Hey Folks,

First time posting a question to Giant Bomb, so forgive me if the formatting isn't proper. I had a simple question about how long I have left on the game? I'm currently at Theta, I just attempted to use the DUNBAT. Alas, that thing went beserk. So let me ask, how many more hours do you folks think I have left? I'd like to finish it before getting Fallout 4 or the new Tomb Raider, but if there's still another 6 hours, I just don't think that I have that much drive. I've been really enjoying this game, but the horror elements make me want to stop playing. Not so much because they're scary, but because I just don't enjoy them.

Any help you folks can give, would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers,

Miguel

@gerhardtm1999: The real SOMA is about to start. I'd say you have about five hours left - and for my money the most visceral five hours of horror gaming in years. There are so many excellent horror moments ahead of you. Don't give up! The second half of the game put it on my GOTY list.

@gerhardtm1999: Going by Patrick Klepek's playthrough (which he did pre-release for review and then released over the course of October on his Youtube channel), you're about half way since you're about on episode 05 of his 11 episode series, each of which is about an hour long. So @technician has probably got a solid estimate of 5-6 hours left (for a normal person exploring but not looking for every possible thing in the game: which is how Patrick played it).

I'd also say that this is the point where things start picking up. Also, every section after the one you're in are rather short (you happen to be in the longest one at the moment) so you could easily get through the rest of the game in smaller chunks without feeling like you're stretching the game out.

I'd recommend you at least try to finish the next outpost and get to the start of the next without giving up. The one you're about to go into has the first interesting mesh of story affecting the mechanics. And the sequence immediately afterwards has the best execution on the horror in the game throughout. Two of the best moments in the game are very close by. If they don't convince you to go on, you've more than given the game it's due and can move on.

@dixavd: I definitely want to finish, but hearing the horror ramps up is honestly a bit disconcerting. I'm not that into horror. The reason I picked this game up, is because I heard the story went to some really interesting places/touched on interesting philosophies. If you're telling me this game gets scarier from this point on, I might have to put it down. The "horror" up to this point has honestly been pretty non existent. More annoying than anything.

I guess I just want to walk around and explore, not get hassled by another shambling creature. If there is a sharp increase of shambling creatures in the next half of the game, I might just put it down. Which would be a shame because the story is pretty captivating. Knowing that I'm along for the story, and find the scary elements to kind of a bummer, should I keep playing?

@technician:Visceral how? Visceral as in scary?

EDIT: I guess I should say I don't find this game to be scary, yet. I honestly found the original Dead Space to be scarier. The creatures in this game I consider more to be just super annoying/unecassary. The only thing they seem to do is limit your ability to explore. That was fine at first, but it's getting more tedious. Man, I really want to love this game. I really, really, REALLY, want to love this game.

@gerhardtm1999: Most of the story elements are separated from the horror sections after the section in the big room where you have to lock/unlock doors from a specific room with creatures roaming the halls. It's as if the designers realized that they shouldn't make the story elements challenging to find. This was where I understood Jonathon Blow's explanation of an honest game (if you have an interesting story that you want to tell, don't try to hide it from your player). So yeah, after that part, you get as much story as you can find without worrying about dying. Also, I found the horror/stealth sections much much easier after this point. You realize quickly that these enemies hardly notice you.

Man, ending of this game is just so damn strong.

@gerhardtm1999: Well I can at least say that I am the biggest wuss when it comes to scary games, hence why I only watched Patrick play it and not play it myself. In fact, I usually just experience horror games through let's plays while I keep the light on and pause frequently. I am easily freaked out by this stuff. There was no point on this game where I was freaked out from a fear perspective, most of it was just philosophical horror of what the game asks you to contemplate. There was one section that I know I would have freaked out were I the one playing, but with someone else in control, I got through it. I even managed to watch part of this game with the lights off. It never gets truly scary. There's also no spike in the level of gore in the game either, though the audio-log things do get a little more distressing as the tale draws to a close.

Sadly you do still have a few sections with shambling creatures, including what looked like the most frustrating one of them all.. On the plus side, each encounter is much shorter than in the sections you've previously surpassed. The great horror thing I'm alluding to is psychologically stimulating rather than disgusting or frightening (the two types of horror SOMA seems to mostly stick to otherwise). I don't want to ruin it as it's quite unique, but the section masterfully intertwines the mix of atmosphere, fear of the unknown, the players sense of exploration, linearity, and enemies into a riveting piece of gameplay. You have one more outpost to go through before this section.

Also, when I say that the game picks up, this is on all fronts, but most significantly on the narrative side. I'd say up to the point you're at, it certainly seems like a story that Simon is merely a passenger in. Following from where you are, you get to the point where Simon begins to question his position and the task at hand, resulting in the direct conflict between him and the world he is in. This culminates in some actual player choice. In the next outpost is where the first of the few big philosophical choices is presented to the player.

That said, the choices from then on out are not wildly different. Most are thematically similar, and designed with the same kind of player-input. I found them to be quite emotionally charged, and Patrick also seemed to be interested by the depth with which they would test the player/Simon. That said, there isn't much of an escalation so if you aren't moved (potentially because you've seen these ideas presented better in other stories before) then the wrap-up to the story probably isn't going to deliver the final stinger that you're hoping for.

@gerhardtm1999: As someone who really enjoys horror games, but is consistently disappointed with their general inability to get any emotional or physical response out of me, the second half of the game had a few moments that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Now when I played the game I went all out, playing all alone in complete darkness with noise cancelling headphones on, so if you are playing in a more relaxed way you may not have that strong of a reaction to some of the moments I'm thinking about. There are definitely some more shambling creatures ahead of you, but the best moments are where the game plays with your expectations. I'd argue the best moment of the game is in a sequence where you don't see any creatures at all. I would be more descriptive but I don't want to spoil anything.

You mentioned that you liked Dead Space and I loved that game when it came out. My favorite thing about it was not that it was scary (it generally wasn't), but the pervasive atmosphere of hostility towards the player. The game constantly made you feel like you didn't belong, that you should turn around, that everything was against you. I think there are moments in the second half of SOMA that gave me the same feeling but in much more compact and intense bursts. It's hard to describe really, but there were moments that I had a huge grin on my face, just marvelling at what they had crafted in terms of the key set pieces and moments.

If you're in it more for the story, there are plenty of great story moments ahead of you as well (you're a couple of minutes away from a pretty big one). I think the story ends well and is definitely something you'll likely think about for a long time after it wraps up.

All I can say is that I'm very happy that I've played through this game. I'd say give it a bit longer but if at the end of the day the game just isn't for you then don't force yourself to get through it. Enjoying a game like this depends a lot on personal taste and interests and if you don't like it, thats totally fine.

Thanks everyone for the responses! It's really awesome to see.

From everything you guys have told me, I think I'll keep playing.

It's interesting, this game makes me really tense in a way most games don't. Not a single moment (so far) has scared me, but I'm playing with my jaw clenched most of the time. Knowing that the next part of the game is comprised of shorter segments/more natural stopping points, is a huge relief. I can only play for an hour or two before I start feeling super fatigued.

I think I may have overstated my negativity; I actually really like this game. It's, in a lot of ways, unique.

@technician: I think I just got to that moment you were talking about. It's the biggest reason I'm going to keep playing.

I plan on finishing it in the next two days, I'll check back in then :) Thanks again!

My nickname is Ross. I am now super uncomfortable!. Really was hoping that dude would be confined to the radio transmission at upsilon.

@gerhardtm1999: Hey did you finish the game? What did you think?