Soma review – existential horror that stops short of genius

Horror game specialist Frictional Games returns with another terrifying descent into the unknown

Soma is a horror game that should try to act less like a horror game. Taking place in a remote underwater research facility, it plays on fears of the deep sea, of drowning and darkness and the disturbing alien lifeforms that dwell down there - all a welcome change from the mansions and asylums that tend to haunt horror titles. But the sea is rarely a threat - the ocean floor is often just a beautiful corridor between the underwater bases in which you experience more traditional horror gaming fare: ie running away from monsters. The thing is, this game is horrifying enough without them.

Soma is essentially an existential nightmare about personal identity. "Soma" is Greek for "body", as in "psychosomatic", but the question Soma asks is whether identity can continue through psychology alone.