Game

SOMA

2015

Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, macOS, LinuxGenres: Action, Adventure, Indie

13Score

Peak Gaming

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Game metadata from RAWG.

Is SOMA Woke? Quick Answer

SOMA scores 13/100 on the IsItWoke scale and falls into Peak Gaming.

That is the story-first end of the scale for this game.

Dialogue serves the existential themes rather than overt messaging. Characters are primarily developed within the context of the story.

See the full breakdown below.

Woke profile

How the score is shaped

Eight stored dimensions, each scored from 0 to 20.

Message

Characters

Story

Legacy

Politics

Lead

Tradition

Norms

Column height is the stored score out of 20

Message-first dialogue
5/20
Tokenistic characters
3/20
Ideology over story
4/20
Legacy rewriting
0/20
Modern politics injection
2/20
Protected protagonist pattern
3/20
Anti-traditional framing
1/20
Cultural normalization framing
2/20

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Why it received this score

Based on: Published title analysisConfidence: MediumLast updated: 2026-07-09

Key reasons

Dialogue serves the existential themes rather than overt messaging.
Characters are primarily developed within the context of the story.
The narrative focuses on atmosphere and psychological horror over ideology.

View full breakdown

While there are moral choices, they enhance personal reflection rather than push a specific agenda.
The game maintains internal consistency and does not break established lore.

Score signals

Signal	What was measured	Strength	Impact
Message-first dialogue	How much the dialogue, monologues, or character interactions feel driven by overt messaging, moral lecturing, ideological framing, or making a point instead of serving the story naturally.	5/20	+3
Ideology over story	How much the overall storytelling prioritizes ideological framing, message delivery, social commentary, or activism-coded narrative choices over pacing, conflict, immersion, and entertainment.	4/20	+3
Tokenistic characters	How much characters feel inserted or shaped primarily for symbolic representation, political signaling, or demographic checkbox value rather than narrative depth, organic fit, or strong characterization.	3/20	+2
Protected protagonist pattern	How much the protagonist fits the protected-protagonist pattern (agenda-driven character construction) rather than competence fantasy. Score HIGH only when: competence appears unearned or unexplained; protagonist rarely faces consequences; antagonists exist mainly to demonstrate protagonist superiority; narrative treats protagonist as symbolically superior; plot shields protagonist from vulnerability. Score LOW when: competence is grounded in training, profession, or past experience; protagonist suffers damage or setbacks; real physical danger and survival tension exist (normal action storytelling). Do not penalize competence fantasy.	3/20	+2
Modern politics injection	How much contemporary political discourse, activist framing, or modern culture-war signaling appears injected into fantasy, sci-fi, historical, or otherwise escapist settings in a way that feels noticeable or immersion-breaking.	2/20	+1

AI cultural analysis

A short read on tone, themes, and messaging — not a plot synopsis.

AI read

SOMA excels in crafting an immersive atmosphere that prioritizes storytelling over ideological messaging. The dialogue is rich with existential themes, but it avoids overt moral lecturing, allowing players to engage with the narrative organically.

Characters are developed within the context of the plot, rather than being mere symbols of representation, which keeps the focus on the chilling exploration of identity and consciousness. The game does not inject contemporary political discourse into its narrative, maintaining a sense of escapism that is often lost in modern titles.