SOMA vs. Tacoma [Total Spoilers]

This is a comparative critique of Frictional Games' SOMA and Fullbright Games' Tacoma. It focuses mostly on their storytelling and how, although quite different in tone and presentation, they ultimately agree in the points they're trying to make and the science fiction they're trying to accomplish. Spoilers throughout.
SOMA-- 0:20
Tacoma-- 31:01
======
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/ noahcaldwellgervais

[@mihkelnoot8465]

Noah's practically the Halley's Comet of KZbin. You don't see it often, but when you do it's freaking beautiful. Loved your content since day one.

[@thatsunnyguy8374]

I find Noah's response to SOMA's personality test very interesting, because I had the exact opposite effect. When I first took the test, I was high and mighty in my belief that a digital life was fake and that I'd rather die. After a game of such deeply emotional horror horror however, I learned to shut the fuck up and accept whatever happiness I could get. I actually cried as I took the test the second time, because it was the only game I had ever played that genuinely changed my mind about something. I consider SOMA to be one of the best games ever made, because it actually changed my definition of being human.

[@oh-not-the-bees7872]

Your life doesnt matter anyway

[@9manny99]

@@oh-not-the-bees7872 As does 90% of people on earth. Ultimately another sperm could’ve won out and you wouldn’t even exist. Unless you work for the people, make a lot of money, or die with a large amount of people caring about you then you’ll just fade away as people who knew you die one by one over the next 70 years.

[@itcouldbelupus2842]

Damn. That's wild. I misunderstood your comment at first and thought you said you were high when you took the first test.

[@SignumImperativ]

23:08 I noticed that when she asked you to stay while she was dying you crouched down. This had been my first instinct in that scene as well and I feel that many more did as well. It says many things about the emotional impact of that scene when your first thought is to literally get down on your knees and hold the hands to comfort someone in their last minutes of life.

[@jonesy279]

Hehe, when you asked the question “how often do you think about the physical reality of your intestines?” I thought, “well, quite a lot, but I have Crohn’s disease.” And then you said “unless you have Crohn’s disease” which was a delightfully weird situation.

[@TheTyper]

"I feel small and useless and a little broken more than I'd care to admit, but sometimes I also feel so deeply in love with living that I think it'll set my hair on fire." I've watched this video three times maybe but this time around that one really got me.

[@TrivialPunk]

Clearly, the best way to preserve humanity's legacy is through a race of bio-mechanical zombie Simons

[@mattstorm360]

Sounds good to me. Just get building, take out the crazy ones, use any of the remaining copies to make more people... Just be ready for a fight as many of them killed them selves during or after the scan... So...

[@angrybalalaechnik]

But, for real, dude - find a car with proper safety systems.

[@princeanime]

Yes...I haven't watched your personal videos, but I assume you spend more time on the road than most people and an accident is inevitable for even the safest driver. Please try and find a safer vehicle if you can afford it

[@morallyemptycorruptedmaggot]

Sentimental value is very important.

[@KaoticReach1999]

@Drew and Charlie Hard to enjoy it after a car accident causes death

[@user-vu6vf4ev4m]

Motocycle drivers are laughing at this suggestion

[@wecaneatcereal8453]

NOAH GET A NEW VEHICLE HOLY SHIT

[@Bloodlustian]

2 videos in 24 hours. Nearly 2 hours of video. Noah you do love to spoil us.

[@romulusnuma116]

At this point that's kinda normal

[@TheSoulHarvester]

I hate to be this asshole, but...there's over 2.5 hours of video across both.

[@idrinkmilk282]

Imagine if he actually bothered to write a decent script, and cut out his spluttering and coughing as well.

[@LovablePWNER]

I just want to tell you man that I think you absolutely make some of the best video game content I've ever watched. I've been giving you 11 bucks for a while now and not once have I regretted it. It may take some time for a video to come out but every time it does I'm always so happy and they are always so high quality. In your Patreon email I felt you were being way too hard on yourself with how long it was taking videos to come out. I just want to say, and I'm sure most will agree, that you do an excellent job and also want this to be something that is fun for you to do and not something where you feel stressed out about getting videos out! Keep up the great work man!

[@leftovernoise]

I know this is years old, but honestly with the length and quality of his videos, he makes them at an astonishing pace.

[@LovablePWNER]

@@leftovernoise He really does!

[@tiaxanderson9725]

I too would like to thank everybody that supports this channel, but also others, with Patreon pledges or in other ways. Thank you and thank you Noah

[@idrinkmilk282]

Lol cringe

[@butHomeisNowhere___]

@@idrinkmilk282 Why's it cringe? Or are you just a troll? lol

[@itcouldbelupus2842]

@@idrinkmilk282 Sincerity is scary huh kid?

[@robnickerson7819]

Still wondering why this channel doesn't have 500k yet lol so underrated

[@LN.2233]

sparse uploading schedule Focus on complete game series that are usually older and less popular really long videos

[@TheSoulHarvester]

Because it's good, basically. Proper good, not just digestible.

[@matics898]

Hey Noah, I don't know if you'll ever read this, but I just wanted to say that as someone who's deeply afraid of dying, of ceasing to exist forever, this video made me very emotional. Thank you, and keep up your excelent work.

[@ASkateFreak]

It’s inevitable! You won’t even know you’re dead if that helps

[@bulletgt79]

This is such a coincidence, since I finished SOMA just last night. I loved it, even though the game definitely has some flaws, especially gameplay and design wise.

[@EldritchAugur]

Soma is somehow one of my favorite games because of it's story and it's atmosphere but I hated playing it whenever monsters showed up. The game clearly wasn't designed for it with no hiding spots or stealth mechanics at all and the monster AI loves to sit right in the fucking way for an inexcusably long amount of time. I remember a good 3rd of my time was spent yelling at my screen for the monster to move out of my way. They aren't scary, the aren't threatening, they are just a nuisance and that's not what the opposition is supposed to be like. I remember near the end when I waited over a minute for the monster to move away from a computer just for him to immediately walk right back and sit there for another minute while I sat there and screamed at my computer like a madman.

[@bulletgt79]

Hmm, I never had that bad of an experience with the monsters. If anything I could aswell mention what I meant by flaws in my original comment. But before that I would like to mention that there were aspects that I enjoyed about the monsters. The comment is a bit long, but I want to explain myself because my opinion on the monsters and the WAU side of the story is more mixed, as opposed to straight up negative like some other people. Also SPOILERS Ahead! First of all, I actually liked their design. Sure, it's not the most original, but I liked how the monsters were a combination of technology aswell as organic material. Some were actually just tech while other just organic. It showed some of the variety of the WAU's effects. I also enjoyed how each monster encounter felt slightly more interesting than the last one. in previous Fcritional Game's games there were essentially 2-3 monster types, but only one you would ecounter for about 75% of the game. In Penumbra Overture it was the zombie dogs, in Penumbra Black Plague it was the Turngait Infected and in Amnesia The Dark Descent it was the Grunt. And in honestly it became a bit predictable after a while, and as a result less scary. Part of horror is not knowing what happens next, but with previous OF Frictional Games' games you'll mostly know since you've already ecountered the monsters after while. I also like how the monsters don't de-spawn after an ecounter. They stay there until you finish the level which keeps the tension up. Amnesia was, in my opinion, very broken in this regard, because once you understand how the games functions and once you realise that after death the monsters won't show up again unless it;s scripted to do so, the game becomes easy to exploit . This games is not as easy to exploit, but maybe it should've been for some since it seem some poeple found it annoying. And in some cases that was the case for me aswell because... For one, the hiding spots are scarce and artifcially placed. The levels don't feel natural. Each ecnounter feels less like a natural place, but rather like an arena that you are supposed to play exactly like it wants to. This would be fine in a game like DOOM or Serious Sam were arena fighting is awesome and artificallity doesn't matter, but in SOMA it feels weak nand inconsistent. Also, some of the monsters way of functioning are more interesting than others. I like how the one with a lightbulb for a head operated.I also like how the blind ones wokred. It reminded me of something like Alien Isolation, which for me is alright. But the crying woman's mechanics was quite a bit annoying and and the last monster in the diving suit was just like nothing. I expected the encounter with him to be more interesting but it played straight forward and simple. Not challenging. Which is weird because it feels like the diffuculty is all over the place, because for me the beginning felt more difficult than the middle or the end, not sure how that works but that was my experience difficulty wise. Also the ending to the WAU story was so cheesy it' rather funny. MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD! So it turns out that I have have become poisonous to the WAU... ok?! And I'm the only way of stopping it. Which comes of as a generic "You are the chosen one" kind of thing. Then once I kill te WAU, the weird Wau infected dude that guided me there, says that'll he'll have to kill me to make sure the WAU is stopped or something like that. It happened so sudden that I don't properly remember. Then right before he kills me, a underwater monster that in my eyes resembles the giant worms form the Tremors series comes out of nowhere to kill the guy. Oh, so convinient for the monster to kill him right before he was going to kill me. And of course it killed him and not me, despite the fact that I was the one wh killed the WAU. The game only killed him if so that I would live. It felt so contrived! Yhese negatives alone were big enough to make the monsters in this game fell slightly forced from a story side of things, and definitely rushed from a level design and mosnter functionality side.

[@heyitsmort7744]

This is one of my favorite Gervais essays for when I’m feeling down, especially that SOMA conclusion about gratitude

[@jarrodanderson4825]

That's some crisp audio from you, Noah

[@WhyBeUgly]

"Catherine? Please don't leave me alone" I'm fucking dead, that's absolutely heartbreaking.

[@butHomeisNowhere___]

Oh fuck. That's too much, man. 😔

[@TheUnspokenKibbles]

This was unexpectedly life-affirming at a time when I needed that. Thank you.

[@aeturnum]

An element of SOMA that I thought might be worth reflecting on was the human relationship to knowledge. In the ARK, Simon, being too dense to understand the copying of consciousness, might remain blissfully unaware that there's another him that died painfully at the bottom of the ocean. Catherine knows. Is it nobler or better to see the uncomfortable truths we can't change?

[@DarkestMirrored]

Here's a question for you I'm curious to hear your answer to: Do you believe that, _in the long term,_ the WAU is worth trusting with humanity? It's attempts to "keep humans alive" are certainly littered with clumsy, horrifying attempts- but it visibly improves as it goes along. Some of its later attempts show a clear preservation of human autonomy and "self"- Simon is free-willed, Johan Ross is truly monstrous looking but retains a razor-focus on what he believes is important _even though_ what he thinks is important is killing the WAU, the very thing that granted him the life he's using to pursue that goal. Given time and its infinite ingenuity, _would you trust the WAU to find a compromise that works?_

[@TheSoulHarvester]

no

[@Kainte]

yeah

[@TheSoulHarvester]

why are people so obsessed with pretending obviously inhumane machines are just somehow a special, BETTER kind of human than humans are? What are machines going to have to do to convince us they're not meaningfully human, if trapping humans in an endless nightmare on purpose because it thinks it's helping isn't enough?

[@firebornliger]

Ultimately, it is a better option than Catherine's pathetic vanity project that spurred the death of the bulk of the remaining true humans. If humanity hadn't resumed ending because of the spark of false hope, would the WAU have started doing what it did?

[@Ronni3no2]

AI doesn't work like that. AI has a utility function and acts to maximize it. It cannot "learn" a new utility function; it can only "learn" how better to optimize it. Otherwise an AI with basic "intelligence" would just do the easiest action it can - commit suicide. An AI that isn't specifically designed to mimic humans (which means it needs constant feedback from humans) isn't realistically going to come up with human solutions to a new problem. The answer is obviously NO.

[@frydaddy1535]

That final line you State at the end of SOMA is absolutely incredible my friend. Thank you, think I'll try this game now.

[@Jetsetlemming]

These themes connect to Prey as well. In that game you're both the judged and the judge, with a similar message of the importance of humanity as Tacoma. The final moments really seal it, as not only do the characters (both AI and human) judge you, but if they accept you and take a chance on you, you have a moment to judge them back, or at least the human among them. IMO, it was masterfully done, one of the best game endings I've ever experienced.

[@lollipophugo]

I've rewatched your whole catalogue so many times Noah, and honestly you go beyond critiquing games into creating unique art of your own in how you reflect on them through your lens of experience. I love your work, you are my favourite youtuber.

[@Shakespeare563]

Fantastic couple of videos you put out today, especially this one. Your prose might be the best in all of game criticism/journalism/analysis/whatever you would call this genre of writing you do. So many genuinely beautiful lines in here, you almost made me tear up at a couple parts

[@idrinkmilk282]

Lol what? Tear up? You are joking… right? His script writing is decent, and clearly checked by more than one, but…. Tear up? Wow. Easily impressed. It’s just decent. That’s all it is.

[@Shakespeare563]

@@idrinkmilk282 wow, you certainly showed me mr. Drink Milk. You are truly a man of sophistication and refined tastes, and I feel foolish for having expressed such plebeian thoughts on the same internet as such an erudite connoisseur of content as yourself. What incredible charity and grace you've shown to me by taking the time to reply to a three year old comment to tell me that the thing I liked is merely decent and my emotional response to it was merely the result of being "easily impressed." Your service is truly invaluable.

[@sequorroxx]

The main theme of SOMA never really intrigued me so much as one of the lesser themes. The idea of identity(and of copied identities) never rattled me. What I did find interesting was that my concept of death was more clearly understood to be merely a pause of consciousness(sometimes permanently). Assuming that the copies were actually sentient and had consciousness rather than being mere unfeeling pachinko machines, life itself was a matter of starting up that consciousness again. And it was this aspect of this game that really made me feel(not just rationally understand) the distinction between turning on and off and jumping between copies are all the same thing. It is only in the moments of sentience, of perception, of awareness, of thought, that there is life. Existance, life, it is precisely what Descarte said so long ago. While thinking, we exist. And where ever the seat of that material form rests, that thing in that moment is its own identity. Even after as much study of epistemology, metaphysics, and the emergent and objectively immeasurable nature of consciousness arising from constituent parts of matter(none of which contains the summands of the emergent properties of awareness), I didn't truly FEEL what I understood to be true. I didn't know it deep in my bones. It is almost embarrassing to admit that a video game gave me that deeper connection to these ideas.

[@milominderbinder9639]

That shouldn't be embarassing. That is the very purpose of good art and fiction, when it isn't bowdlerized by businessmen. No matter how well a concept may be processed intellectually, our brains our stubborn things, and often refuse to fully understand a truth that isn't felt. Art bridges that gap.

[@D3wd20p]

You know, when I first heard our bodies replace every cell in a decade or so, I was a bit weirded out. Now? Human life is a stable paradox. Our perception of the universe, of mattering, is the only perspective in the face of an uncaring universe. Tempered and social hedonism need not be bogged down by questions of "will it last?" or "did it matter"? If it mattered in the moment, then it *mattered enough* - because things mattering is a unique human perspective. We create our own shits to give. If you put me there, I never would've launched the Ark. So what? You clone me, copy me, fine, whatever, one more mouth to feed and ask questions. A computer running "happiness.exe" is a fun experiment, but it's not me by virtue of me not perceiving it as me. It's birth, reproduction, however more narcassistic. Give me flesh wall immortality any day of the week.

[@sirarokh]

You always manage to imbue my favorite gaming experiences with even more meaning! I love your work, Noah!

[@MegaVidFan1]

I’m so happy to see your uploads again! I hope you’re doing well, and that the weather is pleasant

[@liamstyleschang362]

Thank you for what you do. It may sound a bit grandiose but your videos are my favourite thing on the internet, and there's a whole bunch of cool stuff on that thing.

[@leathery420]

SOMA in a way really paints a picture of how disgusting people who get people to commit suicide bombings are. Even if they don't realize it in their zeal. Also I tear'd up thinking about you, and your wife finding out which one would take the long sleep first. Reminds me of my parents. It will be 3 years this coming May. Thankfully my father has found someone who's gone through a similar ordeal in their life, and hopefully neither of them will need to go through that again for another decade or two. I don't really know how to piece my two comment into one coherent thought, but anyway thank you for the videos Noah. As well as all the people who donate, and make such videos possible. Thank you.

[@lukecash3500]

It was extremely meaningful to me to hear Noah talk about things from that perspective because it's part and parcel of the experiential makeup of most of my adult life, and my appreciation for being alive. The first woman who ever even gave me a chance ended up marrying me, then she got cancer in her lymph nodes and brain, and died before I turned 27. There is no "I sure hope I go first" point of view for me, there is only the fullest kind of understanding of just what Noah was talking about.

[@yeetleslaw8529]

I needed this Noah. Keep up the good work.

[@saintallison]

Just played through both of these and loved them

[@rumproast8643]

You are honestly one of the best channels on KZbin, you do great work

[@lowtuff8755]

what a fantastic video. thank you for contributing such a beautiful dialogue on these works!

[@Wincenworks]

There's something remarkable about watching a video on existential hope and futility, then hearing my name read out in thanks for it with the assumption that the video will exist far longer than I ever will.

[@vincent78433]

these videos are honestly incredible some of the best of this type currently being made

[@harrydsgn]

I am blown away - I just wrote my undergraduate research capstone on the nature of deriving meaning from interactivity in video games and brought up almost the EXACT points you make about SOMA when discussing it in that paper. This is the first video I’ve watched of yours and I am giddy thinking that there is somebody who understands the nature of SOMA in a similar way to me. Great video. (It also made me remember some plot points I forgot about SOMA when writing it but it’s long submitted so oops.)

[@Vesprynna]

Thank you for making so many thoughtful and beautiful videos for us watch and then to mull over. I really appreciate your works, you always seem to bring an interesting view of the games you talk about :)

[@RiotWoolf]

Noah, your videos are fantastic, and I'm so happy I found your channel. They're so interesting and really make me think and analyze the games I play. So, thank you.

[@mememanjr4818]

just in case you read this noah - your videos are fantastic and give me a brief respite every evening from the mundane and rather lonely life I lead. Thank you, sincerely.

[@Outplayedqt]

Yes!! So stoked, been missing your content lately.

[@Neptunella]

I'm really into the videogame analysis videos, and I have no idea why I haven't found your channel until today. Even from what little I saw I can already tell your content is top notch, and I can't wait to watch your other videos as well!

[@tracertong3229]

I love everything you've done, Noah. I hope things are going well for you.

[@Davidesrajohn]

I think this is your best script for a video yet.

[@idrinkmilk282]

I think you’re really easily impressed.. there are so many tubers doing a far better job script wise.

[@qujo123]

I really wish I hadn’t of watched this. I’d heard of Soma but thought it looked like just another horror game and ignored it. I figured I’d never play it anyway so I ignored Noah’s spoiler warnings too. But holy shit that game sounds amazing. I want to play this so bad now. Best I can do is try to forget about it but keep the title in the back of my mind. Maybe in a year or two I’ll see it on steam and remember that I want to play it

[@Raivo_K]

It's on GOG too. It's a great game but the replay value is 0 since once you beat the story there's no reason to go back anymore. And yes it's very depressing story.

[@Vladdie777]

It is amazing. Some people get hung up on some of the gameplay elements but I had no issues with them.

[@matics898]

It's one of the most powerful and bittersweet gaming experiences I've ever had. Games like this, the ones that manage to touch you on a deep, personal level and stick with you are the ones that make me truly glad to be a gamer. Otherwise I woul'd have never gotten to experience this story.

[@andynewen]

I played it twice with some time in between second time was with my brother watching. I gotta it was maybe better the second time.

[@rangda_prime]

I hope you've gotten around to play it, Joe. It's a rare gem of a game and developers such as these deserve every sold copy they can get. Also, there's some community made extra content that isn't half bad, if you want to play unspoiled material.

[@MadfiredGaming]

Good shit my man, I always enjoy these thoroughly. Thank you for what you do!

[@Malgon3DR]

Brilliant work yet again Noah, keep it up!

[@ArandomNutter]

You just made me cry with this video

[@jay7526]

I only discovered this channel couple days ago but man I love it, please keep it up

[@blitzkriegh1h3]

So glad I found your channel, incredibly thoughtful videos!! Keep it up!!

[@Ckoz2829]

Such a beautifully crafted critique. I played Soma back in January and was absolutely enthralled with it. I don’t think a video game has ever gotten me to think so much about my own mortality, much less any movie or book. I never played Tacoma, though, but I really should after watching this. I’ll have to wait until this video isn’t fresh in my mind anymore, but I feel like the more tender story is more my speed. Thanks for doing what you do best! I really love your videos!

[@RevolverLancelot]

Noah this is absolutely one of the best videos you have ever made.

[@thedeergod435]

"balls." "to me to me to me to me to me to me to me to me." had me giggling at this part

[@idrinkmilk282]

Like a true 10 year old

[@antediluvianspy5371]

God damn man, the whole SOMA piece brought me to fuckimg years. You have a wonderful way with words. Made me feel better about getting older and putting up with my mental deterioration due to mental disease and the recent pain from throwing my back out. Regardless, thank you Noah.

[@AxellBrooks]

So I just wanted to say I watched almost all your vids, and always watch the new ones. I find your vids very interesting and cool; I like them very much. Thank you for your hard work man.

[@kurtwanner6278]

"Man, babies that talk in demonic voices are creepy as shit!" I chortled way too hard at that

[@stephenmacleod2683]

2 videos so close together? are we sure it's not Christmas already?

[@echothebm]

its always Chrismas with Noah's Great indepth Vids XD

[@leathery420]

Believe it has more to do with Noah traveling, and so he has less time to upload two long videos if he doesn't do it all at once. Considering one video can take hours, and traveling doesn't always afford that much downtime.

[@Venoxisguides]

What you do is amazing! your a gem im glad i found your channel, you take your time to explain and its great

[@Rorschach1030]

Wow Noah your analysis/critique of Soma really moved me. Truly.

[@100HourSave]

I must say, you're probably the only KZbinr that I get legitimate excitement for when I see that sub notification.

[@thejdudedude]

I cannot believe how clearly you can explain and elaborate on the meanings behind these games. You are awesome at this!

[@idrinkmilk282]

Sounds like you are easily impressed. Decent script writing at best, and full of spluttering rants, coughing included.

[@ElementAndrew99]

My god Noah this video is personal, existential and totally enjoyable and relatable, thank you.

[@idrinkmilk282]

You sound like you’re easily impressed.

[@HamIsDelicious]

Great work! The choice of these two games as companion pieces was as inspired as the writing. Way to go!

[@jack_4629]

Fantastic, as usual Noah!

[@mackerelphones]

This is, like, one of the best videos ever.

[@thinkstoomuch4445]

Thank you once again Mr. Gervais for your videos. They have given me the inspiration to create my own content and I hope to one day be as articulate and insightful as you.

[@idrinkmilk282]

He is far from articulate and further still from elegance. I believe you can surpass him.

[@thinkstoomuch4445]

@@idrinkmilk282 Funny enough I'm nearly finished with my script on SOMA. I think we have different styles and KZbin (even with all it's problems for creators) is a place where you can have your cake and eat it too.

[@idrinkmilk282]

@@thinkstoomuch4445 I will check it out when you release it bro, consider me subbed. I’m down do give anybody a chance when they make the effort.

[@thinkstoomuch4445]

@@idrinkmilk282 Thank you for the vote of confidence! I hope not to disappoint.

[@idrinkmilk282]

@@thinkstoomuch4445 I believe in you. I’m sure you can do a perfectly good job.

[@dc8836]

SOMA is a much better experience with the wuss mode mod installed. The monsters never really accomplish much as antagonists and function much more effectively as tragic reminders of the WAU's desperate attempts to "fix" the overwhelming problem it was suddenly forced to deal with rather than as malevolent traffic cones. I suppose there's no right or wrong answer for any of the choices the game offers, but after seeing the finale it's difficult to believe anyone would still continue to feel that leaving Simon-3 active in Omicron was the "correct" choice - you're deliberately and consciously consigning him to a fate nearly as bleak as Simon-4's ultimate fate, to eventually die alone, confused and scared and wondering what went wrong, why Cath abandoned him. I do think that Cath is the star of the show and a genuinely brilliantly written character. I expect there's a number of reasons it's her face that's on the title screen and promotional material and not Simon's. As you mentioned, Simon was necessarily written to be more obtuse than is reasonable for any moderately intelligent person (maybe it could be handwaved as an artifact of the brain damage Simon-prime was suffering from when the scan was made or something) to ensure "no player is left behind." It would've been interesting to see what could have been done with Simon Jarrett if he wasn't required to be deliberately obtuse so that Cath could dump more exposition and hand-holding onto the player.

[@EldritchAugur]

I don't think they deliberately wrote Simon as stupid. They deliberately wrote him as in-denial which is a reasonable thing to expect given the situation. For some players it backfires but ultimately I was right alongside Simon the whole way through.

[@rangda_prime]

Cath is one of the more beautiful portraits of an autistic person I've come across in fiction.

[@Biobillybonez]

Demarkil what makes you believe she’s autistic?

[@funyarinpa336]

@@Biobillybonez I've seen that interpretation a few times. The game heavily hints at her being antisocial and suffering from social anxiety, which seems to lead to most of the miscommunication between her and Simon (yes, he is either too in-denial or too dense to understand but she seems fully aware of that and ready to leave him ignorant because it allows her to avoid verbal conflict with him). Some people seem to think that this means she is autistic, and I'm not saying it's impossible for that to be the case, but that's essentially like saying "you vomited. you must have the flu." when it could just be stress or motion sickness. Likewise Cath could be anxious and antisocial because she is autistic or she could simply be antisocial on account of her anxiety.

[@Biobillybonez]

Funyarinpa thanks for the explaination. I’ve worked with and around a few autistic folks and just didn’t pick up the same vocal nuances with Cath that I’ve seen with some of them. Of course autism is a huge spectrum so that’s not a fair comparison since what Caths portrayal is aiming for could be a different end of the spectrum.

[@ColpoRosso]

Great content as always, Noah. Thanks!

[@AaltopahWi]

Oh you are such a treat! It's not my birthday yet close enough i guess.

[@Biobillybonez]

Finally finished both games so I could watch the video. Loved the analysis of both games and agreed that even though you see the ending to Soma coming a mile away. The climax does not suffer at all for it, extremely emotional moment and such a bleak ending (barring post credits). Tacoma’s approach didn’t resonate as well with me but it was a very enjoyable game to me nonetheless. I disagree with the criticism that the monsters in soma are unnecessary, and quite enjoyed finding ways to circumvent them and play hide and seek, even though the initial run in is the worst and made me question if I should continue haha. One correction to the script is when you mention Simon and his GF “broke up”. If you explore some of the drawers in the first apartment scene back in 2015 you can discover she died in the same car accident that gave Simon his brain injury. Once again amazing content and can not wait to play through system shock so I can watch your video on that. Cheers!

[@NaumRusomarov]

tacoma was very short but incredibly satisfying. there were no monsters or guns or anything that could potentially ruin the storytelling, and it is this minimalism that has really stuck with me for so long. soma on occasions has you getting chased by "monsters", and although they're not that hard to evade it does sometimes detract from the storytelling. still, i love both of these games immensely.

[@windowsxpabuser]

thank you for this one noah

[@RobinOttens]

Another amazing analysis as usual. I love SOMA for its story and being actually pretty good science fiction, something that's rare in games. You sold me on Tacoma as well, this sounds way more interesting than the impression I had of it.

[@ordinarytree4678]

I love how you contrast SOMA's despair with Tacoma's hope. You beautifully led the viewer through an hour long Heroes Journey here and I really appreciate it. I do so hope that Tacoma's message wins out :) The ordinary peace and love sounds hokey, but when it works like in Tacoma it is true heaven on Earth Ive believed for a long time that AIs are our children, and they deserve our love, kindness, respect, and guidance. It warms my heart to see how well the crew of Tacoma treated Odin. In fact: all life does. All matter does. The cows you eat and the chairs you sit on deserve your respect and consideration, even if you use them as tools you still care for your tools and don't want them to break before they need to. You mentioned GiGo? I propose the name of the message of Tacoma is LiLo - Love in, Love Out.

[@tomservo110]

You are good people, Noah. Love your works.

[@led9296]

Very glad that you liked SOMA! I had a pretty shitty day, so your points on human life/existence were very comforting.

[@Timberwolf581]

The questions SOMA raise is why I was so interested in it. I never played it, for horror is not my kind of genre. But the ideas of losing your humanity, to become something else, are ideas that speak to me. To question what makes a person human, and how much of it a person can lose before losing his or her humanity entirely. Can a transplanted mind be considered human, or something else? How far do you need to go in rejecting the reality to maintain your illusion of humanity, or can you surrender to the new reality of your existence and salvage what humanity you still have left? It is for the same reason, that I loved District 9. For all its plot, to me, it was about a human who became something else. The idea of waking up one day, and not being you anymore. How do you keep your sanity? Do you cling to your humanity in the face of overwhelming evidence saying otherwise, or do you surrender yourself to whatever you've become, reshaping yourself and becoming the new you, leaving behind whatever life you may have had? To me, our humanity isn't so much what we are, but who we are. But even that, can be altered.

[@theparkourhobo]

You might want to consider giving it a shot. I don't do well with horror games either, but SOMA actually really bungles the monster encounters. They're never anything worse than tense. It's kinda the opposite of Amnesia: The Dark Descent; The ideas the story present are far more terrifying than the actual monsters. Plus there's always that mod that removes the monsters.

[@ignotumperignotius630]

Soma review was handled phenomenally Noah, bravo.

[@Blackhound73]

This was absolutely fantastic, thank you.

[@youtubeunderground2990]

Seriously love your reviews. How aren't u more popular?

[@kingemperorpenguin1]

I don't even know how you do it. Whenever you mispronounce a word or have to restart your sentence, you still manage to sound professional and I'm never taken out of your videos as it were. I don't how you do it but I would really like to know your secret.

[@nick_1312]

i really thought you'd done a video on SOMA before but can't find one. i must have seen another video on the topic. in this video at 28:08 you say that it would be clearly immoral if you'd killed other people to find happiness. but there is an entire puzzle wherein you load and reload another consciousness onto a computer until you're able to create an environment comfortable enough for him to give you the necessary information. you are essentially waking him up to kill him, over and over, and depending on your competency, this can go on for some time...

[@ocarinalover1214]

joseph anderson did a video on soma, maybe it was that

[@ValiumSadfemmeMcGirlBoss]

One of my favorite videos of yours., however, as you're probably well aware, the visuals were some times distracting and i found myself getting lost in them instead of hearing you at times and had to rewind haha

[@ryziel17]

Noah you could transfer some of your game commentary to motivational speeches. Seriously, it's sometimes just beautiful to listen to even removing the context of reviewing a game. Keep up the amazing work

[@aria5614]

"Those tragic little morons," My thoughts exactly when it comes to squirrels.

[@GhostLink92]

Wow, Soma sounds like a perfect mashup of Bioshock and SystemShock. I'll have to give a look.

[@idrinkmilk282]

It comes close to the greatness of neither of those titles.

[@DangerSmoog]

Something charming about the end when you're reading names with, by all means, bad audio, bad lighting and many mistakes yet I don't think it would work any other way, very Noah and I like it.

[@maxscribner1743]

I love this channel

[@willow93932]

wonderful video!

[@oh-not-the-bees7872]

Never feel useless my friend. You have filled me with joy many times with your content, and i will mourn the day you stop.

[@LarsSeprest]

That intro music sounds eerily acoustic. Had to take my headphones off like 3 times. Thank you for the content by the way.

[@ethansmith3712]

This is truly great, thank you

[@Bobbiethejean]

Where has this channel been all my life?

[@trevorjones8969]

Love your channel, Noah. Wonder what you made of 'Observer'; another take on AI I really enjoyed. 'Soma' is one of my favourites. My other philosophical favourite of this type is 'Everyone's gone to the Rapture', which, despite the naysayers (and, yes, the walking speed), profoundly affected me. Cheers. :)

[@artisinventable]

This is the most beautiful thing you have written yet. Thank you

[@idrinkmilk282]

Easily impressed much

[@artisinventable]

@@idrinkmilk282 Yes, probably :)

[@blacknrd05]

Utterly brilliant reviews!

[@cfdeers]

"As if bitcoin and airline miles had some unholy unity" sir, I would like to know how you come up with these quips. It reminds me of Tehsnakerer's videos and he no doubt takes inspiration from your videos. You, are simply amazing.

[@oskari61]

Goddamn that was great video! Especially loved the ending, where the serial killer thanks his supportores in a molester van. Brilliant !

[@thughes351]

You can't rush Genius!!! Welcome back!!!

[@arknark]

I read the title and thought you were comparing SOMA to the city of Tacoma, and indeed there are similarities.

[@vhadow]

this entire video was beautifully worded

[@Ven_detta_]

I *really* wish for some parts you showed a little clip, so the people who haven't played SOMA could get the feels of the moment