that would have been so cool, but I don't really know how it coulda worked out, like an isolated horror-scape wouldnt allow for char development or anything.
this post was submitted on 31 Mar 2025
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Soma is far far more than a horror game. The horror aspects are secondary to the transhumanist questions it raised every hour you were playing it.
I disagree about Soma being an isolated setting, there are actually lots of characters, it's just that they're all insane cyborgs who mostly happen to have their own personal reasons for attacking you.
I can't seem to find them, but before the game came out there was a series of live action video shorts made in association with it to help establish the concept and setting, I'd imagine a show being along the lines of those but fleshed out more.
Look up Soma Transmissions. There was also a bunch of short stories about the game. The one about climbing the big orbital gun to the top really stuck with me.
And there was more characters than just the scary proxy things.
Not sure how an animated series would work with Soma (the OG game has a clear beginning, middle and end), but I will agree with the subject of the article that Soma is a top 5 / top 10 best game of all time type experience.
It could have been a prequel. That would have been cool.
On one hand I agree, I was genuinely curious about the broader world and the lore when I was going through PATHOS-II.
But on the other hand, I almost feel the lack of clarity in many ways adds to the mystique and intensity of experience in Soma.
A key element of the narrative structure is that you don't know what's going when you arrive in PATHOS-II.
That being said the prequel videos were extremely good and got me excited for the full game.
You mean the live action web series? Yea I don't understand how that series had better visuals than many blockbuster scifi movies rofl. It was extremely well done.
Yeah, the Soma web series were incredibly good.
I have a confession to make, in the early parts of the game (before things got all psychedelic) I was almost a little bit disappointed due to my expectations from the web series, just a bit, the intro is also great.
There was something really unnerving about the web series. Even though there was nothing explicitly, it created a sense of dread, like something really wrong was going to happen.
Yea. It was really well done. I think it could totally be a TV show or a game. Idk if you feel this way but literally no game or movie or anything has ever made me feel as fucked up (in a good way) as SOMA did the first time I played it. I mean horror, philosophy, anger, sadness, denial. It had it all. I even made the same mistake that Simon makes where I totally didn't want to believe that he would never really make it to the Ark (because copy paste, not cut paste.) It was just so good. Omg also the part where the guy is talking about killing yourself right after getting the scan....to obtain "continuity." Absolutely crazy, even if the theory doesn't make sense lol. I can see how in a moment of desperation that it could make sense to you.
I am right with you, Soma is easily a top 10 if not a top 5 gaming experience for me. And my top also includes games that I enjoy from a pure gameplay perspective (e.g. SimCity 4) which IMO aren't comparable to Soma.
It was really well done, in the late game once I started figuring out what was going on I was like " Oh no, no, no! This can't be happening!". A real sense of existential dread.
The ending was great too, a measure of positivity and hope, but very very far from a happy ending. A depressing ending with a possible ray of hope, depending on how one looks at it.
I just wish more people who aren't into video games could experience Soma.
And the cool thing is that what Soma delivers cannot be done through a different medium. It has to be a video game, a book or even a movie wouldn't really work in the same way. You have to be in control of your character.
Idk how much you dove into the lore, but have you ever read about the Carthage theory? There were some hints that Cathage Industries (who owned Pathos 2) were still around (they had other underwater facilities) and responsible for creating Simon and were monitoring the situation, sort of like Resident Evil Umbrella Corp style. Personally I'm not a huge fan of that theory as it takes away from the mood of the game, but it's interesting and has a lot of merit.
No, I honestly never looked at fan theories or anything other than the game and the web series.
Will have to check it out and maybe do another run with a focus on the hints related to such theories.
Agreed, it does kill the vibe a bit. :/
Lemme know your thoughts. I see how it has merit and is possible but yeah, it totally kills the vibe. Maybe it was something the devs put in but ultimately abandoned, but kinda didn't scrub it all out prior to release.
There's audio logs in theta of someone trying to reach carthage for instructions. It's obvious. What's unclear is if she's doing it out psychosis or actually knows they're still around.
Although Sean said “show” he did correct himself with text on screen and clarified it was an animated film he was working on.
I had no idea. Even if I never watched Jacksepticeye, this would've been awesome to see. Markiplier, please don't let us down on the Iron Lung movie
i don't want jacksepticeye in my soma
i don't think we need any more soma anyway
Why would a gaming react andy get a TV deal? It doesn’t make any sense what are his credentials? Yelling? Catchphrases maybe?
i am happy this got shelved.