(Game Review) Gone Home

Time to read: 2 min read

Game Cover Game Cover

She gave me this tape. I have not stopped playing it since.

Platform played on: PC

Review

You play as someone returning home to an empty house in the middle of the night; the goal of the game is to explore the house to uncover the story of your family.

I had heard a lot of good things about this game, and was very excited to check it out. The team behind the game previously created Minerva's Den for Bioshock 2, which I really enjoyed. I initially thought that this game is a horror game, and the beginning of the game, with its dark and sombre ambiance and allusions to murders, merely affirmed my suspicions. I spent the first half of the game waiting for the jump scare but none came.

This game is pretty benign; it plays like a storybook, where you explore the large house and uncover different aspects of its occupants' lives, including your character's. The story is about family drama and could be the plot of a young adult novel. Some themes of the story, such as drifting away from friends when growing up, were relatable, but most were not. While I enjoyed the ambiance created by the sound and lighting as well as how almost every object in-game is interactive, I felt that the gameplay was very slow and boring. The "puzzles" were easy to solve and the character seems to move in slow motion.

Screenshot Almost every in-game object is interactive

Conclusion

It's a well-made game but I don't think I'm the target demographic; regardless, this game is good for anyone who enjoys young adult novels about wacky parents and teenage angst.

Overall rating: 6.7

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