Somerville offers up a uniquely British twist on the alien apocalypse

By Tom Regan, ContributorThere’s something inherently calming about the English countryside. From its rain-soaked rolling hills to its endearingly sleepy villages, it’s no wonder so many artists romanticize England’s green and pleasant land. But what if rural Britain became a hellish, post-apocalyptic nightmare? Well, you’d get Somerville.

Brought to you by some of the horror-loving minds behind the haunting sidescroller Inside, Somerville chucks you and your lovable mutt right at the heart of an H.G. Wells-esque alien invasion.  After a sleepy winter evening sees you putting your infant child to bed, Somerville suddenly transforms England’s once-soothing scenery into an exercise of pure spine-tingling dread. Following a similar side-scrolling template as Limbo and Inside, developer Jumpship thrusts your nameless protagonist right in the midst of a full blown extraterrestrial attack. After you flee your crumbling countryside cabin, every second of Somerville becomes a desperate fight for survival.

As laser-emitting obelisks rain down from the sky, the once-idyllic countryside becomes an eerie reflection of a lifeless planet. Hulking alien titans stomp across newly scorched farmland, and these once-picturesque rural locales become sources of instant dread, with each moment of solitude putting you on the precipice of another hair-raising death trap.

Much like Playdead’s aforementioned classics, here you’re largely defenseless. You eventually discover an electronic-manipulating ethereal glove that manipulates pieces of alien technology, but otherwise, the goal here is to avoid the murderous invaders at all costs.

When you’re running for cover between a field of half-destroyed hay bales and abandoned tractors, Somerville becomes a surrealist nightmare—a mix between a paintball game from hell and something ripped from a child’s imagination. Like all good cinematic video games, there’s a filmic sheen to Somerville. When you wander through a chillingly quiet motorway full of eerily abandoned cars, there’s more than a whiff of Danny Boyle’s classic film 28 Days Later.

Yet it’s the tension-filled take on a British summertime classic that left me grinning from ear to ear.  As I wander upon fields of abandoned tents, I immediately assume that I’ve stumbled upon a refugee camp. until I suddenly spy a collapsed stage. As broken mood lighting sways ominously in the autumn breeze, a solitary Stratocaster and a hissing PA offer the last remnants of the festival frivolities that have just occurred. Naturally, Jumpship leverages the setting for maximum horror, with the level culminating in a fate worse than death—desperately seeking refuge from your attackers in one of the festival’s portable toilets. It’s essentially a horror-tinged Glastonbury, and it’s moments like these that had me grinning at Jumpship’s uniquely British alien apocalypse.

Somerville’s story is told entirely without dialogue, which makes burning Britain the story’s real protagonist. This is a tale that basks in uncomfortable silences. Music is employed sparingly; for long stretches of your perilous journey, your only audio accompaniments are the patter of rain and the impatient huff of your furry companion.  

Despite its familiar gameplay, Somerville’s expertly realized sense of place makes it unlike anything else I’ve played. As the winter nights draw in and the world outside looks increasingly hostile, this uniquely English extraterrestrial encounter is the perfect digital distraction. Designed to be experienced in one sitting, it’s made for dimly lit living rooms and the melancholy quiet of frosty winter nights. If you’ve found yourself drowning in 100-hour epics of late, Jumpship’s afternoon-length Somerville is the perfect alien-flavored tonic.

Somerville is available on the Epic Games Store.