Somerville: Search for your Family Against the Backdrop of a Large Scale Alien Invasion

Somerville is a narrative-driven sci-fi adventure that tells a deeply personal story set against the backdrop of a large-scale alien invasion. Created by Jumpship, a studio co-founded by Playdead co-founder Dino Patti (Limbo, Inside), Somerville emphasises atmosphere, environmental storytelling, and emotional resonance over traditional dialogue or combat. It combines cinematic presentation, minimalist design, and puzzle-platforming elements to deliver a haunting and intimate journey of survival and reunion.

Plot and Setting

The game begins in the quiet domestic setting of a rural home, where a family’s evening is interrupted by a sudden, catastrophic extraterrestrial event. You play as a father who awakens in the aftermath, separated from his partner and child. Armed only with a mysterious alien-enhanced ability, he must navigate a devastated world to reunite his family and uncover the truth behind the invasion.

Set in a grounded but eerie version of Earth, the environment is scarred by bizarre alien structures, unnatural geometries, and remnants of civilisation’s collapse. The story unfolds entirely without words, told through visual cues, body language, and world interaction, echoing the stylistic lineage of Inside and Limbo.

Gameplay Mechanics

Cinematic Puzzle-Platforming:

Players traverse side-scrolling and pseudo-3d environments, solving physics-based puzzles, navigating terrain, and avoiding hazards.
Movement is deliberate and weighty, emphasising immersion and tension.

Alien Power Interaction:

The protagonist gains the ability to manipulate alien materials, such as dissolving or solidifying otherworldly matter, to open paths or solve puzzles.
This power becomes central to the game’s environmental puzzles and reflects the narrative’s evolution.

Environmental Storytelling:

There is no spoken or written dialogue—the entire story is conveyed through animation, camera angles, lighting, and ambient interaction.
Emotional beats are driven by facial expressions, gestures, and pacing, demanding close attention from players.

Linear, Narrative Focus:

Unlike open-world titles, Somerville is tight and linear, guiding players through a curated emotional arc.
Completion takes around 4–6 hours, offering a compact, high-impact experience.

Themes

Family and Connection: At its heart, Somerville is about a man trying to find his loved ones in a broken world.
Invasion and Powerlessness: The alien force is overwhelming and unknowable—players are not heroes, but survivors.
Communication Without Words: The game explores how humanity connects through gestures, empathy, and presence, not language.
Alienation vs. Humanity: As the protagonist uses alien powers, the line between man and invader begins to blur.

Visuals and Audio

Somerville features a minimalist, stylised 3d art direction, with an emphasis on bold colours, stark lighting, and sweeping landscapes. Alien architecture looms like monoliths in shattered suburbs and quiet forests. The game’s visual language conveys scale, emotion, and narrative shifts without any UI or dialogue overlays.

The sound design is subtle and atmospheric, with an emphasis on environmental noise—rumbling machines, wind,and alien drones. Music swells at critical moments, underscoring dramatic turns in the story. The lack of spoken dialogue makes sound all the more impactful, drawing the player’s attention to every detail.

Have you played Somerville? What’s your favourite part of it? We’d love to hear from you.

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