Playing through SOMA is not the standard jumpscare adventure that so much of the horror game genre has become. SOMA takes genuine human concerns and unresolvable philosophical questions, smears them with viscous black fluid, implants them with glowing blue nodules, and embodies them within the shambling remnants of the doomed crew until the whole thing lands somewhere between an ethics exercise and technophilic black mass. An achievement in chilling story and atmosphere even if the gameplay side seems borrowed wholesale from their earlier work, Frictional Games delivers a uniquely scary view into a looking glass where you’ll explore your own relationships with humanity, the will to fight against futility, and the sanctity of life.

Full essay here: https://www.guilded.gg/backlog/blog/Chris-Vs-Blog/Well-Meet-Beyond-the-Shore-The-Hope-and-Helplessness-of-SOMA