1. Rise of the Tomb Raider (Xbox One)
2. DOAX3 Fortune Edition (PS4)
3. Uncharted 4 (PS4)
4. DOOM (2016) (PC)
5. Halo 5 (Xbox One)
6. Dark Souls (PC)
7. Call of Duty (PC)
8. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (PC)
9. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (PS4)
10. King's Field: The Ancient City (PS2)
11. Bloodborne (PS4)
12. SOMA (PC)Personally, I'm not too big of a horror fan, so I haven't played previous games by Frictional Games. Seems like they've pretty much done first-person survival horror/adventure games, which
SOMA would fall under as well. I picked it up despite the that, since the narrative has been held in high regard.
Overall, the story lives up to the reputation. While it doesn't exactly have any major twists you wouldn't see coming, saying too much would be a disservice. Suffice to say, it's very well done, and worth playing the game for. If playing on PC, there is
a mod out there that'll make the monsters passive. So, they might still be creepy, but probably not as much as if they were also charging at you and screaming. I...did not play with that mod, and thus kept the lights on.
You can't fight back, and can (usually) only withstand a few attacks before dying (I think only a couple earlier in the game). If you're injured, there's significant visual distortion, though most of the time you can simply take the hit or two and continue on. There were a couple places (at least) where it didn't seem like I'd actually die though. More or less, the stealth/survival aspects are there more to build tension and for some, a sort of puzzle. I didn't feel like they impeded exploration too much, as areas with other puzzles or additional story to uncover typically were fairly safe.
One thing I was mildly disappointed with, on finishing the game, is searching around to find that none of the choices made in the game actually matter. Other than how you feel about them, I suppose. It does work in context of the story, and avoids having a "good" or "bad" ending, but being able to offer choices and consequences is a strength of the video game medium.
Still, it's a minor thing, and I'd recommend
SOMA to anyone who likes story-oriented games, or psychological horror in general.