Game Pass’ coolest game next month looks like Limbo meets War of the Worlds

Somerville, the debut game from studio Jumpship that was unveiled more than five years ago, will arrive next month, the developer announced Thursday. The game’s impending release on Xbox platforms and Windows PC is something of a surprise — even though it was scheduled for 2022 — given that the last we heard of Somerville came more than 10 months ago, in the form of the game’s fourth teaser trailer. (The game’s development blog also hasn’t been updated since 2018.)

Jumpship describes Somerville as a sci-fi adventure “grounded in the intimate repercussions of a large-scale conflict.” Players will explore perilous terrain in an effort to uncover the mystery of an alien life force that has come to Earth and reunite their family. But much of the game remains a mystery, and seems better for it.

Somerville has drawn comparisons to games like Limbo and Inside, likely because the co-founder and former CEO of the developer behind those games, Dino Patti, is executive producing the new game. But animator Chris Olsen is the creative force behind Somerville, both as Jumpship co-founder and writer/director of the game.

Somerville will be available through Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass subscription services starting Nov. 15. The PC version will also be sold through the Epic Games Store and Steam.

To catch up on Somerville’s teasers to date, you can watch them all below.