TSJ Reviews Sci-Fi Horror Video Game SOMA from Frictional Games |

TSJ Reviews Sci-Fi Horror Video Game Soma from Frictional Games

Today at Life After Gateway, I review a video game that has only been out for eleven years.

Yes, I know I’m a bit late at this, but I’m a busy person!

Soma is an underwater Science Fiction/Horror game featuring abandoned facilities infested by infected robot monsters, and a quest to discover what exactly has happened to cause global disaster. It’s in the same realm as Alien: Isolation and Prey. The story is strong and emotional, and grows more intense as the narrative progresses.

The player portrays Simon Jarrett, a resident of Toronto, who is suffering from a brain injury following an accident. He undergoes a brain scan to assist a doctor’s research and to possibly help his condition …

… and Simon wakes up in the underwater facility, PATHOS-II. It’s largely abandoned — and old — though there are self-aware robots prowling about, and the player must navigate a series of locations, moving from one to another, deciphering clues and learning about what exactly has occurred.

And … how did he get there?

It’s a fascinating story that grows more intimate as it progresses, and I truly enjoyed this about Soma. I especially appreciated the underwater aesthetic and the visuals outside the facilities, particularly in the deep ocean abyss. It has been described by some as a “walking simulator,” though there are parts more challenging than that: there are some puzzles to decipher in order to progress through the narrative, and there are areas with hostile creatures that you must avoid. This is not nearly as challenging as Alien: Isolation, however; the story is the more important element in Soma, not the stealth/horror elements. There are diaries, emails, audio journals, photographs, and whiteboards to discover in order to fully understand what’s happened to Earth. It’s fascinating and drew me right in; the game took under fifteen hours to finish, but I never felt that it was going on too long. Very soon into Soma, I knew what the ultimate goal was, and shot for that.

I experienced a couple of glitches; during one, I had to backtrack a short bit to a previous save, because a critical piece of a puzzle had not appeared. I had to search online to discover what exactly was going on.

According to Metacritic, the game achieved an 82/100 for X-Box, 84 for PC, and 79 for PS.

I purchased the game from the Microsoft store for my X-Box Series X for $34.99.

If you enjoyed Prey and Alien: Isolation, I recommend Soma. Give it a shot, you won’t regret it.

TSJ’s Review of Soma: 8/10

Here is the launch trailer for Soma, released more than ten years ago now:

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A Blanket of Steel by Timothy S. Johnston and from Fitzhenry & Whiteside, LTD. is the recipient of the 2024 GLOBAL Thriller Award GRAND PRIZE and the 2024 CYGNUS Award First in Category.

— Timothy S. Johnston, 12 March 2026

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Praise for Timothy S. Johnston’s A Blanket of Steel

“Fans of Clive Cussler’s NUMA Files will be delighted with Timothy S. Johnston’s undersea novels. Truman McClusky and Dirk Pitt are cut from the same adventurer’s cloth.” — Nick Cutter, author of The Deep and The Troop

“Action that ranges from close range combat to torpedo-fueled attacks. The result is a thriller that keeps moving from confrontation to confrontation … with constant danger and the vast depths of the ocean as a setting, there is always reason to keep reading.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Read the book and prepare to be blown away by one of the best writers I have ever had the pleasure to read. Timothy S. Johnston is simply amazing.” — FIVE Stars from Readers’ Favorite

“A Blanket of Steel is not simply a ‘daring do’ thriller … It’s prescient.” — Amazing Stories

“A priority selection. An action-packed story that is hard to put down. A Blanket of Steel is outstanding.” — D. Donovan, Sr. Reviewer, Midwest Book Review

“Innovative technology, Mac taking risks no one else would dare and thinking his way through to brilliant solutions … But the stakes are higher than they’ve ever been before. This is it. The countdown to the final battle … Johnston does an excellent job of keeping the tension taut as he plays with the reader’s perceptions of characters we thought we knew and trusted …” — SFcrowsnest

“Expect to be left breathless. Trust me here. Please. I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN.” — Michael Libling, author of The Serial Killer’s Son Takes A Wife and Hollywood North: A Novel in Six Reels

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A BLANKET OF STEEL is out now!

WATCH THE GRIPPING BOOK TRAILER HERE.

FOR PURCHASE OPTIONS CLICK HERE

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A Blanket of Steel from Timothy S. Johnston and Fitzhenry & Whiteside, Ltd.

Book Cover & Jacket Copy:

AN UNSTOPPABLE THREAT!

A mysterious assassin has murdered Cliff Sim, Chief Security Officer of the underwater colony, Trieste. Cliff was a mountain of a man, highly trained, and impossible to defeat in combat. And yet …

Someone brutally beat him and left his broken body in a secret Chinese facility at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.

And included a calling card for Truman McClusky, Mayor of Trieste.

Taunting him.

Mac has led the underwater colonies in their fight against the world’s superpowers. Climate change has devastated the surface; nations suffer famine, drought, rebellion, rising waters, and apocalyptic coastal flooding. But now, as Mac leads the underwater colonies to freedom and independence, he’s faced with the gravest threat of his life: a Russian assassin, hellbent on killing Mac and everyone he cares for. Now Mac must uncover the identity of the killer, face him in combat, and at the same time lead people in battle against the largest underwater force ever assembled. It’s Mac’s final test, and to win the war, he must use every tool at his disposal, including the most surprising and devastating underwater weapons ever invented.

If Mac fails, all hope is lost for the future of human colonization on the ocean floors.

But the assassin could be anyone …

Watch your back, Mac.

A Blanket of Steel is the most gripping thriller yet in The Rise of Oceania.

FOR PURCHASE OPTIONS CLICK HERE

The other books in The Rise of Oceania series by Timothy S Johnston:

The War Beneath 9781771484718
The Savage Deeps 9781771485067
Fatal Depth 9781554555574
An Island of Light 9781554555819
The Shadow of War 9781554556007