“Soma” Video Game Review

By Zach McInnis, Staff Writer

At once dark and atmospheric, “Soma” is like breath of fresh air for a game set entirely under water.
You play as a man who was recently in a fatal car accident, leaving one of his friends, Ashely, dead, and you with severe brain injuries and cranial bleeding. You awaken in a cluttered apartment in Toronto.
You, an average man by the name of Simon, pick up your iPhone to the sound of ringing in your ear. On the other line is a neurosurgeon, asking for you to come in to his clinic. You go to his clinic to find it empty, with one of the doors locked at the end of the room. To progress further in the game, you must find a passcode to the digital lock on the door.
Once you open it, you are greeted by the neurosurgeon who says he didn’t hear you come into the clinic. He tells you to sit down in an uncomfortable looking chair in order to start a brain scan. You sit; the headpiece and cuffs lock you into place as a blinding white light flashes before you eyes. You seem to black out, and eventually awaken to a strange and foreboding place deep below the sea.
Your goal is to find out what happened to this seemingly abandoned location. What mysteries does this place hold? How did you get here?
In order to find out, you must delve deeper into the psyche further than a game has ever allowed before. This game will make you question the meaning of life, and, more importantly, what it means to be human.
The game is meant to be survival horror, and it delivers it well. The enemies are frightening, the story is deep, and the graphics are great.
The game is compatible with PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows, Linux, and Mac OS.