It’s superb for video games to be quick once they ship a decent, impactful expertise. Somerville is a cinematic puzzle recreation just like classics like Out of this World and Coronary heart of Darkness. It’s nearer to the size of the previous, nonetheless, clocking in at about three hours in size. Whereas a lot of the sport is each visually and mechanically sturdy, it has some points that preserve it from being every part I’d hoped. However the greatest problem is the best way it narratively drops the ball over the last part, which had me strolling away a bit upset.
Somerville doesn’t have a single line of dialogue — the complete narrative is conveyed via context alone. The primary character is watching TV at evening in his household residence. He will get as much as feed the canine however will get distracted by lights flashing exterior. He and his spouse go see what the fuss is, solely to witness an alien invasion straight out of Conflict of the Worlds. Objects come crashing down out of the sky, so the 2, toddler and canine in tow, rush into the basement to cover within the crawlspace. However a capsule breaks via the ceiling with a person reaching his arm out.
The protagonist clasps his hand, just for {an electrical} surge to drop him like a bag of potatoes. Later, his arm seemingly resuscitates him utilizing the identical power the person transferred to him, solely to search out his spouse and youngster are gone and he’s trapped within the basement. He grabs a close-by lamp and discovers that he can use the power in his arm to have an effect on gentle and use it to hold stated power. He goals it on the particles blocking his path and goes up into the world, which is now principally in ruins, to search out his household. It’s a surprising opening to the sport.
Screenshot by PC Invasion
Onward certain
The plot strikes ahead properly via most of Somerville‘s runtime, though there are sections that go on longer than want be. However the actual drawback is the ultimate part. As a substitute of wrapping issues up with a coherent conclusion, the sport as a substitute descends into Neon Genesis Evangelion territory. I get the gist of what occurs, however I don’t like these sorts of endings. It simply appears like a protracted stretch of dreamy nonsense that vaguely alludes to what’s really occurring. Maybe I’ll really feel in a different way if somebody’s in a position to pin down precisely what’s occurring, however I used to be very reminded by the top of the final episode of the unique Evangelion sequence, and that’s by no means a very good factor.
However talking of notably good issues, Somerville has some really intelligent features on show. The sport permits you to transfer round in 3D proven by varied vantage factors. You’ll predominately be channeling the protagonist’s power powers to make use of gentle to alter the unusual matter the aliens introduced with them. He simply has blue power at first, however later will get purple power. Blue power principally melts the alien matter, whereas purple power solidifies something melted, permitting it to be climbed upon.
You’ll typically be utilizing these skills in tandem with physics puzzles that present a good quantity of selection. There are additionally sections the place you need to run from aliens, that are tense and thrilling. The aliens can use a purple gentle that kills you, however you may disguise behind objects or in moveable bogs or tents to flee your demise. The sport’s “puzzles” are extra cinematic than anything, just like Limbo or Inside. You gained’t get caught typically as they’re not all that video-gamey, nevertheless it wouldn’t be honest to name Somerville a strolling simulator both.
Screenshot by PC Invasion
Higher run
That is all properly and good, however the presentation has its points. The largest one is that it may merely be very tough to see what you’re doing, because the digicam is commonly so far-off that the small print might be arduous to make out. Once I received caught for a couple of minutes, it was normally as a result of I simply couldn’t see one thing. There’s a piece late within the recreation the place you’re operating from aliens. I died a number of occasions just because I merely didn’t know the place my character was. That and, if you happen to don’t do that sequence practically completely, the aliens catch and kill you. It jogged my memory of Coronary heart of Darkness, a recreation that’s as charming as it’s infuriating.
There are just a few sections just like the aforementioned. One other had me underwater and utilizing a flare to soften alien matter to result in water that permits the protagonist to swim upward. However melting this matter lets unfastened boulders that kill him. It takes trial and error to get previous these, as I wanted to swim down and to the left. The checkpoint takes you again to the very starting, so this was notably aggravating.
Countless skies
Somerville is beautiful, with a distinctly creative aesthetic. Every thing is straightforward however well-designed, plus what we see sparks the creativeness. That is a kind of video games the place I discovered myself taking a number of photos simply because it so typically appears to be like like a murals. Too unhealthy the optimization appears to be considerably terrible. The sport typically ran below 60 fps for me at 1440p with an RTX 3090. There’s no method it’s this demanding, even when a number of the sequences can get fairly busy and intense. The sport is cinematic sufficient that this didn’t even hassle me that a lot, nevertheless it’s curious all the identical.
Screenshot by PC Invasion
I believe Somerville is a principally charming expertise, however only a few hours in I used to be wading via the sport’s lackluster, imprecise conclusion. In the long run, I used to be left wanting one thing extra conclusive. Attending to the credit additionally took some guesswork, which was odd contemplating how logical a lot of the gameplay right here is. I received two completely different endings, however there seem like extra, though I actually don’t know the way to take action or if any of them make for a greater conclusion than what I’ve witnessed. Between this disappointing flip, how typically the sport might be aggravating, and the surprisingly poor efficiency, the sport doesn’t reside as much as its potential. It’s actually price enjoying and has some really memorable elements and an exceptional presentation, nevertheless it might have been breathtaking.
