Somerville Director Insists That The Game Is Not A Puzzle Platformer

Jumpship co-founder and Somerville game director Chris Olsen recently sat down with GamesIndustry.biz to talk about the studio’s upcoming game. He insists that the game is not a puzzle platformer, but rather a unique experience that is hard to describe.

Chris Olsen says that there is a lot of misconception surrounding Somerville, and part of it has to do with the trailer itself. The trailer showcased the character pushing and pulling objects, which led to fans believing it to be a 2D puzzle platformer. Chris has now clarified that the game has full 3D movement, and is a unique experience which is “definitely not a puzzle platformer.”

“I couldn’t quite describe it in a way that made it fit into a mold, essentially,” Olsen says. “At the time, [the journalist] was like, ‘Sounds like you need to get your pitch together’ or something like that, but in my own head, I was really happy I couldn’t say exactly what it was. It definitely feels like something I’ve not played before, both mechanically and the way the story is told.

“So that misconception of it being a puzzle platformer about manipulating items to get on top of them and all these things… I’d say it has some of that DNA — sort of — but we’ve gone so far away from that now it’s become its own thing. All I really feel comfortable calling it now is ‘a sci-fi adventure.'”

From the looks of it, Somerville tasks players to rebuild a family that has been affected by an unknown conflict within a post-apocalyptic universe. It releases in 2022 for Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC and will be available on Xbox Game Pass at launch.