Common Sense Media Review
By Joey Thurmond
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Cryptic, cinematic adventure highlights hope and sacrifice.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 10+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Play
Videos and Photos
Somerville
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's It About?
In SOMERVILLE, it's just another night for a husband, wife, and child in their home. Having fallen asleep watching a cartoon, this family is woken up by explosions outside, and when they look to the skies, there are enormous pillars floating everywhere, along with spikes (made of some strange alien material) impaling the earth left and right. After rushing down into the basement, a man in a futuristic battle suit crashes through their house, tangled in a web of wood framing. He stretches out his hand and touches the husband, causing him to pass out with his wife holding him in her arms. An undisclosed amount of time passes before you wake up as him with your wife and child missing. But to you surprise, you have gained the ability to dissolve that strange alien material with the power of light. What else can this power do to help you navigate a war-torn world overrun by aliens? What happened to your family? Against all odds, you set out to find your family -- and perhaps even save the world.
Is It Any Good?
This sci-fi adventure doesn't have a single line of dialogue, but it does have gorgeous set pieces, animation, and art direction. Somerville starts as a simple mission to survive and find your character's family in the midst of an alien invasion. As it unfolds, the tale evolves into something complex and cryptic with reflections on sacrifice, duty, and the cost of warfare. The adventure spans a desolate city, a network of mining tunnels, and more as you solve environmental puzzles to carry onward. These brainteasers often involve using light to dissolve debris made out of an alien material that riddles landscapes and blocks your path. Solutions include moving a pair of jumper cables to a car engine to turn on its headlights, and pushing a cart with an adjustable floodlight to just the right spot. Somerville is great about avoiding repetition by never using any tools or machinery more than twice, making each puzzle feel distinct. When a new power is introduced halfway through the experience that allows you to alter that alien material in a different way, surprising new layers of depth are added to the puzzles.
Nevertheless, it would've been nice to have seen one or two more powers add more novelty and complexity in using the alien material to your advantage. Somerville could have also benefitted from some design conveniences like a sprint button and clearer level design, since navigation can be awkward in knowing exactly where you need to go. There are minor visual issues as well, but these don't adversely affect the overall gameplay or presentation. Somerville may be a short game that clocks in at about four hours of playtime, but it's a finely crafted experience dripping with atmosphere and attention to detail in all its visuals and audio. It will leave you with more questions than answers by the time the credits roll, but the game deserves further reflection, even a second playthrough, with how mysterious, yet compelling, it is.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about preparing for scary events. The family in this game is caught off guard when intergalactic war comes to their doorstep in the night, but are you prepared for what happens if there's a fire in your house? What if a parent or sibling has a medical emergency?
When someone you love needs your help, are you prepared to give your time to them? If someone is in danger, are you prepared to do something risky to save them, even if it means putting yourself in danger, too?
It's easy to be afraid of someone or something that looks intimidating or strange, but might you be judging a book by its cover? How can you extend the benefit of the doubt before making assumptions?
Game Details
- Platforms : Xbox One , Xbox Series X/S , Windows
- Pricing structure : Paid ($24.99)
- Available online? : Available online
- Publisher : Jumpship
- Release date : November 14, 2022
- Genre : Adventure
- Topics : Adventures
- ESRB rating :
- Last updated : September 29, 2025
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