Last Updated on 28 November, 2025
SOMA creates a terrifying atmosphere through psychological tension. The monsters play a massive role in this fear. Much of the horror comes from the unknown, as you rarely know what an enemy can do until it attacks. If you hesitate to progress because the tension is too high, you should study their behavior first.
This guide explains appearance, behavior, locations, and specific approaches for every creature in the game. It also covers chase sequences and jump scares. Please note that this guide contains major spoilers.
Table of Contents
General Survival Tips
Nearly every enemy in SOMA acts uniquely. You need a different strategy for each one. Fortunately, the game provides warning signs. Your screen glitches and your flashlight flickers when an enemy lurks nearby.
Positioning and Movement
Enemies usually cannot reach you if you stand on a table or hide inside a vent, provided there is enough distance between you. Do not stay in one place for too long. Enemies will eventually find you if you remain static.
Door Management
Monsters in SOMA can open doors. You should generally leave doors open to ensure a quick escape route. Doors offer no safety. Locking yourself in a room often leads to a monster spawning right next to you. However, Jin Yoshida requires a different approach.
Stealth Mechanics
Avoid looking directly at monsters. Frictional Games follows an unspoken rule where looking at an enemy makes you more visible. The main character panics, which draws attention. Furthermore, never hold objects or toggle your flashlight when enemies are close. This applies even if the enemy is blind or deaf.
Aggression
Never throw objects at monsters to distract them. This makes them angry and triggers an immediate chase.
Health and Healing
Enemies typically do not kill you in one hit. You usually die after two or three strikes. Upon death, you wake up in the same spot with a blurry screen and restricted movement. You are vulnerable in this state. To heal, stick your arm into the glowing WAU flowers found throughout the station. You can use each flower once.
1. The Construct
- Location: Upsilon
- Weakness: None
- Player Tolerance: 3 hits
The Construct is the first enemy you encounter. You wake up at Upsilon and find a large robot hanging from the wall of the “Machine Hangar.” It springs to life when you move to the next room. It makes crackling noises, but it disappears when you check the corner. When the lights go out in the next area, do not open the pneumatically locked door on the left. The Construct waits behind it and attacks immediately.
First Major Encounter
The first serious threat occurs after you meet Catherine. You see a geothermal turbine hall beneath you. The ladder breaks, and you fall. Do not try to hide in the elevated areas above; the robot is programmed to spot you there. The robot spawns from a dead end near the “Upsilon” text.
Your mission is to turn the valve on the white platform and climb the yellow ladder. You must act fast. Open and close the door quickly. Crouching at the top of the stairs does not help you go unnoticed. The gas provides no protection either, as the bot can squeeze into small spaces.
Second Encounter
You can skip the next encounter. To leave Upsilon, you must shut down power to escape via the Comm Center. If you pull the lever in Flow Control, the Construct spawns. But, if you pull the lever near the Carl robot, the monster does not spawn, though you leave Carl to suffer.
If you trigger the spawn, the Construct comes up the stairs you just used. Hide behind the boxes in the hallway. Wait for the enemy to pass. If you wait too long, it will find you. Crawl toward the computer, open the Comm Center, and run up the ladder before the robot catches you.
2. The Scavenger
- Location: Path between Upsilon and Lambda
- Weakness: Slow speed
- Player Tolerance: 3 hits
First Encounter
The Scavenger is likely the least dangerous enemy. After leaving Upsilon, you meet a Scavenger roaming the path. You can crawl through the seaweed or simply run past it. It moves slowly and gives up the chase easily.
Second Encounter
You encounter two Scavengers after leaving the Shuffle Station. These versions act more aggressively and chase you longer, but they remain slow. Avoid standing directly in their line of sight, and you can evade them with ease.
3. The Flesher (Jiangshi)
- Location: Lambda and Curie
- Weakness: Blind and Deaf
- Abilities: Teleports; reacts to proximity and eye contact
- Player Tolerance: 2 hits
The Flesher is blind and deaf, but it reacts to your presence. If you get too close, it attacks. If you maintain eye contact, it teleports closer to you. A quick glance is safe, but staring is fatal. Keep your flashlight on to locate the enemy, as the light does not agitate it. Keep moving.
First Encounter (Lambda)
A female Flesher roams Lambda briefly. You can hide behind boxes to the left of the entrance. It takes a few minutes for the monster to disappear. If you lack patience, go to the room with Catherine, but be careful as the monster emerges from there.
Second Encounter (Curie)
The male Flesher appears in the Curie ship. You must navigate an underwater maze to reach a wheel. When you leave the bedroom area, the Flesher appears on your right.
Follow this simple navigation rule: take all three turns to the right. Do not open doors or check rooms. Move along the corridors. Hide in dead ends if necessary, but keep looking at the walls to make the Flesher go away. Never close doors against a Flesher because it can teleport past them, which blocks your escape.
4. The Proxy and Terry Akers
- Location: Theta
- Weakness: Blind
- Strength: Excellent hearing
- Player Tolerance: 2 hits
Proxies rely entirely on sound. Walking agitates them, and running triggers an immediate chase. They move fast, so you cannot outrun them easily in Theta’s confined spaces.
Survival Strategy
Crawl on the floor. If you hear them nearby, find a corner and wait. If you must move, tap the ‘W’ key in short sequences to reduce noise. Proxies hear you toggle your flashlight, so avoid doing that. They also hear you breathing if you stand right in front of them.
Terry Akers
Akers haunts Theta Labs. He is unique because he enters a hiding mode, where he disappears when out of sight but continues making noises. He respawns every few minutes. His footsteps usually indicate his approach.
When you repair the elevator, hide in the small recess on the left side of the elevator. Akers detects you if you hide on the right. Once in the elevator, press the button quickly.
The Chase
Akers triggers a scripted chase in the sewers. Do not panic about escaping. The water eventually wipes both of you away.
5. Robot Head Girl
- Location: Omicron
- Weakness: Blind and Deaf
- Strength: Reacts to movement
- Player Tolerance: 2 hits
This enemy waits on the third level of Omicron. She is a stationary enemy who only attacks when agitated. She reacts solely to movement.
How to Move
The monster has two stages: agitated and neutral. When she becomes agitated, she lights up and the screen shakes. You must stop moving immediately. Wait for her to cry and for the light to fade before you crawl again. If you keep moving, she screams and attacks. Do not run.
6. The Leviathan
- Location: After Omega and Alpha
- Weakness: Light (mostly)
- Player Tolerance: 3 hits
First Encounter
On the way to TAU, the Leviathan avoids light. Follow the illuminated path. The monster eats a machine near the TVS-d, which serves as a jump scare.
Second Encounter
After the Alpha section, the Leviathan chases you through a tunnel. The camera angle flips during the run. Ignore the change in perspective and keep running forward until you reach a small rock cave.
After this chase, the Leviathan changes behavior. It attacks despite the lights. You must duck under cover when you hear the chase music. If the ambience music matches Akers’ theme, you are safe.
7. Viperfish and Anglerfish
- Location: The Abyss
- Strategy: Run along illuminated paths
- Player Tolerance: 3 hits
Viperfish
A flock of Viperfish appears after the Observatory. They emerge from the storm. Even if you stand near a light source, they may still bite you. Keep moving and follow the lights.
Anglerfish
After exiting the cave, you see faint lights. Distinguish between the tube lights and the round light of the Anglerfish. If you run into the Anglerfish, it attacks. Stick to the path and evade the white light ball.
8. Jin Yoshida
- Location: TAU
- Weakness: Eye contact (temporarily stops him)
- Strength: Highly perceptive
- Player Tolerance: 2 hits
Jin Yoshida is perhaps the most stressful enemy. He wears a Power Suit and moves with heavy, robotic footsteps. He listens for every sound and movement.
Strategy
Do not hide. Yoshida finds you easily if you stay still. You must keep moving. Interestingly, looking at him causes him to stop in his tracks. This allows you to escape. However, do not stare for more than five seconds, or he becomes aggressive.
Use a “stare and move” tactic. Look at him to pause him, break eye contact to move to a better position, and then look back. Repeat this to maneuver around him. Unlike other monsters, closing doors helps here. He opens doors, so closing them confuses him momentarily, buying you time. Your goal is to open the door at the end of the corridor and climb the ladder.
9. Jonathan Ross
- Location: Omicron, TAU, Alpha
- Abilities: Teleportation
Ross is generally not dangerous. He serves as a creepy observer who wants you to do him a favor and flickers in and out of sight. He appears in glass containers and sometimes stands right behind you.
Ross creates a jump scare in the Climber and at TAU’s living quarters. He does not attack you until the final encounter at site Alpha, and even then, the events are scripted and story-related. You do not need a combat strategy for him.
Conclusion
Surviving SOMA requires patience and observation. Every monster follows a specific set of rules. If you respect those rules, you can navigate the station safely. Keep your lights low, move slowly, and pay attention to the sounds around you. Good luck.
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