Does Game Pass have the next big independent hit? The debut title from Jumpship, the new studio founded by Dino Patti, co-founder of Playdead, was Somerville on November 15. The gorgeous background and the evocative location serve as the perfect backdrop for Chris Olsen’s stunning storytelling journey. If the adventure can also persuade in terms of play and content, you may find out in our test.
In the beginning: aliens
My family and I had just fallen asleep in front of the television when chaos broke out in front of the small house’s window. Around the residence, strange, blocky structures are crashing down, and laser-firing alien fighter jets are tearing through the sky. When a plane crashes through the home after we’ve hidden in the basement, the pilot, who was fatally injured, left me with a weird power that allows me to turn the blocky, alien constructions that appear in cones of light into blue masses. My family has vanished as I come to from unconsciousness, and I now have to make my way through desolate places that are home to odd creatures and extraterrestrial architecture.
The enigmatic, exciting beginning of the independent adventure Somerville is consistent with what can be expected from the undertaking of former Playdead lead Dino Patti’s (Limbo, Inside) new company. The adventure also performs well on an indie level, to start. With a fantastic backdrop that, in its pastel tones, is evocative of this summer’s Endling – Extinction is Forever but tops it off with glaring light effects and the eerie glow of the alien constructions. The focus is on the world and environment thanks to an absurdly simple user interface, and initially, the immersive pull actually works rather well.
only beautiful?
However, the facade, which is very stunning until the very end, starts to show the first, amusing flaws very rapidly. For instance, sloppy controls can make even the most straightforward tasks a game of chance. Whether it’s a switch, a door, or a lamp that gets transformed into a molten cannon by an alien ability, you frequently have to position the character almost pixel-perfectly to activate one of the context-sensitive actions. Some activities only want to work on the second or third try since this is annoying and occasionally just plain wrong.
Additionally, I occasionally become frustrated with the unnamed protagonist’s movement speed. The colleague ambles across the screen at a leisurely speed, despite alien death rays or red-eyed laser-killer canines. There isn’t a button to sprint or jump. Somerville, in contrast to Limbo, is mostly focused on ambience and riddles rather than being a platformer. The few, intense action scenes are all the more tiresome as a result.
Breathless change of scenery
There is no backtracking or exploring stimulation in Somerville. Instead, I continually move horizontally across the screens – over fields, festival grounds, or abandoned mine shafts – primarily in the manner of 2D adventures. You rarely truly stay in one place for a long time, but it is typically really stylish and has some very wonderful views. The surroundings are frequently only backdrops for a few puzzles or a passage of skill, which also lends the game’s brief duration a distinct breathlessness.
In any case, there are a lot of well-designed puzzles in the game, many of them centre around the alien structures that you can affect in various ways as the game progresses. Sometimes it’s necessary to elevate or tilt lamps, move cameras properly, or even make a path for people to pass through. Initially, several of the jobs are varied and dependent on physics. But it’s not long until one senses that new mechanics are being presented too cautiously. By the midpoint of the roughly three-hour game, you frequently complete quite similar objectives that all adhere to recognisable patterns or make use of the same fundamental strategy. Although it’s cool, hiding from alien death rays in the shadow of a moving boat isn’t really novel.
Emotionally distant
The greatest issue with Somerville, in my opinion, is the excessive emotional separation between me and the characters. Not even lyrics, there is no soundtrack. Additionally, the highly styled, yet incredibly attractive faces have a limited ability to elicit strong emotions. Yes, even the extremely adorable family dog that I run around the countryside with at first is off-limits to me. This leads to a way too large alienation and doesn’t even try to evoke any emotions in me, despite the family theme and the dramatic alien predicament. Without that level, the plot doesn’t have enough substance to really capture you. Yes, the action picks up again at the conclusion, and there are even choices that can lead to one of the five possible outcomes. Even a few intriguing mysteries and a slight twist are included. Although a lot of things just happen inexplicably and are also accepted by the protagonist without criticism, the spark doesn’t really want to fly here either.
