I ain’t afraid of no ghost! What I am afraid of however, is pretty much everything else in existence, especially survival-horror games. 2015 has plenty of games in that genre making a comeback, but out of all of them, SOMA may have me reaching for a pair of fresh pants the quickest. And that’s because the game is looking to revitalise the horror experience.
“I really hope that people will feel it is a fresh experience. There have been so many games now that are just about running way from monsters, and I think a lot of player are getting desensitized to that,” Frictional lead Thomas Grip told GamingBolt.
So our goal is for SOMA to also feel like a revitalization of the horror genre, just as Amnesia did. Will it be as scary? I do think so! Not just in the same primal ‘run and hide in closets’-fashion that Amnesia evoked, but at a more deeper more psychological and gut-chilling level.
Compared to the usual jump scares and rivers of blood that were present in traditional horror games, Amnesia was a different beast in the survival-horror genre when it was released several years ago. Thanks to some unconventional enemies, the game managed to differentiate itself from other contenders in the field. And when it comes to enemies, SOMA will also have some new variants in play to provide for a fresh experience.
“The monsters are not really enemies in the sense they are in a game like Resident Evil, or even Outlast. You will see very little of them, and we are very careful not to overuse them,” Grip said.
Most creatures will only appear in one or two specific locations, he continued, and they won’t always be threats – the player will sometimes need their help to progress.
We hope this gives a sense of paranoia you are unsure how to approach monsters you encounter. Finally, the creatures all also have different ‘rules’ you need to figure out. Some cannot be looked at, others only go by sound and so forth. So not only do you not know if the creature is dangerous or not, you also need to make sure you engage them in the right way.
Usually, I use the tried and trusted method of screaming my face off and running away faster than my co-op partner. SOMA is out on Mac, PC and PlayStation 4 later this year. I have a feeling that the dicks in the office are going to make me review it.
Last Updated: January 8, 2015
Mandom (Umar)
January 8, 2015 at 10:02
Psychological horror all the way
Hammersteyn
January 8, 2015 at 10:13
Review it in your batsuit, Batman isn’t scared of anything. I mean he was buried alive alongside his dad by Bane once but that only pissed him off.
Quo Vadis?
January 8, 2015 at 10:15
But if there are only a few monsters and limited to certain locations, where is the horror element then? Outlast will be difficult to beat imho, I only saw the gameplay and I almost kakked myself.
Rock789
January 8, 2015 at 10:24
Outlast for the win! And with a surround sound headset on… It’s like the nutters are in the room with you! I don’t scare easily (once dive-tackled a ‘ghost’ at a horror fun house when I was a kid… Lol) but Outlast… Damn, that game is freaky as all hell!! Really great survival horror.
Quo Vadis?
January 8, 2015 at 10:27
Apparently Whistleblower DLC was even worse than the main game. It scares the crap out of me, why do I have such a need to play it then? LOL
Rock789
January 8, 2015 at 10:31
I have that DLC… Still haven’t gotten round to it (actually had forgotten… Thanks for reminding me).
Maybe I’ll give that game a go tonight again… I need a skrik!
Quo Vadis?
January 8, 2015 at 10:32
Three different guys hunting you. Chris Walker has a brief comeback. Holy hell I better have a cardiologist on speed dial when I eventually get the game LOL
HairyEwok
January 8, 2015 at 10:33
You’ll need a new medical aid too that will cover heart failure.
HairyEwok
January 8, 2015 at 10:32
My money is on the new silent hill being the best in the psychological horror genre. The demo was insane, I’m still scarred by it when i see a long corridor I have to walk through I’m just like nope nope nope.
Quo Vadis?
January 8, 2015 at 10:47
I saw it as well. Freaky as hell.
Rock789
January 8, 2015 at 10:49
Yeah, I think the new Silent Hill is going to be EPICALLY scary!!! P.T. was brilliant… Definitely made you feel on edge – like something was literally around the next corner. I got to the end of the demo, but never completed it – could never figure out how to make the phone ring so as to end the night. Even went online for some help and, after some really complicated, convoluted ‘do-this-to-make-it-happen’, it still didn’t work for me… Think no-one knows exactly how to finish it… Would love to though.
XD
January 8, 2015 at 10:59
http://i.imgur.com/MHuW96t.gif
Raptor Rants A Lot
January 8, 2015 at 12:04
I think it’s due to you not knowing whether the monster is safe or not. Puzzle along with paranoia.
I think it’s going more for the phsycological fear than the jump scares
Quo Vadis?
January 8, 2015 at 12:16
Hopefully not the same type of horror like “the blair witch project” or all these paranormal activity movies. That is crap.
Raptor Rants A Lot
January 8, 2015 at 13:09
Ugh ya
Rock789
January 8, 2015 at 10:26
Hell-to-the-yeah! Sounds great. Let’s hope it delivers.
Nelius Blignaut
January 8, 2015 at 10:37
Isn’t this about the same thing they said about alien isolation?
Bones
January 8, 2015 at 10:42
We creatures of habit are our own worst enemy. You know that feeling you get when you are alone in the dark walking threw a cemetery mind fucking yourself. Bottle that into a game & you got SOMA.
Admiral Chief
January 8, 2015 at 11:10
I agree, Darryn SHOULD review it, in the dark, alone.
All those in favour?
Spartakar
January 8, 2015 at 11:42
Was thinking along the same thing.
Personally think Darryn should film himself playing it live for the first time. To show the authenticity (if any) of the reactions he gets. Then review it. It will create a repor with gamers to their fav gaming website or reviewers.
Digital Age reviews, doesn’t have to be every game, just the big ones.
Can you imagine Red Dead Redemption 2 comes out. The Reviewer goes live and people who have been following the site get to see the Reviewer that they have been following the info from all this time on screen.
Something like “Hi guys, welcome to the stream, ok this is Red Dead Redemption 2”
While playing it they can give their ums an arms like while riding a horse.
“I like how the sattle looks worn, the ground seems more textured in that area”
By doing this it gives a more authentic repor to your evaulation. Makes gamers feel involved. Consider this like a Rockband who does the sign auto graphs and meets fans after the concert or to promote a tour.
Because where do gamers get info or updates, sites like this (as well as their own research of course) but they generally settle on a Review site they like.
Live Review could also branch Twitches recognitiin. Say free or discounted Premiem Streaming for the Sitez, it may even get publicity for the site streaming. Like have the Lazygamer logo site details. This gives gamers a window shop on perusing gaming review sites like this and an opertunity to for this site and others to promote thselves (more traffic?) and same with Twitch.
It’s like networking between review sites and Twitch. Traffic fliws from Twitch to review sites.
Just ideas, hope you take them on board guys at Lazygamer or just in general whoever.
The D
January 8, 2015 at 12:18
I wish I had the internet upload capacity to stream this idea. I love it.
Raptor Rants A Lot
January 8, 2015 at 12:02
*puts hand up*
I offer myself as tribute