A Critique of SOMA 

That was a weirdly good roast.

Doesn't mean much when you consider that he's just some average Canuck with brain damage compared to a handful of scientists in a literal sealab.

Ya. Being a brain damaged normal guy on a science base. Really can judge him for not being the smartest guy in the room. Can you hear my eyes rolling from there?

Maybe he's dumb or maybe he cannot fully grasp the reality of his situation because the stress of it would short circuit him. We notice that early on when Simon cannot see that his body is not his body untill he would have died in the comms room. Cat is frequently trying to prevent Simon from becoming stressed by existential dread and in the end the exertion of dealing with Simon causes her to short circuit.

@@bradfin12Wow I never thought about it this way but u could actually be right, damn.

Daniel Quan I died inside in that part (

yeah that part fucked me up too. Just something about her worried caution, oblivious to the horror around her or her horrid state, nearly begging you to tell her that it's okay, when it REALLY isn't.

That`s the way SOMA really sends shivers down your spine. Monsters - meh. But existential horror - yes.

Armalight what do you mean? It is ok. The wua is making the world a better place. The wow is creating an ark but a real life one on earth. Not a computer simulation. She is just one of the wuas early failed attempts.

i accidentally killed her and had to restart just because i didnt want to feel like an ass

Legitimate Credibility of Continuity Hypothesis: So here I am thinking, “maybe we’re looking at this hypothesis too superficially?" Perhaps, aside from the intended purpose ‘in game’ the C.H. begged a more provocative message questioning our understanding of consciousness? The theory stems from a brain scanning technology ‘in game’ that takes an instantaneous snap-shot of the totality of one’s mind (their memories, thoughts,mental capacities,personality,etc.).This yields a ‘perfect’ artificial copy/scan of the ‘self.’ The theory posits that during an instant in time there exists both the scan and the original where the possibility of a divergence of thought and self is nonexistent. One might imagine a timeline of their own existence originating at birth (for the coherence of this analysis, we’ll start with this axiom). Catering to a mental image, the timeline, representing one’s own stream of consciousness, can be ascribed an arbitrary color, such as red. Fast forward to Point A, at this homogenous instant in time between the original and the copy. Here’s where the Continuity hypothesis gains its accreditation, at Point A in our timeline we now have the same color directly overlapping that of our own. This point is twice as concentrated in color. The nature of one’s consciousness doesn’t differ; there’s simply ‘more’ of it. Much to theory’s merit, it provides an allusion to the famous “Schrodinger's cat” thought experiment, where, ultimately, the logical conclusion was that the cat existed in both a state of life and death. This nod to the famous thought experiment provides, at the very least, a modicum of credence to the notion that one can exist in multiple states simultaneously (i.e. the original and the copy) while still being the same cat. Coming back to the imagery of our ‘timeline of consciousness,’ and with the credibility of Schrodinger ‘backing’ this hypothesis, we can now reaffirm this imagine Point A as this twice as concentrated color. As previously stated, during this instant, the copy contains the totality of that through which we can logically define ourselves (personality, memories, and mental capacities). The crux of the Continuity Hypothesis lies in this ‘timeless’ instant; where mental difference and change are impossible. Arguably, the only difference is the container in which these consciousnesses ‘dwell’ (information in the brain vs information in the scan). These two mediums, however, are physically linked; further blurring the notion of ‘self’ and ‘other’ in this state of equilibrium. The hypothesis holds that if the original consciousness were to disappear instantly following Point A the continuity of their ‘being’ will persist in the machine as the copy (i.e. essentially sending data from one medium to another). Seems crazy at face value, doesn’t it? Common sense would dictate that you’d simply be dead while a copy would carry on believing it was you like nothing had happened. Ironically for William of Ockham, philosophy is never that simple. Looking back at our favorite temporal construct, let’s begin again at Point A. Imagine, if you will, instead of physical suicide, the ‘original’ continues on with their life following Point A. In this eventuality, we now have a divergence in the two homogenous ‘selves.’ As both continue to exist, time continues forward and changes manifest in both the original and their copy. They may have different causal relationships with their respective realities leading to different thoughts, actions, desires, etc. The pertinent fact of the matter is that, above all else, past Point A these two entities exist independently of one another. Thus, we have a fork in our consciousness timeline, the original (red) carries on with their life, while the copy, now able to exert it’s own autonomy, forges ahead, becoming its own ‘being’ (blue). The Continuity hypothesis operates under the assertion that the totality of our being/consciousness amounts to our personality, memories, and mental capacity; we are quantifiable. Following the logic of this assertion: why would there be an issue in simply 'transferring' data? Unless there’s more to the ‘self’ than that? What grants us our individual awareness ( i.e. perspective in which we perceive the world)? Can it be more than individual?

Synerrox เ that was because he still believed in the coin toss. From what I can recollect, there wasn't any elucidation on whether the 'copied consciousness' would occupy the original container in the event that his consciousness would transfer mediums.

Synerrox เ Synerrox เ 1) naturally, the practically is more or less 0% that's the problem. But that doesn't detract from the hypothesis itself nor its implications in an 'ideal' system. 2) I'm saying that when the scan is taking place there is a superposition of consciousness (I.e. On top of each other) in which the state/location of the original consciousness is indeterminate (granted the ambiguity of the logistics of the copying process lends itself to thought experiments that model the implications of the technology). The initial axiom of what defines consciousness is essential in determining the theoretical validity of the process; it caters to the notion that if consciousness is merely data and consciousness is replicated, and then the original 'source' is deleted instantaneously (following an instant in time where the copy and original are identical) why would there be an issue in (perception of consciousness) transferring mediums while continuity is maintained?

Want to know what's even more fucked up? Catherine 2 knows that Catherine 1 is fucked! Catherine 1 knows she was lying to Simon 3, so that knowledge must be in Catherine 2. Could you live with yourself knowing that a copy of you has been left to suffer eternally on a desolate and lonely Earth?

Mr. I'm sure she could reconcile the fact that her position and everything that led up to her existence inside of the arc is due to the actions (both good & bad) of Cath 1. Catering to the Biblical story of Eden and Sin, Cath 2 and Simon 4 are 'pure' (Cath 2 isn't responsible for her predecessor's manipulation of Simon). Simon 4 isn't responsible for any of the death's of those 'unplugged' from life-support nor the initial worker robot who is left in a constant state of pain (from electrocution) for Simon to progress. Whether or not Cath 2 feels any guilt is arguable, based on the in game story and excerpts from the soma website it's clear that she exhibits an 'ends justify the means' morality; she was able to continue the arc project despite it giving rise to the C.H. and suicides that followed, she manipulated & lied to simon, and constantly killed & rebooted the consciousness of one of the scans to extract info from him. In this biblical allusion it's only fitting that Simon 3 (2) and Cath 1 are unable to enter Eden after their trespasses.

That makes the entire deal with him giving permission to the doctor even scarier. Is it criminal of the doctor to use the scan without informed consent if the doctor himself isn’t informed of just what he’s messing with?

@@tbird8166 I think (haven't played the game, just watched a lot) that the original scan was only intended to help treat Simon's brain injury. After the treatment, successful or otherwise, the brain scan was put in a database, presumably with more brain scans, and just happened to still be around when the future plot happens.

@@MrPooleish There is literally a voice recording about this in the game at Theta where Catherine has been doing the brain scans. The very day that the real Simon died, Dr Munshi asks Simon for consent to use his brain scans for further research and Simons does indeed consent. No one ever decided to delete the brain scan, so it is still in the database. The technology stems from Dr Munshi's and Dr Berg's work. The Wau then put Simon's brain scan into a deceased Pathos II employee that was closely located to the power room, with the purpose of having Simon turn on the engine that powers the whole station, which also powers the Wau. The station was running on it's reserves, and the Wau knew this. Hence the plot happens. It's not a "just happened" onset. Everything adds up. A little fun fact: The body that Simon's brain scans gets copied into is the very employee (Imogen Reed) that turned off the power. Quite the beautiful and horrifying irony.

And how do you know "the Doctor" didn't? You're seeing through Simon's perspective the entire time. And it fucks up from time to time. The real issue is she had the same stakes to lose as he did. Regardless, she kept hope alive until she no longer needed to as part of her treatment. She technically got her patient from point A to point B "alive and mentally in tact". Which is why the story was kinda stupid and kills itself at the end. And you can see it coming a mile away with all the foreshadowing audio.

​@@CodeguruX The Doctor they are referring to is the Doctor Munshi at the start of the game, the one who creates the brain scan, who had no idea any of what follows is even possible. The initial scan is the first successful brain scan of a human in the world, and is what kicks off the series of events leading to the beginning of the game.

If Simon were smart the player would be less immersed in the story.

@@fran123456 depends on the writing for me.

Brain injury doesn't have to equal slow or stupid. I think the protagonist is just... slow.

Try to understand the guy, he's travelled 100 years in the future to find himself in an apocalyptic world where Humans are supposed to be all dead and the earth is on fire. And of course he can't pause the game like you to process things and think about what is really going on.

@Midgard Eagle Dude got a brain injury, somehow found himself waking up 100 years into the future and got told he is a corpse infused with a chip in the head. It will make anyone slow and in denial.

There's an episode of Dr. Who called the girl in the fireplace which is very much along the lines of what you're describing. I don't really want to give any spoilers, but I think it handles the whole horrific AI just doing its job thing really well, especially with how the cast react to it.

The really interesting thing is that this is how critics of AI technology think it'll happen: say you create an AI whose job is to collect stamps. It'll soon start melting people down into glue to make stamps, because you never attached all that moral and ethical baggage that comes with being a human being - you never said "and also respect other people's personal sovereignty and don't cause unnecessary suffering in other living things and don't destroy anything beautiful and..." You said "get as many stamps as you can." And it did.

+The Cheshire Cat I loved that episode

Sam S Yeah me too, I still think about it every now and again despite it being years ago.

DoctorZombo I like glados because she doesnt hate humans...she is just...testing...with anything

I treated Cath like a person even after she was just an AI in my omni-tool. Mainly because it was polite, but also because no matter if she's a chat bot or a real-girl, she's the only company I had on the journey and my only guide to the next possible escape. There's no reason to be rude to an AI, but its still just a glorified toaster - if you don't want your toast burned, you should probably say "please and thank you"

Consider the possibility that you are now reading this comment thinking it was written by another person on the other side of the world, but in fact this is all simulation made only for you and everybody else are NPC's. Nobody actually wrote this comment, it's all part of the simulation, just like the phone/computer in front of you and the room around you. Your body is buried in black tar which prevents it from rotting and the mechanical parts keep the simulation going forever. When you die, a new simulation begins and you can't remember the previous one, just like this is like your 9000th simulation.

@@pekkalaitinen8769 AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAÀAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

@@zeronxepher4167 if everything we’ve seen in this reality was a simulation, then we can’t automatically assume any part of it is consistent with “real” reality. THAT INCLUDES THE LAWS OF PHYSICS. Greg Egan famously wrote a book set in a universe in which there were 2 spacial dimensions & 2 chronological dimensions (of time), instead of 3 spacial dimensions & 1 chronological dimensions (which we just call “time”). in the alleged real reality, the concept of a “dimension” may even be an inherently silly joke in the same way the concept of a fart or rubber chicken is to us.

​@@pekkalaitinen8769 Trollface was drawn in Microsoft Paint on September 19, 2008 by Carlos Ramirez, an 18-year-old Oakland college student living with his parents. The image was published on Ramirez's DeviantArt page, "Whynne", as part of a rage comic titled about the pointless nature of trolling. Ramirez posted the image to the imageboard website 4chan and within a day other users of the site shared it. In the following months, Ramirez's drawing quickly gained traction on 4chan as the universal emoticon of an Internet troll and a versatile rage comic character. From 4chan, Trollface spread to Reddit and Urban Dictionary in 2009, eventually reaching other Internet image-sharing sites like Imgur and Facebook. Trollface shows an Internet troll, someone who annoys others on the Internet for their own amusement. The original comic by Ramirez mocked trolls; however, the image is widely used by trolls. Trollface has been described as the Internet equivalent of the children's taunt "nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah" or sticking one's tongue out. The image is often accompanied by phrases such as "Problem?" or "You mad, bro?".

Yeah it's starting to slowly sink in... and not just that but i kinda don't want to repeatthe whole experience again

Theres a similar story called Beyond the Aquila Rift, from the Netflix antology series, Love+Death+Robots, that is an adaptation from from a short story of Alastair Reynolds. It's 15mim story, hell, what a great story!

For me, standard horror has all but worn on me, but SOMA doesn't invoke fear in me.. but the dread. the existential dread of what it means to be human being so vague, and they just play with that idea like it's Silly Putty

Ominous post apo world + fear of the unkown + thalassophobia + fear of the dark + fear of killer robots + fear of zombie mutants + fear of the water - there's so many elements that make this a great horror game.

I got serious Twilightzone vibes which touch on the same topic. It’s a suffocating atmosphere

Until you remember "Oh yeah, dude's got a fucked up noggin and has PTSD, not to mention is undergoing an experimental procedure to undo the damage that his brain has.". See, There Will Come Soft Rains is scary because it shows a world that's been effected by nuclear war, and despite this, an AI ran house doesn't give a shit and runs as if nothing's wrong at all. As for I Have No Mouth, And I Must Scream, it's more depressing and bleak rather than scary. Like, AM is basically older Skynet, but actually got her job done!

Soma remind me another story, this one from a more contemporary author, "Beyond the Aquila Rift" from Alastair Reynolds... If you are interested in the story, theres an adaptation on the antoly series Love+Death+Robots. It also deals with a "simulation" scenario, but the less i talk about, the better. Instead of Catherine, you have Greta...

Please don’t remind me of “There will come soft rains”, that story fucked me up and still does

@@ttpbroadcastingcompany.4460AM is a lady? Hm…

Not ashamed to say it had me shitting myself, I'm not usually scared by horror games either. I will admit that it was mostly the sounds that freaked me out, but every creature other than the first was super unnerving

haha me neither totally calm heartbeat all the way thru

I've played through all of Frictional's games, and Soma was the only one who actually made me scream in fear even in the scripted chases, I compared this game a lot to Alien Isolation even though you cannot protect yourself in Soma, both of them KNOW how to scare the player

This is the most terrifying game ive ever played

@@colbyboucher6391 Speaking of which! Man, you need to see the Love Death Robots anthology! =|

Same but Guns of Glory

I got that commercial with a bunch of scenes saying "NO". LMAO

@@mateodavidgutierrezgonzale6556 i got librety :(

"Catherine, are we alive?" "MEET, A FUTURE MOM!"

i got breakfast rollers starting at 3.29

AGREED

Definitely

Have you played The Talos Principle?

@@FolstrimHori good, but not horror.

Portal, Portals 2, Half Life 2 :)

On that note, I thought the endgame conflict should have been Catherine vs. Catherine. I had this really ominous feeling that the big twist was going to be that the flesh-and-blood Catherine was still alive, and that after the copy who becomes your companion was made, something had happened to make her a very dangerous threat waiting for you on the bottom of the ocean. It would really nail home the themes of the game for the player to have to choose between the visceral act of killing a living, breathing human being, especially with Earth depopulated, or just unplugging and casually discarding a talking door opener that just happened to be a far more sympathetic character.

Robert Cornhole Now that you mention it, wouldn't it be more appropriate for the doctor to scan Simon again after he consents rather then using the old scan?

I imagine that was the point the creators wanted to suggest- when Munshi took Simon's brain data for research, he really had no idea about the implications.

Could you elaborate that? The flesh and blood Simon you play in the beginning is the guy who sits down in the chair, right? Im surely missing your point but i found your statement so interesting that i had to ask you to explain further for my dumb head to understand. Hope you see this :)

Bucket Gamers Flesh & blood Simon and scanned Simon are essentially two different people. Both Simons are exactly the same up until the scan. After that f&b lived out his life while data Simon is "frozen" at the moment the scan took place. Unless acted upon, data Simon's life/memories end there. This is what Robert meant. Because while f&b Simon allowed data Simon to be experimented on, that happened after the scan meaning that data Simon never consented.

It's not a "traditional" horror game. It's an existential horror game

Subnautica is a perfect example how fear of the unknown feels like.

I had this same exact thing with Dead Space. Whenever I played the game, I felt some mild anxiety at the thought that I might be torn limb from limb at any moment, but that usually wasn't terrible. What really got me was the concept of "danger is everywhere, and you don't have control of it". For _months_ after I finished the game, I was constantly paranoid that there was a necromorph around every corner. That I might be torn up into some bloody gore and become a mindless, breathless, heartless pawn in the gruesome plans of some unimaginably nefarious higher power. That's really what got me. Not the panic. Not the adrenaline. The Dread.

I was absolutely revolted by the ending and hearing the “second” Simon speak

Damn that description made me wanna go hurry up n buy

Also tbf, this is all happening in like one day from his perspective. Imagine going to the doctor's office on a normal day, everything's fine and you set up plans later Then you end up in a random place nearly a hundred years later, the world has ended, things want to kill you, you find out you're not *really* you, and you're now the only hope humanity has at any sort of continuity

@TestedHawk I feel like any normal person would just stress out their cpu on the spot. The game would be over hella fast if that was the case, though.

@@kiyoshi3313maybe the brain damage did something

A year late but I rarely see the following point brought up: Simon has a memory of winning 2 coin tosses by the end of the game. He has developed a bias that he will be cut and pasted, although that simon literally can't. It must not be easy to understand that you physically cannot win a coin toss despite having won 2 coin tosses. I think calling Simon stupid is the most surface level way of looking at it. Although simon and the player are meant to be thinking similar things a lot of the time, I really think simon not understanding it when the player does after a certain point is brilliant - and explainable for several reasons like yours and mine. Aswell as explanations like he's in denial, he doesn't want to think about it, the same way he can't see that he doesn't have a human body. Also theres Catherines manipulation of him, where she says she has explained it to him, only to rid herself of guilt - full well knowing Simon does not understand what's about to happen. I can't blame Catherine. If simon not knowing means the only thing that's left of humanity has a higher chance to survive, instead of Simon not being motivated to do anything because his version can't be on the ARK, well it might be a worthwhile suspension of morals. The same way you or Catherine might justify bringing a person back to life and killing them over and over is for the greater good.

Not only was his brain scan of a literally damaged brain. It was also a legacy scan. A prototype of sorts.

sike!

(sic)

[sic]

Agreed. Being the copy that moved on didn't strike me until I was the copy that didn't.

I 100% agree. Being the copy is more just disturbing in an abstract way, but that scene where your perspective stays with the one that remains made me physically shudder.

Jessica Bown all I wanted to to do was click a button on a computer but the WAU won't let me! so now I have ptsd.

Jessica Bown The story was scary in its implications, but the gameplay....... not really...

this exactly. This game was more horrifying for me than any other. Amnesia does not even come close. Yes, Amnesia is scary. But stress-and-jumpscare type of scary. Soma is horrifying on another level. Maybe its not so terrible for other people, but for me it somehow works. It's been a long time since I played it, but I still feel uneasy when thinking about Soma.

I'm an old Amnesia fan/freak (played 150 hours of Amnesia) an I can say that Soma is definetely much more scary than Amnesia. I knew the monsters from Amnesia before, because I watched Markiplier and so on play various Custom Stories before getting my first PC and being able to play it, so that's probably part of the deal why I wasn't really affected by them. The first time I saw a monster in Amnesia I was creeped out, then never again, unless it was a reskin or a new monster in a Custom Story. In Soma however, I am always on edge, I actually dread and want to play the game at the same time. I also did not know what the enemies looked like (except for one because I looked at a Soma mod on the workshop) and so I always have a bad feeling when I see that it saves or when my screen starts glitching a bit.

The monsters are not scary. The tones and ideas are scary in a being buried alive kind of way.

same!! good night

existential crisis is natural, I believe everyone experience it sooner or later

Consciousness is a side effect of evolution, we've achieved amazing things because having the ability to innovate things and ideas from nothing is a necessity for "late game" survival. The belief of gods and a greater power is simply to compensate for the unstoppable amounts of fabtsies mankind can dream of.

Then you’ll really like H.P Lovecraft stories

first time?

It's 5 months since you left this comment but I'm letting you know that I agree! I was hoping to see discussion of this. During the first survey, I had very bleak feelings about being a simulation of myself (it helped that it was right after Catherine broke the news to me). During the second, in the paradisal environment, I had different feelings, although I still felt morose about my past selves. Was it the environment, as Simon alluded to with Toronto, or the journey changing my perspective and gratitude, or was it simply that I was the winner in one of the situations? I thought the two surveys, despite intentionally seeing them as simple researcher's questionnaires, added another layer of nuance to the game.

About that survey. I didn't actually change my mind between the first and the second one. I had no desire if living in a virtual heaven even before I learned everything. I was a bit disappointed that I could not choose to exclude myself from the ark in the end. I thought the game giving me kill/don't kill choices throughout would culminate in the final big decision of killing myself or living in artificial heaven.

@@807D14M0ND5 I think that's one of the missed opportunity in this game. The choices didn't seem to affect anything. I didn't kill most of the robots/humans and I didn't kill WAU either. Apparently, nothing really changed.

The first time I completed the survey I stayed as neutral as possible. When the survey showed up a second time, I shed a tear because of how optimistic I felt. My favorite thing in the game

@@AninoNiKugi You don't need to see a cutscene or whatever to imagine what will happen. Your choices still have consequences that are left to your imagination.

Amen

Well, guess I know what I'm doing during quarantine.

Fembots

Or you know... design a killer robot.

or just say it is wrong and steal his hidden suply of maple syrup....... or just steal the maple syrup

dude, why does it matter? its a coin toss. they both happened

Nemo Potato To be fair Cat may have shut down the Simon before, she does manipulate stuff, but I do see where you are with this, altho it would be a bit odd transition between the Simons

That would have made the game even more perfect, but it's still a 10/10.

I don't know guys. I didn't feel any joy for the Simon on the ark tbh. It was even more depressing because Simon left behind cursed Catherine... While the other one is grateful. And the worst part is, Catherine is probably aware that the other Simon despises her right now.

If you wanted to be absolutely *fiendish*, you could randomise which ending you get when played on a given computer...

THANKYOU!

Exactly, and not to mention the in universe explanation of him being one of the most primitive scans. It’s such a shame that he seemed to miss a lot about Simons character

Yes, and we have to remember that not only is he a 'primitive' legacy scan, he's the scan of a damaged brain

There's also the fact that he was just a regular guy working in a bookshop in his previous life. The guys working on Pathos II were the top scientists and engineers and even they fell into the trap of believing those things, because all of those people were all in terrible situation that needed them to believe in something better.

agiuggio1 you make a Really good point

The reason why humanity became extinct

Almost he had a clot, a permanent bleed. not quite a tumour but close enough.

@@joedean2597 trauma, not tumour

Jeez, guys, are we talking hemorrhagic or thrombotic here?

Oh, yeah, that helper robot was my buddy. No way was I going to take a chip from it.

why would the robot then stop following you or running away from you when you kill the sick robot. doesn't he understand you had to kill one of them

Well there's an log on the same level that basically confirms that the helper robot is purely AI and does not have any emotions whatsoever. While the talking delusional one is very much an human mind inserted into a machine. So the question isn't really whether you'd kill one helpful human for an unhelpful one, but if you'd destroy an helpful machine over the unhelpful human person.

bit of useless trivia: in development it had actual speaking human mind in it, but it got cut

In Delta, you find information about the K8 (your little friend) and it shows that it doesn't support pilot seats (the thing that allowed the mind scans to take over other robots), so it's pretty much impossible for it to have a human scan inside, at least the way the game showed us how it works.

Same.

Same

Same. Good.

same!

Amelia Bee I really like the part where Catherine is explaining to him that shes gonna copy his brain to another body and hes like you gonna send me to future? -_- and she replay no you idiot! it was very funny to me lol

magicians-king LOL yeah, I liked that bit. Part of me thinks that she lost it at the end on purpose, she knows the software shuts down if the person becomes too emotional, and death was better than spending an eternity in the dark with that idiot Simon. So she just unleashed all that frustration you know she's been holding in.

Amelia Bee Yeah you might be right, but I really feel sorry for Simon he just wanted to get in the ARK and leave this hopeless world, Now hes left alone with his worst nightmare, The place he doesn't wanna be in, I think the reason why Simon didn't know he can't get on the ARK is that he was blinded by hope, When Catherine first told him that you can get on the ARK, These words where his hope and he didn't think of anything that can take that away from him, Until the sad ugly truth came out, I understand why he would snap, Everything he hoped for all gone in one second.. And Catherine did lie to him in the beginning she said you can get on the ARK, She didn't say you will be copied, If she said those words I think it would be a whole different story and he might accept his faith, But to be honest Catherine only wanted whats good for her and didn't think of what Simon wants!

magicians-king I think she did, she's not evil. She tried to explain to him how it works many times, and each and every time Simon ripped into her for it. She's socially awkward and a bit too obsessed with her work, but she's hardly manipulative or apathetic to Simon's plight.

@magicians-king No, Simon is an idiot who needs to be told what he wants. You don't give emotionally driven, wide eyed dreamers the power to "make decisions" in a situation like that. Catherine was right about everything. The copy of Simon that got on the ark didn't spend one moment thinking about the version of him left behind and that alone shows he has no decisions to make. His job is to do as he's told, that's it. He doesn't base things on logic.

So in safe mode they don't do anything to you? I completed it with normal and i would like play it again because the horror part was interesting to me

@@aniket8350 they follow you around and look at you, but don’t chase you. Still kinda creepy cuz it’s like their just curious and studying you but makes the screen glitch effect really annoying

@@skulldozer2259 Sounds quite terrifying, who knows whenever they stop observing and start running after you? Of course they never do that, but the suspense is in there lol.

Almost as if monsters were intenionally not the point of the game's horror, which the author of this critique overlooked.

@@alexxx4434 yes, hence why they failed at being scary. they weren't the point.

he's not wrong

@@-..._-. nah he definitely is

@@-..._-. ratio

@@SnowPaw404 On the political left I see? Well, I regret to inform you that "liberals" are in fact stupid. Their ideology is flawed and based on lies. Your side is based on emotion, not reason.

@@lucess169 says the bum in RU-vid comments

A masterpiece is generally something with few to no substantial flaws. SOMA is good, but it can't be classified as a masterpiece :P

Ugh, I know. I like his videos, but every time he mentions dying with no penalty as if it was a flaw, I roll my eyes.

fuck you

Well, horror requires the player to feel threatened, endangered. If you know that you lose nothing for dying, then the monsters and traps and whatever else stop being scary and just become tiresome. Resident Evil having limited saves and limited save locations was a core element of its design. Especially on Hard (and even more so on Real Survival, which removes the magical teleporting item boxes), you don't actually ever have enough ink ribbons to save whenever you'd like. If you die, you lose all progress since your last save. I'm a fan of games that have modular difficulty, rather than discrete difficulty. For example, limited ink ribbons would be something you could toggle before starting the game to customize the difficulty. That's a bit off topic, though.

David Carper Don't get me wrong, I prefer games with a penalty for death, but there just aren't that many that really punish you for it so it's a hard "criticism" to take all that seriously. When I play a game I take death somewhat seriously, not because of any penalty the game may impose on me, but because it injures my pride as a player. lol Re: the masterpiece comment, the story is so good that the minor criticisms leveled against the game doesn't detract from that fact. It's just my opinion, I can't nitpick a game that gives me such a great story ---- and I felt a lot of the criticisms were just after the fact nitpicking. I can do that with most any game, even the ones I enjoyed the most.

Nah, most of the stories in black mirror episodes are far worse than this game's

@@Millllim like this dude in a gta mission is saying, if the fbi catches us shoot me in the brain otherwise they gonna bring me back in a fish tank

@@Millllim The bright side, is that you as a flesh and blood human never have to worry about it. Only AI/copy or not has that to worry about. Just a matter of weather our empathy will allow it, we slaughter animals just because they taste good after all.

You mean the episode White Christmas? Yeah it was exactly like this

Exactly. The WAU was scary precisely _because_ it can't think. It has full control over humanity, yet it's still cold, unconscious and unfeeling. That's brutally horrifying to me. It's like I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream, only the AI is a cold, dead algorithm that has no hope of understanding what it's doing and no way to tell it to stop.

I agree. I feel like the WAU is more akin to a modern day deep neural network than a scifi AI. You know, those things that always develop a personality and become a personification of something or other? The WAU, like many other things in this game, are more rooted in present time reality than in most horror games. And that, to me, makes the game better than scarier than most things I've played in a while.

You're absolutely right. In my original playthrough I destroyed the WAU because it seemed so scary and it's creations were grotesque. But when seeing all that was left of humanity in that box in space in the end I got so sad and I regretted it. The WAU creations weren't perfect, but in a sense it was preserving humanity's legacy. Such a great game.

Agreed so many people don't get the wua it insane.

Rick 'Rick Berman' McCallum One can also think the WAU would’ve eventually got it right and started producing vessels like Simon’s diving suit and the sentient robots, but with their perception of being human remaining intact throughout. Or the WAU’s perfected viveriam becoming a sorta heaven for those scanned into its memory. It is even theoretically possible for the human’s saved on file to eventually coexist in peace with the WAU and begin expanding outward from Pathos-2, given its occupants freedom from its confines, and maybe walk on the surface again. Sure they doesn’t sound like a bright future. But it would beat purgatory in a machine’s virtual world, or at the bottom of the ocean, or none existence altogether.

Apparently you don't have to kill it, and as we see with Simon it's getting better at making functioning people.

@@montypython5521 It doesn't get better, it just does its stuff and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. The WAU doesn't have the capacity to say that an experiment was more successful than another one. It's only command is to keep life alive. Doesn't matter the state of that life (as we can see with Amy, for example, or those monsters on the CURIE), as long as it respects its own definition of "alive", it's successful. It just got lucky with Simon, because it used a mind scan in a flesh body, which helped Simon not go crazy. But the next Simon it would build could simply be another Carl or one of the many robots gone crazy in the station.

@@Volth I think the WAU is like evolution, finding which random thing led to better humans than others

One could argue that it isn’t even poorly built. The game implies that the horrible monsters it creates is how a super advanced AI would view life and that aspect is also terrifying. Imagine asking a super computer to build human life and based on its perspective it creates the creatures in Soma, isn’t that a horrifying self reflection of what it means to be human? It’s such a shame that all of this stuff flew over Jospeh’s head.

It isn't poorly built. It was simply never built with the intention of using structure gel as it's tool to "preserve humanity". Plus, It was only after it learned about all the humans on the surface of the Earth being gone, that it started being more aggressively trying to reach it's goal.

@DrTheKay Might aswell call you the loser for replying to every comment you see.

DrTheKay You’re a litte bitch!

DrTheKay can’t you respect other people’s opinions you look like a child

@@mrburger3540There's a channel called mauler and he rips joseph a new one. It's savage how he conpletely negates everything joe said in this video.

Reviews are usually subjective, so Joseph judged it based on his own experience.

Totally agree with you and I think that was what frictional wanted here , that is why this game has gone beyond that and it is a master piece in my opinion!

Ahh thank you for writing this. Cheap jumpscares are outweighed by good scary atmospheres easily everytime.

Jumpscares are only scary when you know there is a jumpscare coming. A good jumpscare warns you well before it will happen. It can be slowly intensing music, or sudden quietness. Or other things. Jumpscares in Little Hope for example are more annoying than scary. All sudden a monster just pops up on full screen without any warning or indication. When game did it once it was scary and funny. But when you realize all jumpscares in game work like that, it turns to shit.

Yeahhh this I agree with

Agreed. I think the writers deliberately chose to write Simon this dense to avoid a more nuanced and difficult in-game discussion and exploration of humanity and human consciousness. The game could have gone some really interesting directions if there had been a less "WAU is bad" attitude throughout. Sure, the player can choose not to destroy the WAU, but the gameplay itself is so heavily geared towards destroying it that it's not really an equal choice. Plus, the fact that so much of what made the ARK project fully possible is based on the corrupted/evolved WAU: The seats used to scan people were created by the WAU. The Vivarium simulation was based on a machine corrupted by the WAU and Catherine actively made use of these things to improve the ARK project. There's an interesting implication about the ARK and its inhabitants being much closer to the WAU than we might think. Edited to add: I just remembered that Simon's original scan was used as the basis for AI research. Makes me wonder how much of Simon may or may not have been left in the base code of all the AI. Catherine sure shrugs it off easily, but *that* would have been an interesting direction to explore as well.

@@Niriixa @Albdruck But it is an equal choice if you take 2 seconds to think about it you will notice the big door like 5 meters to your right. And there isn't a "wau is bad" attitude, the humans in the basement at theta are happy in their simulation that's why akers put them there. At omicron, johan ross got everyone killed by yelling at them to kill it. The wau reacted in a way that any treathend animal would. And simon isn't dense he just can't accept the circumstances of his situation. At the beggining simon's mind only accepts he's a robot when it is literally imposible to pretend otherwise, when he is underwater. The same can be said for the copy or transfer thing Also the player should be left to think about some things themselfs not have simon understand and discuss everything.

The WAU and its creations represent the ultimate hope of the story to me. The Simon and Katherine just want to have a copy of themselves preserved in a tin can locked away from the world, and they don't care what they leave behind or break along the way, even if that is themselves which have to sleep in the bed they made. The WAU is the opposite, it wants to preserve what life can be, in the only way that will work. Fish will die if they aren't hybridized, humans will die without machine bodies. Potentially the only pocket of life in the universe that is still able to interact with reality is trapped down there in the dark, potentially this little pocket of life is the seed that will grow into a new and beautiful civilization that spans the universe. I think it was a really important option to have in the game to leave the WAU alive. I think I left a copy of Simon alive with the hope that he can grow to live with the WAU to make some life worth living that is still a part of the world. Same with the Simon that thought he would be uploaded to the ark, with the WAU still alive that Simon may still have some hope of a form of company.

I still think the game is horrifying, idc what anyone says lol, I find it even more scary than Amnesia.

@@joshuafleming5380 I will always find it strange how people are like "SOMA ISN'T SCARY", it's incredibly scary if you play through slowly and really take your time to get immersed into the environment. If you rush through and just want to stare at the monster then of course it won't be as scary.

I agree it's very scary and terrifying but what jumpscares are you talking about? :D

They might not think it’s scary because one of the most influential video game reviewers said it wasnt a horror game

@@jezefelto333 The Flesher

I feel like if all you got from this video is "this dude doesn't think SOMA is scary" you should try watching it again

​@@limonada4347 is your reading comprehension non-existent?

Locutus Borg now that's a smart comment

Yes that's good I Have No Body, And I Must Fart

n00bie51 I have no butt but I must twerk?

That's a stupid comment. Both creations are different. I have to scream is not similar to soma.

Paddington Miś 3 Not a stupid comment. There ARE some similarities.

There's also a strong case to be made against the WAU. Namely, the people stuck inside it, that instruct you to help them by killing it. There's no guarantee that the WAU will ever figure out how to revive humanity. Was it really improving? Or was it just randomly trying all kinds of nonsense while never learning a thing from any of it? Can we know for sure?

Yes, that's true, but that's part of what makes the WAU a much more compelling antagonist than just a random collection of failed experiments by well intentioned humans that the video author suggests.

Scott Beale Nonetheless, I agree with him that a different direction would have been better. Just not the exact one that he suggested.

I mean, you can hold that opinion, but the guy is wrong that the WAU wasn't a critical actor in tying the motifs of the story together, and I have yet to hear of any alternative suggestion that would not have significantly detracted from the game and its themes.

+theuncalledfor As Oliver Beener pointed out in an other comment: "Also, one more thing, nobody ever actually begs you to kill them. In fact, they ask the opposite: they ask you NOT to unplug them. The Carl Semken robot asks you to get help, the robot plugged into the geothermal power conduit begs you not to unplug her and then asks why with her dying breath. ("Why? I was okay. I was happy.") Amy is terrified with her situation, but she wants you to get help, and if you start to unplug her she says, "Nooooo!" The only person who asks you to kill anything is Ross, and he wants you to kill the WAU." People want to survive. That is their instinct. They rely on the WAU to survive. The WAU simulates a world based on their happy memories. Nobody wants to see the WAU dead, except Ross because he was against the whole project in the first place way before everybody died and he ended up as a "monster". He was fueled by rage and hate, even going to kill Simon if you dont go and kill the WAU. The Simon robot we play as is the latest invention by the WAU, coming very close to a physical and psychical human, even thought it is based on the gel, robot parts and the brain scan of Simon. From there it can only get better, dont you think? The WAU was finally on track. You (the first real success) killing of the WAU, feels like a kick in the nuts for the WAU. It is what we usually fear about when creating AI and it will overcome and try to kill us.

Why are you defending the artistic integrity of something a toaster can achieve?

@Cameron Oh lol, I was wondering how that seemed so on the nose.

i dont know how ironic this comment is but the comment section in a nutshell tbh, everyone knows soma is scary but then they act like this video is fine

@@aguspuig6615 Because it is fine. Not everyone needs their tastes affirmed or biases confirmed to enjoy another person's perspective.

@@aguspuig6615 Soma for me holds all the intimidation of my Gran calling me in for cookies. I honestly just felt sorry for the "monsters".

It seems you haven't played too many games

@@aeugnewtype I liked it but I would not say the best. Best story in a horror game though imo

Soma is brilliant, but it's no Silent Hill 2.

@@del5582 silent hill 2 put me to sleep

@@aeugnewtype you couldnt be more wrong

One has to wonder how long before the people at the Ark lose their sanity too? I mean, they aren't going to grow old or have children. They're going to be around for thousands of years with the same few people to socialize with. How much control do they have in the Matrix? Can they choose to forget the truth? Can they chose to simulate growing old and dying and being reborn? Won't that be a pointless loop? Can they copy and clone and create thousands of each person (like in Galactica) to try to find a solution? Can they even do anything to affect their condition or is it a permanent, unaltering state? Is the Ark heaven or hell?

@@kosmara1901 Well considering that even life as we know it can feel like it's stretching for eternity at times yet we're not expected to lose sanity tells me your question is one only you could answer for yourself. I as well as many others would be just fine other than the normal ups and downs that go with existing whereas there are people on the streets right now that lost their minds simply after a painful divorce. It's subjective.

@@fredspofford the point is, it won't be really you. The you is part of a whole that includes a biological body. Without that part, your mind is going to be differently "abled" from the start. I guess it depends on what you can actually do in the simulation after all.

@@kosmara1901 Well the ark was supposed to be some sort of eden, right? i assume you can do what you want, my copy for example would probably continue to make music for the rest of time, just because I would enjoy that if I could. Although of course I can't really picture figurative immortality.

Perhaps that fade to black was exactly how long it took for something to happen to the A.R.K., ending the data stream, for lack of a better term.

You lose an arm? Didn't know that, I chose to let the WAU live because I thought that the facility was screwed anyway, and I had no way of knowing what the impact of destroying WAU would have on the space gun. For all I knew, the WAU was the only thing keeping it powered, so I elected not to destroy it.

@@galacticreggie I killed it because like you said, the station and pretty much the entire world was already fucked anyways... though I kinda regret my decision

It's better off dead imo. It's the reason the last (known) bastion of human survivors got killed plus who knows what it would have done in the future considering it's actions in the present (mutating animals, resurrecting corpses etc).

@@akiraigarashi2874 Agreed. Over time its creations could have spread all over the world.

@@samanthacino But does the WAU actually know what it's doing? Does it learn from its experiences or will it just randomly keep inserting brain scans into every object it can find? And even then, how much is the survival of humanity worth? How many times will the people stored within brain scans have to suffer before the WAU gets it "right?" Will it ever understand what being alive truly means?

Check out the Lorerunner if you haven't heard of him.

Have you heard of Matthewmattosis? Or Noah Caldwell-Gervais? He's a good game reviewer and all, but the best? Seems a little unfair.

pttoau Weldezion I won't discuss which one is better, but adding to this list of reviewers, there's also game maker's toolkit and ethos

jmiquelmb Game maker's toolkit isn't really a reviewer. His videos are more aimed at game design, rather than full reviews. And he rarely says anything negative. Haven't head of ethos.

pttoau Weldezion Yeah, you're right. I put him in the list because it's one of those "academic" gaming channels.

That moment very Early in the game when you are walking out of the first compound through a tunnel with see-through walls and see that you are DEEP UNDER THE WATER blew my mind in a way no other game had. I still would have been scared from beginning to end if there were no monsters at all. Just being alone in the deep. And going deeper. And deeper. It was like Bioshock but way more real.

It's game over if you get caught while limping

Haha wall-anus.

That's something I find interesting as well. Those ports are made by/part of the WAU construct, right? So by using them, you're basically taking advantage of the same thing that you're trying to kill because it's providing the same service to other beings, albeit in a flawed manor.

It is stated. Explicitly. By Catherine.

well those are still words you have to put 2gether

It also actually excuses lens flare this time.

check 39:20

LostInGames oh the way he was talking about it seemed like he didn't realize that it was still a choice

Nick Orie Well, misinterpreting 1 single point out of a video this long isn't bad :P

mh yeah, I just think that he couldve elaborated more on the implications of killing (or not killing) the WAU

The implications being fuck all, as the game writes "Lost the coin toss" Simon off as dead (I can't keep track of which # simons are which" "Lol, here's another choice which could change everything but doesn't change a second of the remaining gameplay, just the story for you to work out yourself WOOOO" which is shit because the only good parts of the story to work out yourself are non-monster related. MAYBE if you left the WAO alive it'll rebuild everything and everyone will end up having tea and cookies like suggested at the end of the video! No. If you're not gonna even hint that a player has a choice, it isn't important. Especially not when it comes to part of a game most people just wanted to get past so they could get back to the good stuff.

wat

anxietydown Phone human robot is the robot phone obviously

phone was YOU all along!

LordRambo Nooooooooooo

The ring...

it amazes me how video game characters can crab-walk around like that for hours; they must have hamstrings of steel

@@HeatherHolt Yeah besides my knees pop all the time

stealth mode activated *boop*

You wouldn't crouch like video game characters. Rather, if you get startled by something and you need to check your surroundings you naturally bend your knees, lower your center of mass and put your hands in front of you. You take a natural fighting stance without thinking about it. This makes you more agile and more capable of wrestling anything that might pounce at you. But you wouldn't go full crouching unless you knew what you were up against and knew you need to hide not run or fight.

Yeah, definitely made me go slightly mad/crazy and making my depression, and existential crisis worse for while... probably not best type of game to play with unstable mental health.

this is exactly why soma is the scariest game i have played. it made me so deeply uncomfortable because i could easily relate it to real-world terrors of the unknown relating to life and death. it's a masterpiece that i will never be able to play again. i felt sick to my stomach with existential dread at too many parts.

I think this, in particular, is even more disturbing because it's a very realistic and similar moral dilemma humanity will have to deal with in the not too distant future.

Weird seeing you places Marcara

Hence why he complimented all of the existential horror and the fear created by the atmosphere the entire video. He just didn’t find the monster bits scary because they are far less scary than other monsters in games and the other moments in this game.

Should he lie then?

@@JameboHayabusa While subjectivity is implied, Joseph talks about how unscary SOMA is multiple times and hammers that point as one of the biggest flaws the game has. In reality he should have realized he was in a minority and explained that the game is perhaps scary to most, but it just wasn't scary to him. By stating so matter of factually that the game isn't scary he's giving the impression that this game is some walk in the park, when in reality it's still one of the scariest experiences in media. I personally think it's scarier than Amnesia TDD.

Also, from what I can see, he's playing the game in "safe mode", where enemies won't chase him or harm him unless very provoked. Obviously this takes away a lot of the horror experience.

@@RileyRivalle2 if you know joseph by streams you'd know he isn't the person to play games at easy difficulties

ayaz yaman His encounter with the first robot looks like safe mode. If I recall, if the robot catches you in its line of sight, you’re screwed pretty quickly, and have nowhere near that amount of time to stare at it while it just stands there. It should always be in a looping patrol animation.

This was my only gripe with the ending. It was so close to being perfect...

I read somewhere I cannot remember that, THAT was the original ending, but test audiences said it was "too depressing".

^ This. Also, you're not "canonically faster" as there are several key moments in the game where it becomes quite clear they can outrun you. I dunno about you but there's a very primal fear I feel when I'm being chased or stalked. Even though I knew dying had no real consequences, it stills cared the shit out of me every time I was caught.

The root for the reason why everybody starts out with the assumption that it is a monster horror game is precisely because that is what Frictional is known for, and that is what all of their previous games have been and have aimed for. The Penumbra trilogy (with the exception of Penumbra: Requiem) and Amnesia: The Dark Descent. And you can clearly tell that SOMA did aim for this as well, only the reason why it fell short in this open for questioning. Whether it's because Frictional didn't quite recognize that they could've broken away from the mold of the previous games and attempted to go back to what they are used to making and didn't get it quite right, or whether it's a case similar to what I think happened with Clock Tower 3. It starts out laying the horror atmosphere, similar to what Haunting Grounds is, but after the first 30 minutes (pulled that number somewhat from my ass, but perhaps you get the idea) it turns completely ridiculous, to the point where you start thinking that the devs for whatever reason totally gave up on that idea and said "Fuck it, let's make this into a magical schoolgirl game instead" without scrubbing the beginning and starting from scratch. Or perhaps they genuinely tried to make a horror monster game from the start and didn't realize that they didn't get it quite right. Or something completely different. That's my take on this anyway.

Petri Helenius I still disagree, the concept, atmosphere, and stalking/hiding mechanic all unsettled me deeply.

I did not even know that the helper bot can be killed

@@aniket8350 yep. when u kill the big one the little one gets scared of u

there is a SCP for everything nearly

096 is the enderman, isn't it?

@@lordprotektorwurstgesicht6526 Shy guy, yes.

Or just an actual weeping angel.

Interesting. Do you think WAU could get to the point where it could make proper bodies for the brain scans? Like the closest thing to a 'real' body?

@@Spartain14 I'd argue that without a standard for a 'proper' body, the shape hardly matters so long as it's a vessel through which a consciousness can interact with the world. The WAU isn't the villain of this story. Come to think of it, there are no villains, only tragic antagonists. Much better to let the WAU continue trying until it gets something right.

The WAU also, however, makes any intelligent synthetic or organic life go absolutely insane when it takes over however, so relying on that doesn't seem to be an option. Catherine would need to be rebooted and reinstalled into the base, something Simon has absolutely no idea how to do and would require finding a way to access Catherine's existing data. As for the Simon's on the base: One is trapped at the bottom of the trench without a working Omnitool (as it fried when Catherine short-circuited), meaning he can't use the elevator to reach the top of the trench again, and the other Simon is stuck in a room that *also* requires an Omnitool to get between doors. So yeah. The ending is bleak as fuck.

@@michaelandrews117 it'd take a while but trench Simon could climb up hypothetically

Except that robot Catherine accidentally fries herself getting angry at Simon...

I'm confused, do you not have the ability to understand it's his personal opinion, formed by his personal experiences, or are you just pretending not to get that? If I say "only roguelikes are scary", it is OBVIOUS that it is an opinion, and it should be OBVIOUS that I'm not representing an opinion as fact. You're allowed to disagree, but it's absurd to claim he's presenting his opinion as fact. Subjectivity is implied.

@@wicked5999 You're joking right?

It's so stupid it's like saying "this comedy didn't make me laugh so it's not a comedy"

pretty sure he mentioned most of those enemies actually

TubineGaming Wasn't that the same in Amnesia though? I hated sitting in a dark corner, waiting for that Grunt to piss off

trdi All creatures can open doors. At least those you meet inside a station. Also, there is no monster that attacks you if you don't look at it. Slender mechanics are thankfully absent in this game.

In Amnesia the enemies can outrun you in a straight line, also the monsters are actually scary looking. Also real men just carry a box around and continuously bounce it off the grunt as they backpedal towards the objective.

Johan Ross who helped devlop the WAU thought that you should destroy it though, and would you really want those poor souls like Akers and others to continue aimless, painful, wandering?

Thing is, you can infer that WAU is learning along the way. Its latest creation is Simon 2, who's pretty damn close to an actual human being...

The WAU was getting better at creating life, and when you do kill it Johan Ross talks about killing you because you’re the only one able to read the new signals or whatever. I’m guess that was an implication was that the wau wasn’t actually destroyed, just changed a little.

WAU is pretty much the best change for humanity at this point.

He said the atmosphere and existential horror were scary he said the monster sections were not scary as they were tedious and took away from the parts of the game that are actually good

@Toptierganon none of the monsters besides Akers were scary in the slightest as besides Akers every other enemy you just need to hit one button or get past them it some other small thing and that’s all you ever see of them so they leave little to no impact and aren’t scary at all

@Toptierganon you didn’t address my point at all in that entire paragraph how is that even possible I didn’t once mention the design of the monsters or the sound design no shit it’s good but that doesn’t matter with how little you interact with each monster. Take some examples I’ll use the names they have on the wiki to simplify things: robot head you get past hit one button and then a little later you run past tot the exit and that is all you get to see if this monster for the entire game. Jin yoshida has great build up, design, and sound design and all you get to see of him is you hit one button and go through the door and never see him again. The problem isn’t that they themselves aren’t scary it’s that you barely see them in the game though the fleshers I just don’t find scary since they are so easy to deal with you just don’t look at them. Most of the monsters show up for about less than a minute to the point where they barely even have time to leave an impact. The only monster who truly breaks this rule is Akers who has the entirety of delta building up his character and then when you finally meet him in theta you have to complete a puzzle made around his mechanics breaking a window when he is sound sensitive. After you get in you have to watch as it slowly walks past your window and decide when you want to leave only to be told your keycard isn’t high enough so you have to go to a room where you can lick yourself in and lock the monster in a different room as you have to decide when to get back to the elevator. He is the only monster in the game who feels like he wasn’t just shoehorned in at the last moment and was actually developed. Okay now for the other part of what you said it isn’t falsely criticizing something when I legitimately found it to be a weak point of the game it’s subjective and to me this was a major flaw in it regardless of if it scared you or not. Also I don’t get how you really can’t get that it’s implied that it’s my opinion obviously it doesn’t apply to everyone to me the monster sections in this game are far less scary than what else the game has to offer and the monster sections of nearly any other horror game. Ironic however that you try and call me out on saying this as a statement when it is obviously just my opinion right after stating my criticism of the game is objectively false you should be called out on that.

@Toptierganon I said you you see the robot girl twice not once but even then there both so minimal that it might as well have not shown up the second time. Yes that’s it’s only purpose that’s my problem when the monsters only purpose is too block a button and a door and you deal with them for thirty seconds it doesn’t last long enough to be scary. The fleshers I will agree aren’t poorly made I just don’t find them scary. The big difference between the fleshers and the amnesia monsters is that the fleshers don’t attack you when looking away but the monsters in amnesia do so you have to know where they are without ever looking directly at them. Though I will admit the fleshers are an exception to the rule along with Akers I just didn’t find the fleshers even remotely as scary as Akers. Regarding the opinions once again I don’t think it’s necessary to say in my opinion when I’m telling you why I personally find them not scary it’s implied that it is my opinion.

@Toptierganon lol

I second this. I find the monsters in soma more frightening than their counterparts in Resident Evil or Amnesia: The dark descent.

buzer2011 it’s extensional horror , because while it has horror elements, the game is disturbing, tense and gripping because it paints a strong picture of this bleak conclusion to humanity. It’s you being placed inside jarret and with him, coming to terms this horribly depressing new world, and trying to deal with the end of the world. Your trying to find meaning. That’s one of the experiences I found it offers. Your drowning in a sea of pitch and clinging onto a piece of wreckage that’s sliding deeper and deeper. Your coming to terms with this is why the game is so emotionally draining.

Alien Isolation?

@@AnonymousMachine That game frightened me with its UI alone.

at this point i am convinced that the only way he would find a game to be scary is if there was a person standing next to him with a bat, and if he takes damage in the game, the guy will hit him with the bat in real life.

@Toptierganon maybe because what soma presents wasn't new for me, but it was more fascinating than traumatizing

@@Dunmerdog Id call you "triggered" but I think thatd just make you more hysterical. I hope youve reached some kind of calm in the past three months, taken a break from these youtubers you hate yet?

I thought at first that he end up on a spaceship, but I didn't know how. It blew my mind though, as well as the whole game. I loved the storytelling.

Ah yes, f r i c t i o n

Counting this game game, they have made one good game at least.

@@puffnisse The Dark Descent?

For me the weird part is at the end when he talks about rewriting it but instead of the WAU doing the stitching together it's just people? Like it's the same thing but he has a problem with one and not the other, and if it were people doing it then it lessens the story immensely and what it's trying to tell. It's bizarre to me.

+nnnn20430 "you have the choice to let WAU live you DON'T have to kill it (and by the way i think you are real monster because you did)" Then you're a fucking idiot. The people stuck in the WAU were suffering, _begging_ to be killed. Clearly the WAU wasn't a good solution. Maybe at some point it would have become a good solution, but the experiments were clearly hurting people a lot, and it's _arguably_ the right choice to kill it. It's surprising to hear something so fucking idiotic from you after you rightly pointed out that the ARK is a death trap - it's stated explicitly that the ARK would survive for a few thousand years. Not forever. You're right, they can't repair or modify it. Civilization in the ARK could exist for a long time, but I don't think a few thousand years are long enough. Which is why I don't understand how you can have such a narrow-minded, retarded view on the morality of ending the WAU. A _monster?_ Really? Because he ended their suffering at their request? Think before you judge.

theuncalledfor i didn't mean "monster" so aggressively, calm down.

nnnn20430 There isn't really any other way to mean it.

theuncalledfor i gues you can call me a monster too since i would happily let those people suffer for thousands of years, life is pain, i will chose whatever means necessary to survive.

theuncalledfor well i quoted "you monster" from GLaDOS a psychotic killing machine so yeah

the order in which the happy and unhappy ending sequences. eg which part comes before and after the credits. changes based on your other choices in the game. the ending becomes A LOT more powerful by having the happy bit first. im quite disappointed by the fact that joseph didnt research that detail. Joseph Anderson

no shit? this is the first I've heard about that and I've listened to hours of youtubers talk about it! you should +Joseph Anderson

TheDuriel Which specific choices? In all my playthroughs I always got the depressing before and happy after. Although imagining them in a different order, they definitely would feel different.

CaitSeith if i remember correctly it happens when you try to avoid killing others as best as possible. including whiping the legacy scans, attacking the robot with the shock weapon. and of course when you "switch bodies." (from the players perspective)

I liked the ending because it didn't force feed you lies that everything would be okay in the end. It was harshly honest.

I had an "are we alive?" quote in one of my dreams a few years ago. I woke up right away, because I didn't want to deal with the horrific nightmare that would follow as a result of that.

Timmytimmy123123 *Ackers laughs in distance*

Isn’t there a mod that just makes the monsters passive that lots of people like explicitly because the monster sections suck

@IntergalacticNobody I'm pretty sure he knows that. That's why he wrote "...Simon who 'won' the coin toss...". He just took the term and ran with it, as it's a good fitting and relatable metaphor.

@@peoplehumans939 That's a vanilla game setting, I think. At the start of the game you get to choose between "Normal" and "Safe".

I second that

Third. Probably since Team Silent dissapear.

I fourth that

I put Bloodborne as #1, but there's a strong case for SOMA being second. These are the only two games in recent years that I can say I still ponder, even years after having first finished them. What an experience.

Man Idk.. I'm only 2 hrs in and don't see it being that great. Bloodborne, witcher 3, last of us are 9.5 - 10/10 games. Feel like soma is at an 8 right now, where as Amnesia tdd was a 9+

its super cool how you left three different comments that boil down to "well I though soma was scary! joe's a sad man!" on the same day. EDIT: Sorry make that four, i just found another one. Why does Joe's opinion that this game didn't succeed at horror (specifically in its gameplay, i might add) matter so much to you? It seems like you didn't even watch the video as well cause he praises the horror elements of the story to no end.

@@crowscrawl He praises the horror elements, but claims it isn't a Horror games. He specifically calls certain element horrifying or terrifying. The bigger problem with Joe's criticism is that it was the most spread/popular criticism about the game as it is the most watched critique on the game. Which Frictional Games "learned" from and thus made the abomination called Amnesia: Rebirth. He is ofcourse not fully to blame, but he did not help.

@@crowscrawl It's super cool how you managed to strawman a 2 sentence comment.

@@rocklemillion8041 was basing my comment on the sum total of comments he made, which came in like a row for me, not gonna leave a different comment for each one like

@@crowscrawl even still what you quoted doesn’t resemble any of them. In none of them did he say he thought soma was scary. He is clowning on the asinine take that soma isn’t a horror game, and the take that all statements are always subjective which contradicts itself. Most of what Joseph said is nonsense that contradicts.

yea but think about this: a robot booty cures mr moody

Well, technically, no. But you do fire a bullet at some point... 😏

not a shooter.

@@owentayygaming7567 Bought it back then, not bad, awesome story. But Im still not into hide and sneak.

you are so obsessed lol

@@Geometrywars64 If you say so.

What is the point of this comment

Gone. Reduced to atoms.

Hmm. Well I do say in the video that the game is very successful in conveying horror through its story and setting. But that an *attempt* was made to do the same with it's gameplay and monsters... and that it didn't work at all. If the attempt is there I think it's fair to criticize it.

By suffering from that misconception I mean somebody during development probably thought Amnesia style monsters are great idea, so they have to include them.

thank you! that answered my question

Well still, in function this is what any brain, simulated or not, does, it responds to stimuli. You could argue they were still alive

imagine what the brain scans in that computer would do. they don’t have a body to control, no eyes to see through, no ears to hear with. i’d assume that the reason Munshi’s experiments didn’t work would be because that brain was freaking out trying to comprehend living as a computer file. actually quite scary i never considered that before.

You don't know what being scared feels like I guess

@@alexradice8163uh, outlast?

Not ancient at all, it's the same word we use today. Well it is ancient, but it's still used exclusively for body.

It also has Sanskrit roots, in meaning 'everlasting' or 'immortal,' which is where the lingerie brand gets its name. It's definitely of some Proto-Indo-European origin, but it's impossible to know what it truly meant. Strangely the origin of a word is just as existentially incomprehensible as the whole idea of the game Soma itself.

Zohar Cochavi a

didnt tought about it. thanks

All video games are art though?

I think that's his whole point - the game might be scary, but it is not a scary *game*. What you do in it isn't stressful or horrifying, but the story and the context are.

@M33ble - That really depends. It might very well be the only saving grace for the biological part of humanity. At the point we're playing it's spreading like a cancer without a goal, but it MIGHT be able to "resurrect" us in a biological form again, given time. It can re upload our minds into mostly fleshy beings. If it can learn to repair a human body 100%, it might be worth keeping.

@@ichbinein123 It's also forcing many of the people that are still alive on the base (thanks to WAU) to endure tremendous suffering. One of them being kept alive (with a weird set of robo lungs outside her body) says that WAU "...wont let us die." That screams more "I want to die but it wont let me" than "It's saving me". To kill WAU is to euthanize all the people that WAU is keeping on the edge of life in the same way you can turn off the life support for the last human. They want it, so why not grant their last request?

@@bigbear1293 That is true, but it is also very narrow sighted. The point of keeping WAU alive, is to potentially save humanity as a whole. Everyone on the surface is dead, and the only "living" people left on earth (and the only intelligent species in the entire universe that we know of) is on the base, and are only kept alive by WAU. Killing WAU means killing the last sapient species in the universe basicly. So in my optics, it can be argued that the ends justify the means.

@@ichbinein123 Es sind sooo viele kleine Dinge im Spiel versteckt worüber man nachdenken kann

@@MSDK_DARKDRAGON Exactly

Joostin Kookel Teehee

that's why he needed the diving suit