Somerville Review (Slipstream)
I had such high hopes for this title. It shares a pedigree with Limbo and Inside, two games known for their alluring visual style, puzzles, and atmosphere.
While I appreciate vague storytelling, I do require a modicum of visual narrative. Somerville doesn't feel like a cousin of Inside or Limbo but rather reminiscent of those painfully derivative knock-offs that don't offer enough puzzles or narrative to be recommended. Not a single puzzle had my head scratching for more than 10 seconds, and there weren't enough of them as often I would walk for ten minutes before encountering one. Given my experience in these types of games, I am usually patient. I take my time and try to enjoy the scenery.
Given that, I was still able to wrap Somerville in less than 3 hours.
That's insane for a game charging this much. I know it says 3.1 on my record, but that takes account of me sitting through credits, baffled by the game's logic to end when it decided to. Just when you acquire your third ability, the game barely makes use of it before an ending that makes Inside feel straightforward.
And let's not ignore the game's polish in that it isn't. You get hung up on terrain, characters vanish and reappear, and navigation can be a real pain as you try to understand where you are supposed to walk to. That ended up being more of a chore than the puzzles. The puzzles were easy. I bet I spent twenty minutes of the game wandering around a room trying to figure out where I can walk to.
It's such a damn shame as I was really looking forward to this title. Also, most of the trailers ruin the game's most interesting moments, so if you think there is some great revelation or moments the game is holding back, sorry to disappoint, but that won't happen.
Finally, a mild spoiler regarding the ending. It concludes with a puzzle so badly communicated, that you are not even sure that it is a puzzle the first time you play. In fact, you'll likely have to read discussion groups to discover this. To make matters worse, solving this puzzle requires you to pay attention and interpret moments from the whole game, moments that don't appear important...meaning if you did not pick these up, you have to replay the game. And even if you do pick them up, the final solution still requires a hell of a lot of guesswork. You're likely to default to one of the game's "bad" endings. This results in a slog that could have been solved if the game had a modicum or foresight to have you replay these moments before the end or have a series of flashbacks so you can remember the final solution. I know people want to feel smart for having to figure this out, but Somerville is a narrative failure. Seriously, I just finished Scorn--that game's a hot mess and it made more sense than this.