Here we have an experimental game and people in this thread got so worked up about homosexuality. We definitely aren't far from the 1990s if mere homosexuality is enough to spark such heated debates. Who cares, anyway. Gay or not, it doesn't make any difference. Because in this game the plot isn't that important at all, and the reasoning that the developers made it revolve around homosexuality to shield themselves against negative criticism is just ridiculous. The true mystery is why the house is empty in the dead of night, and why your mother left you such a disturbing phone message.

This game is all about an experimental approach to storytelling. The story is here because a story of some kind simply has to exist. The developers tried something new. Instead of talking to characters or listening to video logs as in more conventional adventure games, you have to examine objects and make your own conclusions from the things left in the house. There are still some conventional elements like letters and voiced thoughts (which act as journals), but the game has to be appreciated for what it is.

I thought GOG sold games?

What's this shit doing here?

Can we cut out the crap about how this is not a game already? At this point it is getting embarrassing.

The game has rules and mechanics that are undeniably ludic/gamey -- it has physics, it uses environmental storytelling, there's a map, you collect keys to progress, you have an inventory, you can manipulate objects in the game world, etc. It's a first person adventure game that is heavily inspired by the immersive sim genre and most sane people will recognise it as a game.

.kjkjjk

The whole 'ZOMG IF YOU HATE THIS GAME YOU MUST BE A BIGOT' thing isn't really helping any constructive analysis of it. The simple fact of the matter is that if the lesbian romance was a straight romance you can bet that it would have been shot down in every review out there. The storyline just isn't interesting enough to carry the game, and trying to cloud the whole thing with pro/anti-gay rhetoric doesn't help highlight what the prospective buyer should know about. Sure, if for whatever reason you're against homosexuality then doubtless you'll be able to whine about left-wing liberals and whatever else, but the basic problem is that if this game was about emo boy meets emo girl, the story would still fall apart and you'd be still left with disappointment. This game is like watching The Shining 3/4s through then someone switches the channel to an episode of Dawson's Creek, which team the star crossed lovers bat for has as much effect on the result of the game as the colour of the doctor's scrubs has on an operation.

If this game was a totally different genre, something that didn't need a storyline, the fact the story is initially intriguing but ultimately pointless wouldn't matter (such as, for example, Q.U.B.E). Unfortunately you can't have this with a title such as this, as the story is the whole reason you're playing.

What infuriates me more than anything is that up until the collapse, the game *rocks*, the atmosphere it generates is first class! and more than once I genuinely didn't know if I was actually alone in that house. If the storyline was worth a damn, it could have been a classic title.

This!