The Ultimate SOMA Discussion Thread

[pagan]

"Pure puzzle-wise, it's a bit in-between [both Amnesia games]," Grip says, noting that Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs was pretty straightforward while The Dark Descent was built around puzzle hubs. "We want to keep it very streamlined, so the player doesn't have their mind on solving puzzles."

"In Soma, our main goal is to keep the focus on narrative," he explains, which reminds me of what Dan Pinchbeck said when I interviewed him for Eurogamer's A Machine for Pigs post-mortem.

I really hope this streamlining and focusing on narrative doesn't lead to another AAMFP disappointment. ATDD was a huge success because it could merge proper and interesting gameplay with the narrative (wasn't only gameplay focused, but wasn't only narrative focused either, i hit the right balance imo). Focusing strictly on the narrative at the expense of gameplay leads to a very shallow experience imo. Also, the linearity mentioned in other articles is hopefully only valid for the press demo and the final game will have exploration and some wandering around to find the way to the next objective. Te excessive linearity and the feeling of handholding was very immersion breaking in AAMFP.

I hope Frictional once again hits the right balance in Soma, but i admit these articles don't really reassure me.