'Tis Halloween, when ghosts and ghouls come out to play, and when Epic Games shoves a new batch of freebies onto its store because it's also Thursday. But what's this! Today's releases - SOMA and Costume Quest - are a spooky lot, as befitting of the season.
SOMA, of course, is developer Frictional Games sci-fi-hued follow-up to acclaimed horror, Amnesia: The Dark Descent. This time around, Lovecraft-inspired scares make way for something rather more philosophical, but no less unsettling, with SOMA ruminating on the nature of identity as it lurches deep beneath the waves.
Mostly its journey is one of richly atmospheric, and frequently claustrophobic exploration, although SOMA's impeccably handled narrative is occasionally interrupted by shambling terrors, almost always wishing to give chase. These tend to be SOMA's weakest moments, as frustrating as they are uninspired. Thankfully though, Frictional has added an optional Safe Mode since launch, easing the pain of these encounters.