SOMA
Echoes
Promising Start with Room to Improve
It’s pretty cool I love the aesthetic, especially the crawl space used to reactivate power. The fog and environmental lighting are superb, although I’d suggest toning down the fog a bit as it cuts the FPS in half, and the excessive amount somewhat undermines the atmospheric effect it's likely meant to achieve.

The level design is solid overall. I want to give an honorable mention to the decontamination hallways they’re new to me and a great addition. That said, some areas could use a review and either polish or a complete overhaul. The new pad mechanic is a well thought out idea, but its implementation feels rough. Navigation is confusing, especially with so many rooms and a map system that offers little clarity. Simplifying it or adding more guidance would help a lot.

I got stuck in the section with the omnitool and the blocked terminal, after restoring the power. The section became so confusing it felt broken I couldn't figure out what to do next.

The lack of a flashlight and proper lighting in some zones adds to the confusion. Long, empty hallways and vacant rooms made me feel like I had reached the end of the game’s currently coded content. It also became tedious to try opening every door via the terminal. Without clear room references, using the pad became nearly impossible for me.

As for the monster, its presence isn’t consistent enough to feel like a threat. I had to stay in a single room for several minutes before anything happened. But when it did, it was amazing it genuinely scared the hell out of me. I had no idea what was happening, and the sudden attack made me jump. It's one of the most unique enemies I’ve seen, and I really hope it’s used more effectively later on.

The story is hinted at through some text logs on working computers. The "I have amnesia" plot is outdated, but it’s a solid starting point. It places the player at the same level of understanding as the protagonist, which can be effective. However, the narrative doesn’t go far beyond what’s already apparent from exploring. There’s no dialogue or voice acting yet, though I suspect it may have been planned some communication relays in key areas are interactable, and they could be a great opportunity to introduce voice lines. Even basic dialogue can give a game character and presence.

Still, I have high hopes. If the story continues to develop, this could become a really solid experience. For now, it feels like it's on the right track, and I’m eager to come back and finish it once it’s further along.

[Edit]

Apparently, the mod doesn’t actually end at the “lab” map, as I originally thought. I had to dig through the files and open the level editor just to figure out how to progress. It turns out there's a bug preventing a door from opening at the end of the puzzle, essentially soft-locking the player. I had to use noclip to bypass the blockage and enter the next map, “under.”

Unfortunately, that map is also broken another bug prevents the airlock from closing, which stops you from progressing to the final map, “outside.” That last section is extremely rough: it takes place underwater, lasts about five minutes, and is surrounded by invisible barriers. Despite being the final map, it doesn’t offer a proper ending. It just stops. The last section is completely unfinished no floor, no roof, nothing.

Objectively, I find this mod to be in a bad state. It’s riddled with serious bugs that require knowledge of how to activate the debug menu and modify main_init.cfg just to attempt finishing it. It wasn’t fun or entertaining it was just interesting in a technical sense.

But I stand by my previous opinion that this mod has potential and could become a great experience in the future. For now, I believe most of the bugs are due to early development, and the rest of the issues I encountered likely stem from progressing past the 'lab' section which was probably not meant to be accessible yet, possibly blocked by an intentional bug on labs.
Last edited by Lacuna, Inc.; 29 Jun @ 7:22pm