Gone Home

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.

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.

This is the short story equivalent of a game and as such I can understand people not wanting to pay novella prices for it. On sale it is well worth both the time and money. That being said I paid full price for it and loved it. Those who complan that it lacks puzzles are mistaken as the entire house should be treated as a single puzzle unwrapping several layered stories as you progress. The core story, the one whose progress is tracked by the game, attracts the most derision although I personally enjoyed it. However there are several deeper stories involving the extended family which are only revealed through a careful exploration of the environment. These threads are by far more intersting and as with most short stories are only found by reading between the lines. You will mostly likely finish it in a single sitting but find yourself thinking about for several days afterwards.

Gone Home is a very simplistic game, a bit reminiscent of the exploration part of the first resident evil. You're exploring a house to find out what is going on there. It even has a bit of a creepy atmosphere. Some people were disappointed that this creepy atmosphere didn't lead to more, and I can see where they are coming from but that is not the story this game tells. It's a very mundane story that only stands out because of the way it is presented. While I felt very immersed in that story and had a great time, I do have to mention that the game is only two and half hours long. At best. And that, in my opinion makes the game far overpriced, even if it was enjoyable. Only buy it on a steep discount.

In a medium full of bland and repetitive shooters Gone Home is a breath of fresh air, I do not even begin to understand the negative reviews yes it is very short (I finished it in about three hours) but for what it was the length was perfect. Apparently I'm the only one who loved the ending but this game almost made me cry and I am not the type of person who cries easily. Yes it is flawed in some ways but if you can look past the flaws there's a beautiful story underneath that most games don't even attempt to tell. It also manages believable and deep character and female characters at that which I'm sure I don't have to tell you our beloved medium has struggled with in the past and present. If you are interested in character design in games or elsewhere I can not recommend this game enough. However for the average person it's hard to say, be prepared for a slow pace and allot of reading if you want to get anything out of this game. (Now that I think about it that's probably where most of the bad reviews come from this game needs you to read every scrap of text you can find in game, if you don't do that the story and whole experience would seem very shallow and flat.