W
hen 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.
Yearning for more industrial
corridor action, I decided yet another
replay of Alien: Isolation was in order.
This time, though, I thought I’d play
on the novice difficulty setting, which
doesn’t neuter the alien, but makes it
a lot less formidable. And, again, it’s
remarkable how well the game holds
up when the threat is reduced.
The alien is still unpredictable,
making my heart race whenever I
hear the telltale sound of it dropping
out of a vent. But it’s, well, a bit
thicker. I don’t have to be quite as
well hidden and it’ll get bored of
hunting for me a lot sooner than in
other modes. The upside of this
dumber alien is that, similar to
SOMA, I now have more
opportunities to explore Sevastopol.
There are a lot of stories on the
station, told through computer
terminals and environmental details,
that I missed the first time because I
was too concerned with staying alive.“The threat of death isn’t the scariest
thing in SOMA”
SAFE HAVEN
It does spoil the illusion a little,
though. Sometimes you’ll be caught
out in the open, the alien will be
staring right at you, and you’ll brace
yourself for the sweet embrace of
death. But then it just wanders away,
oblivious to your presence. Balancing
the AI for this mode must have been
difficult, but I think, overall, they
pulled it off. I don’t think you should
go through SOMA in Safe Mode or
Alien: Isolation on novice the first
time you play them. It’s worth
experiencing both as the developers
intended. But for a replay it really
gives you a chance to appreciate the
game on a much deeper level,
uncovering more about the setting
and story than you would otherwise.
Honestly, I think all horror games
should have these modes. I know a
lot of people who couldn’t enjoy
SOMA at all because they found the
hide-and-seek bits way too stressful.
And because of that they missed out
on, for my money, one of the best
stories ever told by a game. And that’s
a shame. It’s in a developer’s interest
to have as many people playing their
games as possible, and being able to
make stealth, horror, survival, or
other ‘hardcore’ elements a little less
intense is a big step towards this.ANDY KELLY
THIS MONTH
Enjoyed a spot of
stress-free survival horror.
ALSO PLAYED
Cultist Simulator, Hitman 2Playing it safe in SOMA and ALIEN: ISOLATION.
I NOW HAVE MORE
OPPORTUNITIES TO
EXPLORE SEVASTOPOLTHE GAMES WE LOVE RIGHT NOW
NOW PLAYING
A friendly underwater robot.You don’t scare me.
Well, a little.