Somber Reviews

goodie

Before going into detail: the game runs great on the Steam Deck. I specifically picked it up to play it on the Deck and the only thing I noticed was that I had to use the touchscreen to start the very first game, everything beyond that was done with the normal Steam Deck Gamepad Controls. [b]Gameplay:[/b] The gameplay of "Somber" reminded me a lot of other Metroidvanias like Ori and Hollow Knight - abilities are unlocked as you play the game like double jump, dash, etc. Navigating the game world works fluidly and while there is an in-game map I only had to use it occasionally. Dying is a non-issue since checkpoints are plenty and it is rare that I had to travel more than a few seconds from the checkpoint to the place where I died which I loved. This helps a lot in the more challenging sections near the end. The game has some tricky bits but overall it is very accessible even for new players of this style of game. The play time is around 1 hour, more if you want to complete everything (Steam seems to report the wrong playtime since I played it mostly on my train communte to and from work without an internet connection). [b]Graphics:[/b] "Somber" has a distinct style that appears to be inspired by Limbo but not as bleak. Contrasting white elements often indicate danger and are to be avoided. On the Steam Deck the game ran at a solid 60FPS throughout which is excellent. [b]Sounds:[/b] The game features very fitting atmospheric background music and sounds, as well as a Voiceover to guide the player through the story. [b]Verdict:[/b] I picked up "Somber" during the Steam Autumn Sale for around 5 bucks which is great value for around 1 hour of gameplay and even some replayability to collect all in game upgrades and items. The Austrian radio station FM4 had a feature review about the game a couple weeks back and I am happy they did because that's when I found out about it. Thanks to the development team for creating this game - I liked it a lot! :) [b]Hardware:[/b] Game played entirely on the Steam Deck. Excellent loading times, no stuttering/crashes, no issues whatsoever. :)

I really love this aesthetics: the whole environment art, character, vfx, color palette. Love the atmosphere that build in this game. Love the story feeling but I don't think I reach the true ending? Who is the bad guy? I can see the level design and game design but it's not perfect, just good And it's a little bit short I think. I hope that you'll provide more games with us like this. Longer, more story, more ability like Ori.

Nice and fun game with beautiful visuals!

A fun and challenging platformer with an incredibly moody and Somber ;) artstyle!

A charming, short game - I loved the atmosphere of the world, the backgrounds are fascinating works of art.

A nice visual, easy but short platformer (felt kinda like a demo). Controls are not very user-friendly: you're bound with just the keyboard and you cannot use the mouse, which would've made the platfoming-game even easier. All in all Somber was a nice experience for me. Worth the price? I really don't know honestly. If you consider just the gameplay and the story I'd say no, if you look at how much effort it was put into the visuals and then add the gameplay and the story then maybe yes (?). I bought it with a 30% sale so I spent just around 4,50€. I'll leave a thumb up even though I really wouldn't advice you to buy this if you're looking for a real challenging platformer or for a long game. So why the thumb up? Because as I said I didn't really mind playing the game and I think this dev team has a good potential to make another great and complete game so I consider buying this game more like an investment for their next project (if they have any) other than an instrument to financially support this one.

I uh. Well. You... tried...? Like, visually this is very pretty, I won't deny that... maybe a bit one-note but it's an aesthetic that works. And there are some platforming -ideas- here - the grapple mechanic is pretty cool and with some polish could be used in interesting ways... but the actual moment-to-moment gameplay doesn't feel great. The dash is less a "dash" and more a "add to your horizontal speed (but preserve your vertical speed)" and the wall cling is... very sticky. I was able to get pretty deep into an area I don't think I was supposed to have access to just by wall jumping, only to get hard-locked by stomp floors or key doors forcing me to backtrack and follow the intended route, so what little "exploration" is here is... limited. There are powerups, sure, but none of them feel rewarding, and the yellow dots... chickens? according to the game, do literally nothing as far as I can tell. The plot is loosely sketched and ends with a "twist" I don't even really understand. Can't say I was too impressed by the level design itself, either, especially with how loose everything feels and thus how breakable most platforming sections are. And I beat it in, like, an hour, which... for an $8 game with little substance or depth, kiiiinda feels like a ripoff. Oh and, it wipes your save when you beat the game, so, any chance of me going back to 100% it is definitely off the table. Oh well, It's kinda meh and really -feels- like a first attempt, and I kinda wish I could like it more, there's nothing really -offensive- about it, but I can't recommend it either.

This game is beautiful with both music and scenery! The game feels great to play also coming from someone who doesn't play platformers great job devs! https://youtu.be/hwGMDCrTpcU