Somber Review (PC)

A bright orange spot signals a floating anchor that can get my character to a ledge that would otherwise be too high for my current abilities. But to get there, I also need to carefully time a dash. For my first few attempts, I move too fast and slide right into some white pointy spikes. The key is to dash just as I reach the highest point of the upward trajectory. I know what I need to do but my fingers aren’t able to translate my thoughts into action.

The good thing is the save point is right new to this challenge, so I have every opportunity to try again. The bad news is when I finally make it my character mangles another jump and falls back down. It takes a few minutes to nail the move sequence to reliably make it up. I briefly experimented with moving from orange anchor to orange anchor but the dash seems like the better option.

And once I do, I need to then move quickly up a wall, because another clump of white spikes is launching small, pointy missiles at me. Once I complete my escalade and make a few more jumps, I get the ability to shoot back at opponents, which feels like a solid reward for this gameplay sequence. I still plan to mostly try and avoid threats but if I need to fight I will, as I try to deal with threats to the Gloom.

Somber is developed by David Söderström, Mikaela Marti, and Evelyn Petterson, with publishing by You Will Get There. I played it on the PC using Steam. The title is a side-scrolling action platformer with a focus on atmosphere.

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In the world of the Gloom, players take on the role of an eyeball with a smokey trail. He does not seem to have a name, although he can communicate with some of the characters around him, probably telepathically, seeing as he does not have an actual mouth. This being seems to be the only one able to move through all areas of the world, trying to avoid dangers and save it from mechanical creatures that destroy its unique beauty.

The world has a tragic beauty to it, filled with shadows and bright spots. It communicates tranquility and peace with limited dialogue. The biggest issue here is that the hero itself has almost no personality, other than wanting to save the Gloom. The other characters are also archetypes and all interactions are limited.

The gameplay in Somber is instantly familiar to anyone who has enjoyed classic platformers before. Our protagonist is nimble for an eyeball, able to dash in every direction and double jump to reach the most distant elements of the world. His mobility is what makes him the only one able to deal with danger.

As the game progresses, players will unlock new movement abilities, including a way to stick to walls to climb them that pairs beautifully with the double jump and ash. Hero’s ability to get around is further enhanced by environmental elements, like platforms, boost points, and more, some of which need to be activated to work.

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It creates a pleasant sense of flow, as the player moves around the environment, and discovers what can kill him and how to move around those obstacles. There are also roaming enemies and the protagonist gets access to an attack of his own to deal with them. Combat feels mostly like an afterthought, especially seeing how violence in this universe seems to be directed at the world itself rather than individuals.

The Gloom is filled with spectral platforms that disappear once touched but pop up to give players a second chance. There are white spikes and ghosts that will try to take the hero down. The hazards often appear cute but one touch is all its takes to die.

Somber‘s exploration and platforming are smooth and fun, despite the fact that there’s limited innovation. I never managed to use the orange launch points perfectly but a good mix of jumps and dashes sometimes allowed me to get past obstacles without them.

I also appreciate the great placement of the save points, which take the frustration out of even the most difficult platforming challenges. I would have loved to see more variety in terms of puzzles, with fewer keys to limit progress and more ability-gated areas. I wanted to get more reaction from the world itself, like the way the spikes stretch toward the hero when it moves over them.

Somber’s world and gameplay mechanics combine to deliver a pleasant and fun experience. It doesn’t take long to get through it, it rarely annoys. But the game never tries to innovate and surprise players in any major way or discover a way forward for the rest of the genre.

Somber is a game created by a three-man team that uses a simplified presentation that fits well with its theme. A lot of players will take one look at it and think of Limbo but there’s more to it than that. The game has color, with bright orange bringing life to the Gloom. White is the color of danger and makes it easy to visualize paths for progress. The sound design is not as impressive as the rest of the presentation. The soundtrack, while well-designed to enhance the mood, stays too much in the background.

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The Good

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