Official Poll Regarding SOMA's Monsters

[PiratesFr33k]

What you mean to say is: It didn't need to be a horror game. Fair point, but this question is obviously framed within the context of it being a horror game.

That's not what I meant. It's completely fine (awesome, really) that the game is a horror game. I just don't think the enemies themselves were neccessary to convey the horror.

To perceive the experience as being made up of story exposition on the one hand and horror sections on the other is a gross misunderstanding of the game.

Not... really... no.

For one, the game consists of a LOT more than just story exposition on the one hand and enemies on the other. Secondly, I wouldn't describe the enemies alone as "horror sections" at all. The whole game in its entirety creates horror! By the atmosphere, the visuals, dead (or half dead) bodies in the environment, the lighting, the soundtrack, the ambience, the storyline, the dialogue, well... pretty much everything.

Or to put it in words not unlike yours:

"To perceive the experience as being made up of story exposition on the one hand and enemy encounters on the other is a gross misunderstanding of the game." – and not only this game, either! Not even merely horror games, but most other games in general, too.


To further illustrate what I meant: The enemies ARE spine-chilling and give the player a sense of imminent danger and emergency, I give them that, but most of the time I found them to be... well... merely annoying, really. When I wanted to find my way around maze-like corridors (with my bad sense of direction), those enemies totally distracted me from where I intended to go. Other times I had to access a certain area and of course the enemy was blocking exactly that one passage. Maybe it's kind of an impatient way to look at it, but still.