Somerville

Great

Short sci-fi puzzle game, with incredible visuals and sound design. The gameplay itself and the puzzles are fine, yet not very challenging nor particularly fun. It felt mostly monotonous. What I disliked the most was the ending, though. [spoiler] It is a game about aliens, and in the end, you get to "speak" to them using the color of the different abilities you earned through the game. Depending on what you tell them, the story ends in different ways. But knowing how to form different words is ABSURDLY obscure and it requires you to pay an insane amount of attention to details scattered around the game. I got to the final chapter without even knowing such a language existed to begin with. There are two endings you can get without knowing the language, and another one you could potentially get by accident. Yet the "best" or most positive one is impossible to get without understanding it. This fells extremely unfair because I bet only a very small amount of players got to that ending without a walkthrough, which shouldn't be the case. While I like the idea, it was really poorly executed in my opinion. [/spoiler] While the story is not bad, all of that left me with a bad feeling. I…

The art direction is excellent, though the pacing suffers during the underground segments. These sections felt somewhat prolonged, and certain environments lacked the creativity seen elsewhere, feeling more like "filler" than intentional design. There was also a missed opportunity regarding the narrative: the ambiguity of alien interaction left me wanting more. The ability to communicate or interact with these entities could have been a compelling mechanic rather than something left entirely to guesswork. It is a solid experience that ultimately feels like it had the potential to be a masterpiece.

If you're looking for a game that lingers in your mind long after you finish it, **Somerville** deserves a spot on your wishlist. From the opening moments, it pulls you into a hauntingly beautiful world where every frame feels like concept art brought to life. The game tells its story with almost no words, relying instead on breathtaking visuals, incredible sound design, and moments of quiet tension that speak louder than dialogue ever could. It's not about fast-paced action or difficult combat—it's about mystery, wonder, and the feeling of being small in the middle of something unimaginably vast. If you loved *Inside*, *Limbo*, or cinematic indie adventures that trust you to uncover their secrets, **Somerville** is an unforgettable experience. Play it with the lights off and headphones on. You'll thank me later.

if you liked limbo and inside, you'll like this one !

Somerville plays a lot like Inside, a self-contained, super-polished environmental puzzler, filled with awe-inspiring scenes. It's not as creepy or as punishing, and in the middle of the chaos and destruction there are some heart-warming family scenes, as here you are a dad trying to reunite with your family, including your trusty dog. The animations, the environment, the lighting, the music, the creature design, the pauses between challenges, everything is lovingly done. Checkpoints are well placed, and it is very easy to revisit scenes for full completion (or just to play that awesome chase again! You'll know what I'm talking about). My only criticism is that close to the end the game gets a bit surreal, and because characters don't talk, much is left to interpretation. People in forum discussions have done a good job of figuring it out, though, and there's an additional layer of world building that you'll find there, if you miss to notice it, so it's worthwhile checking some guides after you finish your first run. Bottom line is, if you liked Inside, don't miss this one!