I really love the premise of this game; that you drive a prototype train on a mission to deliver important payloads in defense of the world against some kind of mysterious alien invasion. The game is superbly balanced. You are constantly desperate for ammo and supplies, and constantly low on health, but you are never overwhelmed by the challenge posed by the enemies. The train is forced to stop at various stations along the way, each with their own beauty and each presenting a little bit more of the story as you progress. The world in between the stations, while you're on the move, is breath-taking as well. The art, sound, and music go together perfectly to add to the "end-of-the-world" atmosphere. This game, however, focuses very heavily on it's narrative, which as others have said, feels disjointed or incomplete. There is a clear effort to tell a linear story, but it falls short because we have no investment in any of the characters, including our protagonist, and details about what is happening or what has happened in the past are *too* sparse, perhaps. That said, I think this game is worth playing for it's atmosphere, the train premise, and it's very comfortable length (~4-5 hours).
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.
The game is inexcusably unpolished in terms of the visuals, but the narrative and gameplay more than make up for that. The player-character movement system is very well designed, as is the craft system, mapping system, and interface. If they wanted to make a survival-exploration game, they did so beautifully. This is my new favorite game for a while, I just wish the visuals weren't so sloppy.
