Games like Soma, and serious, in-depth analyses of them, like yours, are prime examples of the legitimacy of videogames as a valid art form to be taken as seriously as any other medium.
What are some games like Soma? I'm more into the story lines than playing them, I shit my pants trying to get through these games and end up just watching the playthrough lol.
@@KyLesCaster Amnesia Dark Descent is a good one too. I would say Inside and Limbo, but those are a whole different league (they have no dialogue no indication of the story, meaning everything is based on interpretation. And I really mean everything)
@@tiagoviana263 I've played all of those, and was quite impressed with Limbo and Inside. Amnesia Dark Descent was more jump scares/sounds, I enjoyed it but it just didn't have that psychological mind trip plot that Soma did haha. They set the bar for sure.
@@Bone_guyI don’t think cod and Fortnite are bad, they just have that replayability that people really like. While Soma is a one-time experience that we’ll remember forever, we can play multiple time but it’s intriguing in that first time, and it’s fantastic on its own, based on Steam feedbacks many people agree it’s a great game. Different game genres as well though so I feel like comparing them is kinda weird, or maybe it’s just me
I found SOMA's lore intriguing, but I never thought I'd find the entire thing nicely strung together in a high-quality video series like this. You need more subs my friend.
I never made the conection between the blackboxes and their heads exploding, now that this guy explained very well it's even more fucked up hearing the audio and seeing the bodies lying around...
Watching this, I kind of got the feeling that Omicron's last moments (while foreshadowed by the headaches/nosebleeds) were set into motion when Raleigh really set towards the Abyss. I mean, the staff's heads blow up while she is already wearing the power suit. It's almost like the WAU is sensing Ross influencing Raleigh and putting an over-the-top ending to his/their plan in order to save itself. Really 10/10 stuff, could watch an endless series of these.
except they are wrong - the killing of people was a side effect of the WAU attempting something else - a risk it likely calculated was ok to take given it had scans of everyone at the site by that point, but also because (in whatever way an AI could, given the way AI's work in this fiction, which is more realistic wrt current research and theory) it 'cared' about Ross more than anyone else.
@@xBINARYGODx If that's true, then the WAU made a mistake. It dug itself its own grave by allowing Ross to be resurrected at the cost of killing everyone else in Omicron, as after this Ross was only further encouraged to continue his plan to 'poison the well' and kill the WAU though Simon's aid. In a way, the WAU is responsible for its own demise - if it refrained from overloading the blackboxes and kept the Omicron staff alive and Ross (physically) dead, Raleigh would probably have never found Alpha without Ross' help, and her mission would've likely failed. But the WAU somehow didn't acknowledge this, instead electing to revive Ross (for whatever reason it had to do this), setting the ball in motion for Simon to stumble across Ross at Omicron and for Ross to lead Simon to Alpha to kill the WAU.
@@coder0079 The only thing I remember it attempting to do was try to resurrect Ross. The electric pulses that it did in order to do that caused everyone's black box to overload. I personally don't think that the WAU intended for the black boxes to explode as it was only trying to resurrect Ross. I believe it was an unintended side effect.
I remember when I first played this game and got the point where Catherine copies Simon to his new body... that scene mindfucked me hardcore (in a good way lol). In retrospect, I should've noticed the subtle allusions to it in game, but I guess I was just shocked that the game "went there". I replayed and pondered the deeper meaning of that scene for over a week afterward.
This channel is legitimately amazing. A true example of quality content on youtube that is both interesting and informational. It is shocking to see how few subscribers you have right now. Channels like this should really be the most popular, as it is easy to see how much work went into making an episode like this. I cannot wait until the next part. Keep doing this, man, you always make me want to play SOMA again, and you deserve more recognition.
Thanks for the kind words. Glad to see there are players out there who appreciate academic approaches to gaming, and not just "lets plays" involving screaming into a camera (not that I'm judging, ;-)
LMAO. I would much rather watch someone like you any day of the week over someone who just does constant screaming every time that an enemy or jump scare appears. Those types of videos mostly cater to children which is why they have so many views.
I wish you have covered the story of Imogen Reed and how she came to Upsilon to shut the power down (in hopes of killing WAU), and how her body was used by WAU to create the Simon that wakes up at Upsilon.
I really wanna know why Julia wouldnt just console Raleigh by telling her what's in alpha and why she would keep it a secret if they are the last humans on earth, there is noone to punish her nor any repercussions to Dahl for telling Raleigh.
It's possible that Julia might know the truth about Carthage having other shelters across the planet, and was willing to keep their secrecy for fear of her family or loved ones being punished. I don't think this necessarily cheapens the story since Pathos-II would still be realistically isolated and doomed - but considering how advanced humans are in this setting, it would be more unlikely that there wouldn't be other bunkers, undersea labs, and even space stations. It's just that the disaster is too recent and the lab is too isolated for meaningful contact to be established in time. It may still seem insanely loyal for Julia to remain dedicated to being a spy even after contact is seemingly lost, but I'd like to think she might have been motivated by knowing Carthage's true mission or having people she cared about at stake. She might seem evil but being willing to die keeping her secrets rather than just admitting the truth to prolong her life makes me wonder exactly what she knew.
"Carthage must burn" seemed like a reference to a realization that their (Carthage owned) AI was spinning out of control and the goal must be to stop it before it killed them all
When you enter omicron at 3:21 there are 3 bodies and not one is inside a white diving suit. If you return to that room before you have to exit the area (by completing quests) you will see another decapitated body wearing a white diving suit lying on the bench to the left at 3:21. Maybe I was in a similar room or the devs wanted to subtly fuck with us. Anyone can confirm this?
Right, "moving bodies" phenomenon is there at Omicron just to scare the player or at least make him feel uncomfortable. As well as moving doors at Theta.
@@hiyukelavie2396 Maybe that, or maybe it was part of an unfinished storyline. Probably the former, judging by how hard the game tries to scare the player with monsters
@Hiyuke La Vie Oh wait, you reminded me. It's been a while, but I remember that there was another monster in the works at Omicron, called Patchwork man. You can find his walk animations in SOMA animation reel (look it up) So, when you enter Omicron and start exploring, you can find this man at the middle floor, next to the stairs to the top floor. He is heavily "augmented" by WAU and is just laying on the floor there, moving his limbs a bit but not posing any danger Later, when you collect all the items from your "shopping list", you may notice that he is gone from his original location So at this point he would start wandering somewhere, and possibly looking to attack you, and you'd have to work out how to avoid him, just like with other monsters in SOMA, but those plans were cancelled for some reasons, and that part never made it into the released version I can only speculate that the moving bodies thing could be the Patchwork man's doing in some iteration of this story
Hang on a second... the Omicron massacre was the same day as Akers' rampage of JOIN US. Did the WAU time that deliberately? Was the idea to kill off the threats in Omicron (the dogooder & the Cartharge employee) and JOIN US the theoretical survivors at Theta?
And this is How people should start their channels... Really really well made videos... I'll make sure to recommend this to my friends.so we can get the sub avalance growing....
YES. YESSSSSS. THIS IS WHAT I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR ON SOMA. Thank you man!! Your analysis is amazing, and I'm so glad someone saw the need of doing it! *[discovers you have more]* OH MY GODDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
Dude i never knew there was sooo much lore to soma. You have open my eyes and a lot of the things you find and go over make sooo much sense. I love watching lore i do for the darksouls games and you my friend do a amazing job with this game. Loving all your videos and now you got yourself another subscriber sir :) Keep up the awesome work!!
I started on your Soma series earlier today and I just wanna say that I have really enjoyed your content. Your vocabulary is incredibly satisfying and the deep timber of your voice is super pleasant. Thanks dude. Subbed.
Man, these videos are so introspective and teach me so much about this game! I love the story and setting of SOMA and you go through it with such a fine level of detail that it's entertaining just watching your synopsis as if it was an episode of the Twilight Zone!
Random number generators aren't even that hard you just have to save the number which isnt hard either. It's still a fucking cool detail with much thought behind it
Wow, thank you for your amazing work. It has been quite some time since I last played Soma. But wow, your videos perfectly capture the suppressing feeling of the game and I instantly face the same questions arising from Somas incredible story again
Thanks overture. As I stated in my notes, I apologize for the delay. My CPU is terribly slow, but I'm gunning to get the last episode out ASAP. And yea, I try to keep the atmosphere intact when doing these episodes, since I know there will be some people who have never played SOMA, who watch out of curiosity. And of course, I want to honor the tone for those who have played it, and for the sake of the game's artistry as well.
And you, my good sir, are one talented man indeed! :) Your channel is criminally undersubbed - I first discovered these videos several months ago, when I first got the game. I chose not to watch them until I had finished the game at least once - fast forward to now, and I gotta say, the game truly is an amazing experience, especially if you enjoy philosophy and theories of mind, etc. Honestly though, I actually thought this series was an official accompaniment put out by Frictional (much like the short films) because this series you've made is just SO DAMN WELL DONE! This stands neck and neck with any professionally-done, official material. You should be very proud of the work you've done, seriously :) Outstanding job, my man! I can't wait to see more :D
Awesome series! I loved how you narrated and explained the story in a way that it is easy to understand like story-telling. I hope you get more subscribers! Great quality content, thank you for all the effort you have put in this.
Why would Ross even need Simon to destroy the WAU? Why won't he just break the glass box like he did, use his electronics control skills to open necessary doors, take the gel, go outside, jump into the abyss (we know it's safe for him from the scene in the Climber), make it to Alpha (monsters are not a problem as long as he can teleport short distances) and inject the gel into the WAU's heart? Simon would never make it into Omicron without Ross helping, but that would be his problems :)
His body is fused with ordinary structure gel (unlike Simon's modified gel), maybe the WAU controls the gel in his body to prevent him from harming the core
Ross also can't actually teleport or remotely 'hack' electrical systems. The teleportation is Ross emitting electromagnetic bursts, similar to the Jiangshi. These electromagnetic bursts temporarily overload and shut down Simon's sensory input, since he is essentially a robot. He perceives these short shut downs as 'skips' in time, which is why Ross and the Jiangshi appear to teleport, whereas in reality they are simply walking forward as Simon is deactivated. Ross most likely emits an electromagnetic burst before he 'hacks' something, then enters the desired message onto the terminal while Simon is shut down, which is why it appears instant to Simon. He may also not be able to open doors as he cannot actually hack electronics, and instead relies on Simon and his omnitool to open doors. Why he leaves Simon and Catherine alive when he could take the omnitool for himself is anyone's guess.
@@iain4194 Because the new suit that Simon is using is fused with the deadly structural gel, intended to kill the WAU. There's absolutely no use for Ross in taking the Omnitool when his primary objective is ending the WAU and by doing so, killing all proxies but also releasing the victims that have been put to sleep under WAU's mind control.
For me, this game was so scary that I missed so much of this stuff. I didn’t know loads of people in Omicron died from their black boxes pretty much exploding inside their heads. Messed up stuff but a fantastic series!
I thought the game was good when I played it, but now I know more of the backstory it's even better. Thank you for taking the time to make these videos.
" I might create a patreon account for such a thing; I haven't decided yet. I feel weird about it" Don't feel wierd ! Just do it, you deserve every penny. Your videos are pure gold, GOLD. Trust me, people will support you and this channel is gonna grow very fast.
+killerzombyady Glad to see someone read my notes. I'm thinking about it. I'll finish this series first, then try my hand at patreon. Happy for your support. Thanks so much.
Your videos are amazing and I'm glad I finally found some videos of players who actually appreciate the lore and ideologies behind certain games. I hope Frictional will make another Soma themed game and that you will make more videos about them. Soma is, despite its grotesque storyline one of those games that will stay with me for the rest of my life purely because of all the truth and sadness embedded in it. You perfectly translated this in understandable language for the masses. Keep up the good work!
After re-watching this video, I have to ask, have you ever considered doing a short video or text-document going through all potential direct comparisons between Delenda Est and Soma? Would be fairly interesting to hear more of your thoughts on the similarities and differences.
Your theories are great, i enjoy open minded and deep thinkers such as you. Analyze everything and ignore nothing. Theories are just presumtions. But every fiction has a bit of truth in it, if you look the right way. Excellent work ! You definitely have another subscriber now.
Normally, especially when I already know what a person is covering, I just leave the audio on while I do other things. Not this though. You just...suck me in. I never played Soma, mostly watched videos but I find the game so...fascinating. Of the horror games made by this company, this one just utterly sucks me in. Your telling of events helps to not only make clear what went where, but I find myself actually watching the videos. Once I feel financially capable, I plan to buy Soma myself and play it.
excellent commentary and analysis. I wish there were more games for you to analyse this way. I would buy them even if i were not interested in playing those!
My question is why site Alpha was kept a secret. What was the point in hiding it? It's not like it's very easy to get down there, so even if there were things not to be meddled with down there it wouldn't matter if everyone knew because they wouldn't be able to get there in the first place.
Awesome work ! Thanks a lot for your time, I enjoyed the video very much, great diction, interesting theories and awesome edit, not boring and not fatiguating either. Subscribed !
The fact all of these episodes were edited on imovie is something i have to give credit for ive used imovie and its the most frustrating software ive ever used and the fact you made 5 20 - 40 minute videos is very commendable
I bought amnesia collection and soma on sale for ps4 ! I remember seen an article in an 2012 egm magazine about a machine for pigs and damn after playing all the games I'm left with a uneasy feeling idk how to explained it especially with soma I think it gave me a little bit of sadness
What's really cool is that I'm gonna be able to see this channel grow. It might be small now.. But seriously I have a really good feeling this channel is going to explode
+Donovan King That's the goal. If it doesn't work, I'll probably have to produce two more episodes, but given the size of the last three areas (and the amount of content in them) I'm confident I can finish the series with one last episode.
One question I want to ask is: Why no one on Omicron tried to switch off their black boxes? Later in the game we find out it’s possible.If I were in such a pain I would either find out how to do it myself or ask more highly commended or tech-savvy staff members to do it. After all, I refuse to believe that no one knew how to turn them off,, at least that woman who worked for Carthage.
Since it's hooked up to the body/brain, it likely uses the body's own electrical charge in some way, so even if it's "off," it's likely still in a low power state and just not recording. As long as there is electricity in it, the electromagnetism would have affected it and caused the symptoms. But I am surprised there are no notes of people wanting to just remove them entirely... then again, maybe it requires complex neurosurgery and they have nobody who can perform that kind of thing.
@@Wveth Why would you put an electric box in your brain on the first place, what kinda people are these that are so commited to their company/job to take a (what I think is a high risk of death) surgery and work hundreds of meters underwater... I'm guessing they offered millions of dollars to their employees or the surgery was cheap as hell, maybe not even that complicated...? Just something random that I thought about, still... I love this game lol
@@Gentamoru Like you already said, the pay and benefits for this job were likely very generous. It's also in period of time where technology and AI has advanced a lot so maybe having these kind of devices in your body has become acceptable in society.
Neuralink... I can confirm there are weirdos willing to get brain chips even now, and I'm sure this dangerous technology will only continue to get even more aggressively normalized. I do think it's a subtle dystopian touch to imply that all corporate employees in the game have to submit to having a potential Killswitch installed in their heads. Even before the disaster forced them to relinquish their bodies, they already had to put their lives at risk just for a paycheck. Here's a thought: what if the Wau was misblamed for the Omicron disaster, and someone working with Carthage activated the kill switches when Alpha was at risk of discovery? We know Dahl's dead, but there was another female Carthage employee working there and there happens to be a female cyborg who's still 'living' there...
Good job again, I already awaited this episode. Love the game and your videos on it. You mentioned the patreon account in the description. You make quality stuff and definetly need a better computer (I want this videos faster :D). So I would say go for it. I would support you and I guess others would too. Awaiting your next episode :).
Quality content. I enjoyed all your soma story analysis videos and hope you make more on other games! Hope your channel gets more notice, perhaps a story analysis of a more mainstream game would do that?
No, that creature looks different from Ross. It's a Flesher, like the one you can see at MS Curie. He was intended to scare you and therefore teach you to never forget your omnitool. HEAVY SPOILERS AHEAD! DO NOT READ UNLESS YOU COMPLETED THE GAME!!! Who brought Simon to life in this world? I think it was the WAU. Just like it uploaded the brain scans into robots and sometimes absolutely random machinery (like a door) just to preserve life ("Well, I make them live, right? Bringing them back to life? So, I am fulfilling my purpose to preserve humanity. And such details like they are going to suffer forever in "bodies" which were not intended for this - they don't matter."), so it did it with Simon. WAU was experimenting to find the best way to sustain human life. Upload someone's brain scan into a robot? Hmm. Maybe a sticky goo making any human stuck in it sleep and dream of the best moments of his life? Therefore he will not be able to harm himself (these stupid humans always endanger themselves). How about turning them into monsters, like Proxies and Akers? Two birds with one stone effect - we are preserving the monsters' lives and at the same time these monsters will make sure every living human they can reach is put into the Matrix goo and never gets out of it. Maybe revive a human with some machinery stuff, like Robot Girls? Ross was a different story, one of the most successful WAU's expirements, because he remained relatively sane after such a revival. Catherine's case was a unique one as well. Remember in what state you find her? In a robot stuck on the floor, but unlike the mockingbirds, she is aware of her state. Her brain scan is saved on a cortex chip you then insert into your omnitool. And finally, Simon's case was probably the most successful WAU's experiment. He remained sane and his body was strong enough to do stuff (unlike Catherine's). He couldn't completely understand the concept of the brain scan, but I think it's his fault, not the WAU's. Well, while walking towards Tau, Ross appears at some moments, and you can see him entering Tau after you. You would have noticed him on your way from Upsilon to Omicron if he was at Upsilon from the start because seems like he can teleport short distances only.
You mean at Omicron, the creature in the glass box? You are asking how do you know that his name is Johan Ross? Dear reader, if you did not reach and leave Omicron in your playthrough by the moment you are reading this, please do not read this comment further :) Well, if you turn on names in subtitles, you will see his last name while he will be speaking :) Besides, he is mentioned in the documents and audiologs in computers at Omicron a lot. You can compile his whole story from that pieces. One of that pieces: 6:48
Why did Johan tell Simon to destroy the WAU, when the WAU "revived" Johan Ross? Or did Johan actually get punished by the big corrupted so called fish, which ate Ross?
Just as brilliant as your other videos! Have you considered getting a Twitter handle to let Frictional know that you're doing this series? It's the best overview/evaluation of the narrative I've seen thus far, and I think they'd be impressed. I'll share it on Twitter regardless, because this is really wonderfully done.
Thanks so much. I've never considered doing the whole Twitter thing, but I really should. And I'm glad you're willing to promote it. I always appreciate dedicated fans.
Games like Soma, and serious, in-depth analyses of them, like yours, are prime examples of the legitimacy of videogames as a valid art form to be taken as seriously as any other medium.
games were the original ebook.
What are some games like Soma? I'm more into the story lines than playing them, I shit my pants trying to get through these games and end up just watching the playthrough lol.
@@KyLesCaster Amnesia Dark Descent is a good one too. I would say Inside and Limbo, but those are a whole different league (they have no dialogue no indication of the story, meaning everything is based on interpretation. And I really mean everything)
@@tiagoviana263 I've played all of those, and was quite impressed with Limbo and Inside. Amnesia Dark Descent was more jump scares/sounds, I enjoyed it but it just didn't have that psychological mind trip plot that Soma did haha. They set the bar for sure.
@@Bone_guyI don’t think cod and Fortnite are bad, they just have that replayability that people really like.
While Soma is a one-time experience that we’ll remember forever, we can play multiple time but it’s intriguing in that first time, and it’s fantastic on its own, based on Steam feedbacks many people agree it’s a great game.
Different game genres as well though so I feel like comparing them is kinda weird, or maybe it’s just me
I found SOMA's lore intriguing, but I never thought I'd find the entire thing nicely strung together in a high-quality video series like this. You need more subs my friend.
I like to think so, lol. Thank you.
The line from Ross always gives me goosebumps.
"YOU DID IT! You did it. _I will make preparations._ "
I’m a couple years late but what I love is Ross‘ VA is the voice of Samuels in Alien Isolation, and Ross feels like a more insane version of Samuels
Raleigh's corpse being found in the power suit was just gruesome, and following it up with actual audio of someone's head exploding? Very well done.
I never made the conection between the blackboxes and their heads exploding, now that this guy explained very well it's even more fucked up hearing the audio and seeing the bodies lying around...
Watching this, I kind of got the feeling that Omicron's last moments (while foreshadowed by the headaches/nosebleeds) were set into motion when Raleigh really set towards the Abyss. I mean, the staff's heads blow up while she is already wearing the power suit. It's almost like the WAU is sensing Ross influencing Raleigh and putting an over-the-top ending to his/their plan in order to save itself. Really 10/10 stuff, could watch an endless series of these.
You're not wrong. That's a part of the next/last episode.
except they are wrong - the killing of people was a side effect of the WAU attempting something else - a risk it likely calculated was ok to take given it had scans of everyone at the site by that point, but also because (in whatever way an AI could, given the way AI's work in this fiction, which is more realistic wrt current research and theory) it 'cared' about Ross more than anyone else.
@@xBINARYGODx If that's true, then the WAU made a mistake. It dug itself its own grave by allowing Ross to be resurrected at the cost of killing everyone else in Omicron, as after this Ross was only further encouraged to continue his plan to 'poison the well' and kill the WAU though Simon's aid. In a way, the WAU is responsible for its own demise - if it refrained from overloading the blackboxes and kept the Omicron staff alive and Ross (physically) dead, Raleigh would probably have never found Alpha without Ross' help, and her mission would've likely failed. But the WAU somehow didn't acknowledge this, instead electing to revive Ross (for whatever reason it had to do this), setting the ball in motion for Simon to stumble across Ross at Omicron and for Ross to lead Simon to Alpha to kill the WAU.
@@xBINARYGODx What was the WAU attempting? I haven't played this game, however I have watched a lot of videos about it.
@@coder0079
The only thing I remember it attempting to do was try to resurrect Ross. The electric pulses that it did in order to do that caused everyone's black box to overload. I personally don't think that the WAU intended for the black boxes to explode as it was only trying to resurrect Ross. I believe it was an unintended side effect.
I remember when I first played this game and got the point where Catherine copies Simon to his new body... that scene mindfucked me hardcore (in a good way lol). In retrospect, I should've noticed the subtle allusions to it in game, but I guess I was just shocked that the game "went there". I replayed and pondered the deeper meaning of that scene for over a week afterward.
This channel is legitimately amazing. A true example of quality content on youtube that is both interesting and informational. It is shocking to see how few subscribers you have right now. Channels like this should really be the most popular, as it is easy to see how much work went into making an episode like this. I cannot wait until the next part. Keep doing this, man, you always make me want to play SOMA again, and you deserve more recognition.
Thanks for the kind words. Glad to see there are players out there who appreciate academic approaches to gaming, and not just "lets plays" involving screaming into a camera (not that I'm judging, ;-)
LMAO. I would much rather watch someone like you any day of the week over someone who just does constant screaming every time that an enemy or jump scare appears. Those types of videos mostly cater to children which is why they have so many views.
I prefer intelligent analyses.
I wish you have covered the story of Imogen Reed and how she came to Upsilon to shut the power down (in hopes of killing WAU), and how her body was used by WAU to create the Simon that wakes up at Upsilon.
I really wanna know why Julia wouldnt just console Raleigh by telling her what's in alpha and why she would keep it a secret if they are the last humans on earth, there is noone to punish her nor any repercussions to Dahl for telling Raleigh.
It's possible that Julia might know the truth about Carthage having other shelters across the planet, and was willing to keep their secrecy for fear of her family or loved ones being punished. I don't think this necessarily cheapens the story since Pathos-II would still be realistically isolated and doomed - but considering how advanced humans are in this setting, it would be more unlikely that there wouldn't be other bunkers, undersea labs, and even space stations. It's just that the disaster is too recent and the lab is too isolated for meaningful contact to be established in time.
It may still seem insanely loyal for Julia to remain dedicated to being a spy even after contact is seemingly lost, but I'd like to think she might have been motivated by knowing Carthage's true mission or having people she cared about at stake. She might seem evil but being willing to die keeping her secrets rather than just admitting the truth to prolong her life makes me wonder exactly what she knew.
"Carthage must burn" seemed like a reference to a realization that their (Carthage owned) AI was spinning out of control and the goal must be to stop it before it killed them all
When you enter omicron at 3:21 there are 3 bodies and not one is inside a white diving suit. If you return to that room before you have to exit the area (by completing quests) you will see another decapitated body wearing a white diving suit lying on the bench to the left at 3:21.
Maybe I was in a similar room or the devs wanted to subtly fuck with us. Anyone can confirm this?
Right, "moving bodies" phenomenon is there at Omicron just to scare the player or at least make him feel uncomfortable. As well as moving doors at Theta.
@@andrewch4066 So basically the developers were resorting to cheap tricks to scare the player?
@@hiyukelavie2396 Maybe that, or maybe it was part of an unfinished storyline. Probably the former, judging by how hard the game tries to scare the player with monsters
@Hiyuke La Vie Oh wait, you reminded me.
It's been a while, but I remember that there was another monster in the works at Omicron, called Patchwork man. You can find his walk animations in SOMA animation reel (look it up)
So, when you enter Omicron and start exploring, you can find this man at the middle floor, next to the stairs to the top floor. He is heavily "augmented" by WAU and is just laying on the floor there, moving his limbs a bit but not posing any danger
Later, when you collect all the items from your "shopping list", you may notice that he is gone from his original location
So at this point he would start wandering somewhere, and possibly looking to attack you, and you'd have to work out how to avoid him, just like with other monsters in SOMA, but those plans were cancelled for some reasons, and that part never made it into the released version
I can only speculate that the moving bodies thing could be the Patchwork man's doing in some iteration of this story
@@andrewch4066 Cool, very interesting, thanks for sharing 👍🏻
Hang on a second... the Omicron massacre was the same day as Akers' rampage of JOIN US. Did the WAU time that deliberately? Was the idea to kill off the threats in Omicron (the dogooder & the Cartharge employee) and JOIN US the theoretical survivors at Theta?
And this is How people should start their channels... Really really well made videos... I'll make sure to recommend this to my friends.so we can get the sub avalance growing....
Haha, yes! That's awesome, thanks!
YES. YESSSSSS. THIS IS WHAT I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR ON SOMA.
Thank you man!! Your analysis is amazing, and I'm so glad someone saw the need of doing it!
*[discovers you have more]*
OH MY GODDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
Hahaha, you're welcome!
Dude i never knew there was sooo much lore to soma. You have open my eyes and a lot of the things you find and go over make sooo much sense. I love watching lore i do for the darksouls games and you my friend do a amazing job with this game. Loving all your videos and now you got yourself another subscriber sir :) Keep up the awesome work!!
demonfox13 Thanks. Yup, SOMA's rife with small, flavorful details. I'm glad to have helped you glean a finer understanding of some of them.
I started on your Soma series earlier today and I just wanna say that I have really enjoyed your content. Your vocabulary is incredibly satisfying and the deep timber of your voice is super pleasant. Thanks dude. Subbed.
This type of video is way better than these generic streaming we're having these days. Make more, please.
I feel sad for them, I can't imagine the pain they went through. RIP Omicron Staff 😭
Rest In Peace Raleigh 😥
RIP everyone, this game is honestly more depressing then scary. All these characters were humanized so well.
poor Simon 3. He got the worst possible outcome.
You mean the Simon on the Ark?
Everytime i watch these i crave more. Awsome video. Keep up the amazing work man!
Well, we've got one more episode planned. So keep with it! And thanks!
There should be a short film of this, the story is so good. Thanks for doing this!
Have you seen the Soma Transmissions?
@@SamuelBlack84 Those episodes don't cover the main gameplay, just some of the back story.
You could audition to voice Master Chief in Halo. Great job with the lore, I’ve always wanted a detailed description of the hell that unfolded.
Man, these videos are so introspective and teach me so much about this game! I love the story and setting of SOMA and you go through it with such a fine level of detail that it's entertaining just watching your synopsis as if it was an episode of the Twilight Zone!
Tyrone Wells II
youre voice is amazing its like listening to the narrator of twilight zone narrating soma
That is exactly what I said on the second video, he sounds like Rod Serling.
Mod Man Lol, I never tire of hearing that. Thank you.
He sounded more like the guy that tells the ending in fallout new Vagas or 3
Loved the video. Meets my high expectations. Glad that you are still with us Digger. ^^
Digger? I like that. Thanks!!!
3:05 wow apparently that number is random every time, was 4111 for me
Yeah I noticed that too! mine was something like 8668 or something along those lines
@@Gentamoru 9266 for me. Amazing detail
@@Gentamoru i think i had simmillar number, maybe its not random but choosen from few options, idk
0090. It may be random number generator.
Random number generators aren't even that hard you just have to save the number which isnt hard either. It's still a fucking cool detail with much thought behind it
Wow, thank you for your amazing work. It has been quite some time since I last played Soma. But wow, your videos perfectly capture the suppressing feeling of the game and I instantly face the same questions arising from Somas incredible story again
Thanks overture. As I stated in my notes, I apologize for the delay. My CPU is terribly slow, but I'm gunning to get the last episode out ASAP. And yea, I try to keep the atmosphere intact when doing these episodes, since I know there will be some people who have never played SOMA, who watch out of curiosity. And of course, I want to honor the tone for those who have played it, and for the sake of the game's artistry as well.
And you, my good sir, are one talented man indeed! :)
Your channel is criminally undersubbed - I first discovered these videos several months ago, when I first got the game. I chose not to watch them until I had finished the game at least once - fast forward to now, and I gotta say, the game truly is an amazing experience, especially if you enjoy philosophy and theories of mind, etc.
Honestly though, I actually thought this series was an official accompaniment put out by Frictional (much like the short films) because this series you've made is just SO DAMN WELL DONE! This stands neck and neck with any professionally-done, official material. You should be very proud of the work you've done, seriously :)
Outstanding job, my man! I can't wait to see more :D
Awesome series! I loved how you narrated and explained the story in a way that it is easy to understand like story-telling. I hope you get more subscribers! Great quality content, thank you for all the effort you have put in this.
The SOMA series you've done has earned a sub from me, fantastic work right here.
I cannot stop watching these videos. They are so amazing. You clearly put a LOT of work into these. This truly sets the bar high.
Keep this up please, and continue with other games as well! What you have done is amazing and very informative! Thank you!
Will do! Almost done with the next episode.
Awesome! Can't wait!
Why would Ross even need Simon to destroy the WAU? Why won't he just break the glass box like he did, use his electronics control skills to open necessary doors, take the gel, go outside, jump into the abyss (we know it's safe for him from the scene in the Climber), make it to Alpha (monsters are not a problem as long as he can teleport short distances) and inject the gel into the WAU's heart? Simon would never make it into Omicron without Ross helping, but that would be his problems :)
Hm. Maybe while he can hack monitors to display things. But he can't mess with things like electronic locks and stuff? Who knows.
Perhaps he can't physically harm the WAU, as it prevents him from doing such.
His body is fused with ordinary structure gel (unlike Simon's modified gel), maybe the WAU controls the gel in his body to prevent him from harming the core
Ross also can't actually teleport or remotely 'hack' electrical systems. The teleportation is Ross emitting electromagnetic bursts, similar to the Jiangshi. These electromagnetic bursts temporarily overload and shut down Simon's sensory input, since he is essentially a robot. He perceives these short shut downs as 'skips' in time, which is why Ross and the Jiangshi appear to teleport, whereas in reality they are simply walking forward as Simon is deactivated. Ross most likely emits an electromagnetic burst before he 'hacks' something, then enters the desired message onto the terminal while Simon is shut down, which is why it appears instant to Simon. He may also not be able to open doors as he cannot actually hack electronics, and instead relies on Simon and his omnitool to open doors. Why he leaves Simon and Catherine alive when he could take the omnitool for himself is anyone's guess.
@@iain4194 Because the new suit that Simon is using is fused with the deadly structural gel, intended to kill the WAU. There's absolutely no use for Ross in taking the Omnitool when his primary objective is ending the WAU and by doing so, killing all proxies but also releasing the victims that have been put to sleep under WAU's mind control.
So there was quarantine involving Omicron.
Cool, coolcoolcool.
Absolutely brilliant.
loving these in depth videos
Thanks! In depth was the only way to do it justice!
For me, this game was so scary that I missed so much of this stuff. I didn’t know loads of people in Omicron died from their black boxes pretty much exploding inside their heads. Messed up stuff but a fantastic series!
Bro. I just binged this series. Phenomenal work!
I thought the game was good when I played it, but now I know more of the backstory it's even better. Thank you for taking the time to make these videos.
OMG !!! I waited so long for this. FINALLY !!!
" I might create a patreon account for such a thing; I haven't decided yet. I feel weird about it"
Don't feel wierd ! Just do it, you deserve every penny. Your videos are pure gold, GOLD. Trust me, people will support you and this channel is gonna grow very fast.
For real, me too. I'm powering through the last episode on my needy day off. More to come.
+Gameological Dig next day off, I mean.
+Gameological Dig next day off, I mean.
+killerzombyady Glad to see someone read my notes. I'm thinking about it. I'll finish this series first, then try my hand at patreon. Happy for your support. Thanks so much.
Your videos are amazing and I'm glad I finally found some videos of players who actually appreciate the lore and ideologies behind certain games. I hope Frictional will make another Soma themed game and that you will make more videos about them. Soma is, despite its grotesque storyline one of those games that will stay with me for the rest of my life purely because of all the truth and sadness embedded in it. You perfectly translated this in understandable language for the masses. Keep up the good work!
Another solid and amazing video. Keep it up!
Thanks for the support!
You are the best channel ever holy fuck. And the voice too these videos are near perfect.
Haha, much obliged. I've always hated my voice, but it seems alright for this type of thing. Thanks a lot.
Subscribed. I love Soma, even after watching this video first. It actually makes the experience so much better
Do not go gentle into that good night.
11:15 Cato the Elder was quite fond of ending most of his speeches with urging that Carthage be destroyed...
After re-watching this video, I have to ask, have you ever considered doing a short video or text-document going through all potential direct comparisons between Delenda Est and Soma? Would be fairly interesting to hear more of your thoughts on the similarities and differences.
is there going to be more? I'm so happy I stumble upon you. I just got soma via steam summer sale been playing the hell out of it.
Lol, that's good timing. So yea, I'm planning to fit the last few areas into a single episode. More to come soon.
awesome I can't wait. my problem is I miss audio logs and clues to the story so i don't get the whole story. This is why i love videos like this.
These videos are so fucking good dude. Seriously. Keep at what you're doing, you're incredibly good at it
Really great work for a really great game. Very entertaining and informative videos, thanks!
Your theories are great, i enjoy open minded and deep thinkers such as you. Analyze everything and ignore nothing. Theories are just presumtions. But every fiction has a bit of truth in it, if you look the right way. Excellent work ! You definitely have another subscriber now.
Thank you for your explanation and interpretation of the usage of the phrase "delenda est". I didn't get it myself when I googled it.
Normally, especially when I already know what a person is covering, I just leave the audio on while I do other things.
Not this though. You just...suck me in. I never played Soma, mostly watched videos but I find the game so...fascinating. Of the horror games made by this company, this one just utterly sucks me in. Your telling of events helps to not only make clear what went where, but I find myself actually watching the videos.
Once I feel financially capable, I plan to buy Soma myself and play it.
excellent commentary and analysis. I wish there were more games for you to analyse this way. I would buy them even if i were not interested in playing those!
Reminds me of radio story hours that I grew up with as a child. Just lay back and close your eyes and enjoy.
Really good videos. Watched them all, already. Super insightful, educational, and well thought out. Hope to see more in the future.
That Delenda est thing ... wow ! i never tought this game is so complex ! This is not your average game .. What a masterpiece man .. just wow !
Great you're continuing these! Really well researched and insightful!
Thanks a lot. And yeah, lol, it requires lots of time for reviewing raw footage and script writing. Glad you dug it. More soon.
Your videos are absolutely masterfully crafted!! Seriously great work!
Really interesting story bit and well put together. Great vid mate!
Was watching all the series with great interest.
A movie line should be filmed ASAP.))
My question is why site Alpha was kept a secret. What was the point in hiding it? It's not like it's very easy to get down there, so even if there were things not to be meddled with down there it wouldn't matter if everyone knew because they wouldn't be able to get there in the first place.
So so so glad to see a new video!
So so glad to have it done. More to come soon.
Awesome work ! Thanks a lot for your time, I enjoyed the video very much, great diction, interesting theories and awesome edit, not boring and not fatiguating either. Subscribed !
something that hit me in this video.
13:04 - why would somebody shower dressed?
15:30 - how is the plant still alive?
A) They're drunk. B) Fake plant.
You need a fuckton more suscribers
holy shit, these are good. just watched a play through and the story hooked me. good job on these. - cg
Glad you liked it, though I really recommend playing it yourself if you can. It's one of the best cerebral horror games of all time.
This is so good! Thankyou sooo much! It’s just like a bedtime story lmao
The fact all of these episodes were edited on imovie is something i have to give credit for ive used imovie and its the most frustrating software ive ever used and the fact you made 5 20 - 40 minute videos is very commendable
I bought amnesia collection and soma on sale for ps4 ! I remember seen an article in an 2012 egm magazine about a machine for pigs and damn after playing all the games I'm left with a uneasy feeling idk how to explained it especially with soma I think it gave me a little bit of sadness
AMAZING video! You've earned a sub. Keep up the great work! :)
the alliteration in the title is just the icing on the cake. loving this channel and the incredible videos!
What's really cool is that I'm gonna be able to see this channel grow. It might be small now.. But seriously I have a really good feeling this channel is going to explode
Me too.
That would be dope. Just got get me new computer first. Anyway, glad you liked episode. One more left.
i thought there was alpha, phi, and tao. are you doing all of them in one?
+Donovan King That's the goal. If it doesn't work, I'll probably have to produce two more episodes, but given the size of the last three areas (and the amount of content in them) I'm confident I can finish the series with one last episode.
Well than thats going to be one packed video. Cant wait. Ever thought about the next game to disect?
One question I want to ask is:
Why no one on Omicron tried to switch off their black boxes? Later in the game we find out it’s possible.If I were in such a pain I would either find out how to do it myself or ask more highly commended or tech-savvy staff members to do it.
After all, I refuse to believe that no one knew how to turn them off,, at least that woman who worked for Carthage.
Since it's hooked up to the body/brain, it likely uses the body's own electrical charge in some way, so even if it's "off," it's likely still in a low power state and just not recording. As long as there is electricity in it, the electromagnetism would have affected it and caused the symptoms. But I am surprised there are no notes of people wanting to just remove them entirely... then again, maybe it requires complex neurosurgery and they have nobody who can perform that kind of thing.
@@Wveth Why would you put an electric box in your brain on the first place, what kinda people are these that are so commited to their company/job to take a (what I think is a high risk of death) surgery and work hundreds of meters underwater...
I'm guessing they offered millions of dollars to their employees or the surgery was cheap as hell, maybe not even that complicated...?
Just something random that I thought about, still... I love this game lol
@@Gentamoru Like you already said, the pay and benefits for this job were likely very generous. It's also in period of time where technology and AI has advanced a lot so maybe having these kind of devices in your body has become acceptable in society.
Neuralink... I can confirm there are weirdos willing to get brain chips even now, and I'm sure this dangerous technology will only continue to get even more aggressively normalized.
I do think it's a subtle dystopian touch to imply that all corporate employees in the game have to submit to having a potential Killswitch installed in their heads. Even before the disaster forced them to relinquish their bodies, they already had to put their lives at risk just for a paycheck.
Here's a thought: what if the Wau was misblamed for the Omicron disaster, and someone working with Carthage activated the kill switches when Alpha was at risk of discovery? We know Dahl's dead, but there was another female Carthage employee working there and there happens to be a female cyborg who's still 'living' there...
Falls in it, dies. But can ride a climber down to it and not be crushed after stepping out. 10/10
you know theres a reason they need the climber and dont just jump right the fuck in
I've been waiting for this! Keep up the good work:-)
Thanks a lot. More to come soon.
ohhhhh yeah been waiting for this :D :D Thanks! Great stuff!
Thanks a bunch.
Great vocabulary! This is almost as good as playing the game! I missed some of this stuff.
Looking forward to see what you do in the future!
Honestly, me too. As much as I've loved SOMA, I'm ready to move into different projects. Anyway, thanks for watching.
That was such an incredible video! Amazing on all counts!!!
Good job again, I already awaited this episode. Love the game and your videos on it.
You mentioned the patreon account in the description. You make quality stuff and definetly need a better computer (I want this videos faster :D). So I would say go for it. I would support you and I guess others would too.
Awaiting your next episode :).
Very nice video, good job men !
Thank you!
Quality content. I enjoyed all your soma story analysis videos and hope you make more on other games!
Hope your channel gets more notice, perhaps a story analysis of a more mainstream game would do that?
these videos are really good, thanks for making them :D
I cant stop watching these
Yahoo :D I have waited for this. Thank you!!
Believe me, me too, lol. Glad you dug it.
I keep going back to this with Omicron going around..
your videos rock. love soma and love your breakdown of the game
Glad to hear it :-)
dude this is awsome! looking forward to the next one :D.
You won't have to wait too much longer. Thanks for watching :-)
Come back, Best channel.
OMG i have been waiting for the vid of Omicron en you made it!!!!!! YES!
Yup! Glad you enjoyed it.
Correct me if I’m wrong but weren’t there Carthage maps showing “Alpha’s” location and a few other hidden ones? I think there’s one in Upsilon
I LOVE your videos.
Thanks. Love the support :-)
Their blackbox was IN their heads ?! I thought it was on their person !!
yay you're back!!!!!! :) Welcome back
I'm not going anywhere, lol. My crappy CPU keeps my output slower than I'd like, but I'm committed to the end.
Back in the shuttle, if Simon forgot the omnitool, Johan Ross appears right? What if it was Ross that brought Simon into this world?
No, that creature looks different from Ross. It's a Flesher, like the one you can see at MS Curie. He was intended to scare you and therefore teach you to never forget your omnitool.
HEAVY SPOILERS AHEAD! DO NOT READ UNLESS YOU COMPLETED THE GAME!!!
Who brought Simon to life in this world? I think it was the WAU. Just like it uploaded the brain scans into robots and sometimes absolutely random machinery (like a door) just to preserve life ("Well, I make them live, right? Bringing them back to life? So, I am fulfilling my purpose to preserve humanity. And such details like they are going to suffer forever in "bodies" which were not intended for this - they don't matter."), so it did it with Simon.
WAU was experimenting to find the best way to sustain human life. Upload someone's brain scan into a robot?
Hmm. Maybe a sticky goo making any human stuck in it sleep and dream of the best moments of his life? Therefore he will not be able to harm himself (these stupid humans always endanger themselves).
How about turning them into monsters, like Proxies and Akers? Two birds with one stone effect - we are preserving the monsters' lives and at the same time these monsters will make sure every living human they can reach is put into the Matrix goo and never gets out of it.
Maybe revive a human with some machinery stuff, like Robot Girls?
Ross was a different story, one of the most successful WAU's expirements, because he remained relatively sane after such a revival.
Catherine's case was a unique one as well. Remember in what state you find her? In a robot stuck on the floor, but unlike the mockingbirds, she is aware of her state. Her brain scan is saved on a cortex chip you then insert into your omnitool.
And finally, Simon's case was probably the most successful WAU's experiment. He remained sane and his body was strong enough to do stuff (unlike Catherine's). He couldn't completely understand the concept of the brain scan, but I think it's his fault, not the WAU's.
Well, while walking towards Tau, Ross appears at some moments, and you can see him entering Tau after you. You would have noticed him on your way from Upsilon to Omicron if he was at Upsilon from the start because seems like he can teleport short distances only.
I think I missed why that WAU manifestation is Johan Ross. At what part of the game is that cleared up?
You mean at Omicron, the creature in the glass box? You are asking how do you know that his name is Johan Ross?
Dear reader, if you did not reach and leave Omicron in your playthrough by the moment you are reading this, please do not read this comment further :)
Well, if you turn on names in subtitles, you will see his last name while he will be speaking :)
Besides, he is mentioned in the documents and audiologs in computers at Omicron a lot. You can compile his whole story from that pieces.
One of that pieces: 6:48
Why did Johan tell Simon to destroy the WAU, when the WAU "revived" Johan Ross? Or did Johan actually get punished by the big corrupted so called fish, which ate Ross?
Glad I subscribed. I hope you do other Frictional games.
04:20 Where did it come from cotton eye joe?
Just as brilliant as your other videos!
Have you considered getting a Twitter handle to let Frictional know that you're doing this series? It's the best overview/evaluation of the narrative I've seen thus far, and I think they'd be impressed.
I'll share it on Twitter regardless, because this is really wonderfully done.
Thanks so much. I've never considered doing the whole Twitter thing, but I really should. And I'm glad you're willing to promote it. I always appreciate dedicated fans.
No problem. Frictional retweeted it this morning :)
+Karinabob WOWWW, that's awesome! Thanks so much, Karina! You're the best!