When comparing SOMA vs Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition, the Slant community recommends SOMA for most people. In the question“What are the best PS4 (PlayStation 4) games?” SOMA is ranked 12th while Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition is ranked 51st. The most important reason people chose SOMA is:
SOMA is set in the future, so it has all that futuristic goodness. Things like robots, AIs, underwater laboratories, diving suits designed to endure immense water pressure, and much more. SOMA is a thoroughly enjoyable Sci-fi experience.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro A horror game for Sci-Fi enthusiasts
SOMA is set in the future, so it has all that futuristic goodness. Things like robots, AIs, underwater laboratories, diving suits designed to endure immense water pressure, and much more. SOMA is a thoroughly enjoyable Sci-fi experience.
Pro Great atmosphere
SOMA’s atmosphere is a combination of various things. It can be the feeling of loneliness when you’re exploring a rundown and desolate lab. The feeling of anxiety as you trek along the seafloor and you’re only surrounded by muffled sounds and the bubbling of the water. The feeling of fear as you dive deeper into the ocean and the sun becomes more distant. It’s an extremely immersive atmosphere, which is something that many modern horror games don’t have.
Pro Thought-provoking story
Like many horror stories, it delves deep into uncovering the central mystery of what’s going on. There are many unsettling events and revelations along the way, bringing up philosophical questions about consciousness and identity. It’s the type of story that sticks with you long after you’ve finished it and is worth experiencing at least once.
Pro Fun combat
You'll immediately notice how nice it feels to attack the enemies with each slash, strike and shot having an impact behind it. Enemies will flinch, get thrown back and get suspended mid-air from your attacks, making it feel like you're always the dominant force. It's especially amusing seeing an enemy flail about and slamming it into the ground with your demonic arm.
Some of the stylistic elements add fun as well. The prime example is Nero's greatsword the Red Queen, which is equipped with a motorcycle-like gear shift. You can use the gear shift mid-combo to add a flame effect to your sword. This increases your damage and the range of your combos and also looks very nice. It's especially awesome to see your character ascend in a whirlwind of flames.
Pro Great soundtrack
Most of the battle music has the lyrical styling of progressive rock while mixing in dark electronica guitar riffs. It matches the rhythm and speed of the battles really well, spurring on your combos and devastating attacks.
The exploration sections and cutscenes have an entirely different style of music. It ranges from divine vocals accompanied with organ music to eerie pieces with harp and piano sounds creating a bone-chilling ambience.
Pro Highest level of combat depth in any hack and slash game
An open-ended cancelling system (Jump Cancelling) stacked with individual character mechanics (Dante styles and style/weapon switching, Nero ACT and parries, Vergil being Vergil, Lady and Trish are the weakest in terms of combo-ability of the 5 but you can still style with them) and system physics create a combat masterpiece that rewards practice and creativity.
Pro There's a bunch of stuff to do even after beating the game
You can replay the game on higher difficulties, try to find all the hidden missions or collect all the upgrades. You can even try to get the max style rank on all the missions. Doing any of these will award you extra collectibles or unlock new modes.
There's also the The Bloody Palace, which is an arena consisting of 101 levels. Each level contains enemies and bosses found within the main game. The first few levels are quite easy, but each level becomes increasingly more difficult. Only the most skilled players can reach the end, giving you another goal to strive for.
Cons
Con Not for mainstream horror enthusiasts
SOMA focuses heavily on psychological horror by maintaining suspense and creating a very creepy atmosphere. If you’re looking for jump scares, gore, and other thrill-inducing horror aspects you might be sorely disappointed.
Con Very linear level design
While other horror titles have branching paths and open areas you get to explore, SOMA is very linear even in its ocean exploration sections. This feels like a failed opportunity to create an even better game.
Con No HUD (head-up display) or map
You have to memorize the layouts of the underwater facilities, since there is no HUD or overlay map system. Even though there are several computer terminals scattered through the game that provide access to rudimentary maps, there's no way to save them.
Con Occasional difficulty spikes
Upon reaching the first boss you'll encounter the first difficulty spike. The boss attacks a lot faster and stronger than the enemies leading up to it. Messing up means you'll die in a couple of seconds, which can be really frustrating. Especially because you have to switch gears so suddenly and adapt to a new playstyle, where the enemy stands on equal footing.
Con Recycled stage designs and lack of character-specific bosses
Capcom basically just slapped on the 3 new characters (Lady, Trish, and Vergil) and they suffer the same problems that Dante does, and that's lack of bosses designed specifically for their toolset. They run through the same bosses and levels instead of getting unique missions.