Frictional Games, developers of well-known survival horror title Amnesia: The Dark Descent, announced Friday that their next effort, SOMA, will be launched on September 22nd, 2015. Set in a vast, creaking underwater facility stricken with some kind of mysterious disaster, the not-Bioshock title will not include any bees or ironic takes on America's art deco phase. Instead, SOMA has deranged robots and monsters reflecting different themes of the story. The atmosphere of the game is aptly demonstrated by a 12-minute section of gameplay posted in celebration of the announcement:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syhcF0Mx0j0&feature=youtu.be
The developers have taken the time to provide a couple clarifications for the preview. First, the protagonist is not an amnesiac. (He is, however, clearly lost.) They also note there are several other elements left unexplored, including an alternate puzzle solution that avoids the enemy encounter altogether. Left unsaid is the nature of the robot’s corruption. Design elements on its back, as well as the environment, suggest a hostile takeover. One possibility: a bad case of crabs?
Foremost on the minds of some survival horror fans is the second entry in the Amnesia series, Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs, which was criticized for lacking the intense scares and cohesive atmosphere of its predecessor. Some have questioned the reason man-pigs were involved in the first place, which is not readily apparent after finishing the game. For those who were disappointed, it is important to remember that Frictional Games only published A Machine for Pigs; the development was undertaken by The Chinese Room. SOMA, on the other hand, is a Frictional project at all stages.
Excited for SOMA? Good, you should be. Consider hollering in the comments to show how excited you are.
