentially having to replay, the fear should come from the game making you not want to turn the next corner because of what might be there. Which is exactly what Amnesia does.
Synce: Well, seeing as how there is two and a half months left of 2013 it might not be 2 years away. I'm guessing we are looking at early 2015 rather than the holiday season :P
As for the game, it looks good. Can't wait to play it, see if they can keep on delivering.
The fear is not supposed to come from potentially having to replay, the fear should come from the game making you not want to turn the next corner because of what might be there. Which is exactly what Amnesia does.
It's a problem pretty much all narrative driven games deal with and i just don't see it being a more legit claim for Amnesia than for any other game. It's just something you as the player will have to deal with, be it in this game or another. Just set your own goal of not dying and restart when you do or something, be hard core. I do certainly agree that once you get up close with the baddies a few times it takes some of the tension out of it, especially near the end when the game just goes "fuck it" and lets you see everything in full light. But even so i think it's not a huge problem, the game is still fantastic and i can't think of any game that does horror better and only a few that do it just as well.
It's a problem pretty much all narrative driven games deal with and i just don't see it being a more legit claim for Amnesia than for any other game. It's just something you as the player will have to deal with, be it in this game or another. Just set your own goal of not dying and restart when you do or something, be hard core. I do certainly agree that once you get up close with the baddies a few times it takes some of the tension out of it, especially near the end when the game just goes "fuck it" and lets you see everything in full light. But even so i think it's not a huge problem, the game is still fantastic and i can't think of any game that does horror better and only a few that do it just as well.
Difficulty and punishment in game is a very delicate balancing act, and even when done right it can feel extremely tedious at time. In the end games are entertainment and if you constantly go "oh god, i have to do this shit AGAIN!?" then the game has failed too. I mean just look at a game like Dark Souls that has great mechanics for punishing you and is rather difficult at times but usually keeps it fair, yet a TON of people still find it way too hard to play.
Again, what's stopping you from just starting over if you die? Just hit that New Game button every time a baddie smacks you in the face and i bet the terror will return. The game doesn't force you to keep playing once you die, you have the choice. I bet you could even go in there with the editor and chop some of the save points out if that's what you want.
Mastering the environments and enemies in Dark Souls is integral to the experience, re-reading notes and re-waching cutscenes is NOT integral to your enjoyment of Amnesia.´Punishing the player by doing a segment over again when that is not part of what makes the game interesting is a complete at utter shite way of punishing. It's the kind of punishment that makes you go "fuck this game". It doesn't let you practice or anything, it just sets you back with the express motive of annoying the fuck out of you. That's complete bollocks in terms of game design.
Or perhaps another way of putting it, should i be scared by the game or by the promise that if i fuck up i get to be bored for 30 minutes before i can get back to enjoying my game?
Dying and having to replay the last hour would just frustrate me when all i want to do is keep immersed in the horror of the world.
And i mean RE isn't all tht threatning either, once you learn how to deal with the enemies. I mean i'm not particularly scared in RE, and i never was, because once you learn how to run past the zombies or what gun to use to get the hunters there isn't much to be afraid of. And RE is guilty of just the same. Before anything too tough tehre's almost always the opportunity to find an ink ribbon and a typewriter to save so that you won't get punished too bad by some bullshit boss. I guess the limited ink ribbons is in a sense a nice touch, but it's also something that potentially can fuck the player really bad unless there's always an ink ribbon at the next typewriter (usually the case in my experience).
RE was a really flawed game in so many ways, and the difficulty/punishment area is not exactly a part where i think the game really stepped up either. But it is a really tough problem. How do you make a game tough and punishing without alienating players or just ending up with a game that is being willfully obtuse?
edit; Also in your amnesia case with leaving the computer, how is that NOT the case with RE? Clear the room, go have a sleep and come back. I expect your face won't have too many zombies gnawing on it.
Megido: I get what you're saying, but I was talking about leaving the game on in a location full of enemies. You can keep dying, but it doesn't really matter, that was my point. And for me RE is one of the best games I have ever played (the 1st, the remake and 2) and it was really damn hard on the first playthrough. Sure, I learned hwo to exploit the game and I made no save, no healing items speed runs, but that's beside the point. You can master every game and we're talking about the initial experience here. I played Amnesia only once and found the game incredibly forgiving and even the thick atmosphere didn't do anything for me after a while, because I couldn't shake the feeling of an "amusement park horror ride" that I would finish no matter what I did.
So given the choice being punishing, but horror killing. and forgiving and keeping you immersed and experiencing new scares....then i chose the latter. It's the lesser of 2 evils.