Soma E3 2015 Trailer: The Abyss

Frictional Games has launched its E3 trailer for the first-person horror game set in an underwater research facility, SOMA.

If you liked the Amnesia or Penumbra series, then you should definitely check out this trailer for SOMA. The horror genre is starting to shy away from the declining Resident Evil and Silent Hill series and embracing first-person survival games focusing on stealth as its new standard. One of the best games of this format is Alien: Isolation, which most likely played a huge influence in SOMA's development. Similar to Amanda Ripley, the protagonist of SOMA is stuck in an isolated research facility where he's being hunted by monstrosities he has no chance of overcoming, where the best course of action is stealth as opposed to combat. Likewise, SOMA's creepy atmophere and tech-filled environments reminds us of Sevastopol Station. The major difference here is PATHOS-2's underwater setting and the haunting threats of SOMA come from the station's machines that are starting to take on human traits.

After watching SOMA's E3 trailer, I have to admit that I'm impressed. Things are looking genuinely scary and creepy. While jump scares are always nice, it's another thing for a developer to make a horror game without having to rely on jump scares every single time. The atmosphere and environments here are so well-developed that the jump scares aren't the origin of the frights, but simply enhance them, which is the correct way to do it. Previous first-person horror games focus on jump scares as the primary way to convey horror, which always felt cheap to me. Here's to hoping SOMA will continue to impress.

SOMA will emerge from the depths on Sept. 22 for PC and PlayStation 4.

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