Welcome to Somerville. Don't mind the, err, alien monsters or abandoned cities. I'm sure we'll have those tidied up by the time this atmospheric adventure drops in 2022.
Somerville is the debut outing for developer Jumpship, a studio started by Playdead founder Dino Patti. Cutting his teeth on already powerful vibes like Inside and Limbo, Somerville announced its existence with a short tease that was, pardon my French, stylish as fuck.
A new trailer, finally unveiled as part of tonight's Xbox & Bethesda showcase, gave us our first proper look at Somerville—and cor, if it isn't bloody gorgeous. Somerville oozes with Inside's limited palette flair, an apocalyptic family road trip through a moody, yet often shockingly colourful world.
Bringing a fuller cast to Playdead's wordless adventures also opens so much room to explore Playdead's format, and it'll be interesting to see where Patti deviates from his old studio's trial-and-error platforming now that you've got 5 bodies to protect. Nevertheless, Somerville looks incredibly promising—and yet, if any harm comes to that pooch, I will be the first one knocking down Jumpship's doors.
Somerville will be available on Xbox Game Pass on day one, coming to PC and Xbox consoles in 2022.
