Frictional Games has developed a veritable arsenal of nifty scare tactics since the release of Amnesia: The Dark Descent, and every one of them is being used to turn SOMA into a uniquely chilling experience that lingers long after you’ve set down the controller.
The studio sat down with the PlayStation Blog last week to share some of the tricks they’ve enlisted to transform the game’s cast of creatures into the unpredictable gaggle of hellish sea beasts and mechanical monstrosities that we’ve caught glimpses of in trailers like the one below.
You don’t need to know much to have an idea of how terrifying SOMA will be when it surfaces on Sept 22, but it might be nice having an idea of what you’ll be getting ourselves into.
For instance, you might not have known that monsters can have moods now — or a mood that isn’t “I’m angry, so I think I’ll take the rusty blades I use for limbs and go scare the shit out of that cowering human.” Now, one creature might not waste any time ventilating your stomach with that arm-blade I mentioned earlier, while another might wait to make their move until you stop seeing them as a threat.
Because the baddies of SOMA will be used very conservatively, Frictional is going to great lengths to bring more variety to each encounter by changing the way they react to your presence. What that means is “one type of creature force you not to look at it, some creatures react to your movement speed, others only to sound and so forth.”
Further muddying the waters is the obscure damage system that guarantees you won’t know if the thing that sucker-stabbed you from the shadows while you were itching your nose left a scratch or lopped off an arm.
This seemingly cruel mechanic almost sounds abusive, but there’s a method to the madness.
“By making sure that there is no simple rule underlying it all, players need to be constantly on their toes and cannot predict how an encounter will play out. On top of this, the act of healing yourself is done in a slightly disturbing manner and could come with negative consequences.”
So, how ready are you for SOMA now?
