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• Story is terrifying and raises a lot of moral and ethical thought-provoking questions. Discussing these afterwards with friends adds to the fun
  
• Instead of separate levels separated by physical barriers, it takes the more Half-Life esque approach of areas which serve as loading zone triggers which load the next map. Besides some texture loading issues with these areas, it feels really good and seamless
  
• Has questionnaires throughout the game that really add to the experience in a minimal and unobtrusive way
  
• Puzzles are alright, but they could be more complex. I think it was for the best for them to have simpler puzzles to allow access to less experienced puzzlers though. Puzzles are generally satisfying and intriguing though
  
• Flashlight is totally useless, but it helps add to the horror
  
• People having blackboxes is an awesome mechanic and the way that interacts with the player and monsters is nothing short of incredible
  
• In general, the way the world and mechanics combine is some of the best work I've seen in a game. It's so seamless and so logical you'd think this actually happened
  
• The moral dilemmas the game asks you to try and solve are heartbreaking
  
• Audio/text logs are super cool and it's really fun to connect the dots on what happened to various people and places. Love the lore; I found myself actively looking for more terminals to find out more things
  
• Jumpscares feel earned, and they're super limited in number
  
• Exploration is really top-tier. One of the best parts of the game
  
• Ending is absolutely brutal. Just. Brutal.

• Slow to get to the more physical horror like monsters; took around 2 hours
  
• I wish there were resources to manage like in Amnesia
  
• Can miss very important pieces of dialogue if you interact with something else
  
• A lot of quiet areas have this really thought provoking dialogue between you and another character, but it also happens while you're doing puzzles or asked to explore the environment. I'm the type of person who can't really do this multi-tasking, but that's just me
  
• Opening doors, lockers, and other items feels awful compared to Amnesia. I have to yank my mouse across the screen.
  
• It is hard to understand the monsters; the game doesn't want you to look at them, so it's really hard to understand their weakenesses or abilities sometimes through their visual design. This happened with Robot Head for me
  
• The health system is weird. The game should just kill you if you mess up. Being injured just sucks. It also hurts the physical horror aspect
  
• Missed some moments in the game like looking at yourself in the mirror due to unclear design
  
• No choices on what to say during dialogue; I found myself disagreeing with some of the things that Simon would say. Would help me immerse myself more in the role. On the other hand, Simon is really his own character here, and it's important to the story. So I don't really know.
  
• I agree with Joseph Anderson in his review (on YouTube) where he thinks the ending gives too much to the player. I agree, and I really like his alternate ending, which has some really cool story ideas that could blossom into something greater.

Died only twice in the game.
Best experienced in two hour intervals.

I've only played a very limited list of horror games, so I'm not the best on scare factor, but I can say I very much enjoyed my time with SOMA. It's worth it if only for the story. Playing it in the game's Safe mode is honestly not a bad idea.

[h1]SOMA is an superb story-focused psychological horror that has the most interesting story of any game. Thought-provoking and intense, it's a very solid experience. Best experienced with very little info.[/h1] [h2]Note: I am not someone who gets easily scared by horror games, nor who has a lot of experience with various horror games. I've played Amnesia: TDD, and that's about it.[/h2] [hr][/hr] [h2]Likes:[/h2] [list] [*]Story is terrifying and raises a lot of moral and ethical thought-provoking questions. Discussing these afterwards with friends adds to the fun [*]Instead of separate levels separated by physical barriers, it takes the more Half-Life esque approach of areas which serve as loading zone triggers which load the next map. Besides some texture loading issues with these areas, it feels really good and seamless [*]Has [spoiler]questionnaires[/spoiler] throughout the game that really add to the experience in a minimal and unobtrusive way [*]Puzzles are alright, but they could be more complex. I think it was for the best for them to have simpler puzzles to allow access to less experienced puzzlers though. Puzzles are generally satisfying and intriguing though [*]Flashlight is totally useless, but it helps add to the horror [*]People having [spoiler]blackboxes[/spoiler] is an awesome mechanic and the way that interacts with the player and monsters is nothing short of incredible [*]In general, the way the world and mechanics combine is some of the best work I've seen in a game. It's so seamless and so logical you'd think this actually happened [*]The moral dilemmas the game asks you to try and solve are heartbreaking [*]Audio/text logs are super cool and it's really fun to connect the dots on what happened to various people and places. Love the lore; I found myself actively looking for more terminals to find out more things [*]Jumpscares feel earned, and they're super limited in number [*]Exploration is really top-tier. One of the best parts of the game [*]Ending is absolutely brutal. Just. Brutal. [/list] [h2]Dislikes:[/h2] [list] [*]Slow to get to the more physical horror like monsters; took around 2 hours [*]I wish there were resources to manage like in Amnesia [*]Can miss very important pieces of dialogue if you interact with something else [*]A lot of quiet areas have this really thought provoking dialogue between you and another character, but it also happens while you're doing puzzles or asked to explore the environment. I'm the type of person who can't really do this multi-tasking, but that's just me [*]Opening doors, lockers, and other items feels awful compared to Amnesia. I have to yank my mouse across the screen. [*]It is hard to understand the monsters; the game doesn't want you to look at them, so it's really hard to understand their weakenesses or abilities sometimes through their visual design. This happened with Robot Head for me [*]The health system is weird. The game should just kill you if you mess up. Being injured just sucks. It also hurts the physical horror aspect [*]Missed some moments in the game like [spoiler]looking at yourself in the mirror[/spoiler] due to unclear design [*]No choices on what to say during dialogue; I found myself disagreeing with some of the things that Simon would say. Would help me immerse myself more in the role. On the other hand, Simon is really his own character here, and it's important to the story. So I don't really know. [*]I agree with Joseph Anderson in his review (on YouTube) where he thinks the ending gives too much to the player. I agree, and I really like his alternate ending, which has some really cool story ideas that could blossom into something greater. [/list] Died only twice in the game. Best experienced in two hour intervals. I've only played a very limited list of horror games, so I'm not the best on scare factor, but I can say I very much enjoyed my time with SOMA. It's worth it if only for the story. Playing it in the game's Safe mode is honestly not a bad idea.