Pyro's a damned good way to go - using that form of magic doesn't require bumping up stats in place of what you would for a warrior. You just have to buy the spells, and ocassionally upgrades to your power.
As far as Taurus Demon, it's essentially the same fight as Asylum Demon but the space is confined. The easiest way to beat him is starting with
this. Climb the Tower, go 2-handed, and slam down on his head for about 1/4 damage or more. The trick after that is baiting him into attacking. Back up a bit once he tries hitting you, run up to him and slap him silly. Wash, Rinse, Repeat.
You can also do a second tower slam if he's still giving you trouble. If it makes you feel any better, took me literal hours to get him the first time. Might drop in a video on getting down some of these bosses if that helps.
SOMA is Complete.
Of the Frictional Games Library, SOMA is really the only one to date that can(and should) be played for its storyline. Taking a myriad of inspirations from Phillip K. Dick to System Shock 2, Frictional’s intent is have the player reflect over its philosophical theming amidst a dark and disturbing locale. While it succeeds in Narrative, Fear Factor, and Atmosphere, some may be put off by its undemanding puzzles.
Though I’d prefer to avoid Spoiler-ish Storyline talk, I can say that it’s a dramatic shift in comparison to their previous work; Amnesia could easily be played without knowing a damn thing besides Spooky house is Spooky. A bit like NWN, the Custom Creations helped assuage the Original Campaign. With SOMA, a great deal of work was put in to build a more scripted and thought-provoking experience. Most of the Dialogue/Environmental Narrative will feel similar to Dead Space/SS2, but they‘ll spent a good while on the bizarre possibilities of a Not-So-Distant Future. I was pleasantly surprised to find a strange new way of extracting information…instead of listening to someone voluntarily record themselves on how turrible everything is and the end is nigh. Regarding the philosophical themes themselves, this is expressed not just in occasional banter with [REDACTED], but some rather disturbing puzzle sequences.
Puzzles generally stick around the technological - the most memorable being one that explores darker uses for the tech revolving around the story. Most aren’t very difficult - A Ph.D in math or an intimate knowledge of Shakespearean plays won’t be required to beat the game. While Puzzles are
far more memorable than SOMA’s predecessor, it’s hard not to feel a lacking in the Challenge. The game focuses moreso on exploration and NPC/Narrative dialogue a la “Walking Simulators”.
Underwater Sequences. This is something that Bioshock 2 Fiddled around faintly with, but believe me when I say SOMA took it farther than any game I can think of. There’s definitely a level of fear that kicks in while wandering the “deeper” sections. Enemy AI is dramatically improved. Your first major foe is hardly different from the original Amnesia, but the lingering roster need a more tactical approach than the old Duck-And-Cover method. This can mean anything between avoiding eye contact to getting past them in claustrophobic hallways with a bit of sneaking(or sprinting, if you dare).
Graphically, it stands up pretty well for an indie budget. Unlike Amnesia, you’ll need a more modern video card to really see it with all options at maximum. Audio wise, it’s been glorious. Bring Headphones.
Complaints… besides the lack of challenge, there’s a brief part during
The end(or near it) that feels a bit unnecessary and borders on using the dumb stick for the sake of adding drama. He freaked out over the same “topic” previously, and I would’ve preferred something more subdued. Something with less fucks.
There’s a small technical issue - While there really aren’t any loading screens, the game occasionally “loads” and the graphics flip out for a second. And not the intentional flip out.
After my first playthrough, hit a major game crash after one of the big moments early in the game - hope they get it patched, I intend to try the game again. In terms of atmosphere, it sometimes feels like I’m playing more of an HD remake of SS2 than something with a more unique identity, but that feeling usually passes after staring into the heart of the abyss.
While SOMA may not be the most challenging game outside of its monstrous opposition, it’s one hell of an experience that will have gamers thinking about it long after the credits are finished.