Posted on: August 23, 2014

LordVetinari

Games: Reviews: 1

A storytelling gem

I have seen widely contrasting reviews of this game, more so than for other games. My opinion, as you can guess from the five stars, is that Gone Home is a truly remarkable achievement. I loved the intimate storytelling, so perfectly compounded by the thunderstorm soundscape surrounding the big, empty house. I loved the great care put in modelling every object you could find, from books to breakfast cereal boxes. Above all, I loved the idea of discovering the story of a family, bit by bit, from scraps of paper, letters, diary entries. The story is one of friendship and love, revolving around a teenage girl. While not particularly original, it was brought to life by excellent voice acting, right until the emotional conclusion. I guess another reason I liked this game so much is that it's set in the mid-Nineties. As an old relic who was a teenager back then, I appreciated the accurate reconstruction of the last years of the Analogue Age, an era of manuscript notes, audio cassettes and VHS tapes. Younger gamers may see these as just quaint curiosities, but to me they brought back powerful memories. Replayability is obviously limited, so my advice is not to rush it. Take your time, and pause to savour every little detail. You'll be rewarded with a much more satisfying experience. If you like a good gentle story without explosions, adrenaline rushes and enemies jumping at your throat, then give Gone Home a try.

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Posted on: November 26, 2014

mangoducksparkles

Verified owner

Games: 332 Reviews: 7

Great game! Not for everyone

I had a great time with this game! It was chill, nostalgic, and I was into the story. I was spooked at times, and I had fun discovering all the clues. It wasn't exciting. There wasn't much in the way of gameplay. The story was interesting, but not unique or riveting. I can easily see why some people don't like it. If you think you might enjoy a relaxing, weird, alternative gaming experience, then I'd very strongly recommend it. If you are bored easily, don't care about normal stories about normal people, or want a challenging gaming experience, then by all means pass this by.

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Posted on: January 1, 2015

semele

Verified owner

Games: 103 Reviews: 1

Depends on your tastes.

From reading other reviews and talking to people, this is clearly a Marmite game - you either love it or hate it. I'm on the loved it side. In many ways it is not a typical game - it's a story exploration, there's a few basic puzzles, but you don't need a huge amount of skill to finish it, it gives you a couple of hours gameplay at most. That doesn't mean that I didn't find it hugely enjoyable. It's atmospheric, engaging and full of 90's teen nostalgia. I found it compelling - I didn't complete it in one sitting, and was genuinely concerned about what was or had happened to my in-game family. I found it compelling. BUT I can see how this doesn't suit everyone. It's storytelling exploration, there's nothing you can do to change the outcome, your character is a non-entity. Still, if you like teenage stories, 90's bands from the Pacific Northwest and creepy houses, then you'll enjoy it. I picked it up in a sale, not sure I'd be pleased with my value for money if I'd paid $20.

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Posted on: January 13, 2015

Shantih1

Verified owner

Games: Reviews: 17

Interactive fiction at its finest

The decision whether to purchase Gone Home might seem tricky based on its polarizing reviews. Here's what you really need to know about it to make your choice: 1) It's a game but it doesn't fit into many conventions of games, even adventures. The experience is closer to a novel, movie or back-to-back episodes of a quality TV show. If you get engaged with those means of storytelling, you'll be engaged by Gone Home. 2) Similarly, it tells a compelling story but relies on your attention and involvement. You receive fragments of the stories, but the game is structured to allow you to decide the significance of what you have discovered and read. This isn't the game to buy if you need your text to tell you what to think. (To define what that means: if you disliked the ending of Lost because you didn't get all the answers, you will be frustrated by Gone Home) 3) It utilizes tropes from haunted house and horror stories. That doesn't mean you're going to love it if you're a horror game fan; since most horror gaming relies on jumps and scares rather than tropes. Tropes are the setting and context: it's a dark, foreboding space where your imagination fills in many of the gaps. The closest comparison I could make is to the early stages Robbing the Cradle level in Thief: Deadly Shadows. That level relied extensively on horror tropes to build up a sense of tension and dread, before becoming something different in its second half. It's not a spoiler to suggest that Gone Home plays out its tropes in a different way, but it constantly succeeds in grabbing your imagination. I love Gone Home; I think it's the most compelling game experience of the past few years. It is, indeed, quite a short game but that's an important point in its favor. It has been carefully, and specifically designed to be a complete exploration of the story at hand. Perhaps that's why journalists and writers have been more spellbound than traditional gamers? It's an astounding piece of interactive fiction.

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Posted on: August 14, 2014

Cobden

Games: 129 Reviews: 1

Great if you haven't played it yet!

It's really hard to review this game without spoiling most everything, but if you have not had a chance to play this yet, do so! It shouldn't take more than a few hours, and I highly recommend getting immersed in it at night for the full experience. That said, the game really should be $10.

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