One thing that I really felt worked well with the game and I was sad there wasn't more of it was the enemy that you couldn't tell if he was aggressive, passive until you get close, or just completely passive. That was one of the most interesting encounters even though it was short and pretty insignificant. I'm talking about the corrupted swimming helper (h3?). I loved hearing his dialogue and the way he reacted to me and never being quite sure how he would behave. This is something that definitely should've been explored more in other places and would've added a lot more depth to the enemies. The other one like that was the robot girl, that ended up being the creepiest encounter in the game for me and I found it worked really well. Hearing and seeing her visibly cough and suffer and me slowly walking up terrified but wondering if she might not be aggressive was one of the most stand out experiences of the game. Instead of having so many outright aggressive enemies the game should've used more creatures with varying behaviour to connect them to the narrative better.
(This post was last modified: 11-08-2015, 02:20 AM by Damascus Rose.)
I didn't find them all that annoying, even when the "noise sensitive" enemies kept getting drawn to what I thought was my silent creeping.
I loved the angler fish, it got me good.
I think I dealt with Yoshida by using the intercom to call different rooms in the hope that he would go investigate the intercom sounds. No idea if it actually worked or not, but I got through.
(This post was last modified: 11-08-2015, 01:29 PM by Myrmidont.)
And he touches upon (in his trademark witty way) that it felt that there were two games going at eachother within SOMA. The exploration/ambiance/puzzle parts of the game, and the "evil monsters" part of the game. Like many, he's not a big fan of how the latter half ended up gameplay-wise, and he also takes issue with it story-wise as well, though I don't agree with him too strongly there.
But yeah, I wonder if there's a way to make a Horror game rely more upon environmental and danger hazards than sneaking past monsters. There definitely is a large amount of the players of SOMA who felt that the monster sections almost distracted too much from the actual game itself and they felt like another game on their own.
Of course, as he wittily points out, without scary monsters what would the armies of "Let's Play Youtubers" do to entertain themselves.
I like Yahtzee's reviews (most of the time, his sense of humour can get a bit grating) but I don't think i've ever agreed with him this much in the case of a good game like this. Although, didn't he praise Frictional games for sticking to what they do best a few years ago? Never mind.
He's right that Simon's story, Catherine's ARK quest and the WAU monstrosity don't mix together all that well. Simon does occasionally show some slight disgust and horror towards the WAU and it's creations but he and Catherine seem to absurdly treat it as more of an annoying hinderance than anything else, I didn't quite understand that during the game and I still don't now. Judging by the work in progress material in the secret archive I get a strong impression that SOMA was originally intended to be an epic science-fiction adventure like the Half Life games or Mass Effect, but with, more psychological horror, no guns and lots of sneaking, exploration and puzzle-solving, instead of the philisophical sci-fi and man-made quasi-lovecraftian horror mash-up that was the final product.
Don't get me wrong, I love the monsters in SOMA, they're appropriately scary and well-designed, but they often feel rather out of place. I don't feel that Aker and the proxies make any sense in the context of the world and style of SOMA, they're clearly inspired by the System Shock games and would fit much better in the cyber\bio punk style of that franchise. Also, the Tau monster feels 'shoved-in' to that level to increase the length of the game and give the player another obstacle, in my opinion, that backfired. If I had been in charge of designing the game I would have made more monsters like the Omikron cyber lobster woman, the Constructor in Upsilon and the Jiangshi disco-ball head, the crazy robots and cyber zombies seem closer to the nature and design of the WAU.
I voted "Very scary and interesting to encounter".
Like many, I greatly enjoyed the variety of monsters. I also liked how some of them had rather unique mechanics. And I was constantly saying "WTF?" for the machine head monster. The first time it sensed(?) me I thought I had stepped on something.
I thought the chase in the ship was a little too harsh. Kinda required the player to have guessed he had to memorize the map for a chase. But the atmosphere of it was good.
I liked the parts where we had to solve puzzles while being constantly threatened by monsters (as opposed to the monsters being the puzzle, which is the usual). This game had quite a bit of this and I think it was one of the things that set its gameplay aside from Outlast (which I also loved). I also enjoyed that the marry-go-'round mechanic wasn't used very much, even if it meant having fewer encounters and fewer trully challenging(puzzly) encounters.
And one thing that I loved and that I can see other players not liking was how the constant threat of monsters in some areas made me afraid of exploring. I'm not a completionist, so I enjoyed making the choice of skipping on exploring a room, because I was afraid to die. I really tried not to die (not that I enjoy perma-death rules). I just really take the survival aspect seriously, almost as if roleplaying. But I can see how this constant threat set up on some areas might have frustrated completionists or gamers that simply prioritize exploration.
And I'm selfishly pleased you did it the way you did. It fit me. It fit a priority for atmosphere. I loved the danger while I was exploring and forsaking exploration because it seemed too risky.
Sorry. That was a long reply.
SPOILERS
(11-08-2015, 05:31 PM)SlackerinDeNile Wrote: ...He's right that Simon's story, Catherine's ARK quest and the WAU monstrosity don't mix together all that well. Simon does occasionally show some slight disgust and horror towards the WAU and it's creations but he and Catherine seem to absurdly treat it as more of an annoying hinderance than anything else, I didn't quite understand that during the game and I still don't now...
...Also, the Tau monster feels 'shoved-in' to that level to increase the length of the game and give the player another obstacle, in my opinion, that backfired. If I had been in charge of designing the game I would have made more monsters like the Omikron cyber lobster woman, the Constructor in Upsilon and the Jiangshi disco-ball head, the crazy robots and cyber zombies seem closer to the nature and design of the WAU.
I may have over-read into it, but I thought the WAU fit in very well, not as for the script itself (the ARK story didn't need the WAU at all); but thematically. The WAU is another atempt at preserving humanity, of preserving human life, except the WAU focuses on the body, the SOMA. Early in the game, that vibe was pretty strong, specially when we find that woman covered in WAU, being kept alive, saying nothing is alowed to die. That is very much in the theme. I'm pretty sure most people would prefer the ARK over an existence like that.
And at some point I suspected Simon was infected by the WAU in a way that could compromise the ARK. I thought Cat knew that and would trick him, not allowing him to get on the ARK. So, when his upload took long to start near the end I was like "Oh, yeah! I guessed it!". But I was glad it wasn't the case, because filling out the questionnaire a second time, when in the ARK was my favorite moment in the game. My answers were quite different form when I wasn't in the ARK, because in the ARK, I felt grateful.
It was a bit similar to how I had despised the continuity freaks, but ended up deciding to terminate Simon-2. The game made me roleplay a character arc. Freaking brilliant!
Sorry for going off-topic, though.
(This post was last modified: 11-15-2015, 02:11 AM by YvesGomes.)
The monsters make me feel ill to the point that I stop playing and am too freaked out to go on. But that is actually what makes the game so good to me.
I'm not into linear games, and also not into futuristic/space-ish themes, but for the story they did a great job at making it an alien and unfamiliar environment to the player.
I can't really judge on all the monsters in general, as there were many that had special mechanics/rules (which was kinda cool). I'd have to over each individually.
Spoiler below!
CONSTRUCT: Probably my favorite monster. Love its design and sounds. It has a set pattern and responds in a generic manner, making it a good first monster. I guess it could be underwhelming if you avoided the second encounter by torturing Carl's mocking bird, but I have a feeling most people didn't do that. I do think it would have been interesting to make it very clear that rerouting the power would cause the Construct to appear. Also wish this monster had spoken words instead of mostly garble. Maybe something that explained a motivation for hunting you.
SWIMMER / HELPER UNIT: Another of my favorites. Most of these units act differently, and I really like how the first one is only semi-aggressive. Also the fact that they communicate with you and have a clear reason for their attack make them more of a character and really adds immersion into the universe. Their attack speed is pitiful, which I kinda like. They're not supposed to be dangerous, but rather add to the universe and help drive home the horrors of what occurred in PAHTOS-II. Kind of wish that when you got so far away from one pursuing you, it would start yelling pleas for you to come back, or try to reason with you with false offers of help/advice.
FLESHER / DISCO HEAD: Slightly disappointing considering the large amount of build-up this monster had. Couldn't find anything in-game explaining how this monster came to be or why it could teleport. The mechanic of not looking at it would have been a lot better if not so sensitive. It becomes agitated and your screen goes crazy as soon as it appears at the very edge of your peripheral vision. This made it incredibly hard to track at times and therefore annoying. It would also sometimes stand in a doorway or someplace you couldn't squeeze past it, making it tedious at times. However, its chase at the end of the Curie section is really good. Very glad the music there fit well and wasn't overbearingly scary. The chase is close, but if you know where you're going, isn't too difficult. It felt perfect.
PROXY (server room): A good introduction to this monster. The room its in is large and allows for a lot of movement and error. Creates tension without being too difficult or scary. You can use the opportunity to practice luring these monsters with the large amount of items in the room.
AKERS: A mixed bag. The monster encounter itself is fine. The maze-like layout, again, creates tension without being overly difficult. But he also feels like a massive missed opportunity. I didn't know this creature was Akers until reading up on this monster after having beat the game. I guess there's hints to this in the area, but I never adsorbed it (probably because I was trying not to piss myself). There's a lot of backstory on Akers and his descent into madness, so I reallllly wish he would have been more than another mindless proxy. Imagine if he had spoken to you, trying to coax you out of hiding or going on rants about the WAU and how much happier you'd be being part of it. It would have made Akers into a memorable character rather than just another monster/obstacle, and given the WAU itself more weight on the story. It at least would have made the WAU's presence on PATHOS-II more of a direct threat/relation to Simon personally. Along this vein, would have mixed up the part where you DO get hooked into the WAU for a small time. What if the sequence had been you and Ashley being happy together, and Simon actually enjoying being in the WAU? You could have been detached due to an unconventional method rather than your own doing. This would also draw interesting parallels between the WAU and the ARK.
PROXIES (later Theta): Dragged on far too long and felt incredibly tedious, especially the last encounter. Would have been a lot more enjoyable if shorter and utilized the luring method better, perhaps in a puzzle-like setting. The last encounter kinda works like this, but after the earlier encounters and how long the last part could take, I just didn't enjoy it.
ROBOT GIRL (don't startle her): Took me a long time to figure out how to get past her. Also couldn't find anything revealing her back-story or exactly how she got to looking how she does. Her mechanics were never explained, which seems like a considerable oversight, so I spent a good 5-10 minutes knocking stuff over and throwing things near her in the hopes of luring her away. Finally creeped up and took the power pack without triggering a pursuit. Her chase scene was kind of random and eh. But I liked how nonchalant Simon was about it afterwards.
ANGLER FISH: Kind of a weird encounter. The first time I played I accidentally ran right into it and died. WHOOPS. There's some slight hints to this monster showing up, but its entrance and implement in the game could have been clearer/better. How it is feels a bit out-of-place. The abyss section had already been going on for awhile, and you might be a bit panicky after the worm appearance and spider party. Maybe you could have been in a large and dark cave. A light starts bobbing in the distance and you're forced to get closer before its reveal as the lantern-fish. Cue chase sequence through the caves. You can also keep the spider party for added "fun". As it is, the Angler is kind of underwhelmingly used, especially since there is only one. On all further play-throughs, it's incredibly easy to go around and avoid entirely. Has the best chase music, though IMO.
YOSHIDA: UUUUUH. HE'S SO CREEPY. I really like this monster. He's scary af. His running animation is jerky like a spider and his sudden appearance behind the cool door was terrifying. Love that after getting around him you encounter yet another slow door. It's perfect. He also has an explanation for his current state. The diving suit room was incredibly creepy. The ominous log entries for the suit uses and trail of goop. Good scary monster encounter.
LEVIATHAN (cousin of that one Zelda boss): Really cool monster design. Liked its build-up and cameo appearances, and also how it completely wreaks Ross. Cool little chase in the tunnel that feels reminiscent of Penumbra. But its chase up to the Space Gun was OK. Read that the Abyss monsters won't attack if you're close to a light, but this guy seemed to rush me even when close to a lamp. It was even able to snatch me out from under things where I thought I was safe. On my first run, I was grabbed several times and never died. considering that there's two or three WAU flowers in this part. Also has cool chase music.
All in all, the monsters were kind of a mixed bag. Some were really good, and others were eh. I do really like how SOMA had several different monsters with unique mechanics, though. Some were really good, but others I think could have been used better or didn't offer that much. It's nice that Frictional tried so many new things with the monsters and is also inviting critique on them. This means there will be even better usage of creatures in their next project, since they'll have a better idea of what works best.
(This post was last modified: 12-06-2015, 05:05 AM by Lazoriss.)
We may have some criticism towards some of SOMA's monsters but IMO it is light criticism.
One thing is certain to me, the monsters are alot better and more interesting than the ones we had in previous games.
Penumbra Black Plague: Basically the short pale monsters, they didn't deal much damage and all looked the same, with only slight differences like one has a hatchet, one has a torch, another is missing a hand etc.
Amnesia: All monsters were the same, with the exception of the water monster which was quite cool. The brute just looked different and had slightly different stats but worked the same as the other IMO.
Amnesia for pigs: A fatter version of the monsters from before.
I want to make a video detailing all the ways the monsters can kill you.
I animate so it could be a cool project. What do you guys think?
Also:
Spoiler below!
Top Ten Favorite Monsters in SOMA:
1. Proxies - Scary as hell and the design is freaking awesome! Love this enemy to death!
2. Helper Bot - Interesting encounter, love the way it can actually talk to you, not very creatively designed
3. Construct - The sounds and design of it make the monster pretty cool
4. Tau Proxy - Scary but the design is not as memorable as some
5. Flesher - Cool mechanics and memorable design, a bit weak creatively sound wise
6. Leviathan - Cool design, infuriating mechanics
7. Robot Girl - Not very memorable design but the sounds are creepy
8. Akers - Design and story is the only good thing about Akers unfortunately, he doesn't even have his own sounds!
9. Angler Fish - Design is freaky but that's it
10. Swarm - This enemy is not good at all, confusing at best and rage inducing at worst mechanically and aesthetically
(This post was last modified: 12-06-2015, 01:59 PM by A.M Team.)
In case any of you didn't know, Akers was originally supposed to be voiced, he was originally supposed to be a rambling nutcase similar to the Tuungait zombies from Penumbra. If you check the subtitle dialogue files in the games data folders you'll see that he has lines of dialogue that were never voiced for some reason. I'm presuming that either Frictional ran out of time to have the voice actor do all this stuff and then edit it to sound really scary or they just decided to scrap it altogether for some reason.
Some of the frictional staff also believe that mindless, feral or insane monsters are more scary than motivated, intelligent ones. I disagree with this completely as Clarence from Penumbra was one of the scariest villains i've ever heard or seen in a video game, once he gets his own, disgusting, decomposing, yellow Tuungait body he's horrifying! I personally wish that both Akers and the Proxies had been voiced beyond their creepy, primitive sounds, to give a hint that they used to be real human beings...
Quote:In case any of you didn't know, Akers was originally supposed to be voiced, he was originally supposed to be a rambling nutcase similar to the Tuungait zombies from Penumbra. If you check the subtitle dialogue files in the games data folders you'll see that he has lines of dialogue that were never voiced for some reason. I'm presuming that either Frictional ran out of time to have the voice actor do all this stuff and then edit it to sound really scary or they just decided to scrap it altogether for some reason.
That makes more sense. Almost all the backstory found on Delta centered around Akers, so I was expecting a lot more payoff concerning that once I got to Theta. I thought he would be more self-aware like Ross was, and to play as a much more involved antagonist in Theta. Really too bad the dialogue was cut.
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