Somerville Reviews
Somerville is a nice looking adventure game with a unique puzzle element idea, but narrative and performance inconsistencies leave the overall experience a bit muted.
It was a bold move for the devs to try and move this traditionally 2D style of game into this hybrid 3D space, but I can’t help but feel that Jumpship would have been better off leaving it in 2D, because that extra dimension ends up just weighing the game down. It’s weirdly apt that right at the end of the game, when I’d got two different endings but was trying to unlock what I’d imagine was the ‘good’ ending, I experienced a massive bug that for a moment seemed like a creative decision, as I fell through the world, was reunited with my family on a grey platform in some empty void, then jumped off again to go into an infinite fall. In the end, Somerville’s admirable artistic vision and technical issues merged into one, poignantly showing that these two aspects of a game can’t ultimately be separated.
While not reaching the expressive heights of Limbo or Inside, Somerville is in the wake of Playdead's videogame experiments.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Though getting through it was occasionally bumpy, I only wish I'd been able to get more of it once it really got going. And had Somerville maintained its human element front and center, I think I would've loved the way the story ended more than I ultimately did. As it stands though, Somerville is a notable debut by Patti's new studio, it just has some of the wrinkles of one too.
Unlike Limbo and Inside, Somerville looks like an experimental and unfinished project with a confused story and many gameplay hiccups.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Jumpship's wordless debut comes uniquely structured, but neither the story nor the gameplay do enough to help it carry the torch it's been passed.
Somerville is a fantastically evocative game as it depicts an everyman's journey through a War of the Worlds-like alien invasion, leaning on countless sci-fi tropes and ideas along the way. Disappointingly, it's undercut on a number of levels by controls and a detached feeling and hastiness with some parts of the story it's telling.
One man and his dog traverse the English countryside after an alien invasion in this haunting, wordless game: a masterclass in foreboding sound design and minimal storytelling
Overall, Somerville has a fantastic and intriguing world that’s begging to be explored from the off. Wonderful art and sound design compounded with excellent character animations really bring this narrative adventure to life, but a smattering of bugs, lacklustre puzzle elements, and an ambiguous story that left me feeling unrewarded after posing so many initial questions, really hampered the experience.
Somerville is an exceptional project with huge missed potential, reason being the overall weak technical state. The game is just raw and would greatly benefit from at least another six month of dev time.
Review in Russian | Read full review
Players are left to decipher the path to these endings with little to no guidance from the game itself. This lack of direction will lead players to seek guides to uncover these elusive alternate endings. Even when armed with the knowledge of what actions to take, the solutions often lack coherence and may fail to provide players with a satisfying understanding of the game’s narrative twists and turns.
Somerville takes inspiration from 2 great modern classics, Limbo and Inside, however, it falls short to offer a deep contemplative experience. Despite some technical difficulties, it offers great value as a visually compelling puzzle adventure.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Somerville is a game where both the new and old ideas don't work in the game's favor. The platforming is nonexistent, while the puzzles are hampered by either a lack of creativity, an uncooperative physics system, or a combination of both. The use of 3D produces situations where your objectives can become obscured due to the camera angle and distance. The shock and awe one would expect from the game's pedigree is greatly dampened, and the wordless story doesn't do much to carry a narrative that seems pedestrian and doesn't care about its characters. Some will still find fun in the various situations, and the runtime is brisk enough if everything works in your favor. If you are still interested in Somerville, wait for a sale before checking it out.
Somerville is more of an interactive film than a narrative game. Unfortunately, the game's superb presentation fails to take away the impression that it could have been so much more. We would have liked for the devs to deepen the game mechanics, for the different members of the family to be used for gameplay purposes, for the player to have more opportunities to express his uniqueness, but above all for the rhythm of the game to be better balanced.
Review in French | Read full review
Despite its issues, Somerville manages to offer a mostly enjoyable experience. The family bond forged in an opening scene, which is easily the highlight of Somerville, simply works and drove me through the game. I wanted to figure out what happened to my character’s family and see them together again, and that kept me going through a relatively short game. The strong atmosphere, which kept things visually interesting, and a soundtrack worthy of praise don’t hurt either. Unfortunately, with actual storytelling that doesn’t really work, busy areas which are hard to navigate, gameplay that doesn’t stand apart, and glitches that further weaken the experience, Somerville is hard to fully recommend. While fans of Playdead titles who can check it out on Game Pass or for a good price may find it worth the rather small-time commitment, other players should perhaps consider checking into the many similar games which simply execute this formula better.
I couldn't say Somerville is my favourite game, nor would I say it's particularly action-packed or noteworthy in terms of puzzles, but technically it's a serviceable emotion-stirring two-and-a-half-hour jaunt that some may find value in.
Appealing art direction and excellent sound design do a lot of the heavy lifting in Somerville, but are undermined at almost every turn by frustratingly sloppy gameplay mechanics.
A disappointing follow-up to Limbo and Inside that lacks the same complexity of plot and puzzles, and yet struggles surprisingly poorly with the move to 3D.
Although Somerville has some standout features, gorgeously peaceful environments, and atmospheric, silent storytelling, they're somewhat dulled by its terrible controls, awful performance, and lack of exposition. Being restricted to walking pace and the path forward often unclear, you frequently end up walking into invisible barriers. There are huge drops in frame rate throughout, especially when loading new areas, and the lack of names and backstories for the family you're playing leaves you frustrated with little to no attachment to them and their eventual outcomes. If you’re looking for a short, touching title to tide you over until the next big release, this may be worth a look, but with all its issues, it's better off left alone in the dark.
Jumpship's debut mixes grand sci-fi and familial drama in a more cinematic take on PLAYDEAD's earlier titles to mixed effect.
