What a sad waste of a production budget

[Raith]

This game looks damned good. Beyond just the assets and art direction, there's even some procedural animation tech in there that works remarkably well. The art design team here were fully on their ♥♥♥♥.

But then the game design is just utterly and bafflingly absent. The inspirations are so direct (Limbo, Inside) but it's like whoever was in charge of getting gameplay done had seen screenshots of those games but never actually played them.

Really sucks that this calibre of production got wasted on such a poor game.

[slizgi]

Damn, I had high hopes and was hyped for this game. Art style, whole presentation and world building looks nice... But I totally get that bugs and clunkiness might ruin this very much. It's a pity...

[LunaFortuna]

I'm posting this here instead of writing a review, since someone on my friend's list gifted this to me on my birthday, due to my relentless anticipation over it (I'm a huge fan of Limbo and Inside)

I agree. I say this with a heavy heart. I was completely captivated by Limbo, Inside, and even the game "Stela", which had the production and same magic sauce that Inside did, because it very blatantly tried to be an Inside clone. Stela actually succeeded, while Somverville does not. This game doesn't have the charm that the aforementioned games do. Plus, the controls are clunky and janky. I am always tripping on the floor or on the plethora of junk that they insisted on having sprawled out everywhere. It took me 20 tries to get that freaking bucket puzzle just right. Maneuvering around the environment is such a chore. Whenever I played games like: Limbo, Inside, FAR: Lone Sails, FAR: Changing Tides, Stela, etc. (I'm listing games that have a very similar type of aesthetic, gameplay style, and genre), I felt that those games all had some sort of similar DNA and they all followed a formula that resulted in them being very cohesive and enjoyable. Somerville, somehow, is just missing all of that.

Of course, I am aware that the way it is stylized and the aesthetics are very reminiscent of the games I'm referencing. The story is also abstract, which I don't mind, because the games I keep listing also have very abstract stories. I think that the clunky gameplay is just ruining it for me. It feels so janky and unpleasant. It looks like it SHOULD be on the same tier as Inside, because from an aesthetic standpoint it certainly looks it, but it's just not. Whatever magic that Inside had, this does not. Like you said, it comes across as though someone just saw screenshots of those games, but never actually played them.

I am in the process of forcing myself to finish it, despite being frustrated, bored, and not charmed by the story and direction at all. I'm usually very captivated by abstract stories like this, but I feel as though this is just particularly lackluster. There are so many instances where I know exactly what I need to do, but executing it properly is such a hassle, unfortunately. Getting the drones to follow me whenever I need them is one example. I already mentioned how the bucket took me 20 attempts before it worked how I needed it to. Trying to maneuver around the world never ever felt this frustrating in Limbo or Inside. I plan to see it to the very end, and I hope something magical happens by then to make me completely change my mind and start loving it, but I highly doubt it. I've already made it through roughly 80% of the game, so I'm almost done.