Official Poll Regarding SOMA's Monsters

[VirtuallyJesse]

The sections in which I experienced annoyance were in areas that also included story elements. It felt frustrating wanting to find/read notes or interact with a computer while attempting to hide from a monster at the same time. The Tau monster was the peak of my frustration, and the only time I got angry with the game, due to the reason mentioned above.

From a player perspective it felt rewarding to explore and discover notes. Then certain monster sections happen and prevent you from freely doing so - a hindering feeling as a player for sure. However, aside from the Tau encounter I found it easy enough to explore while hiding at the same time. There definitely is a fine line between too much freedom (otherwise - it's not horror!) & frustration. (go away already! I want to see whats over there!!)

It wasn't until later, after watching other individuals play SOMA, that I realized monsters had certain attributes; ex. can't look at the monster, this monster is blind, etc. Perhaps these could have been conveyed to the player a bit more strongly.

The last thing I want to comment on is that you can really feel the age of the hide mechanics. For example - while in Alien: Isolation, you can hide in lockers or fluidly crawl under desks. In SOMA, the best you can do is hide behind a wall & crouch. It feels very old, and while it may have worked in Amnesia: TDD, it simply doesn't hold up too well anymore.

To sum an opinion, I believe SOMA's monster sequences, while not the best in the world, were enjoyable, and more interesting than annoying.