<s>
Soma	B-Application
(	O
stylized	O
as	O
SOMA	B-Application
)	O
is	O
a	O
survival	O
horror	O
video	O
game	O
developed	O
and	O
published	O
by	O
Frictional	O
Games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
released	O
on	O
22	O
September	O
2015	O
for	O
Microsoft	O
Windows	O
,	O
OS	B-Operating_System
X	I-Operating_System
,	O
Linux	B-Application
,	O
and	O
PlayStation	B-Operating_System
4	I-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
on	O
1	O
December	O
2017	O
on	O
Xbox	B-Device
One	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Soma	B-Application
takes	O
place	O
on	O
an	O
underwater	O
remote	O
research	O
facility	O
containing	O
machinery	O
that	O
exhibits	O
human	O
characteristics	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
consciousness	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Somas	B-Application
gameplay	O
builds	O
on	O
the	O
conventions	O
established	O
in	O
the	O
previous	O
horror	O
titles	O
of	O
Frictional	O
Games	O
,	O
including	O
an	O
emphasis	O
on	O
stealthy	O
evasion	O
of	O
threats	O
,	O
puzzle-solving	O
,	O
and	O
immersion	O
(	O
i.e.	O
,	O
what	O
has	O
been	O
called	O
a	O
"	O
walking	O
simulator	O
"	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Soma	B-Application
received	O
generally	O
favorable	O
reviews	O
from	O
critics	O
,	O
who	O
praised	O
its	O
story	O
and	O
voice	O
acting	O
,	O
but	O
criticized	O
its	O
enemy	O
design	O
and	O
encounters	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Soma	B-Application
is	O
a	O
survival	O
horror	O
video	O
game	O
played	O
from	O
a	O
first-person	O
perspective	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Throughout	O
Soma	B-Application
,	O
the	O
player	O
will	O
find	O
a	O
large	O
array	O
of	O
clues	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
notes	O
and	O
audio	O
tapes	O
,	O
which	O
builds	O
atmosphere	O
and	O
furthers	O
the	O
plot	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Soma	B-Application
takes	O
place	O
in	O
an	O
underwater	O
research	O
facility	O
known	O
as	O
PATHOS-II	O
in	O
the	O
year	O
2104	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Originally	O
established	O
as	O
a	O
thermal	O
mining	O
operation	O
in	O
the	O
2060s	O
by	O
Japanese	O
conglomerate	O
Haimatsu	O
and	O
European	O
conglomerate	O
Carthage	O
Industries	O
,	O
the	O
facility	O
's	O
primary	O
purpose	O
shifted	O
to	O
space	O
technology	O
and	O
operation	O
of	O
the	O
Omega	O
Space	B-Application
Gun	I-Application
–	O
an	O
electromagnetic	O
railgun	O
designed	O
to	O
launch	O
satellites	O
and	O
other	O
small	O
equipment	O
into	O
orbit	O
without	O
the	O
cost	O
or	O
risks	O
of	O
traditional	O
rockets	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
his	O
injuries	O
,	O
Simon	O
agrees	O
to	O
undergo	O
an	O
experimental	O
brain	B-Algorithm
scan	I-Algorithm
under	O
the	O
control	O
of	O
graduate	O
student	O
David	O
Munshi	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Arriving	O
at	O
Site	O
Lambda	O
,	O
Simon	O
discovers	O
that	O
Catherine	O
is	O
not	O
human	O
,	O
but	O
a	O
brain	B-Algorithm
scan	I-Algorithm
of	O
a	O
PATHOS-II	O
employee	O
downloaded	O
into	O
a	O
storage	O
unit	O
of	O
a	O
robot	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Simon	O
himself	O
is	O
the	O
result	O
of	O
his	O
brain	B-Algorithm
scan	I-Algorithm
from	O
2015	O
being	O
uploaded	O
into	O
the	O
modified	O
corpse	O
of	O
another	O
PATHOS-II	O
employee	O
by	O
an	O
artificial	O
intelligence	O
named	O
the	O
Warden	O
Unit	O
(	O
WAU	O
)	O
,	O
which	O
took	O
control	O
of	O
the	O
center	O
and	O
turned	O
all	O
the	O
surviving	O
humans	O
into	O
bio-mechanical	O
mutants	O
to	O
fulfill	O
its	O
task	O
of	O
preserving	O
humanity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
sole	O
means	O
of	O
anything	O
of	O
human	O
origin	O
escaping	O
Earth	O
is	O
the	O
ARK	O
,	O
a	O
digital	O
black	B-Device
box	I-Device
designed	O
by	O
Catherine	O
that	O
houses	O
a	O
simulated	O
world	O
in	O
which	O
the	O
brain	B-Algorithm
scans	I-Algorithm
of	O
all	O
the	O
PATHOS-II	O
personnel	O
have	O
been	O
preserved	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
Phi	O
site	O
,	O
Catherine	O
copies	O
Simon	O
's	O
and	O
her	O
brain	B-Algorithm
scans	I-Algorithm
into	O
the	O
ARK	O
at	O
the	O
last	O
moment	O
before	O
it	O
is	O
launched	O
into	O
space	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Soma	B-Application
was	O
in	O
the	O
making	O
since	O
2010	O
,	O
beginning	O
with	O
the	O
advancement	O
of	O
new	O
technology	O
for	O
the	O
game	O
engine	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Somas	B-Application
underlying	O
theme	O
is	O
consciousness	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
developed	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
explore	O
the	O
nature	O
of	O
free	O
will	O
and	O
the	O
self	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Instead	O
of	O
processing	B-Application
sounds	O
to	O
make	O
an	O
effect	O
possible	O
,	O
recordings	O
were	O
made	O
of	O
environments	O
that	O
complemented	O
such	O
needs	O
,	O
like	O
the	O
reverb	O
of	O
a	O
large	O
hall	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
teaser	O
trailer	O
featuring	O
gameplay	O
footage	O
of	O
Soma	B-Application
was	O
released	O
on	O
11	O
October	O
2013	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
production	O
problems	O
the	O
release	O
date	O
was	O
delayed	O
and	O
on	O
28	O
September	O
,	O
shortly	O
after	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
,	O
Frictional	O
Games	O
announced	O
they	O
had	O
made	O
available	O
the	O
first	O
clip	O
on	O
their	O
YouTube	O
channel	O
under	O
the	O
title	O
"	O
SOMA	B-Application
-	O
Transmission	O
#1	O
"	O
,	O
with	O
seven	O
more	O
to	O
follow	O
in	O
each	O
coming	O
day	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
live	O
action	O
miniseries	O
acts	O
as	O
a	O
prequel	B-Application
to	O
the	O
events	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
,	O
albeit	O
one	O
which	O
is	O
inspired	O
by	O
its	O
plot	O
and	O
characters	O
rather	O
than	O
being	O
strictly	O
canonical	O
to	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
film	O
's	O
director	O
is	O
Don	O
Thacker	O
and	O
clips	O
from	O
it	O
were	O
used	O
for	O
Soma'''s	O
marketing	O
campaign	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
"	O
Transmissions	O
"	O
webseries	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Reception	O
Soma	B-Application
received	O
"	O
generally	O
favorable	O
reviews	O
"	O
according	O
to	O
review	B-Application
aggregator	I-Application
website	O
Metacritic	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Philip	O
Kollar	O
of	O
Polygon	O
also	O
gave	O
the	O
game	O
a	O
9/10	O
and	O
wrote	O
:	O
"	O
I	O
do	O
n't	O
know	O
if	O
SOMA	B-Application
will	O
scare	O
people	O
as	O
much	O
as	O
Amnesia	B-Application
did	O
,	O
but	O
it	O
is	O
without	O
a	O
doubt	O
a	O
stronger	O
game	O
,	O
with	O
better	O
pacing	O
,	O
smarter	O
writing	O
and	O
more	O
powerful	O
subject	O
matter	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
She	O
stated	O
"	O
SOMA	B-Application
gets	O
everything	O
right	O
about	O
the	O
survival	O
horror	O
genre	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
’s	O
like	O
someone	O
created	O
the	O
perfect	O
video	O
game	O
mixtape	O
--	O
a	O
little	O
bit	O
of	O
abandoned	O
underwater	O
atmosphere	O
from	O
BioShock	B-Application
,	O
detailed	O
environments	O
a	O
la	O
Gone	B-Application
Home	I-Application
,	O
and	O
(	O
of	O
course	O
)	O
the	O
frenzied	O
monster	O
mechanics	O
from	O
Amnesia	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
IGN	O
's	O
Daniel	O
Krupa	O
scored	O
the	O
game	O
an	O
8.1/10	O
and	O
wrote	O
:	O
"	O
SOMA	B-Application
is	O
a	O
sustained	O
exploration	O
of	O
an	O
original	O
and	O
thought-provoking	O
idea	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Criticism	O
of	O
Soma	B-Application
focused	O
on	O
the	O
implementation	O
and	O
design	O
of	O
its	O
enemies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
ten	O
days	O
of	O
release	O
,	O
Soma	B-Application
had	O
sold	O
92,000	O
copies	O
,	O
exceeding	O
the	O
20,000	O
copies	O
made	O
by	O
the	O
developer	O
's	O
previous	O
game	O
Amnesia	B-Application
:	I-Application
The	I-Application
Dark	I-Application
Descent	I-Application
in	O
its	O
first	O
week	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
2016	O
Golden	O
Joystick	O
Awards	O
,	O
Soma''	O
was	O
nominated	O
for	O
three	O
categories	O
:	O
Best	O
Original	O
Game	O
,	O
Best	O
Story	O
Telling	O
and	O
Best	O
Visual	O
Design	O
.	O
</s>
