Somerville is a science fiction adventure game that follows a family separated in the aftermath of a large-scale catastrophe involving extraterrestrial forces. The story focuses on the personal impact of the invasion as the protagonist searches for a way to reunite with their loved ones. Players navigate a rural environment, solving environmental challenges and uncovering details about the events affecting Earth.
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
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.
Somerville has ties to modern legends Limbo and Inside, but it’s equally reminiscent of another Hall of Famer: Out of This World. The end result is a unique physics-based puzzle adventure that isn’t quite on the level of the games that inspired it, but is nevertheless an extraterrestrial nightmare worth exploring.
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” reminded me of the qualities that I cherish in adventure games, particularly their ability to plunge one into the unexpected. I appreciated how its mechanics sidestep the usual weaponry that goes along with science-fiction games. (A gun-toting, super-soldier shows up at one point, but things don’t end well for them.) “Somerville” effortlessly...
