Gone Home

Possibly one of the worst games I've ever played (or in this case experienced). Gameplay is limited to clicking on stuff without any meaningful interaction or response. Playable character is not just silent but nonexistent making for a very boring protagonist. The three main stories (of the family) are predictable and written with wayyy too many deus-ex-machina plot devices. Overall, avoid if possible, not worth the full asking price...

I kept reading about this game that is innovative, one of the best games of the year it was released and I said I should give it a try despite the reviews I read on GOG which most of them are bad. The visuals are nice, can't complain about that but apart from that... you just walk in a house and try to find out what happened with the others but it's... boring. I mean I was expecting a well developed story or something to happen but...nope. Refunded...I don't know what I just played. After 20 minutes I uninstalled it.

Gone Home has you assume the role of Katie, who has just returned home from a months-long trip abroad. No one is home to greet her, and so she is left to discover the goings-on of her mother, father, and especially her sister Sam. You will wonder around the house and examine items, notes, books, tapes, etc..which will reveal details about Katie's family, or trigger audio in which Sam confides in Katie or to no one in particular about trials and tribulations in her life. Sam's story focuses on her relationship with a punk-girl named Lonnie. So to critique: I think the atmosphere is well established and definitely enhances the strangeness of coming home to an empty house, with no one to greet you even though you've been gone for so long. Though Sam's story is compelling, it is a bit anti-climactic, and there is a minor sub-plot involving "Oscar" that doesn't really go anywhere meaningful. Initially I was also tempted to say that we should have been able to learn more about Katie and Sam's parents. But then, I think we had sufficient exposure since, after all, the sisterly bond is stronger and therefore more in-depth. I appreciate that we learn just enough to guess at the kind of lives they lead separately and together. If you're nostalgic for the 90's, you enjoy a decent story (and stories within stories), and you don't mind just walking around and clicking stuff, then you'll enjoy Gone Home. But 20 dollars is a lot to ask for given the age of the game now.

Yeah, it's one of those "Diversity Games", no fun, just rummaging through backstory. I rummage through back story in RPGs, but at least RPGs give me conflict and you can ignore the backstory if you want in RPGs and just kill things or build things or both. You just rummage around learning about her mundane life.

For what this game offers and how much it cost your better off looking for some where else. Dear Ester and Stanly Parable are the better options. They have more length, replay able after you complete the game, and cost less money. You might be able to buy the two games for as much as your paying for Gone Home. The story in Gone Home is boring and unoriginal. Sure one can argue it is original for a video game, but that is not always a good thing. Point is if you hate horrible teenage romance novels your going to hate this. It doesn't have the wit of Stanley Parable nor the depth of Dear Ester. This is the biggest failure of Gone Home and one that should had been the main focus. This is what kills the game and questions why the developers charge so much for it. Length is a problem as well. Sure if you don't cheat the game could last a few hours. Problem is once you use those few hours you pretty much seen every thing that the game can offer you. There is no reason to replay the game unless you want to experience it again like a old movie. Stanley Parable offers you multiple endings and witty charm makes you want to play that game. Dear Ester does change the narrations in each play through so that too has some replay value.