Frictional Games, the company behind the terrifying Amnesia franchise, is bringing their newest title, SOMA, to the PlayStation 4. The space themed horror title is currently set to be released in 2015.
In a post on the PlayStation Blog, the creative director at Frictional Games, Thomas Grip, teased a little bit of information on SOMA. He described the title as the following:
“It is a sci-fi horror game played from a first person perspective. You are not a space marine though; you’re a normal, very exposed person trapped in a nightmarish world. SOMA is a game about exploration, survival and immersing you inside an interactive narrative.”
Grip would go on to explain that SOMA is heavily influenced by “great sci-fi authors like Asimov, Dick and Heinlein,” so gamers can look forward to some rather unconventional space themed horror. He also went into a little bit of detail behind how they came up with the idea for SOMA:
“The subject that SOMA will discuss is consciousness. Personally, I find it the most profound questions that it is possible to ask. “How can the feeling of subjective experience arise from a chunk of flesh?” Exploring this further takes us to questions such as “Can machines be conscious?” and “Do we have free will?” It quickly gets very disturbing, and is ideal for a futuristic horror setting. It is the kind of sci-fi that we want to make.”
To me, this sounds like a very unique horror title. Instead of being comprised of a bunch of cheap jump scares, SOMA seems to be focusing on more psychological-based terror. This can be hard to successfully pull off, especially for a game, but when done correctly, it is the type of horror that can stick with you for a long time.
If you have played Amnesia, then you will know that if any company is going to pull off this type of experience, it’s going to be Frictional Games.
While information on SOMA is sparse at the moment, gamers looking for a taste of what to expect can watch the trailer below.