Indie games are always unique since they don’t have to follow the same tropes of triple-A games. In turn, these types of games give players interesting experiences. From gameplay tothe aestheticsof the smaller titles, they have a much easier time attracting players. Plus, smaller indie games have more to play around with. Developers can experiment with different types of gameplay, which in turn, gives these games a one-in-a-kind experience. Good examples includeInsideandLimbo.
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However, as the indie game catalog grows, more great games pop up, in this case,Somerville.With the same playstyle as bothLimboandInside,Somervilleis on the scale of a massive triple-A game. Most ofSomervilleis a polished and well-paced game, with puzzles that feel rewarding, and a story that satisfies any player. Nevertheless, there are still some issues that developers should address, but once they do, players can get a better experience. Here are some issues that can hinder gameplay.
5Replayability
WhileSomervillegives playersmultiple different endings, those choices are made in the last couple of levels, so the majority of the game will feel the same for all players. However, unlikeInsideandLimbo,the ending forSomervilleisless ambiguousthan its counterparts. But,Somervillecan take new life if developers offer players a replayability factor. For example, adding modifiers or giving players multiple ways of doing the puzzles. Like most indie games, the puzzles make players feel likethey’ve accomplished something.
It would be even more rewarding if players discovered another way of doing these puzzles, which in turn, makes players come back and playSomerville.Also, not just in puzzles, but also in those parts between them, players can take different routes, and different things will happen. This way, each playthrough will be a little more unique, and players will get a far more immersed feel of the game. The replayability adds more to the title, and since there are a lot of things going on inSomerville,the replayability makes it much more tangible.
4Camera
Somervillehas the same cinematic camera work asInside,which moves depending on the location. The issue with this camera is that when there’s an object in front of the path of where players need to go, they won’t see it because the camera isn’t moving. This can cause players to make a bunch of mistakes, like missing their step and making them die. On top of that, the camera isn’t controlled by players, so they can’t adjust it to see things better.
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For some puzzles, players can’t tell where they are, or accidentally get stuck on a wall, so if the camera is more situational-based, rather than static, gameplay will be a lot more fluid. Also, a lot of the puzzles are physics-based, so objects behave the same as they do in the real world. The current camera makes these puzzles rather difficult, so if it moved based on the puzzles, getting throughSomervillewould be a lot easier.
3Less Clunky Controls
This can make gameplay a lot more frustrating, and in turn, may make players not want to continue playingSomerville.As mentioned before, most of the puzzles are physics-based, so if the controls are all over the place, doing these puzzles can be much harder. Games likeCuphead,whichare rather hard, are a testament to why fluid controls can make the experience better. Since there are tons of moments where players need to run from the alien invaders, and sinceSomervillecontrols are somewhat boxy, those moments become harder to play.
While running, if players miss their stop, they’ll be halted right in their tracks, allowing the aliens to get them. If the controls are a little more fluid, these high-intensity points in the story can be the highlights ofSomerville.On top of that, the game itself will go down easy for players as well. Even those timed parts of the game, where players need to move from cover to cover in order to avoid the alien’s light, are more challenging because the controls make the character do something players didn’t input.
2Keyboard Support
At the moment,Somervilleonly has controller support.While playing with a controller works well for a game likeSomerville,giving players options in how they play makes things better. The issue with this is that not many players have controllers, and playing on PCis unplayable that way. Since the game itself doesn’t have many controls that players need to remember, keyboard support is very much doable.
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This way, players have options and don’t leave anyone out. It can make gameplay on PCa lot more immersive, and players can have better control of the character and what they’re doing. Plus, as mentioned before,Somervillehas some clunky controls. While not perfect, the keyboard could combat that at least for PCplayers. Giving players options on how to play can make things a lot smoother.
1Optimization
Players may notice that the game stutters quite a bit in areas with a lot going on. One of the reasons why indie games arepopular and successfulis that they can be played on a wide variety of devices, with all ports being optimized. This makes it so players from all devices can play these games well. What players will note, is that on the Xbox One,for example, there are a lot of places that show the limits of the aging consoles.
Somervillelooks amazing and plays well when it’s not being pushed. For those times when players are trying to do a puzzle with a bunch of things going on, the frame rate drops makes the puzzles a lot harder to do since most of them are timed. But if developers can somehow make the Xbox Onework less, owners of that console will have a great time playing Somerville.
Somervilleis available on Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC.
