In this guide, I will list every enemy encounter in SOMA. I'll also try to explain every creature's notable abilities which set them apart from each other, backstory, and estimated difficulty from my own experience. I also did crappy drawings on how to get past a few select ones.

MAJOR CONTENT UPDATES
July 31 2022 - Grammar improved drastically
July 9 2024 - Grammar and punctuation improved further, added additional info, trivia and theories, fixed 4 images missing (it was like that for 2 years... awkward)

The Construct
Notable attributes: Slow patrol speed, bad eyesight
Difficulty: 2

Backstory
The Construct is a UH3 Helper bot which has gotten heavily reconstructed by the WAU using structure gel. Before the downfall of Pathos-II, the UH3 helper units were used for heavy duty maintenance work, which required moving objects heavier than a human could handle. Like other large helper units, the UH3s were controlled remotely by assigned staff members (wranglers) via pilot seats.

Minor encounters
- You encounter the Construct throughout Site Upsilon (the place where you wake up). It starts moving from the room with the four helper-robots next to the room where you wake up. Before it activates, your camera view will start glitching if you look at it, and approaching it will cause it to wake up just long enough to startle the player, after which it will deactivate until the player datamines another deactivated robot around the corner. You can hear it dragging itself into a nearby vent. However, this is just a scare. You can leave the room as soon as the sound sequence starts playing, without getting penalized for impatience.
- Exiting the robot storage room, you will enter a big room where the lights go out in an ominous fashion. At the back of the room there is a door with a crankable pneumatic lock on it. When you approach the door, you'll get to hear a live staff member getting mauled by the Construct. The victim's body can be found in the back of the room once entered, and their Omnitool is left on a nearby table for the player to grab.
If you open the lock while the screen is glitching during the sound sequence, the doors will open automatically and the Construct will knock you out.
- After you acquire the Omnitool and go trough a corridor opposite of the room you just left, a vent hatch will fall from the ceiling violently. The hole in the ceiling will glow for a while, and the Construct will make sounds. Luckily, this is also just a scare, and cannot kill you. (Watch out for an electric wire near the vent, though.)
- The last scare happens while crawling through the first vent section of the game. You can neither see the Construct or get killed by it in the vent.

Major encounters
1. After you restore the power and talk to Catherine for the first time, you will fall from the ladder or the catwalk, depending on which route you take. It will make a loud noise, attracting the robot. The Construct will come up the stairs on the other side of the area and go to the sound's source. Its original path is always the same, though, making it easy to avoid.

How to avoid:

Remember to crouch! If you make noise or get noticed, its path of patrol will change!



2. After escaping the Construct, you will encounter a Mockingbird (Conscious robot with a staff member's memory in it) that contains the brain scan of Carl Semken. You have two options here: Flip a switch in the other room and sneak past the Construct, or flip the switch next to Carl, skipping the encounter with the robot, but leaving Carl to scream in agony. If you decide to save Carl from the pain, you have to watch out for the Construct. You can hide behind the boxes in the hallway, but you can also dash from the room with the switch after you flip it and run under the stairs in the main room. After the Construct has gone by, you have to sneak over to a computer and unlock the stairs to the communications center (the same stairs you could hide under).

Scavenger
Notable attributes: Incredibly slow, dumb
Difficulty: 1

Backstory
Scavengers are QUALIA RV2 -helper robots that have been affected by a heavy dosage of structure gel and loaded with the corrupted brain scans of Pathos II's staff by the WAU.

Scavengers are small robots with a red light in the front. You will encounter two active ones on the way to the shuttle from Upsilon and a single active one outside of Lambda. They are - possibly - the easiest enemy type to avoid in the game. They are extremely slow, dumb and give up once the player has left their small range of sight. You can run past them without a problem. They will follow you for about 3 seconds, then give up (except the one outside Lambda. It will follow you for a bit longer, but has no chance of actually catching you if you just hold down shift through the encounter.)

Flesher
Notable attributes: Teleportation, very slow patrolling speed, heavy visual distortions
Difficulty: 4

Backstory
In the game, Catherine and Amy Azzarro are shown to acknowledge the existence of the Fleshers, and Catherine even seems to have an understanding of how it teleports, but beyond that the Fleshers aren't given a clear origin story. They are likely former staff members of M/S CURIE who have been reanimated by the WAU using its supply of structure gel.

Minor encounters
- If you forget to remove your Omnitool from the transit shuttle's dashboard after it crashes on the way to site Lambda, you can catch a glimpse of a Flesher when going back to retrieve it after trying to leave through the airlock without the Omnitool.
- You first encounter a Flesher inside site Lambda. You're safe as long as you stay away from it and don't look at it. When Catherine screams, go to the room left of the entrance and hide behind the boxes until the music stingers stop playing.
- After leaving Lambda, a Flesher will repeatedly appear and disappear in front of you. (Every instance is just a visual scare, you cannot die.)

Major encounters
1. After entering M/S CURIE (the huge vertical shipwreck) and entering a room with two doors right after each other, You have to sneak past a hostile, patrolling Flesher. This is sometimes easy and sometimes it takes a while, depending on which path the Flesher decides to take. If you're lucky, the Flesher goes right into the big room in the middle, allowing you to sneak past it without too much of a problem.

Like Catherine told you during the first encounter, it's important not to look at the patrolling Fleshers. Eye contact will agitate them, which in turn increases the chances of them teleporting over to you.

Running is not advised, but might be necessary if the Flesher is angered.



2. After you climb up the ladder and check the escape vessel, you have to sneak past the same Flesher again. This time it's a lot harder, as you have to sneak past the Flesher while being inside a single, cramped room with it. Just don't look at it while performing social distancing, and you should (hopefully) be fine.

3. After pulling the plug on the ship's reactor core, the Flesher will chase you to the escape vessel. Just remember the way you came in and you're fine (whatever you do, do not turn around).


Trivia! (spoilers regarding the rest of the game's plot)
The Flesher's ability of note is "teleportation." However, if you happened to hear a specific voiceline from Catherine at site Lambda (can sometimes be heard if you explore around for a bit after inserting Catherine into the Omnitool), you might know that the Flesher's ability to skip over notable distances in the blink of an eye actually has a reasonable explanation. In the aforementioned voiceline event, Simon will ask Catherine about the Flesher's erratic behavior after it directly attacked Catherine. She will respond with "It basically exploded with electromagnetism." In other words, when the Flesher "teleports", it lets out a large burst of electromagnetic energy. Electromagnetic pulses (EMPs) are known to disrupt electronics, and it just so happens that both Simon and Catherine inhabit computer-based brains. If you paid attention to how the Fleshers move during their patrolling segments, you might have noticed that, aside from their ability to hop over distances, they move rather slowly.
When a Flesher releases a wave of electromagnetic energy, it temporarily shuts down nearby electronics, such as Simon and Catherine's brains. While they are deactivated, the Flesher continues to move at a slow pace. From Simon and Catherine's perspective it seems like the Flesher teleported in an instant, since their brains literally stopped functioning for a minute or two.

Proxy
Notable attributes: Blind, advanced hearing, fast chase speed, slow patrolling speed
Difficulty: 4

Backstory
Theta staff injected with structure gel by Terry Akers.


Terry Akers
Notable attributes: Blind, advanced hearing, fast chase speed, can jog around while patrolling
Difficulty: 6

Backstory
High-ranking Delta officer who went insane while in isolation and ended up drinking structure gel, then ripped his own eyes out of his head (they can be found in his personal station at Delta), called a zeppelin for pickup, injected everyone in it with the gel, took the zeppelin to Theta, and then injected everyone there with the gel (that's how the Proxies were born). Akers was the sole reason for Theta's downfall.

Minor encounters
- If you peek out of the window at the end of the Theta staff accommodations hallway, you can see Akers walking around.
- After completing certain objectives in Theta, two shutter doors will slightly open, revealing Mind Coral (the stuff that looks like flesh), and you can hear Proxies making unpleasant sounds.
- When crawling in the vents, you can hear Akers going wild down below.

Major encounters
1. Inside Theta, you have to reset a router in the server room downstairs, while avoiding a single Proxy creature. There's no specific path to take here, just watch out for objects scattered around the floor, since the smallest sound will instantly alert the Proxy. Remember to crouch, and DON'T TOUCH YOUR FLASHLIGHT! If you toggle the flashlight, the creature will hear the little click it makes. It also hears if your flashlight runs out of power, so I highly suggest not using it at all.
When you reach the router, you have to open the glass and flip the tiny switch. The Proxy will hear this 100% time, regardless of how far away it is, and will run over to the router. Quickly hide behind the server stacks at either side of the room. The router will load for some time, making a sound when it's completed. After the sound, you have a minute to flip the switch again, resetting the router. After that, you can leave. If you're feeling confident, you can sprint out of the room once you're closer to the exit than the Proxy is.

2. Possibly the hardest part in the game. After successfully scanning yourself and trying out the ARK simulation, you leave the safe spot and enter the halls of the Theta labs. The first thing you'll hear is violent banging and screaming. You'll have to avoid Akers in the maze that is the laboratory complex, while trying to get the elevator working. This part is a bit confusing, but I'll try to show you what to do:

1. Go to the storage and grab an item.
2. Break the window with the item and jump in. Take the chip from Brandon Wan's corpse.
3. Go to the security checkpoint and lock yourself in with the computer. Format the chip.
4. When the chip cipher has been updated and Akers has left the vicinity, unlock the door and head to the elevator. Then install the chip and take the elevator.

Alternatively, you can go straight to the security checkpoint and unlock the room with Brandon's corpse from the computer there, which will save you the stress of trying to break through the window while Akers is fast approaching. This method takes a while longer, and makes it so that Akers can enter the room with the corpse while you're in there.


3. You really can't have a break in Theta, huh? Just when you think you're safe, you get caught by big man Akers himself. After struggling yourself free from the Mind Coral which he put you in, you have to survive not one but THREE Proxies in sequence. Luckily, they're not very smart, so getting past them isn't that hard (except the last one).

Here's a simplified guide on how to get through the Proxy gauntlet as efficiently as possible:

1.


2.


3.



GUIDE TO PROXY BGM

Every enemy type has their own background theme music with several different layers that start playing when specific conditions are met. When dealing with Proxies, knowing how the background music works can be really helpful, especially when trying to survive Akers in the Theta labs.

No music/silent ambient
The Proxy doesn't know where you are, but is wandering around, actively searching for you.

A looping "ringing" sound]
When a repeating high-pitched noise starts playing over the ambient music, it means the Proxy has heard a sound you made. It doesn't know the player's specific, current location, but is heading over to the location of the sound it heard. This means you can lure a Proxy or Akers over to a location where they're not in your way by tossing an item.

Ringing becomes louder
If the ringing becomes louder (louder than BGM with different ambience in the background), the Proxy has heard you clearly, and knows your whereabouts. When this happens, try to sneak away instead of going over to a corner to hide. Whatever you do; DO NOT RUN.

Soundtrack becomes really loud with an intense thumping sound, usually accompanied by a wailing Proxy
R U N .

Johan Ross
Notable attributes: Teleportation(?), clear speech
Difficulty: -

Ross is a mysterious individual. I recommend searching for clues about his past in-game first.

Backstory
Jonathan Ross was the lead of the WAU project. He (with a few others from Pathos II's staff) developed it to help the staff (the remains of humanity) continue living at the bottom of the sea. However, because WAU is a machine, it cannot understand what it's like to be a human, or completely what even is a human, at least in a meaningful way. Because of this, the WAU starts making changes: It starts loading the staff's brain scans into machines, because it thinks they still count as human despite the change of body. Ross quickly notices and decides the project has to be terminated. His mission was to get up on the plateau (Omicron) to warn others, and get help from Mark Sarang and Julia Dahl who also worked on the WAU project. However, Ross died in the Omicron Climber. The cause of death is unknown. His body was quickly found by Omicron staff, and an autopsy was made inside the containment chamber. After Ross' death, the WAU tried desperately to bring it's creator back to life. It started sending electromagnetic waves in an attempt to revive him. This eventually worked (with the help of structure gel), but it cost the lives of everyone else at Omicron, as the bursts of electromagnetic energy overloaded the staff's blackboxes installed in their heads, causing them to explode

And in case it wasn't clear; Ross is NOT hostile. He's just there to scare you at Omicron and Tau, sometimes appearing and saying edgy stuff like "Poison the well". Don't worry about him, he's not going to attack you. (except at site Alpha, but he gets eaten by the Leviathan before he gets to do anything.)

Minor encounters
- Ross will pop in and out of existence inside his enclosure at site Omicron, while saying random things.
- Ross will pay a visit to the player on their way down to the abyssal plain in the climber elevator, temporarily cutting off the power in the process.
- He will continue appearing and disappearing both on the way to site Tau as well as inside of the station.
- Ordeal with Ross at Site Alpha doesn't need a description.

Robot Head
Notable attributes: Not directly hostile towards the player, detects movement easily, very fast once angered
Difficulty: 2

Backstory
Robot Head was an Omicron staff member. Her body has been heavily mutated with structure gel. Her identity is unknown, as is the answer to how she managed to come out of the blackbox overload massacre with her head still intact.

1. You encounter Robot Head in the power room, where you need to steal a battery in order to change suits. She cries in the corner of the room, next to the battery pack. When moving, take a step or a few and stop for a while. If you take too many steps when close to her, parts of her body start to glow, she starts snapping her scissor-like hand, and a music stinger plays. When this happens, don't move. She will calm down in a few seconds. If you continue moving while the music plays, she will scream and give chase. Move very slow and tap W when approaching, and you should be fine. Patience is the key in this encounter.


2. After completing all the tasks in Omicron, head back to the room with the power suit. On the way there, the glass walls of the containment chamber will shatter, and Ross says he'll "follow you there".
Robot Head will chase you to the room. Just run and don't stop, she won't catch you. (Also, don't stay near the door after it closes, she can insta-kill you through it if you get too close.)

Leviathan
Notable attributes: Very big, very fast, very lethal
Difficulty First encounter: 1, second encounter: 5


Viperfish
Notable attributes: Took me approximately 4 playthroughs to notice they even existed
Difficulty: 2


Anglerfish
Notable attributes: Stealthy
Difficulty: 2

1. The abyssal creatures are various species of deep sea fish that chase you in the abyssal plain.
You first encounter the Leviathan after leaving the Omicron climber. Just keep moving and stay close to the lights. Shortly after the encounter, a shoal of viperfish will start following you. Just don't stop sprinting and they can't even get close. You're safe when you reach a cave with spiders. When you exit the cave, you'll see a bright light to your left. DO NOT APPROACH IT. It's an anglerfish trying to lure you to it. Instead, go to your right. You should see a dim light in the distance.

2. After escaping Site Alpha, you'll get pursued by the Leviathan all the way to The Omega Space Gun. This time, though, it is much more aggressive, and doesn't care about the lights. There's a change in the background music when it's about to attack. When the music becomes louder with more layers, quickly run to a nearby cave or behind scrap. If it gets you, there's a chance it drops you further back than you were, making the sequence a bit frustrating.


Trivia!/backstory
It might be hard to notice in-game with all the darkness and visual distortion, but all of the abyssal creatures have uncanny human faces plastered around their bodies. The WAU has such a prevalent obsession with the human species that it started to actively try to transform other lifeforms around it into replicas of people, once it noticed that Pathos-II started running low on staff.

Jin Yoshida
Notable attributes: Very fast, reacts strangely to being watched
Difficulty: 4

Backstory
Jin was a Tau staff member. He appears to be one with the power suit he's wearing thanks to structure gel. Not much is known about him.

You encounter Jin Yoshida inside site Tau. He comes from behind a blast door when you open it. He moves extremely fast, but if you look at him, he will slow down a significant amount for a limited time.


I apologize if my map is inaccurate, since I make all of these from memory.

Congratulations! You beat SOMA! (Or you just read this guide for the sake of reading it) I hope this guide helped or was worth reading in some other way, this took me a long time to make. Feel free to comment if I made any mistakes. I had a really fun time making this.