Should you take a visit to Somerville?
In the wake of catastrophe you must find the means to make your family whole again. Somerville is a Sci-Fi adventure grounded in the intimate repercussions of large-scale conflict. Immerse yourself in a hand-crafted narrative experience set across a vivid rural landscape. Navigate your way through the perilous terrain ahead of you to unravel the mysteries of Earth’s visitors.
Somerville launched last year on Xbox and PC, but I missed out on it so when I heard it was coming to PS5, I had to find out what it was all about. It’s essentially set in a “War of the Worlds” situation where Earth is invaded by aliens and you are trying to escape with your family. Unfortunately, your character is knocked unconscious after he grabs a glowing blue arm, he awakes to find his family gone with only the family dog left and a new power in his arm that he can use tot destroys alien objects in his path.
The game is linear in its design, but the answers to progressing forward can be a bit over the place. I spent ages trying to get through a blocked door as I wasn’t continually pushing down the stick for long enough for him to break it down. There are other physics type puzzles along the way, though once you get used to how the game works, it does get a bit easier. The team have made good use of the DualSense’s haptic feedback during dramatic events as well. I finished the game in around 4-5 hours.
The visuals are nicely detailed and animated well with its art style. It looks impressive and the framerate is consistent throughout. The music and sound effects are superb, while the game has no voice-acting.
The Verdict
Somerville has a Limbo/Inside vibe in its design and that’s not a bad thing, those games are amazing in their own right. It may not be as polished compared to them, but it’s still one hell of a game from start to finish.