It turns out you won’t be alone in the submerged Pathos-2 research facility after all, as this horrifying new trailer for Frictional Games’ SOMA reveals.
As the studio that cooked up the bone-chilling Amnesia series, Frictional’s latest is right in its own wheelhouse, isolating players within a desolate scientific facility deep beneath the Atlantic ocean. One thing that soon becomes immediately apparent is that something went horribly wrong at the bottom of the ocean, with the trailer’s distorted narration hinting that the staffers on Pathos-2 where toying with science beyond their control or understanding. The result? An H.P. Lovecraft tale that isn’t afraid to delve into horror’s more putrid, unspeakable themes.
In tandem with today’s trailer, Frictional’s Creative Director Thomas Grip spoke about this underlying design and how it fundamentally shapes not only the gameplay experience itself, but also the twisted creations that stalk these eerie corridors.
It’s quite common for creatures in games to simply just run at the player as soon as they spot them. Not so in SOMA. Here, some creatures might just stand and stare at you for a while. Others will ignore you until you disturb them. Some might not be dangerous at all — or at least, not in a dangerous mood right now.
A core part of SOMA is the underlying subject matter that the game explores. Consciousness, identity, and questions about our very existence are cornerstones of the game’s overall experience.
Very spooky indeed. Dabbling with unfathomable and dangerous science is a hardly anything new for the genre, and today’s new clip touts SOMA‘s similarities to Visceral Games’ Dead Space and, to a lesser extent, the indelible BioShock.
After a prolonged five-year development cycle, SOMA will finally haunt PlayStation 4 and PC on September 22.
