Somerville - Review

If you think indie studio Jumpship’s debut game, Somerville, looks very familiar to Playdead’s Inside and Limbo, you’d be somewhat right. One of Playdead’s co-founders had moved on and formed the new studio. The question is, does Somerville elevate itself above the previous two very successful games?

First off, Somerville’s story surrounds a family being woken up during what seems to be some type of alien invasion. Apart from that, we’re not going to mention much more as the reveal all unfolds via the game’s cinematic scenes. During the opening credits, the game purposely keeps the story a little vague, which the story is told via its visual cues and hints. This is also strengthened with the fact that there’s little to no dialogue, which is very similar to Playdead’s games.

Speaking of Limbo and Inside, if you’re familiar with the visual style, Somerville is definitely part of the same series in terms of its look and feel. However, Somerville has definitely looked like they’ve taken the same formula from its predecessors and refined it to give more of a cinematic film style as previously mentioned. Through the journey of the game, there’s clearly a foreground, mid and background in movement as your character traverses across the screen. Additionally, different fixed camera angles emphasize the fact that there was careful thought behind the way the narrative is displayed.

The game gives very little hand holding and direction apart from a couple of button cues to be used early in the game, which leaves players to find out for themselves what they can or can’t do. This is not necessarily a bad thing but can come off a little frustrating initially, as it could leave players scratching their heads until they realize the hint of orange objects on surfaces such as gate handles, pulleys or levers, is where you interact with them. Apart from that, a lot of it is trial and error, plus ensuring you’re aware of your surroundings and what’s happening. This really does motivate and push players to think outside the box, as opposed to just following a simple waypoint blindly.

Somerville’s controls do feel very similar to Inside in that there’s a slightly slowed movement that people may consider as sluggish. When looking ahead, you have an idea of where you need to go, however, the pace at which the character runs, walks or jogs is not up to you, but triggered when you reach certain parts of the level. This does definitely gets frustrating at times, but also is obviously forced as it’s the developer’s way to slowly reveal the narrative. One thing that’s clear is that this game’s overall narrative is linear, however, each level has multiple options and pathways to get to the next stage, giving it a small window of replayability for completionists who love to 100% a game.

Jumpship has really created a beautiful and intense atmosphere with the lack of any music but heightened with the use of sound effects. It really does make players feel isolated and builds on the scariness of being chased down by unknown aliens at certain points. One can say that the environment created is the star of the game, placing players in what feels like an especially hopeless situation.

Overall, if you enjoyed games such Inside and Limbo, and love science fiction, then you’ll likely enjoy Somerville. There are also elements of what feels like a classic game named Flashback from 1992. Jumpship have obviously found a formula that works for their way of storytelling and a visual style that should appeals to most people. However, the casual fan may find it a little slow and draggy as this does feel like more of a slow burn. And though the game is relatively short and its puzzles are a little on the simple and easy side, it’s still fun and mysterious enough to have curious sci-fi fans intrigued, but whether it hit its peak early on is another story.

The Score

7.0

Review code provided by Jumpship

The Pros

+Fantastic visual art style and look

+Amazing environment and atmosphere created by sound design

+Very cinematic way of unveiling scenes and narrative

The Cons

-Little control over speed of character can be frustrating

-Puzzles are a little simplistic, and not much of a challenge

-Relatively short game (3 - 4 hours)