Playing Soma was one of the most unique gaming experiences I've ever had. That is, most of all, due to how tightly tied to this specific medium it is, which is something that most of the other titles, especially high-budget ones, tend to ignore. Sure, most of them shoot for what they consider fun or engaging, which is are also concepts usually related to games of any kind, but never really try to embrace the various aspects surrounding a game.

Some experiences such as Soma, though, require the presence of a player interfacing with it to function, to serve its purpose. Playing through this game is intense, maybe even exhausting, and that is probably not an experience that every player will share, maybe not even most of them will. I say that because it was such a personal experience that I just can't fathom what others would feel while playing, and that's just a byproduct of that fourth wall-breaking connection between player, protagonist and game world. Through philosophical propositions, horror both psychological and even physical, with the voracity and fatality of what life has become, of what an AI considers human life to be, and ultimately through loneliness given to both the main character and the player behind him to ponder about ask the other aspects, Soma expands beyond the game. When reflecting upon it, which is frequent given its nature, it's almost as if it inhabited you, felt your feelings and twisted them ever again with another smart gut punch, physical and psychological.

It's actually funny that I felt almost violated by the game through its duration, since by the end of it, I felt like nothing short of a parasite, feeling feelings not mine, fighting a fight I got no stakes in. Me, a human being, looking through the eyes of the leftover of humanity, trying to save a body that wasn't mine.

It's crazy how much stuff Nintendo got right here, especially considering this is only the 3rd entry on a series that, for some tens of future entries, would follow a formula fundamentally based on this game.

Because of this big influence ALTTP had, though, many other modern titles, and not only Zelda ones, borrowed something from this formula and in many cases improved upon it. Being so, it's hard to dismiss how formulaic and basic some of its systems feel. That, however, is just a consequence of me having played a fair share of "Zelda-likes", so it's not a problem of that game per se, since these nowadays bland parts of it were revolutionary at the time of its release. Some aspects of the gameplay are included in that, but I still like the constant risk/reward situations you get into while using the sword, especially because of the small hitbox its attacks have, and it feels, aside from some hiccups here and there, tightly-knit.

Those nitpicks aside, the brilliance of ALTTP's design is mesmerizing. The dungeons have a great flow, requiring some thinking from the player but always allowing that thought process to be as clear as possible, through scenery hints, simplicity and a linearity that doesn't restrict the player, while stops them to straying too far off the beaten path. The overworld, too, hardly ever had me totally lost like sometimes I was while playing the original LoZ, an improvement already visible in Zelda II, which offered a handful of tips on how to progress, but even more effective in this game. There is also the whole Light/Dark World mechanic, but that is obviously such a great idea that just by saying that it was masterfully implemented by Nintendo is already enough to state how well it fits the game, contributing to the already established by the first game sense of wonder and curiosity that emerge while exploring this Hyrule.

Awesome music, awesome design and ideas, rewarding exploration and good gameplay. It's an all-around excellent title that charmed me and pulled me in even after 30+ years of its initial release.