Recent reviews by Scrub

Directly into my veins please.

The only Perfect Platformer.

Deliberate Simplicity.
High Skill Ceiling.
Flow State.

This game has a flow state if you know what I'm talking about.

Just got my third PB in speedrun mode and beat Hardmode for the first time in the same day.
The base game is the tutorial and I've never loved the challenge more.

Story, Characters, Art, Soundtrack, Movement, Level Design, Enemy Design.
It has it all.

$15 is a steal.

Incredibly topical in a nuanced way, with lots sleepless nights to be had after you finish.

Deeper topics explored in the genre of horror is something I would love to see more of, and I'll put it like this:
A story that challenges the foundation of your beliefs and many of your implicit assumptions in a way that depicts the worst case outcome of that is more terrifying than any jumpscare.

The expertly crafted atmosphere of loneliness and hopelessness compels you to cling to what hope you can find in the environment ( Much like the people living in Pathos II after things went to s***. ) and then subtly asks you "are you sure about that?" as the plot unfolds.


SPOILERS BELOW!
I know some people can't help but click through spoiler tags even if they haven't played the game yet, so I tried to spoil as little as possible in this review. I still recommend playing this game completely blind, but if you need a little extra convincing you're safe to give this a read.
Beyond the base scenario, this game covers topics including AI and human psychology and the divide that makes it difficult to relate between them and the misunderstandings that result from this disconnect. Its depiction of this dynamic is accurate to how AI as we know it would behave, and doesn't jump to the classic sci-fi trope of an evil AI. This more nuanced take on the topic is what really drew me in for various personal reasons.

In addition, the game's way of handling player decisions is something I really appreciate. Branching paths in a video game can be used well, but can also- unwittingly or not- force a sort of "right answer" to decisions the player has to make, or tie them directly to progression. SOMA contains many decisions for the player to make, but none of them gatekeep significant portions of the story, and only occasionally result in a line or two of additional dialogue. More importantly, none of them are presented by the game as explicitly being the "wrong choice". I think this is appropriate for the subject matter, since the science fiction of the story is only just beginning to become relevant to real industry, and there is still so much to explore in this area.

tl;dr- Save it for a rainy weekend and treat yourself

After 150 hours I've learned enough about managing my grief to be prepared for the untimely death of my entire extended family.

8/8, would die lagging in USWest again.