Somerville Reviews
Somerville is an intriguing, sometimes thought provoking venture that while initially mysterious ultimately ends up being a bit bland dragged down by a lack of polish and performance issues.
Jumpship tries its best to evoke Playdead's aura with Somerville and even if thematically there are some great ideas with a good art direction but the jump from 2D to 3D doesn't feel as polished as you think. The story needed some more time in game to develop properly or another focus, kind of dimishes the impact of the endings rendering them a little unearned.
Review in Spanish | 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.
Somerville has great potential, as not many games leave us wishing for more. It's an innovative puzzle game that falls a little short of its goal of providing a substantial and in-depth experience. But in no way can Somerville be called an imperfect game. It still manages to tug at the emotions and deliver its central themes brilliantly, and the genre will like many aspects of the game. It's an ambitious project, and I would love to see more from such a unique initiative.
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.
Somerville isn’t perfect and does struggle to get some things right with its physics, puzzles, and interaction, but this is still one of the best-paced games I’ve played this year, with a story to match. With stunning visual effects, Somerville just oozes atmosphere and stands among the most interesting, engaging sci-fi epics in recent memory.
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
Another special adventure emerges from a fragment of the creators of LIMBO and Inside, which with well-known forms intends to chart its own path as well. Somerville proposes family closeness and a great opening in its history and ties. An adventure of survival and discovery, expanded by the layer that adds manipulating extrasolar energies to solve its many situations and achieve something more personal and with its differential touch.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Somerville is one of the most unique indie experiences of 2022. If you're fan of Playdead games or the Little Nightmares series, then Somerville is able to make you fall in love with it from the very first scene. As the very first game from Jumpship studio, it's a great title that's only hampered by some control issues. I strongly recommend it.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
Jumpship's debut shows admirable taste and intelligence, even if it doesn't always manage to hold interest with the same ease.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Somerville is a bleak, threatening and intimidating world to survive as you struggle to save your family. Its mix of surprisingly in-depth gameplay puzzling, beautiful art direction and genuinely heartfelt narrative glimpses of hope help it overcome what could have been burgeoning control and technical issues. You’ll struggle with more than just the invaders on occasion, but you’ll persevere willingly to take in more of this utterly compelling world.
Somerville left me with many more questions than answers, but the journey was well worth it in the end. Taking around 5-6 hours to complete, this puzzle adventure game revels in obscurity and almost completely forgoes dialogue, text and traditional HUD elements. The whole game is a tonne of fun to play and doesn’t hold your hand at all, making the tricky brain teasers mighty satisfying to conquer.
Somerville attempts to be the next Inside or Limbo, but with colour and a lot more sci-fi. It mostly succeeds, as some of its off-kilter segments, vistas and art style, conclusions, and developer choices will be seared in your mind for the remainder of 2022.
Somerville takes us on an intimate and dramatic journey through a world now close to unraveling, enriched by puzzles that shape a satisfying gaming offering, but unfortunately some design choices and a less-than-perfect packaging do not allow the game to shine and touch heights of excellence. Still, it remains a fascinating and disturbing journey that you are unlikely to forget, and that is enough to rightfully belong in the experiences every gamer should have.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Somerville feels like great ambition being stretched a little thin, and fundamentally, the way it feels to actually play makes me wish it spent a little longer in the oven, refining and polishing the best parts. Fans of the genre, and sci-fi fans in particular will absolutely find a lot to love in this 5 hour or so adventure, but once the credits roll, you may be left feeling more than a little underwhelmed.