It's always a nervous time for a developer when the game they've worked on for years is finally out there in the wild, even if that company has produced many greats before and can count on plenty of press attention - if anything, that might make it more nerve racking.
Fortunately for the horror aficionados at Frictional Games, they needn't have worried about their half-decade development of SOMA, as it's received almost unanimous praise from reviewers around the world.
Most praise the atmosphere and the storytelling within the game, though the visuals also get a nod this time around - which is a first for Frictional. Clearly it's made a lot of effort to raise the bar of its aesthetics, despite the recommended specifications being very reasonable, so optimisation was solid too.
Others also noted that being found by a monster isn't instant-death. Often you are knocked down and then can progress with reduced movement and blurry vision until you recover, which makes the more difficult sections a little more nuanced than just trial and error.
There might be a bit of dodgy voice acting in places and there are a few missteps with the story's pacing, but overall everyone is a big fan of the new horror standard that makes you think as much as jump at the spooky things in the dark.
Kotaku - Yes
Gamespot - 9
PCGamer - 8
Eurogamer Italy - 9
Destructoid - 8
IGN - 8.1
Shacknews - 7/10
