Games worth discovering

A family caught up in an Alien Invasion | Somerville - First impressions

1K View2022-11-16

Somerville is a sci-fi adventure / puzzle game where you control a man and his family caught up right in the middle of an alien invasion doomsday scenario. The opening sequence starts relatively slow and gets intense pretty much immediately, perfectly capturing that feeling of being randomly caught up in a sudden alien invasion. There is no dialogue in the game and all of the story is only conveyed through the characters' actions and interactions with the environment, bolstered by the impressive art style and sound design. This is something that is very hard to pull off narratively but Somerville manages to somewhat pull it off anyway.

The sound design is what striked me the most and it is superb. I was playing with full blast speakers on and when the sound of the alien machinery first played on my subwoofers, I said to myself I was in for a hell of an immersive experience. It’s important to note though, that If you think Somerville is action-packed all the way through — it is not. There are brief chase and quick-time sequences that will sometimes give you a bit of action along the way, but most of the game is spent walking around in gloomy environments and trying to progress throughout the land, solving puzzles periodically.

From the get go, Somerville is a beautiful adventure game. In fact, one of the most beautiful games I’ve seen in a long time. That’s saying something considering this game’s graphics are literally 90s like with its low poly models and monochromatic textures. If you’ve played Another World, Somerville is literally that game but set in a War of the Worlds type of scenario, with gameplay elements heavily borrowed from both LIMBO and INSIDE.

Note that when I said that Somerville is one of the most beautiful games I’ve seen, I intentionally used the word “seen”. As the gameplay leaves a lot to be desired. Somerville’s main gameplay is a 3D side scrolling game with puzzle elements, something it failed to execute at the same standard as its narrative and art style so far in my experience. You’re given too much freedom to roam around, and yet you’re regularly restricted by invisible walls blocking otherwise logically accessible areas. A clear indication of poor level design. Players should naturally find their way in games, not constantly bump around the limits of the play area, invisible or not, to find the proper path.

The puzzles are a bit difficult and clunky, but in a bad way. They are solvable, but only in a particular way that the designers intended you to. Sometimes that particular way is a bit too specific and you will get stuck longer than you wanted. The camera being farther than I preferred in some moments only adds to the frustration. This, combined with the game’s mostly gloomy and somber tone is a bad combination and can get you bored rather quickly.

So far, Somerville has been an enjoyable experience. Story wise, it is very gripping and intimate. While the art style and sound design are of award-winning quality. I would have enjoyed it even more with some improvements in the gameplay department to bring it up to level, but at its current state it holds up quite well, laboriously carried by the quality of its narrative, art style, and sound design.

Aliens invade, and it’s beautiful | Somerville - Full Review

Somerville is a sci-fi adventure / puzzle game where you control a man and his family caught up right in the middle of an alien invasion doomsday scenario. The opening sequence starts relatively slow: what's presented to you is a slice of life in a small farm house: A couple, a toddler, and a dog. The presentation feels very surreal that you almost can relate to it, especially with the random static noise emanating from the family TV. Then the mysterious somber nature ramps up rather quickly into a full blown alien invasion, perfectly capturing that feeling of being randomly caught up in it on a personal level. You can just about see yourself in the character’s shoes while playing. Imagining if such things happened to you and your family instead.

lyndonguitar2K2022-11-17