Playing it safe in SOMA and ALIEN: ISOLATION.
When I reviewed sci-fi horror game somA in 2015, my biggest complaint was that having to play-hide-and-seek with its monsters often got in the way of the story it was trying to tell. So, wanting to immerse myself in that world again without the hassle, I thought I’d give Safe Mode a go. This lets you explore the underwater nightmare of Pathos-II without being constantly murdered. The monsters are still there, but they can’t harm you. And I was amazed by how, despite this, it’s still a really powerful horror game.
The threat of death isn’t the scariest thing in SOMA. It’s the existential dread and the claustrophobic, suffocating atmosphere. And I felt like maybe this is what the experience should have been all along. The story was brought to the forefront and it had room to breathe.
This story is from the March 2019 edition of PC Gamer.
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This story is from the March 2019 edition of PC Gamer.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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