Somerville Review – High Highs And Technical Woes

Somerville starts with a glimpse into the daily life of a young couple and their dog. The family fell asleep on the sofa, and the toddler got into some small-scale trouble. This forced them into their daily routine. The child and dog both need to be fed, and the kitchen must be clean. But something is off. The family suddenly finds themselves in a chaotic situation that really caught me off guard. From there, an intense and often frightening adventure begins. When Somerville hits its highs and fires on all cylinders, it’s a moving spectacle, but unfortunately, technical hiccups and some unclear puzzles hold it back from being truly incredible.

While you might call an videogame an alien invasion story, Somerville is something more personal and intimate. This story follows the dad of a young family. It examines the possibilities for the future and offers advice on how to survive in an environment that is completely unscripted. The goal of the story is to make it through Somerville, following a linear route, solving environmental puzzles and not succumbing to the wrathful enemies. By the end, I didn’t know much about the invading force, but I didn’t care because I was only interested in how to stay alive and connected to my family.

A provocative incident set the scene for the game. The father must flee his home in order to escape safety and to take advantage of an unusual ability that can help him solve problems and move forward. The game’s visuals and audio design are fantastic and mysterious. The game’s bizarre sound effects produce strange sounds in the distance, and occasionally light and synth orchestration are used to add drama.

These characters’ and the environment’s simple design are stunning. It feels huge despite it being tangible small. The camera often looks towards the horizon at times to create a spectacular view. The animation also feels natural and fluid… when it works.

Somerville’s biggest issue is ultimately a functional one that is sometimes easy to look past, but unfortunately, more often, impossible to ignore. Emotional sincerity is shattered when some characters blink out of existence, or worse, when the protagonist becomes stuck in geometry trying to solve a problem. To ensure that things worked as expected, I often had to restart checkpoints. The bugs were particularly frustrating in the moments where I would think, “I bet that would have looked great… had it animated correctly.”

These problems also apply to puzzle solving. Grabbing levers and switches is inconsistent and jumping up on ledges – a frequent action – is sometimes harder than it should be. Even without those issues, though, there are some puzzles whose solutions I just didn’t enjoy. One of my first puzzles involved me carrying an object from one spot to another, which I had accidentally missed.

It is possible to have some memorable moments when Somerville works well and is telling the story as it should. These invaders can be frightening. I was shivering at the end of every emotion. The adventure takes me places that I had never imagined, and it ends in a way Steven Spielberg would be proud.

After seeing the credits, my first attempt with Somerville went badly. However, after that I quickly restarted the game. It is not worth replaying. No new game plus, or even added context from a second playthrough – I just wanted to experience the story again and hoped giving it a second shot would make for a more consistent experience. Although it worked better when I understood what I was doing I felt that my first attempt was a rehearsal.

Although Somerville’s technical limitations are limiting, there are many amazing moments that you can enjoy with your lights on and headphones affixed. The father’s adventure lingers in my mind as I reflect on what happened, and those memories do ultimately outweigh the technical shortcomings. The game deserves improvements over time, and I am hopeful that they will be able to fly high up with the invaders’ ships.