Gone Home

 PC
User Score
5.5

Mixed or average reviews- based on 2245 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 939 out of 2245
  2. Mixed: 433 out of 2245
  3. Negative: 873 out of 2245

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  1. zimka
    Aug 18, 2013
    5
    I'm rating this game a five in protest to rave scores from professional critics. Oh, I'm perfectly fine with indie games, as well as 'experience' 'games' in general, but giving this short collection of interactive notes (that's what this really is) anything over 60 or 70 is ridiculous.
  2. dubesor
    Aug 17, 2013
    5
    Not much of a "Game" but rather an interactive story. Could have been an interesting experience if the story wasn't so obvious, I knew the entire plot within the first 15 minutes of the game, and the ending was so stereotypical which left me closing the game in major disappointment after finishing it. Also with only 2 hours of gameplay and literally zero replayability it is quite a steep price.
  3. lazerpuma
    Aug 16, 2013
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I was very excited after reading the reviews to play this game, but equally disappointed after finishing it in 2 hours. You arrive back home after a year abroad in Europe learning in the first few minutes that your house is known throughout the small Oregon town setting as the "Psycho House," and that it might be haunted by your dead uncle. The house is big, the lights flicker, the noises are offsetting, and there are secret panels and passage ways. However, all of that is a big red herring. About 30 minutes into the game, you learn that you kid sister is probably a lesbian, and that's the big reveal at the end of the game you learn your sister ran off to be with her female lover, Lonnie, to the chagrin of your dysfunctional parents. Throughout the obvious but slow "coming out" of your sister through reading her diary entries and listening to her very Sleater-Kinney-esque mix tapes, you learn that your mom is probably having an affair with a park ranger and that your father is a failed aloof scifi writer who enjoys his whiskey. I did enjoy all the 90s indie music, x-files, twin peaks, videogame, and movie references, but really the whole game came off as an interactive version of Tracie Chapman's song, "Fast Car."… Expand
  4. luksonije
    Aug 17, 2013
    6
    This game has so much action that it is quite difficult to describe it. Imagine searching through big house and reading diaries. Just amazing way to spend a day if you are working on a ship or if you are in prison.
    Not my cup of tea, but it has some thriller effect inside. I will rate it 6,0 just because it is different then modern brainless shooters and because you actually need to use    This game has so much action that it is quite difficult to describe it. Imagine searching through big house and reading diaries. Just amazing way to spend a day if you are working on a ship or if you are in prison.
    Not my cup of tea, but it has some thriller effect inside. I will rate it 6,0 just because it is different then modern brainless shooters and because you actually need to use your brain.    … Expand
  5. tibzoid
    Aug 18, 2013
    5
    Perfectly OK title, but there is nothing innovative or special about it. It only takes about 2 hours to play through, has no puzzles or intellectual challenge, and the story is dull as dishwater. The reason I'm even inclined to write a review is because I paid $17 for this, which is WAAAY too much. It should have retailed for $5 max. People praising this game as extraordinary either havePerfectly OK title, but there is nothing innovative or special about it. It only takes about 2 hours to play through, has no puzzles or intellectual challenge, and the story is dull as dishwater. The reason I'm even inclined to write a review is because I paid $17 for this, which is WAAAY too much. It should have retailed for $5 max. People praising this game as extraordinary either have no exposure to other games or have terribly low standards.… Expand
  6. TitaniumDragon
    Oct 31, 2016
    6
    Gone Home is either a bare-bones adventure game or a walking simulator which included a very small number of puzzle elements. I would suggest it is really more like the latter from a cladistics point of view; its attraction lies in that direction, and if you’re looking for really cerebral gameplay, this isn’t the place to look.

    Gone Home is really a story that happens to be presented in    Gone Home is either a bare-bones adventure game or a walking simulator which included a very small number of puzzle elements. I would suggest it is really more like the latter from a cladistics point of view; its attraction lies in that direction, and if you’re looking for really cerebral gameplay, this isn’t the place to look.

    Gone Home is really a story that happens to be presented in a video game format. The game consists of you (a early 20s woman who lives as an independent adult – you were in the military) coming home after a vacation in Europe to an empty house; your parents and your sister are all absent, and as you explore the house, it becomes increasingly clear that it is a bit disheveled. You find some notes from your sister scattered around, as well as various notes and scraps of life left by your sister and parents. Some of these trigger audio logs from your sister, which are really journal entries that you are listening to. These tell the story about what your sister has been going through over the last year, and the story of her relationship with Lonnie, a girl she knows.

    There are other stories interwoven into that one – your father, who is a failed writer who is trying to climb back on the horse while working a real job, and your mother, who is struggling with her relationship with your father and who might or might not be having an affair, or at least contemplating one, as well as the story of the former owner of the house that your family moved into while you were in the military.

    These stories all come together to create a picture of a family that is troubled, but not broken, and of people who are people. Your sister is an immature high school student, but she is mostly immature like rebels without a cause are. Lonnie seems to be simultaneously more and less mature; she’s a bad influence on your sister in some ways, but also seems to have a more realistic and grounded view of the world in other ways.

    I liked the story of the lives presented here; it is sort of everyday drama, with people struggling with real problems rather than contrived situations (much as the game likes to pretend at one point that there might be supernatural elements involved).

    What I didn’t like, however, was the ending; when you get to the end, it seems to sort of throw away Lonnie’s character to force a “happy ending” which, if you think about it, isn’t actually really a happy ending at all. And this sort of ruins the story to an extent, because the whole story had been about growing up and trying to accept reality and find happiness through it, and then the end has Lonnie and your sister throw all that away while making a very stupid decision which flies in the face of Lonnie’s prior characterization, as well as the general theme of the piece.

    I’ll also note that it is possible to sequence skip in this game; as I assumed it was more gamey than it really was, I managed to find some secret passages, including the one that lead to the very final area of the game, far before I was supposed to. This partially spoiled a major aspect of the story to me from quite early on. The worst of it is, finding these secret passages isn’t even very hard if you are familiar with floor plans and realize that there are empty spaces which, in a real house, would have rooms in them.

    In the end, I’m left feeling ambivalent about this game. I wouldn’t not recommend it – I thought it was a decent enough use of two hours of my time – but simultaneously, I feel bad about recommending it, because in the end, the story doesn’t really feel like it actually came together thematically and tossed its build-up away for an ending that the game thinks is a happy one, but which the rest of the story (and plain logic) suggests wouldn’t be.    … Expand
  7. mcullen98
    Dec 16, 2015
    6
    Being a mysterious adventure exploring a modern locale, Gone Home includes a story line of problem solving to find where the main character’s family is. Throughout the game the player will encounter many rooms and clues such as notes and other artifacts which help move the plot forward and ultimately lead to the final scene revealing the mystery previously unsolved. This game incorporatesBeing a mysterious adventure exploring a modern locale, Gone Home includes a story line of problem solving to find where the main character’s family is. Throughout the game the player will encounter many rooms and clues such as notes and other artifacts which help move the plot forward and ultimately lead to the final scene revealing the mystery previously unsolved. This game incorporates themes of other games, and adds its own refreshing sense of family and feminism, which makes it appealing to women as well as men, something most games are not able to accomplish.

    Gone home takes time and focus to understand the game fully, and creates a need for attention to detail such as music, lighting, and relating it to personal experience. Gone Home is designed to be fine combed which makes the game that much more intriguing. Considering that many people find this aspect of the game a bit tedious, it adds to the realism of it. One thing that is done very well is the level of low lighting they use which adds a feeling of mystery. The player is constantly stimulated with music which relate to the atmosphere of the house therefor drawing the player even deeper into it. Along with the music, the graphics create a very real feel for the player. If not played properly you miss most of the messages meant to be taught and therefor making the game much less enjoyable. Another aspect which was well established was the option to play Gone Home a second time with developer’s commentary, which explains problems which the developers had to overcome when creating the game, and developing a more in depth explanation of many rooms of the house. After playing this game I found myself feeling multiple emotions, however one which was the most apparent was the feeling of disappointment that it was over.

    Aspects of the game that could be improved are spread out among the entire game. One aspect which needs to be addressed is the direction given when playing the game. Understanding the game is supposed to be a free exploration for the gamer to experience, some guidance of where to go or what to see would be helpful. After talking to many people about the gameplay, they mentioned that they missed a few very important pieces of the game because they did not know they were a part of it. If the developers were to include a list of things needed to be accomplished, the game would be easier to understand. The objects being examined should be tweaked to allow collection of knowledge for everyone. Some of the letters or books were written in very neat, but hard to read cursive which restricted many people from understanding some of the clues.

    Overall the game itself presented the aspect of mystery, adventure and difficulty which will appeal to many players who enjoy story line games. The gameplay was enjoyable and aside from little tweaks, the game was well developed. Taking into account the difficulty of some aspects such as opening and closing doors, the developers made great use of coding to make the game the way it is. The story drew the player in, overall pleasing the senses of the player. I would recommend this game to people who strive for adventure and interest in knowledge of the game.    … Expand
  8. jjuev
    Jan 28, 2016
    6
    Gone Home game review

    This is a short novel game. The game is about a girl named Katie that comes home after traveling and finds her family missing. She can’ find her parent or her sister Sam. She then decides to investigate the house and finds the shocking truth about her sister. The way the story is told is chronologic because you start from the beginning. You do see back on old    Gone Home game review

    This is a short novel game. The game is about a girl named Katie that comes home after traveling and finds her family missing. She can’ find her parent or her sister Sam. She then decides to investigate the house and finds the shocking truth about her sister.
    The way the story is told is chronologic because you start from the beginning. You do see back on old memories sometimes, and that is very good.
    The main character in the game is Katie. It is good that it is the sister who is there but actually it doesn’t matter who is the main character. I mean anyone could have been the main character. A friend, an uncle, maybe the mailman or some stalker. Just someone is in the house and investigates
    I think the area where the house is perfect. It is in no man’s land, it’s an old house and it’s raining. I mean I couldn’t be better because you wouldn’t have the same excitement if it’s in the city or it’s sunny or something like that.
    I don’t play so many games but I do believe that the graphics could have been better.
    This game is in the mystery genre because you would find any of those things in the game in a comedy or a romance.
    My experiences with the game was that it was really exciting. I was bored sometimes but it was fun.
    I give this game 6/10    … Expand
  9. KajaNerdal
    Jan 28, 2016
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This short story is about this girl, Kaitlyn, which comes home from her trip to Europe. When she comes home she finds that her whole family is gone. In the story you (Kaitlyn) are going to look for traces after your family and where they might can be.
    I think the main message in the game is that your family can be more unknown to you than you think. You can think that you know them very well, when they actually keeps a lot of secrets from you. It can be hard to live in a house that everyone thinks is “the crazy house” because of the earlier history from the house. The very main message is actually about the love story between Samantha and Lonnie.
    The way this short story goes is very chronologic, at least how I understood it, and I think that was great. The game was very exciting and I liked it when it got a little scary but still exciting. It was kind of hard to move the avatar because you couldn’t walk and change direction in the same time, you had to take brakes to change directions. It also were kind of hard to find the important traces so it took a while to really understand what the short story were about. I don’t think they used any symbols, at least I didn’t find any.
    In the game you’ll hear about your sister/Samantha, mom, dad, Lonnie and your uncle. There are a lot of different relations between all of them. Especially mom, dad, Samantha and Lonnie. The main character in the game is not actually in the game, but the game is about to find out where Sam, the main character is. I think the game is supposed to be romantic, and exciting in the same time, because it is a love story with some twists.
    If you are going to take screen-prints in the game I think that is kind of difficult because if you just do it as normal, you`ll get a picture of your home screen. The gameplay was great, but the graphic was bad sometimes, it had great sound effects which made the game more exciting.
    My experiences with the game was that the game was exciting, but I think you were way too free to go where you wanted, so you could end the game before you ever got a thing from the actual short story. But if you wanted to get the whole short story it could`ve taken hours before you`d end it.    … Expand
  10. maggaMLG
    Jan 28, 2016
    6
    It’s a story about a girl named Katie. This girl lives in a haunted house, she don’t know where why her family is gone.
    It’s June 6th 1995 and Katie just got home from a year in Europe. In this year have the family has moved out to a new house, but her sister wasn’t very interested to move in to this house. When Katie arrives to the house, it was very empty. Nobody was there. Katie is    It’s a story about a girl named Katie. This girl lives in a haunted house, she don’t know where why her family is gone.
    It’s June 6th 1995 and Katie just got home from a year in Europe. In this year have the family has moved out to a new house, but her sister wasn’t very interested to move in to this house. When Katie arrives to the house, it was very empty. Nobody was there. Katie is standing outside of the door with no keys, trying to figure out where the keys are. While you are playing this game you will maybe find out that there may be some lesbian girls in this story. You are going to find a lot of cassettes where Katie are talking about how it goes and other things in her life. Where she has been and what she has done in the last couple of days. There are many different rooms you may have to check out, where you will find other posted notes. You will find many
    The gameplay is kind of boring and the graphics could be better, but the graphics have nothing about the game to. But if you pay attention to the store it will be very interesting. At the start when you are outside the door you will find some posted notes, where you will get some help where you are going to.    … Expand
  11. hhjelmaas
    Jan 28, 2016
    6
    The year is 1995, Katie Greenbriar is 19 years old and she’s home from Europe. She arrives at the house in Portland at 1.15 AM and the rain is pouring. On the door it is a letter from Sam. As she comes home she finds out that nobody is home. Katie walks around the messy house on search for her family she steps over some tracks and letters about her sister Sam. She finds out things nobodyThe year is 1995, Katie Greenbriar is 19 years old and she’s home from Europe. She arrives at the house in Portland at 1.15 AM and the rain is pouring. On the door it is a letter from Sam. As she comes home she finds out that nobody is home. Katie walks around the messy house on search for her family she steps over some tracks and letters about her sister Sam. She finds out things nobody did know about Sam and where she might be. As she study the house more and more she also finds tracks of her family.
    I think the games key message to this game is to be who you are. You should trust yourself and you should not care about what anyone thinks about your but have your own opinions. It’s a lot to learn about this fantastic story.
    I did not see that many symbols in this game, but I did see the Bible which means they are Christians. Later in this game we can see that the parents are hardcore Christians.
    I think it is a weird contact between the people in this game. At the start of the game you will get so much information of some of them. It’s just weird. When you’re getting closer to the end you will understand more..
    The gameplay is good. The setting is easy to understand, and the music is great, so are the sound effects as well. It is best to play with a headset because you will get a total different experience of the game. In my opinion I think the graphics were **** Some places the shadows would be rough and blocky. I could easily glitch trough doors and they were some illogical placements of some of Sam’s letters. But the story in this game is good.
    My judgment of the game is that it is a good game. The story was fantastic but the graphics was the main reason why I did not like it. At the start I absolutely thought that this was an awful bad game, but later when I began to understand more I could not stop playing it.    … Expand
  12. MindSpaz
    Dec 31, 2013
    5
    I'm not sure how to rate this game because I think the way it tells a story is really good, however, I don't think it's 20$ good. There's about 3 hours of gameplay, maybe less, and literally 0 replay value to the game. It's very hard to miss notes because you pretty much have to get them all to complete the game. The story is good, but once again, the game is so short its frustrating. IfI'm not sure how to rate this game because I think the way it tells a story is really good, however, I don't think it's 20$ good. There's about 3 hours of gameplay, maybe less, and literally 0 replay value to the game. It's very hard to miss notes because you pretty much have to get them all to complete the game. The story is good, but once again, the game is so short its frustrating. If the game had some sort of expansion pack or something like that, then I think the game MIGHT get it's value out of it. If this was a 1 dollar game or even a free game, then the score would be a different story. But the fact that the game is so short, and so pricey, I cannot give this game a good score.… Expand
  13. fessisbest
    Sep 7, 2013
    6
    Just when I was getting invested into the story.....it just ends. I leave my pc with my jaw wide open uttering the words "That's it? That's the ending?" The final act of this game leaves you so cold it's terrible.
  14. Lerxst
    Dec 30, 2013
    5
    The gameplay consists of nothing more than picking up and reading items while a narrative tells a story a trite, clichéd story that's ending leaves the player flat with the all too familiar, "That's it?" reaction. It's worth a once-through if you get it for under $5 on a Steam sale, but nothing more. The "professional" critics are doing gamers a disservice on this one with their 9s andThe gameplay consists of nothing more than picking up and reading items while a narrative tells a story a trite, clichéd story that's ending leaves the player flat with the all too familiar, "That's it?" reaction. It's worth a once-through if you get it for under $5 on a Steam sale, but nothing more. The "professional" critics are doing gamers a disservice on this one with their 9s and 10s and GOTY recommendations.… Expand
  15. Daftshadows
    Jan 15, 2015
    7
    Gone home is a first person, interactive game, where you, the main character, searches through the house your younger sister and parents moved into, while you were away traveling. You go through the house and learn the secrets that each family member has. Although there are many different stories the main one you follow, about her younger sister, is the most interesting.

    In gone home    Gone home is a first person, interactive game, where you, the main character, searches through the house your younger sister and parents moved into, while you were away traveling. You go through the house and learn the secrets that each family member has. Although there are many different stories the main one you follow, about her younger sister, is the most interesting.

    In gone home you first find a note your sister (Katie) has left on the front door saying “Please, please don’t go digging around trying to find out where I am.“ Of course you ignore that and enter the house ready to do some of the best snooping possible. As you begin your raid you learn about the family and where they work and some simple things, nothing juicy. Although the game starts off pretty slow you quickly start ripping apart drawers and find some interesting yet confusing photos, articles and notes. You quickly get into the rooms and find out that everyone is being a little bit of snake. If you take the opportunity to sift out every little note, crumpled piece of paper and anything you can read or even just look at the game gets a lot richer.

    The game does a great job of giving you the basic premise of what is going on in each family members life. They leave enough room for interpretation that you can draw your own conclusions with the satisfaction of labeling everyone a snake with significance evidence supporting it. With this being said I would have loved to know what happened to the “Good ol’ Christmas Duck” The house itself gives you a very creepy vibe and adds to the suspense of what will happen next. As the floors creek and your fear has you peaking around every corner the anticipation of a jump-scare enforces the steady pace you should have when playing.

    The game was entertaining enough to play again even after knowing the outcome of all the characters. Also I found that there was always something new each time I went back. I recommend this game for those who love games that have a wonderful story.    … Expand
  16. Jaran
    Dec 6, 2015
    7
    “Gone Home” is a story game that is all about exploring what has happened to your little sister, Samantha Greenbriar. In the game you play as Kaitlin, Sam’s older sister, and you have just returned to an empty house after having spent the last year in Europe.

    The story takes place in USA in 1995, and the Greenbriar family has just moved to a new place. Sam is the main character in the    “Gone Home” is a story game that is all about exploring what has happened to your little sister, Samantha Greenbriar. In the game you play as Kaitlin, Sam’s older sister, and you have just returned to an empty house after having spent the last year in Europe.

    The story takes place in USA in 1995, and the Greenbriar family has just moved to a new place. Sam is the main character in the game, and as Kaitlin you discover what has happened her while you’ve been away. You explore the house and find notes, letters, pictures and other objects that give you information about Sam and your parents. Picking up certain items will also trigger Sam’s journals. In her journals, she talks about what has happened to her at school, and with her parents and friends. Other items you find, for example keys, can open up new areas in the house to explore.

    While you play as Kaitlin you have a first-person view, and you can examine items closer by picking them up. There aren’t any specific objects in “Gone Home” and you are free to explore the game by yourself. The graphics in the game are good, and the background sound of lightning and thunder creates a dreary atmosphere.
    The story stands out compared to other games I’ve played, because you can move around freely and decide for yourself what you want to explore. The game doesn’t tell you what to do, unlike games like Assassins Creed where you have to complete missions to progress with the story. This aspect of “Gone Home” makes it more interesting and enjoyable to play.

    Personally, I think the game was decent because it felt like I was exploring the story, and not being told a story. The gameplay got a little repetitive after a while, because there wasn’t much more to do besides reading letters and notes, and listening to Sam’s journals. However, exploring and finding clues about Sam, kept the game interesting. Though gameplay in itself could get tiresome, the story was so engaging that you wanted to keep exploring.

    “Gone Home” isn’t a typical story game, and I it’s really worth trying out if you like exploration games.    … Expand
  17. azadi
    Nov 5, 2013
    5
    I want to start out by saying I enjoy the gameplay elements of this game and want to see it used in a horror game. But the story is poor and mediocre. The only reason the story is praised is because of the gay elements but it nothing more then a cliched, teenage angst story made to look like could have horror elements.
  18. Zodmo
    Dec 18, 2013
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I am an older game player (62). I think this game is average in just about every way: graphics, sound, story line. Perhaps the thing that bothers me most is the ending. I think the fact that our young friend decided to be a runaway is disconcerting. Kids that age have all sorts of strange ideas and drives. This game seems to laud very questionable behavior. Let's face it: she has no money, and no real education. She is taking off with her friend to a life that will almost certainly be a miserable one, once the initial thrill wears off. I just to heck that this games does not encourage anyone else to do this sort of thing.… Expand
  19. Discordy
    Sep 27, 2013
    7
    A unique experience. Past games taught me to be afraid of dark, empty houses, and at first I was expecting monsters to jump at me from around the corners. By the end of the first half-hour, though, it's clear that this is about exploration and story, told through all mediums: text, audio, and graphical notes.

    It's a shame the story wasn't better...
  20. LilD
    Nov 1, 2013
    6
    Let’s begin by confirming what others have been saying that there is no way this game is a 87. Paying $20 for a few hours of gameplay inherenently made me feel cheated. There is really no replay value.
    When you first get dropped off and realize that something is not quite right. You get the sense that you’re in for a treat and the game will be every bit as good as the critic scores    Let’s begin by confirming what others have been saying that there is no way this game is a 87. Paying $20 for a few hours of gameplay inherenently made me feel cheated. There is really no replay value.
    When you first get dropped off and realize that something is not quite right. You get the sense that you’re in for a treat and the game will be every bit as good as the critic scores suggest. Unfortunately, the “twist” comes somewhat early, which really kills the mystery to the game. That feeling of unknowing mystery from the beginning quickly dissipates. There are a few times where you think that the game could reintroduce a sense of mystery, but those themes lead to nothing and feel like immensely missed opportunities. Luckily, The atmosphere at has a twinge of creepiness that just goes along with being in a mansion by yourself. It never really amounts to anything. Additionally, the gameplay isn’t too varied. Pretty much all clues are in the form of scattered documents. I found it too often that pages 1, 2, 3, 4 of one document are at completely different corners of the house. It really does feel like a contrived bread crumb for you to follow. The game is a great concept that I hope will be expounded (to a much greater extent) into the future. While there are a few surprises, this game could have been so much more and it is the first feeling I got when I had completed the game.    … Expand
  21. M0vingon
    Sep 7, 2013
    6
    Don't buy into the hype, but don't fall for the extreme negativism either. I bought this game as a result of the reviews. To me it doesn't earn a 10 or anything above a 6.
    The amount of game play to complete does not, IMO, warrant a $19.99 price tag. Unlike other users, I had no issues with glitches or the functionality of the game.
    The storyline was engaging enough to keep me playing    Don't buy into the hype, but don't fall for the extreme negativism either. I bought this game as a result of the reviews. To me it doesn't earn a 10 or anything above a 6.
    The amount of game play to complete does not, IMO, warrant a $19.99 price tag. Unlike other users, I had no issues with glitches or the functionality of the game.
    The storyline was engaging enough to keep me playing (which is saying something), but the end was sadly predictable. I found myself waiting for something startling to happen, but it didn't. Frankly, short was good considering I was tired of following the predictable plot line.
    The ability to interact with objects was unnecessarily overdone. There were far too many empty drawers to open, tissue boxes and 3-ring binders to pick up- all with no relevance to the game. And no, I don't care about the nutritional information on the cans of cola strewn about the mansion.
    Props to the devs for the retro theme. I had particular fun with the 3D print in Sam's room as a throwback to the '90s.
    I would like to have seen the parents' individual storylines fleshed out much more.
    Overall, I'm giving it a 6, because I feel that this genre of game has massive potential (think Zork from the '80s), but it is also extremely difficult to do well. It is easier to captivate with big baddies and shiny loot than to engage the player with simple environments and story driven plots. Gone Home had me engaged from the beginning to end, but ultimately I may not have had the patience for it to go on much longer as it is written. For the price, I am looking for better.    … Expand
  22. epaga
    Feb 1, 2014
    5
    I finished the game in 2.5 hours and was really disappointed. The storyline kept you interested the whole time, and the 90s memorabilia lying around the house was fun, but that was about it. Other than that it was simply entering rooms, switching on lights, and listening to emotional voiceovers that walked you through a story worthy of Dawson's Creek. Really too bad because with a betterI finished the game in 2.5 hours and was really disappointed. The storyline kept you interested the whole time, and the 90s memorabilia lying around the house was fun, but that was about it. Other than that it was simply entering rooms, switching on lights, and listening to emotional voiceovers that walked you through a story worthy of Dawson's Creek. Really too bad because with a better story the medium would have made for a simply AWESOME game. This way: meh.… Expand
  23. omniscient
    Dec 27, 2013
    5
    There isn't much to a game with edgy storytelling if there isn't much of a story to tell. Gone Home excels in pushing the boundaries of storytelling but suffers as the story it's trying to tell is bland and banal.
  24. conserd
    Sep 17, 2013
    5
    I am not totally against story based games as the walking dead was excellent but gone home is horrible bad graphics which is important for atmosphere in these types of games all you do is collect notes with a forgettable story and all the blind thick skulled critics gave it a 10/10 $20.00 is $20.00 too much.
  25. mlumpz
    Aug 17, 2013
    6
    This game was interesting, as far as game "play" and storyline. However, is it short, short, short. I played through the ENTIRE game in about 2 hours. A little disappointing for the price.
  26. Sroty
    Dec 27, 2013
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Strange game. Word "game" is too enough for this. Interactive story or maybe interactive book, but not the game. Gone home has no interaction, no puzzles (except key hunting) but almost every time you're reading scraps of leters, opening drawers and turnings lights, investigating where your family is and what happend. That is the probably the most interesting thing in the game. The end came fast, all the time I expected some story twist but didnt come.… Expand
  27. GenuineOpinion
    Jul 11, 2014
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Plain and simple, it's an interactive story. I'm not knockin' it for that. It's just that.....
    ....that ending was absolutely ridiculous! I cracked up so hard. To summarize, the main character's little sister has a lesbian love affair, and their Ouija board tells them to run off together, and the parents are gone looking for them. That's why you come home to an empty house, lol!    … Expand
  28. fartheststar
    Dec 17, 2014
    7
    I enjoyed the game alot. If you like just exploring a world, and letting the world tell its story, then you should like this game. There's also more going on than the main storyline if you let yourself soak in the story. It's a story about family and family history. There's a lot been written, but I found myself engaged the entire way through, and felt the pacing and development were spotI enjoyed the game alot. If you like just exploring a world, and letting the world tell its story, then you should like this game. There's also more going on than the main storyline if you let yourself soak in the story. It's a story about family and family history. There's a lot been written, but I found myself engaged the entire way through, and felt the pacing and development were spot on.

    It's not a scary game. I don't like scary/tense games. This is not like that. Don't let concerns like that bother you. It's atmospheric - stormy night, big empty old unfamiliar house... but nothing there is gonna eat you!

    Other games that might have similar gameplay experience. Dear Esther (I liked Gone Home better than Dear Esther) and perhaps Lifeless Planet (which I really enjoyed). To The Moon is probably a similar experience (but different art aesthetic.)

    If this sounds the least bit interesting, I suggest you give it a try. I'm glad I played    … Expand
  29. linkenski
    Sep 3, 2013
    6
    First of all, this is a "reactive" review, and i'll explain what I mean shortly. After seeing so high praise for this game, I decided it was time to play it myself. Is 1 out of 10 justified..? No but giving this a 10 out of 10 is just as bad.

    This game is very interesting and I think a lot of people hating it, are not admitting they actually liked playing it, because arguably this is a    First of all, this is a "reactive" review, and i'll explain what I mean shortly. After seeing so high praise for this game, I decided it was time to play it myself. Is 1 out of 10 justified..? No but giving this a 10 out of 10 is just as bad.

    This game is very interesting and I think a lot of people hating it, are not admitting they actually liked playing it, because arguably this is a very enjoyable game if you like story-focused games. The problem however, is that when everything in Gone Home is said and done, you'll leave house of the Greenbriar family with a feeling of emptiness. It offers what ends up being a very cut and dry, completely ordinary and nowhere near thought-provoking story.

    If someone spoiled the story for you, you've already heard what there is to experience in this game. It offers nothing more and for a 1-3 hour game I don't think the price-point it launched with was justified.

    Don't let this game fool you. It's not deeper than it seems. There is nothing to learn from this game aside from observing the way it tells its story. That's the true meal of Gone Home. It has a lot of great ideas to tell its story, because it uses red herrings as a means to distract the player from the main story and in the middle of the game the player might be unsure of whether it's actually a tragic tale or just an ordinary day for the protagonist.

    I think all the 2s out of 10s this game is getting by the user base is a reaction on all the praise it gets from the bigger video-game reviewers. There's nothing particularly special about the story in this game, and in the end it feels like you've been cheated.

    I'm letting Fullbright off the hook with my review. It was interesting to play Gone Home, and I enjoyed it a lot. But when I finally pieced everything together I realised I might actually have been wasting my time. This is a definitive "hipster-game"    … Expand
  30. frankielee
    Jan 4, 2016
    6
    it was a little bit of a dissapointment for the game was praised a lot and i had high expectations. it is very short and when you finish the game you see that there is no mystery element. although through the gameplay, there is some. i dont know why they placed the "mysterious" objects in the house and the weird previous owner in the game because they have no function at all.
  31. AhmadAlsumain
    Oct 2, 2013
    5
    I bought this game because the very good reviews all around the Internet, I was so hyped as I love this kind of games which are very story (and narrative driven). I got the game, and it is by far one of the worst games I've ever played. It does not worth my time and money.

    Let's start with the good first. I loved the first 30 minutes of the game. It was very thrilling and well    I bought this game because the very good reviews all around the Internet, I was so hyped as I love this kind of games which are very story (and narrative driven). I got the game, and it is by far one of the worst games I've ever played. It does not worth my time and money.

    Let's start with the good first. I loved the first 30 minutes of the game. It was very thrilling and well narrative. Reading documents and trying to analyze the mystery was fun at first. But here is the real problem, the game is just too short. When I say too short I mean really really short. It took me about two hours to go through everything on the game to finish it. Which is why this game does not worth the price tag 20$, not even half of the price. My second problem with the game is the story. I said I loved the atmosphere and the narrative, but when it comes to the story, I did not like it at all. I do not want to spoil anything, but the story simply bad.

    At the end, I regret every second playing the game. I really thought I might have fun with it. I was so looking forward to spend a good night with the game, but it turns out the game does not worth my time     … Expand
  32. Caribou
    Aug 30, 2013
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. As a game, or explorable, interactive environment if the word "game" doesn't quite fit, Gone Home seems to work hard to tell a story, use a voice, that is not commonly, if ever, heard in games. There are laudable intentions and good ideas here, but, for all the critical praise it has been given, even if you enjoy or appreciate some or all elements, it's not something that is without flaw or fault. No creative endeavour ever is.

    So, under the hyperbole, what is Gone Home? It's an interesting and valid way to tell the story of a white teenager, Sam Greenbriar, in her own voice, expressing her experiences and sexual identity. The player as her older sister, Katie, gets to discover not just what has been happening in Sam's life during twelve months away in Europe, but also what has been happening in the lives of Terry and Jan, their parents.

    It's a great premise; if you have the opportunity to find out about the details and secrets of the people closest to you, do you actually want to know what you discover about them? This is where Gone Home is at its strongest. It treats most of the characters as complex, realistic people and regardless of whether you like or empathise with them personally, you get to know them through the material aspects that surround them.

    Unfortunately, it can also highlight the weakness of narrative technique. Sam's story and personality dominates with the voice over work (although the English-speaking voice actress is good) to the point that it leaves the other characters feeling a bit flatter and lacking in dimension by comparison. Although it is definitely Sam's story it doesn't have to be told to the detriment of an ensemble cast.

    There's also story pacing problems and this is where the technical limitations, like re-use of assets, can become noticeable. It's an understandable problem, but when you're beginning to notice that there seem to be a lot of the same pizza boxes, piles of scrap paper and envelopes or that Jan seems to really, really love the same three types of house plant, it's rather like when your attention is on the over-acting extras in the background of a film than the scene that is happening with the actors in the foreground. The scene becomes broken.

    One of my biggest issues with the game is the misdirection of the 'haunted house' themes that play out. There's a couple of jump scares and a consistently heightened atmosphere for the player, but if you're a fan of supernatural horror it's probably going to be a disappointment at the lack of pay-off you receive and that the game also consistently points out that the supernatural elements all have completely logical and in-game context reasons for happening.

    If you're not a fan and don't buy into the sometimes creaky deployment (e.g the looping lightning storm that stays at the same exact intensity no matter how long you take to reach the end of the game or where you are in the house) then it can seem an unnecessary use of tropes. It doesn't add anything in particular to the story that couldn't have been included by different means. The worst part of its use has to be with how it factors into Terry Greenbriar's backstory.

    This is the literal 'dark secret in the basement' which the player has to mentally piece together with evidence found elsewhere in the house. It's a piece of stereotypical genre writing that portrays something that absolutely doesn't need a re-telling for the nth time in this way, either through the imagery used or the basic awfulness of who it is that has the greater role in revealing it to the player. The Fullbright Company, in this case, you can do better, much better.

    Overall, it's a take on the exploration and discovery experience that is very much needed and has some good ideas and execution, if bound by technical limitations. If it's going to come down to the handing out of laurels; I'd say this is a company to watch from this point on rather than piling fulsome praise on what is a first full game that has its own particular growing pains.    … Expand
  33. Mariokata
    Nov 30, 2013
    6
    I DON’T RECOMMEND THIS GAME AT FULL PRICE

    BUY ONLY AT 75% OFF. Gone home is a first person exploration game. Well maybe it’s not a game but more of an experience. There are no puzzles, no challenge and nothing to put your game skills to test here. This “game” is all about exploring a house, looking at items and basically learning more about the people who live in the house and their    I DON’T RECOMMEND THIS GAME AT FULL PRICE

    BUY ONLY AT 75% OFF.

    Gone home is a first person exploration game. Well maybe it’s not a game but more of an experience. There are no puzzles, no challenge and nothing to put your game skills to test here. This “game” is all about exploring a house, looking at items and basically learning more about the people who live in the house and their background. Without spoiling the story because this is the meat” of the game I will have to say that it tries to create an emotional connection with the user but the problem here is that THIS connection is hard to be established on all people who play the game and it depends on their own norms/values. That is also the reason that some people like the game and others dont. Furthermore this game is full of Easter eggs. If you were born in the 80’s just like me you will find a lot of references here. Some items will bring back memories from your childhood. The “game” is all about creating nostalgia but nonetheless it covers a very sensitive topic.

    Personally the story for ME was not very touching and to tell the truth I enjoyed exploring the house and finding those 80’s and early 90’s easter eggs more. The main story was average and predictable to say the least.

    Pros: beautiful environment that looks and feels like a real house, lots of Easter eggs, 80’s nostalgia is everywhere, good voice work, the soundtrack is excellent and the music fits with the tone of the game

    Cons: main story it’s predictable and boring, there is no real gameplay here, no replayability, the game is only 2 hours long and it’s also very expensive for its duration.

    FINAL SCORE: 6.5/10    … Expand
  34. chellboy
    Sep 22, 2013
    6
    This "game" is hard to rate. Because although it fits the definition of a game, it isnt really. Its more of an interactive book played out through a house. Its only 2 hours but its meant to immerse you and learn the family only through look around the house. The problem is, it doesnt even do that very well. I like the story and the ending but it presence itself in a weird way. It reads youThis "game" is hard to rate. Because although it fits the definition of a game, it isnt really. Its more of an interactive book played out through a house. Its only 2 hours but its meant to immerse you and learn the family only through look around the house. The problem is, it doesnt even do that very well. I like the story and the ending but it presence itself in a weird way. It reads you journal entries from absolutely nowhere, serious where did it come from? There a notes scattered which are pretty interesting but there just isnt enough of them and they are so easy to find. Not to mention they are place in very stupid locations. Such as Sam's private diary being in Kat's room on a bedside table. The story about the haunted house is totally underdeveloped and leads to nothing.

    The house is very interesting and well designed for most of the time. I actually really enjoyed myself and the ending warmed my heart, but it was afterwards I realised the faults. Its fun just unfinished and underdone. Add more notes and make it longer and this would be with the absolutely ridiculous price. This game should not have been worth more than $5.    … Expand
  35. ShalashaskaJC
    Sep 9, 2013
    6
    It's just not my adventure. The love story was nice, and it looked fairly good, but it's lacking substance for the price. This should be a $10.00 USD game for the two hours it took to complete it. I liked it, yet it needs another year of making it into a full game.
  36. Reace
    Nov 10, 2013
    6
    Pretend yourself in a situation where you are left to be alone at your friend's house and they gave permission to "Do whatever you want, anything at all" and you thought of exploring the house. While you are at it, will you get disturbances like in horror movies? Find a secret passageway that leads you to new chain of adventures and secrets? Discover the mysteries of the family of yourPretend yourself in a situation where you are left to be alone at your friend's house and they gave permission to "Do whatever you want, anything at all" and you thought of exploring the house. While you are at it, will you get disturbances like in horror movies? Find a secret passageway that leads you to new chain of adventures and secrets? Discover the mysteries of the family of your friends that can be life changing to yourself?

    None whatsoever. and that is exactly what Gone Home is. a realistic own home exploration game that only focus on telling you family stories on top of putting nostalgic items from the 90 's for display.

    For myself, the main story are not as interesting. In fact, it gets predictable the further you go so there's not much surprises. Game-wise, it's very casual which could easily bore you. If you care about the game play, and storyline means nothing much to you, I won't suggest this game.

    I like the game as it is, but I'm not sure I enjoy it enough.    … Expand
  37. Murther
    Dec 2, 2013
    6
    I liked this game for the most part. It makes you piece together the story yourself, through searching your house and discovering clues as to where your sister and parents have gone. It's a form of storytelling that I think should be in more games. I thought the story was superb... until I got to the end. I left my ninety minute experience angry and disappointed, because this game tricksI liked this game for the most part. It makes you piece together the story yourself, through searching your house and discovering clues as to where your sister and parents have gone. It's a form of storytelling that I think should be in more games. I thought the story was superb... until I got to the end. I left my ninety minute experience angry and disappointed, because this game tricks you into believing something interesting is going on... But it's not... seriously at the end it was a huge let down, and the game tricks you like this on purpose. It's also too expensive, don't pay more than a couple of dollars for this game it's way too short.… Expand
  38. homosaur
    Dec 12, 2013
    6
    I agree with most of the people on here that say Gone Home is conceptually brilliant and essential, and I also agree with those that think the story is somewhat bland. I appreciate the unique perspective, and the game really drips with nostalgia for the 1990's Portland underground. It really does feel like it really understands time and place. However, there's actually little story, it'sI agree with most of the people on here that say Gone Home is conceptually brilliant and essential, and I also agree with those that think the story is somewhat bland. I appreciate the unique perspective, and the game really drips with nostalgia for the 1990's Portland underground. It really does feel like it really understands time and place. However, there's actually little story, it's more of a short interactive fiction work.

    It's also too expensive. If I had paid $20 for this like some on here, I'd be furious with the length and lack of interaction. At $10 it's still a bit pricey. I'm not sure if the high cost is due to a custom engine, but if that's the case, they should have likely got something off the shelf and made the game cheaper. Unless you can get this for $10 or less, I unfortunately cannot recommend it despite the fact that it's something everyone should play once.    … Expand
  39. didthisforclass
    Dec 15, 2014
    7
    Gone Home is a game created by the upstart Fullbright Company, a newcomer to the gaming community made up of former BioShock employees. It is as much an interactive story as it is a video game, and is a new experience in first person gaming.
    Since 2012, the year Gone Home was released, it has garnered positive reviews in the gaming world and even won a few awards, most recently the 2014    Gone Home is a game created by the upstart Fullbright Company, a newcomer to the gaming community made up of former BioShock employees. It is as much an interactive story as it is a video game, and is a new experience in first person gaming.
    Since 2012, the year Gone Home was released, it has garnered positive reviews in the gaming world and even won a few awards, most recently the 2014 BAFTA Games Award for Debut Game. The story focuses on a rainy night in June 1995, when Kaitlin Greenbrier arrives home from a year backpacking through Europe to find a new house all moved into but with no one in it. The only clue you begin with is a note on the door from her sister Sam, telling Katie not to go looking for her.
    The game then becomes what you make of it, as you are free to explore the house at your liberty. The game does have a plot line, but following the story is contingent on you finding the clues found around the household. The story does take shape in the form of Sam’s journal entries, which can be found by interacting with the many objects strewn about the house. The house is full of mysteries, and it is up to you to unlock them.
    What I really enjoyed about the game was the fact that you control what you find and when you find it. You find things in no particular order, and it forces you to formulate the story on your own. While rummaging around the house, you find many old family heirlooms, you uncover family secrets and you find out who the family is. What really brings you into the story is the familiarity of what you find in the house and how it can relate to your own family.
    I would say the graphics of the game are more than decent, even good, yet the lighting of the game is poor in some respects. It is used effectively to convey certain tones, but it is really irritating to not be able to see what is around you. You are blind to many things in this game, in more respects than just visually.
    The game is set in 1995, which may not seem like an important fact, but it provides the groundwork for Gone Home. It provides the perfect chronological setting for Katie to be out of the loop in terms of her family matters, and allows the whole game to exist. The social movement of that time and other factors from the mid 90’s allow the narrative of the game to exist as it is and become what it does.
    Why would you want to play this game you may ask? If I had to pick a singular reason, it would be that the story will captivate you and make you want to play and finish the game. It is less of a game then an interactive story, but is that not what video games are? I find that you either really enjoy Gone Home or not at all, and I greatly enjoyed it. So if you have a few hours to kill, open up your computer and play it, you might enjoy it.    … Expand
  40. melia
    Dec 15, 2014
    7
    Gone Home is a first-person, single player, point and click, search and discover game where the player explores a storyline and eventually solves a mystery. The player enters the game, or interactive story, in the year 1995, from the narrative point of view of Katie Greenbriar, a 21-year-old who has just arrived back to Portland, Oregon from a backpacking trip in Europe, only to discoverGone Home is a first-person, single player, point and click, search and discover game where the player explores a storyline and eventually solves a mystery. The player enters the game, or interactive story, in the year 1995, from the narrative point of view of Katie Greenbriar, a 21-year-old who has just arrived back to Portland, Oregon from a backpacking trip in Europe, only to discover that her family appears to be missing from their gloomy, newly inherited mansion. Finding nobody home, it is up to Katie to discover what has transpired over the last year. The player begins the task of piecing together clues which objects around the mansion reveal. Some surprising details reveal the main plot while others simply enrich the background stories of the characters’ pasts and their intentions for the future.

    Gone Home was developed in 2013 by The Fullbright Company, which is owned and operated by three developers who had previously worked on a downloadable content expansion pack for BioShock Infinite owned by 2K, a big budget gaming developer. Such gaming developers typically produce games that are online multiplayer, involving leaderboards, high quality graphics, and which usually have a first-person shooter aspect to them. Gone Home is a completely different type of game where the focus is on a memorable storyline and the objective is to explore the lives and actions of the story’s characters to the point where you reach the conclusion of the story and thus the end of the game.

    The gameplay in Gone Home consists of self-determined exploration of different rooms where, for example, the gamer examines notes, objects, and audio journals spoken in the voice of Katie’s sister, Sam. Uncovering these well-thought-out details was the most captivating part of the whole game and did peek my curiosity as to what they would reveal about the story. Simulated ambient noises and audio effects were well done and professionally produced creating a realistic environment.

    A drawback and ultimate frustration about the gameplay was the complete focus on the steps of point, click and examine in order to make discoveries and keep the game going. There was a monotony to the clicking of a mouse in order to reveal the information the objects contained. The graphics fairly were fairly simple when compared with the photorealistic graphics of other games today, but it is what to expect from an indie game. Another downside for me was the fact that my actions did not determine any different outcome to the story, rather I was only making discoveries. The fact that the game has an ending that takes roughly two-hours to complete does not lend itself to being a good value for $20, especially as it has little to no replay value. On a final note, I had been hoping the story was going to make a turn into the occult or supernatural genre, and had thought that this was a possibility based on the creators’ past involvement with such genres in BioShock.

    Finally, I would give Gone Home a 7 out of 10 and would recommend it if you are looking for an interesting story exploration game, otherwise the gameplay format could leave you disappointed.    … Expand
  41. ChefenOSabo
    Dec 3, 2015
    5
    Gone Home. The game that was a massive hit amongst reviewers. People everywhere praised it for Its great story. We don’t agree. Because the “game” sucks. Don’t get me wrong, It’s a great interactive novel, just not a game.

    Gone Home is made by The Fullbright Company and it was released in 2013. The story Is about a girl named Katie that comes home from a year abroad only to find that    Gone Home. The game that was a massive hit amongst reviewers. People everywhere praised it for Its great story. We don’t agree. Because the “game” sucks. Don’t get me wrong, It’s a great interactive novel, just not a game.

    Gone Home is made by The Fullbright Company and it was released in 2013. The story Is about a girl named Katie that comes home from a year abroad only to find that her house is empty and her family is gone. You run around in the house and look for different objects and clues to find out what could have happened. While playing you find out more about her family, for example her parents names, where they work and stuff like that. You also find different pieces of her sisters journal, which is a huge part of the game. You can’t really tell anything more about the story because then you’d be spoiling it so I’ll refrain from it. All i can say is that the story is very captivating. The atmosphere is according to us, the strongest part about the game. It’s actually really spooky and you always expect a zombie or a monster to pop out and kill you but it never happens. You wait and wait for some sort of climax but it never occurs. They play on horror games cliché functions that just because that it’s a dark room it means that something will be there. You’re always on edge. However it also kind of backfires since after you’ve searched about 5 or more rooms you realise that nothing’s there so you just straight out yolo it and have no fear. However, It lacks simple game mechanics such as jumping, sprinting or some sort of narrative which moves the game forward. This “game” lets you discover the story as you go, putting the pieces of the story together on your own. It’s like a book, except the pages are scattered all around the place so you’re trying to put the pieces back into place so you can absorb it all. The worst part is that this game is about 2 hours long, you could even complete it in 20 minutes if you’d want to! That’s why in our opinion this game is more like a book you can explore. It emphasizes the story, everything else comes in second hand. The story is great but the game is pretty boring.

    If you’re looking for an interactive novel with great story, pick this up now since it’s a great example of this type of genre. However if you were looking for a fun game that you could kill some time with this is not for you.    … Expand
  42. Pesper
    Dec 7, 2015
    6
    I’ve played the Gone Home, which is a very story based game where you play as the character Kaitlin who recently came home from a year of studying in Europe. You get to this new house where the family moved in too when Katie went traveling, but you quickly notice that there is no one home and then you find clues to solve the mystery by Kaitlins sister Samantha and i will not tell you moreI’ve played the Gone Home, which is a very story based game where you play as the character Kaitlin who recently came home from a year of studying in Europe. You get to this new house where the family moved in too when Katie went traveling, but you quickly notice that there is no one home and then you find clues to solve the mystery by Kaitlins sister Samantha and i will not tell you more since I’ll spoil too much.

    This is a new type of game for me so it was very interesting and when all games you played have been spooky or action packed you kind of go into the game just waiting for something scary or you needing to run away from something. I’m not going to tell you if i got scared or not because i guess some of you will get the same feel. To be honest it’s not my kind of game, maybe it is because I’m mind is damaged because of all the previous action games I played. I feel like it’s too slow and lacking interaction with things in the house, I want more of a challenge when I play video games.

    When i played this game I did it as a school project, which I feel like it made me enjoy it a lot more than I would if i’d play it on my free time. So as a game to play to learn I feel like it’s really good, because it’s an alternative to reading (in my opinion) boring books and watching a movie which often is not my kind of movie since a teacher with different taste in movies did choose the movie. By the way in Sweden we often study at least 13 years and it’s refreshing playing a game instead of all the boring books and movies.

    So I think it’s a really good alternative to play for school projects, but otherwise it’s not my kind of game but i would lie if i wouldn’t say that really well done and an interesting plot.    … Expand
  43. tjabba
    Dec 7, 2015
    5
    Gone Home is an exploration game set in a traditional american home in the year of 1995. We get to play as the character Katie, who comes home after a year long trip in Europe and finds her new family home abandon. We as the players then need to find out what happened to the family by picking up and reading notes made by our little sister Sam and observing our environment throughout.Gone Home is an exploration game set in a traditional american home in the year of 1995. We get to play as the character Katie, who comes home after a year long trip in Europe and finds her new family home abandon. We as the players then need to find out what happened to the family by picking up and reading notes made by our little sister Sam and observing our environment throughout.

    Since I’m more for the classical Nintendo games I’ve had a hard time playing this. I thought it was boring since nothing really happened. If this wasn’t for a school project I would not have spend my time on this game since it wasn’t filled with anything special. As said, you just search around the house to get clues on what happened to the family. But also it was a good game considering the budget the creators had.

    Gone home was a game I’ve heard about before and actually was kind of interested in. I went into the game with quite mixed expectations not really knowing what I was going to get except that it was a mysterious indie game that has earned quite a lot of critical acclaim.

    The first hour of the game delivered a fresh introduction and built up a suspenseful and mysterious vibe and had a very atmospheric tone throughout. Going through all drawers and wardrobes and exploring all the rooms floor to floor was something I’m not used to. I more than often play more fps games or Rpg’s so it felt fresh actually playing a game where using a weapon is not an option and it was quite nice. However after a while It gets kind of boring to be honest. Because then you are just revisiting the same places to find more notes and keys that will eventually lead you till the end, which is tiresome for me. Since it is a Indie game the room more often contain the same furniture and overall color scheme so it just doesn’t feel that engaging going through the rooms once more, it gets quite repetitive.

    My biggest gripe with this game is that it doesn’t really have the gameplay to keep me interested till the end. I found myself being quite frustrated the last 20 minutes just rushing my way through to just get to the end. Considering the game has a length of approx 2 hours that’s not a good sign. And some people seem to say that the reason for the game not having a real gameplay side of it is because it needs to keep its concentration on the story. But I feel there have been plenty of games who has succeeded with delivering serious gameplay with a well written story ( example would be Bioshock which the developers worked on before this). I understand that they’re a small team of workers on the project so they don’t have the same opportunities as a big developer with hundreds, however I still believe a little more in depth gameplay is needed. In the end I still think it is a solid game with an intriguing and mysterious story that unfolds. Sadly the gameplay and interaction itself is lackluster and not as good as needed for a replay.    … Expand
  44. stinabaum
    Dec 7, 2015
    6
    Gone home is a adventure game that takes place 1995 in Arbor Hill in Boon County. Katie Greenbriar has been away for a year. When she gets back she expecting her family to be home, but they are not. She gets curious and want to know what’s been happening. She searching for clues and the first thing she found was a note on the door. The note was written by Sam, her sister, which says thatGone home is a adventure game that takes place 1995 in Arbor Hill in Boon County. Katie Greenbriar has been away for a year. When she gets back she expecting her family to be home, but they are not. She gets curious and want to know what’s been happening. She searching for clues and the first thing she found was a note on the door. The note was written by Sam, her sister, which says that she is going away for a while but not where or for how long. Katie goes in and searching for clues in every corner in the house. She found different clues that says different things so that she has to puzzle the links together to find her family. It is Katie´s younger sister Samantha who is pulling you through the story but you’re playing as Katie.

    Gone home is a well made non-violent game with a lot of emotions. The story drags you in the game into the mystery story. It is a game you really get to know the players deepness. Gone Home is a game that really proves that you don’t have to kill people to keep things interesting. The story is well written and feels real and like someone had experience and represent the story.    … Expand
  45. SokkorNinja420
    Jan 27, 2016
    6
    The game is based in year 1995 in Portland Oregon and the person you are controlling is named Katlin Greenbriar. The story behind the game is to find out what happened to your family because they moved away to another place, and especially her sister Sam (Samantha). It is up to you to find out by picking up key elements of objects and find the story behind it. The atmosphere in the game isThe game is based in year 1995 in Portland Oregon and the person you are controlling is named Katlin Greenbriar. The story behind the game is to find out what happened to your family because they moved away to another place, and especially her sister Sam (Samantha). It is up to you to find out by picking up key elements of objects and find the story behind it. The atmosphere in the game is very dark and scary in somewhat areas of the house.
    I still do not know what the People that made the game of the game want us to think, but in my opinion, I think that the People that made the game want us to tell that anyone can turn out to be like her sister. I am not going to spoil anything for you so I would not say anything in deep detail about that subject.
    The game has one timeline, but the game has a sort of a ‘flashback’ so the story about a particular object that the main character have. Then occasionally you will hear her telling her story.
    The game has some religious symbols like bible and other Christian symbols, but there will be many Satanist symbols here and there, and a weedgee board and other such stuff.
    The main character talks many different conflicts they had in school and what the family thinks about gay folks. Supposedly because the family is very Christian.
    The character is very important since she’ll ramble much about the different history and how they were when they was kids and all other histories.
    The game is an adventure horror kind of a game because of the dark turns about religion and what not while you are roaming the house to find all the bits and pieces.
    The photos showed how the family and the other members of the game looks like and the music tells us what kind of a person the different characters are. By listening to the songs Samantha likes to listen too, got me thinking that she is definitely not a Christian.
    The game was an fps type horror adventure game.
    My opinion on the game is, I didn’t like the game at all sadly. Why? Because it got very repetitive when I had to pick up and throw millions of objects, trying to find an object that starts her to tell me a story. Nevertheless, in the end of all picking and throwing objects, I did not care what story she’ll tell. It might be just be I, don’t forget that it is just my opinion. However, don’t get me wrong, it is still a good game in it unique way. Its just that I like my games to be extra shooting and you know, fun…    … Expand
  46. aurorahoem
    Jan 28, 2016
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The game is about a girl named Kaitlin Greenbriar. She is 19 years old, and has been traveling around in Europe for one year. Her family has been moving to a new house. But when she is coming home a night in 1994 no one is home. Her sister Sam has left behind a note… “Don’t come and look after me”. Sam is the principal, and Kaitlin is looking around in the house for answers. When you are going around in the house as Kaitlin Greenbriar you are getting information about her family and the house. The game is about to understand the story and try to figure out where Sam is. The surroundings are dark and gloomy.

    The main message is that it wasn't easy to be lesbian in 1994. Not everyone accept being gay.

    It is different sounds in the game. You can often hear that Sam is talking about things and giving information when Kaitlin for instance are taking up an object. It is thunder and rain in the background. It was a bit hard to steer Kaitlin especially when you not are a gamer. It was difficult to walk and steer the direction.

    I think that the game is a bit boring. You are just walking around in the house and are doing the same thing over and over again. It was funny in the beginning , but i think we played the game to long. It was a very good story in the game, but i wanted the game to be a jump scare game.

    My experience of the game was that it was a bit hard to concentrate when you did not sit in a dark room alone with headphones. I think that i would have another experience then. I have splitted meanings about the game. It was a very good story, but it was a bit boring to. It should be some task in the game. The good thing with the game was that it was chronological.    … Expand
  47. ellabergemohr
    Jan 28, 2016
    6
    Game review

    The game is about a girl called kaitlin, she’s 19 years old and she’s been in Europe for one year. When she’s gets Home, her family is gone. Where are they? Kaitlin finds notes from her sister, sam. Sam is actually the avatar. Sam has wrote a diary. It's about her life in the new house and her love story. Is sam streight? Is the house safe? This game can be extremely scary    Game review

    The game is about a girl called kaitlin, she’s 19 years old and she’s been in Europe for one year. When she’s gets Home, her family is gone. Where are they? Kaitlin finds notes from her sister, sam. Sam is actually the avatar.
    Sam has wrote a diary. It's about her life in the new house and her love story. Is sam streight? Is the house safe?
    This game can be extremely scary if you think that you're in the game. that you're the one who's looking for you're family in a pretty old house. and not anoth with that. the weather outside is awful. It's raining, thunder and lightning. that just make everything much worse.
    The game has a main message. In this case i think the main message in this game is the love story with lonnie and sam. It's not against the law to be gay.
    The way this story is produced on is chronological.
    Actually i dont think its symbols in this game. Not some pretty important ones.
    In this game there is a gay couple. it's a mom, a dad, a sister and a good friend of sam, called lonnie. they are all different, as anyone else in this world. the only thing that many people seem to think its wierd, is that there is a gay couple in this story of a game.
    The main character, kaitlin have a good, but difficult task. Her task is to find out where her family is. While walking around in the house she's finding some notes. The notes is pretty good help in this situation. I like to think that this game is kinda romantic, with a scary background.

    So with all this information i just want to tell you my review of this game. I think this game was kinda boring, but also kinda exciting and cool. I had fun while playing this. I just think that there's better games in the world. I seem to think that the story was hard to get, but when i understood, the story was pretty interesting.    … Expand
  48. obosen
    Nov 27, 2016
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Never have I ever played any form of video game before I knew about Gone Home. However, just the fact that it was an adventure game made me very interested in it, especially that I'm deeply leaning more towards these kinds of games rather than the conventional ideas incorporated in most video games.

    Gone Home may not be considered a game because, in my opinion, there is always a way to lose and to repeat all over again in a game. That is not the case here in Gone Home. I would have enjoyed this game more if it included that type. Nevertheless, it has included a bunch of stories intertwining to give us a deeper understanding of the family's relationships inside and out, as well as how it connects to the players. It embodies the current situation of the world that some families or people in the society will encounter, such as LGBT, feminism, teenage angst and even interfamily problems. I felt like Gone Home succeeded in incorporating these concepts and how it affects one family in specific. I have met people whose parents were in denial of their sexuality, females who were deprived of their rights simply because of their gender, and young people who have tendencies of being misdirected because they could not understand why their parents act the way they do. Through this game, people will have a clearer image of these problems as they progress. What makes me appreciate this game is that it effectively used virtual reality for a greater cause. This game has broken the stereotypical mindset I had about video games. Moreover, it gives you the thrill of wanting to know more about the characters especially that the vibe that the game displays has a spooky, thriller effect on it.

    However I would frankly not suggest this for people leaning towards adventures to play. To begin with, this game could be finished in less than a week at most, considering that you're a hardcore video game player, or just a newbie finding your way into some interesting games. Yes, the game is thrilling and it encompasses a wide array of ideas that really stimulate your thoughts and pull you more towards the family's story, but I felt like the game could have been developed more so that it contains more elements of what most people like about games. This game was just plainly focused on searching for evidences to collect the pieces of the story, but most of what people want in a game was to literally play and win it, not just simply scrambling over scattered objects in a large, creepy house. I'd obviously not spend money just to buy this game. Nevertheless, I still applaud the creativity of this game in terms of the unconventional ways it has done compared to typical video games.    … Expand
  49. massivechicken
    Aug 22, 2013
    5
    Very short lived, simple, yet compelling gaming experience. Ultimately I enjoyed it, however, felt a bit empty. Some good ideas that weren't explored fully the way the game tells you the story (by letting you find scraps of paper with notes on them) gets old pretty quickly. I was expecting a more intricate storyline. It was almost like a tech demo and the actual "game" was an afterthought.
  50. Longes
    Aug 19, 2013
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Sam is a lesbian. Your parents are on vacation. Ghosts don't exist. Rosebud was his sled. There, you don't have to pay 20 bucks now, go buy some decent audiobook. This game is okay. It's definitely not 70+ that journalists give it, but it is okay to play once.… Expand
  51. Avodeskorm
    Feb 27, 2017
    7
    Walking simulators have been done better, but this is one of the first good ones that came out. This is much harder to get into with games being focused on story becoming much more popular.
  52. CharlieWaflesBR
    Dec 19, 2013
    5
    Some people are saying that this is not exactly a game and that it doesn't contain the basic things to make it so, but I have to disagree on that part. Basing your score on such a notion is moronic and completely undermines the efforts that were put into the other aspects of the experience, like the storytelling, the sound design, the voice acting and so on. The reason I'm giving this gameSome people are saying that this is not exactly a game and that it doesn't contain the basic things to make it so, but I have to disagree on that part. Basing your score on such a notion is moronic and completely undermines the efforts that were put into the other aspects of the experience, like the storytelling, the sound design, the voice acting and so on. The reason I'm giving this game a 5 is simply because the story is flat out mediocre. It's literally something you've seen hundreds of times before in many different mediums, and you probably criticized it to death, but now that it's in game form and it tackles some mature concepts it suddenly becomes one of the greatest feats in recent gaming history. This has to be one of the most disappointing experiences I've had recently and I don't recommend you buy it for it's original price 20$ I payed 5$ for it and I still kinda feel like I've been ripped off. What bothers me is not the fact that they're asking 20$ for a 90 minute experience. I've payed 15$ for The Stanley Parable and it was worth it. It's the whole movement and critical praise behind this titles that makes me mad.… Expand
  53. Agarwel
    Aug 19, 2013
    6
    Ok. I will try to be fair with this game. It is a very good experiment. And I enjoyed while it lasted. But on the other hand. It is very difficult to call this even a game (note reading simulator maybe?). And mainly it takes to complete like 2,5 hours if you are checking everything. Plus there is basically no replay value. And the price is not adequate to this. My suggestion wait forOk. I will try to be fair with this game. It is a very good experiment. And I enjoyed while it lasted. But on the other hand. It is very difficult to call this even a game (note reading simulator maybe?). And mainly it takes to complete like 2,5 hours if you are checking everything. Plus there is basically no replay value. And the price is not adequate to this. My suggestion wait for price drop or some humble bundle, then get it really cheap and enjoy this experience for the price that corresponds the amount of gameplay.… Expand
  54. nutcrackr
    Aug 18, 2013
    7
    Gone Home is not a traditional game. Much like Dear Esther, it is a story experience. You return home after a trip abroad to find your parent’s house empty. Only by rummaging through items and letters will you reveal more about the Greenbriar family. Flickering lights and scratching behind walls produces an unsettling atmosphere. Gone Home allows your imagination to run wild with theories,Gone Home is not a traditional game. Much like Dear Esther, it is a story experience. You return home after a trip abroad to find your parent’s house empty. Only by rummaging through items and letters will you reveal more about the Greenbriar family. Flickering lights and scratching behind walls produces an unsettling atmosphere. Gone Home allows your imagination to run wild with theories, but the revelations are far less memorable. The experience takes 2-3 hours and there is little reason to revisit it. It is an intriguing premise, but one that does not reach excellence.… Expand
  55. MaskedMetal01
    Aug 23, 2013
    7
    This game could have easily scored a perfect 10/10. The atmosphere is great, the sounds, graphics and overall has a spooky feeling to it. The story was nice and the voice acting was good.
    The game doesn't have much content though. It just lasted an hour for me, and I'm quite sure a speed run would only take a few minutes Like I said, the content is pretty tight. There were times I got    This game could have easily scored a perfect 10/10. The atmosphere is great, the sounds, graphics and overall has a spooky feeling to it. The story was nice and the voice acting was good.
    The game doesn't have much content though. It just lasted an hour for me, and I'm quite sure a speed run would only take a few minutes Like I said, the content is pretty tight. There were times I got startled even for the most littlest of things. And most of the stuff you find around in this game are useless and is just to kill time. But for the price, this game ain't worth it. A game that just lasts for half an hour or more, shouldn't be priced this high. I'm going with a 7/10 for Going Home.    … Expand
  56. BasiltheBatLord
    Nov 27, 2013
    5
    I am not against games as an art form or turning the world into the narrative, for example I was a fan of Dear Esther but this game just isn't really worth it. It accomplishes what it set out to do but it's ambitions aren't all that high. It's difficult to criticize it for what it is and what it meant to be. To put it very simply, it is Dear Esther in an enclosed game world andI am not against games as an art form or turning the world into the narrative, for example I was a fan of Dear Esther but this game just isn't really worth it. It accomplishes what it set out to do but it's ambitions aren't all that high. It's difficult to criticize it for what it is and what it meant to be. To put it very simply, it is Dear Esther in an enclosed game world and essentially without any of the mystery or intrigue. I just didn't find the story to be that remarkable and the ending of the game just left me asking "So...?" The game seems like it's trying to imply that you will eventually find something really interesting or shocking or something but it just doesn't happen. But again, it is difficult to criticize it when it seems to clearly have achieved what it set out to do. But really, it's not that remarkable at all. I'd say save your money.… Expand
  57. VidjaGames
    Jan 22, 2014
    5
    An OK but not great story with an OK but not great game mechanic. Those two things combine for a game that is rather bland. It gets some points for dealing with subject matter that isn't usually covered in video games but that's not enough to make it a good game.
  58. JRC
    Mar 2, 2014
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Oh splendid, I pay 20 dollars to play an one hour gameplay time, with the easiest puzzles ever and with a terrible story. Ok, it's an indie game, I give lots of support for indie developers, but really, 20 dollars. The gameplay, it's boring and have nothing out of the ordinary, it's just you all the time collecting papers that reveal the story, and worst, there is no obstacle, nothing that prevent you from achieving to the end of the game. And the ending is just stupid, you play it all just to know that your sister is a lesbian, wow.… Expand
  59. Killamonjaro
    Aug 19, 2013
    5
    After years of lurking on this website I have finally found a reason to make an account and submit a review. As most people, I did not know of this game until after it was released and put on steam at a discount. I was intrigued at the high sales count and looked into it further. Reading a couple reviews from legitimate gaming blogs/websites/forums it seemed everyone was flabbergasted byAfter years of lurking on this website I have finally found a reason to make an account and submit a review. As most people, I did not know of this game until after it was released and put on steam at a discount. I was intrigued at the high sales count and looked into it further. Reading a couple reviews from legitimate gaming blogs/websites/forums it seemed everyone was flabbergasted by this game. I instantly bought it right then so I wouldn't get spoiled by any of the story(I wanted to go in blind as most games are always spoiled by some idiots on the internet even when trying to read an innocent review).

    I jumped right into the game and got sucked in. The thunder the ominous house the emptiness all gave a feeling something bad was going to happen. The game designers even try to allude that something creepy is going on by adding thunder clashes right when you read something "important." as well as the characters you're looking into keep describing the house as a psycho house with a past that everyone is afraid of. This is all complete b.s. its a clean and jerk operation where I can see the designers wanted to give the feeling of creepiness with the subject matter not actually being creepy, or new, or thought provoking, or anything other than a creepy fantasy that someone had. They even went as far as to find a girl who can make it seem real. I feel like someone had a bad time at home and needed to get it out, therapy costs money so why not get it out and get paid for it?

    I kept wanting to like this "game" I really did. But once I finished it within the same few hours upon buying it i was horrified. The game finally got me at the end with the real scary part where you realize you spent $20 on a game that lasted less than most movies and has the story of an mtv 2 sitcom. NO REPLAYABILITY. NONE. ZIP ZERO. If you think once you know the end it makes the story different you're wrong and completely misinformed. You already know whats happening about 20 minutes into the game and it just drags the silliness out for a while to tease you with something supernatural or otherwise worth spending money on.

    Overal 5/10

    Graphics 6 I struggled to even give it a six. the lighting is horrible for a game thats supposed to be hell bent on being atmospheric. The only thing it did was allow me to light a room that i couldn't see a damn thing before. I kept hoping the shadows would play tricks on me but in the end it was my own minds eye adding to the suspense. the only good thing about the graphics is the attention to detail on some of the 90s items to give them an authentic feel.

    presentation 8/10 the way the story comes together is actually kinda nice. Which is why I kept wanting to like this game. It has a way of immersing you and dragging you in, really making you feel like kate trying to figure out what has happened to her family while she was away. I just feel like it was too easy to find everything. There were no real hurdles to jump in the noggin department when it came to puzzles. oh wait, there were no puzzles at all. just stroll down to the only areas you can access, and point and peck what you need to, move on.

    Sound 8/10 this is by far the best part of the game. The noises of the house and thunder plus the voice acting is great. I kept wondering why reviewers referred to it as the voice acting and not sam. because shes the only one who talks. its not acting its one character, they probably spent 90% of the budget and time finding the perfect character to voice it.

    controls 2/10 worthless, trite, and baseless. you walk around and pick stuff up, you dont really affect the world. the physics are whatever. I threw a plastic cup at a pillow and it bounced to the ceiling. the controls serve no purpose other than to drag you through the story.

    replayability 0/10 theres really no reason you should have this installed 2 hours after you buy it.

    Con factor 10/10 The designers did a really great job of putting you to the task of creating the atmosphere. They make it so you're left to your own devices at first, and then ruin it by pulling the wool back to reveal the public service announcement of a story. I officialy hate Gone Home(to my so called life)    … Expand
  60. WesZerker
    Aug 19, 2013
    7
    Gone Home was a fun experience but lacking enough content to make me feel its not really worth $20 us. The story got me involved, I wanted to find out what was going on. Even felt like everything that was happening was my characters fault. But it all only too me about 5 hrs and I took my sweet time. Its to short. The story focuses to much on one member of the family in theGone Home was a fun experience but lacking enough content to make me feel its not really worth $20 us. The story got me involved, I wanted to find out what was going on. Even felt like everything that was happening was my characters fault. But it all only too me about 5 hrs and I took my sweet time. Its to short. The story focuses to much on one member of the family in the progression of the game. Despite the fact all the family members have allot going on. Wouldn't have cost much and added much needed overall play time, If ALL the family members had a voiced part in the story.

    Another thing I though could have been better is the atmosphere. While its pretty decent as is, it could have been way better. Lighting is already a big part of the feel, why not use the lighting and shadows to cause a few jumpy moments?

    The house has no mirrors, even in places that should like bathrooms. (A mirror in a bathroom is even mentioned in the story but its not there.)

    Its a good enough game just wait for it to go on sale.    … Expand
  61. chaser2099
    Aug 23, 2013
    6
    As someone who honestly enjoys a good playable story, this hits relatively high. The gameplay is smooth, the sound is smooth, everything regarding the game is smooth. Unfortunately, the game is quite short and on top of that, the story is a bit lacking at points.
  62. Trashware
    Dec 28, 2013
    6
    Gone Home falls too short in terms of length and depth. The main story is allright but far from original. The sidestories will give you a nice view on who you are and who you live with, but it's all very simplistic and without many storylayers to peel. I guess I expected more depth in this game, there could be so much more going on. Questions remain unanswered, persons remain outlined butGone Home falls too short in terms of length and depth. The main story is allright but far from original. The sidestories will give you a nice view on who you are and who you live with, but it's all very simplistic and without many storylayers to peel. I guess I expected more depth in this game, there could be so much more going on. Questions remain unanswered, persons remain outlined but not much filled in (especially you yourself, as Katie).
    The exploring way of finding missing pieces of information has been done well and the voice acting is great. The house is big, there's a lot to see if you can stand the unnecessary messy state it's in. I liked rummaging through all that nostalgic 80's90's accessories and listening to the appropriately cringeworthy chickrock cassettes. And the main music is very nice as well come to think of it. There are many details in terms of design and stuff to be find, even though most of it is not of much practical use.

    All the pros and cons outweighing I would not recommend this game, unless you can get it very cheap. You might get disappointed if you're expecting as much as there has been said about it.    … Expand
  63. SweetrollJim
    Mar 12, 2014
    7
    Good game but definitely NOT worth 20 dollars. hour and a half worth of playtime at most so get it on sale or free even. Fairly interesting story but kind of a let down at the end, it will leave you wanting more. All in all: worth the experience but I'd never play it again.
  64. eternalsnows
    Oct 23, 2013
    6
    Gone Home is a difficult experience to describe, especially when it comes to recommending it to someone else. It's an interactive short story, and I do mean short. The script for the written notes and spoken dialog probably wouldn't amount to more than 10 pages. The characters are very broadly sketched with only the smallest hints of depth and complexity. The focus of the narrative is aGone Home is a difficult experience to describe, especially when it comes to recommending it to someone else. It's an interactive short story, and I do mean short. The script for the written notes and spoken dialog probably wouldn't amount to more than 10 pages. The characters are very broadly sketched with only the smallest hints of depth and complexity. The focus of the narrative is a really pretty mundane love story which presents little in the way of surprise.

    What Gone Home does well though is provide a powerful injection of 100% pure, high grade nostalgia directly into the bloodstream. Nostalgia both for childhood and adolescence in general and the 1990s in particular. A story for the ages this is not. A story for people who were teenagers in 1995? Yes. Maybe.

    The writing is good and the voice actor who played Sam did an excellent job. That, coupled with the introspective and tender mood, is enough to carry you through at least one playthrough (80 minutes for me). That said, there's certainly no reason to play again. In fact, when you start looking back over the experience you begin to resent the numerous red herrings whose sole purpose seemed to be to obscure the real focus of the story for as long as possible.

    In the end I found Gone Home to be atmospheric and touching in a simplistic way, but also fundamentally shallow. The asking price of $19.99 on Steam is way, way too high. I'd recommend purchasing only when a big sale comes along, and then only if you're a fan of this genre of entertainment.    … Expand
  65. fffred
    Oct 26, 2013
    6
    This story-telling game has an interesting story, and the theme is rarely seen in video-games. The tone, atmosphere and style are good and bring a new approach to this genre.

    But for 20 dollars, I expected to play more than 2 hours, and the technical realization was not satisfactory (mostly because of lags). On top of that, the game system becomes repetitive at the end of the two hours    This story-telling game has an interesting story, and the theme is rarely seen in video-games. The tone, atmosphere and style are good and bring a new approach to this genre.

    But for 20 dollars, I expected to play more than 2 hours, and the technical realization was not satisfactory (mostly because of lags). On top of that, the game system becomes repetitive at the end of the two hours of playing. The right price would be around 5 dollars.

    Last thing, even if the subject of this game is interesting and challenging, it could have been developed more, and could have avoided some clichés. I hope that this game will encourage such "serious" subjects to be developed.    … Expand
  66. SweetRollsAhoy
    Dec 29, 2013
    5
    Here's the thing, when I first watched a friend of mine play through Gone Home from start to finish, it hit me it a very tender spot. I adored it. I cried. But after purchasing it myself and playing through it again, I realized how shallow it is.

    While it is debatable whether Gone Home is truly a "game", it is well know it is fully story based. I enjoy story games. I love more "artsy"    Here's the thing, when I first watched a friend of mine play through Gone Home from start to finish, it hit me it a very tender spot. I adored it. I cried. But after purchasing it myself and playing through it again, I realized how shallow it is.

    While it is debatable whether Gone Home is truly a "game", it is well know it is fully story based. I enjoy story games. I love more "artsy" games. However, I feel this one just is not as good as most make it out to be. Yes, it is very good with hitting one with nostalgia. Yes, it good with hitting you in the feels. Honestly though, that's it. And after the second time though it, I just couldn't connect as easily as I could before. I knew the entire story, I knew how it was executed, so there wasn't much left for me to do. There is little to no replay value. And for $20 as an original asking price for a 2 hour experience, it just truly isn't that worth it. I waited until it was on sale which I am grateful for.

    Don't get me wrong. The story is really good for it only being told through notes and journal's left for you to find, but I just wish there was more to justify it.

    I'm in a love/hate relationship with Gone Home. But in the end I just can't recommend it.    … Expand
  67. JNecov75
    Feb 17, 2014
    7
    This is a game that probably won't feel like a game for most. The voice acting was great and the story itself is one that I've never encountered in another game. While it was quite short (I beat the game with 101 minutes played on steam), it managed to have a few points where I wish there would have been less walking or backtracking, but this is really a minor complaint. The writing pullsThis is a game that probably won't feel like a game for most. The voice acting was great and the story itself is one that I've never encountered in another game. While it was quite short (I beat the game with 101 minutes played on steam), it managed to have a few points where I wish there would have been less walking or backtracking, but this is really a minor complaint. The writing pulls you in with several side stories, some of which you have to infer their meaning on your own. Even the main story may require some interpretation. I'll just say that everything isn't directly given to you, story-wise, if you don't pay attention to detail.

    The game play consists of traveling through the house and examining letters and other items. These things trigger audio messages of the player's sister and each one builds upon the last. By the end, I felt a series of emotions and had a few questions that the game just won't directly answer. But now I'm thinking about it and looking for other people's opinions. If a story having that kind of effect on someone doesn't make it a good story, then I don't know what does.

    That being said, there was probably ways that this could have been wrapped up tighter to my liking, but I'm sure that's not what the creators were going for anyway. All in all, it was a good use of 101 minutes.    … Expand
  68. possumboss
    Dec 15, 2014
    6
    Gone Home is a game about a girl named Katie who returns home from a year long trip to a new house. When Katie arrives she discovers that her family is not in the house and appear to be missing. Katie then searches the house to find clues to her family’s whereabouts. While Katie searches the house she uncovers shocking secrets about her family that have been carefully hidden for years.Gone Home is a game about a girl named Katie who returns home from a year long trip to a new house. When Katie arrives she discovers that her family is not in the house and appear to be missing. Katie then searches the house to find clues to her family’s whereabouts. While Katie searches the house she uncovers shocking secrets about her family that have been carefully hidden for years.

    Gone Home has one of the best stories that I have ever seen in a video game. (Though calling it a video game is a stretch). Gone Home takes the player on a 3 hour journey through one of the most densely packed stories in modern gaming. It is hard to talk about the story without ruining the ending. But what can be said is that the setting has the player thinking about one thing while the story is going in a completely different direction. The ending comes as no surprise to the player once they reach it, but the ending would seem absurd at the start of the game. The ending leaves the player with no loose ends and a certain happiness for the characters.

    The game doesn’t boast the most high definition graphics or the most cutting edge gameplay but the attention to detail makes up for it entirely. The not so high quality graphics even add to the atmosphere of the house. The graphics are meant to be played on a low brightness which has the player often turning around to see if that shadow was indeed a person or not. The attention to detail in the house was extraordinarily good. Everything in a 1995 home was there, with the exception of shoes, but one would not even notice this unless it was mentioned to them. The player learns all there is to know about a family in the mid 90’s, from tacky furniture to VCR’s it is all there.

    To call Gone Home a video game is a stretch. It is more of an interactive story in the form of a video game. In a contemporary video game the player makes choices and has different ways to overcome different puzzles or challenges. In some games the way one completes a task will affect what happens later on or the level of difficulty. Gone Home is extremely linear. There are no two ways of finding things or opening doors in Gone Home. Everything is laid out for the player to find, the only thing that can change is the order in which things are found.

    Gone Home is an excellent experience. The story was compelling, the setting was unique, accurate and added a level of realness to the story. But to call it a video game is a stretch. The game is definitely good there is no question about that, but if one does a excellent first run through they will feel no need to play it a second or third time. A truly good game would compel the player to play more than once, it is a game you can come back to years later and still have the same experience as you did when first played. Gone Home doesn’t achieve this. I would still highly recommend this game though.    … Expand
  69. rwynn29
    Dec 15, 2014
    7
    The game “Gone Home” developed by The Fullbright Company uses a complex and developed story line as its main attraction. Players walk in the footsteps of Kaitlin Greenbriar as she comes home from a yearlong trip to find the new house, into which the family had moved into, empty. Through the course of the search through the house the character and player begins to uncover the events of theThe game “Gone Home” developed by The Fullbright Company uses a complex and developed story line as its main attraction. Players walk in the footsteps of Kaitlin Greenbriar as she comes home from a yearlong trip to find the new house, into which the family had moved into, empty. Through the course of the search through the house the character and player begins to uncover the events of the past year, a year she has missed. The discoveries slowly piece themselves together to explain the reason for her sisterís and parentsí apparent disappearance from the house.
    As a rule most games no matter how well designed have both their good and bad aspects, Gone home is no exception to this. The aspects that add to the game and make it an interesting run through are; the gameís interactive story, voice-overs and tangent stories. The game, which is centered on a rich and interactive story line, truly benefits from it. By generating a story line that can be revealed and played through in a few different ways but still leads to the same overall ending gives the player a feeling of greater control. To add to the experience the ways in which the voice overs which occur periodically at strategic points gives the game a more realistic feel as if the characters were real people enhancing the game play and overall story line. These aspects are then combined with a series of tangent stories that take place alongside the main story and can be unearthed and furthered throughout the course of the game. This I believe truly makes the game fun because it adds a series of extra layers that give more life to the game and donít truly end with a concrete answer keeping the player continuously guessing to their true meaning. Most important of all is that they do not clutter or subtract from the main story line of the game. The intriguing story and strategic use of voice-overs make the game a truly fun experience.
    Unfortunately there are some aspects to the game that are less than to be desired. Two specific things come to mind that are worth negatively critiquing; the brightness settings and the end of the game. Yes it is true that brightness settings can always be adjusted but overall the game has a rather dark vibe to it that understandably plays into the story thematic and adds to the game but it seems that at times even with higher brightness settings its difficult to see. Due to the difficulty of seeing objects I found that at times it was a chore trying to find objects in the semi darkness of the house. The second part that I found to be rather disappointing was the end. For such a build up in the game and all of the assumptions that one makes by the end, the ending chosen by the creators was rather bland and uninteresting. In my opinion the game could have been further enhanced with a more dramatic end, one that I was certain would happen when I reached the attic, but I wonít spoil the ending for you by telling you what doesn't happen. If the above listed things were to have been improved upon the game would be in my opinion a truly masterful work of digital and gaming art.
    Overall the game was fun and I enjoyed it. Though different from your everyday shooter with fast case action the story line was well thought out and interesting. I would recommend it to those that are more interested in the content of the game rather than looking for a way of killing a few hours with mindless game play due to the format of the game. If it were ever on sale I would tell people to try it out for they might like it, or not. The game is very specific in nature and hard to compare with an existing game due to its rather new look at what games should be and whatís more important, action and an okay storyline or a slower game with a well thought out story line.    … Expand
  70. brendan1717
    Dec 16, 2014
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. After a year abroad in Europe, Katie Greenbriar returns to the new house that her family has just moved into. Upon her arrival, she finds a note on the front door from her sister Sam, warning her not to go searching for the family. Once in the house, it is clear that there is nobody home. From this point on, it is Katie’s mission to find out where her family has gone.
    Overall, I believe that the greatest strength of this game is its plot. I thoroughly enjoyed looking through the various rooms and finding numerous clues that led me to the end of the game. I think that the allusion to external video games and significant figures makes the story more intertwined with the real world, causing the game to seem more realistic. Furthermore, I believe that although the game has a limited amount of story driven gameplay, it compensates through the various Easter eggs (such as the purple basketball) and deviating plotlines, which lead you to consider controversial theories. For example, consider the theory that Uncle Oscar abused his nephew Terrence, who is the father of Katie and Sam. Though never directly stating this theory, the creators of the game are able to lay the foundations for the player to make this interpretation.
    The mechanics of the game are actually quite good. Although the graphics are not amazing, they are sufficient for the user to easily play through the game without any issues. I don’t really think that it is necessary for the game to have top of the line graphics and visuals because aside from making the game more realistic, they don’t really serve a purpose. One of the stronger mechanical aspects of the game is the audio. Throughout various point in the game, you come across journal entries written (and dictated) by Sam. Instead of just finding pieces of paper with what Sam wrote in her journal, small sections are dictated after finding something relevant to that entry in the game. This is helpful because it adds emotion to the information Sam is providing.
    One of the weakest aspects in the game is the ending. I believe that the plot of the game is genuinely strong, and so the ending should do the plotline justice. However, I believe this is not the case. In my opinion, the ending should instill excitement in the player, especially since the game is based on the premise of mystery. I was left with a feeling of disappointment when I realized what had actually happened to the family, not due to the fact that they had been harmed, but due to the fact that the majority of the plot, including the link to Oscar, was of no relevance.
    Overall I enjoyed playing Gone Home and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is interested in the mystery genre. The plot has extreme depth considering the total playtime given to the player, and the mechanics of the game are quite strong. With the exception of the ending, it is a great game.    … Expand
  71. rempuia
    Aug 20, 2013
    5
    Got this game after seeing good reviews, but i was surprised and shocked when i completed the game, in disbelief i opened metacritic again n saw the low user scores which didnt surprise me, its a shame that games like this actually gets released, its way toooo short, the story is cool and all but it could've been fine for one single episode of a tv series, not for a game jeeeezz.
  72. HapexIndustries
    Aug 18, 2013
    7
    Certainly enjoyable, an excellent example of adventure gaming in first person, and a decent story but... 2 hours of gameplay? Zero replayability? That's fine too, for 5-10 bucks, but 20$ is just too much for a one time experience like this. Amnesia (or the sequel) is the same price and offers so much more, as do many other first person or adventure games.

    I liked this game, I really    Certainly enjoyable, an excellent example of adventure gaming in first person, and a decent story but... 2 hours of gameplay? Zero replayability? That's fine too, for 5-10 bucks, but 20$ is just too much for a one time experience like this. Amnesia (or the sequel) is the same price and offers so much more, as do many other first person or adventure games.

    I liked this game, I really did, and I don't want to come down on it too hard, but... again, two hours of non-replayable gameplay is just not enough for the price tag. I hope the developers make more games like this; maybe they can release them cheaper using the same engine? I hope so because I will not be purchasing any of their releases at full price after this.    … Expand
  73. Kenmei
    Aug 18, 2013
    7
    Be prepared for what you're getting into here. This is not a game. It's an interactive story and a very good one at that. I very much enjoyed the subject matter and the direction the game went. I won't spoil anything here but know that there will be quite a few people who won't agree with where this game went. That's just human nature. But you'll know going into, if you have a faint ideaBe prepared for what you're getting into here. This is not a game. It's an interactive story and a very good one at that. I very much enjoyed the subject matter and the direction the game went. I won't spoil anything here but know that there will be quite a few people who won't agree with where this game went. That's just human nature. But you'll know going into, if you have a faint idea of what the game is about, if you'll like this game or not. I do feel like this "game" is a bit overpriced at 20 bucks as it's literally just a story and nothing else, especially for the length (barely an hour and a half long). But it's a very nice, thought provoking story. It's truly a nice surprise to see how far media has gone in the last few years when dealing with certain kinds of subject matter and this is no different. However, this is still being billed as a "game" when it should have been more of a book than anything else. I can't give anything about a 7 to something that pretends to be a game and isn't one.… Expand
  74. PeterRJG
    Aug 22, 2013
    7
    Great story, like most people say, but it's too short and for about three hours play time at maximum (to say nothing of the lack of replay value), it's not worth $17.95 or whatever Steam wanted for it. For $5 like Dear Esther was, then yes, this game would rate a 9 or a 10. But yes, if you like stories of empowerment and self-discovery, this game is right up there.
  75. PizzaWizard
    Aug 24, 2013
    6
    The best way to describe this is as a virtual easter egg hunt. Instead of easter eggs you find story fragments, you assemble them together in your head to paint a picture, like putting together pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Sure, you don't need every jigsaw puzzle piece in order to understand what the big picture is but some are more vital than others.

    What will determine how much you like    The best way to describe this is as a virtual easter egg hunt. Instead of easter eggs you find story fragments, you assemble them together in your head to paint a picture, like putting together pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Sure, you don't need every jigsaw puzzle piece in order to understand what the big picture is but some are more vital than others.

    What will determine how much you like this game is how much you like the stories. Two of the stories are delivered very well. You have to put the pieces together on your own which makes them very intriguing. The other story is the one the game dedicates itself to most. It is pretty heavy handed and is the most poorly delivered and the least interesting. This is where the game failed with me. If you are annoyed by teenage infatuation then this isn't for you. If you love the 90s and lifetime dramas then you'll be all over this.

    6/10 for an interesting idea that could have communicated an interesting story but failed    … Expand
  76. simmins5467
    Aug 25, 2013
    7
    For me I thought it was Okay.
    Not great, but also not the abomination people are trying to make it out to be.
    Other than the main journal story which came across as underdeveloped, cliché, and uninspired, I actually found the house engrossing to search and read through and explore. I thought it was pretty atmospheric, additionally, I actually liked the supplemental material about the    For me I thought it was Okay.
    Not great, but also not the abomination people are trying to make it out to be.
    Other than the main journal story which came across as underdeveloped, cliché, and uninspired, I actually found the house engrossing to search and read through and explore.

    I thought it was pretty atmospheric, additionally, I actually liked the supplemental material about the father, and mother and was more invested in the notes left behind about the father, his failing career as a writer and possible hints at a past affair with another woman.

    It's a shame the whole thing got bogged down in a side story about her sister, that may have been interesting as a side story, but not the main story.

    I also didn't see the point of setting the game in the middle of a severe storm, it didn't add tension and was a major missed opportunity for dramatic tension.

    As a game it could have worked if the house was more complex and the focus being changed in the story.

    If game developers and gamer really wish to elevate the medium to the level of art it takes a level of seriousness in the story. This has been done maybe one or two times in the history of the medium. but this is not one of those occasions. For any game like this that wishes to be taken in as an experience and wants to tell a story, these should all be viewed under a light similar to a movie. And in that regard, this was a very bad made for TV movie. It's great that devs are trying to push the medium in new directions, but these devs clearly need to take some of those creative writing classes that were being advertised to the main characters sister.

    As for gamers, and I think this is true in this case on Metacritic, really need to stop loving something just for the sake that it's doing something different. Different good, and this is true in the case of Gone Home

    Better writing would have definitely saved this game, but as it stands it's just a sub-standard video game plot trying to pass it self as some Higher Art.

    Pros:
    Good atmosphere
    Side plot very interesting
    Interesting house to play around in

    Cons:
    Simplistic Main Plot
    Lack of Complex Puzzles    … Expand
  77. Ubermensch72
    Oct 24, 2013
    5
    Gone Home has an excellent story, I dare say its one of the better love stories I've ever heard but that's the only thing this game has going for it. The game is very short and offers no replay value whatsoever. The mechanics are solid but limited in that you can pick things up, read them and then put them back down and that's it. It's definitely a good game but I wish I had only spentGone Home has an excellent story, I dare say its one of the better love stories I've ever heard but that's the only thing this game has going for it. The game is very short and offers no replay value whatsoever. The mechanics are solid but limited in that you can pick things up, read them and then put them back down and that's it. It's definitely a good game but I wish I had only spent 3 dollars on it instead of 10.… Expand
  78. akarnokd
    Aug 17, 2013
    7
    The story is good, the exploration is exciting, but at the end, it just ends. It reminds me of Dear Eshter, but with more paths and more things to interact with. With so much stuff laying around, this could have been a first person adventure game with puzzles and secrets. Anyway, it feels like a good experience and a bit overpriced.
  79. UjuidarEhcram
    Nov 6, 2013
    7
    Gone Home is an adventure game where you play as someone coming home to a new house after spending time in Europe, only to find that nobody's home to greet you. The dark house with creaky floorboards and faulty electrical wiring makes it pretty spooky, and sets a dark tone that makes you wonder: was everyone just busy that night, or is there something happening in the shadows? As youGone Home is an adventure game where you play as someone coming home to a new house after spending time in Europe, only to find that nobody's home to greet you. The dark house with creaky floorboards and faulty electrical wiring makes it pretty spooky, and sets a dark tone that makes you wonder: was everyone just busy that night, or is there something happening in the shadows? As you explore the house, checking out objects and reading letters, you start to catch up on what happened in the year the protagonist missed, leading up to the secret behind the empty house.

    Maybe I'm overselling it. I certainly enjoyed exploring the house and piecing together the puzzle, but this is definitely an artsy sort of game, and it's definitely not for everyone. The game is slow, and you do little besides explore and read. But, the story is itriguing and the house is pretty realistic, so if you do enjoy exploring and reading, you may really enjoy this game.

    The controls are done well. There's generally no music, though you can listen to a few casettes you find along the way. The sound is pretty creepy between the thunderstorm and the house's noises. The entire experience is really short; I finished it in 2.5 hours.

    For such a short game, I don't think I could recommned it at all for $20, but this would be a great game to pick up on a Steam sale. I enjoyed it, and fans of exploration-based games will enjoy it, but Gone Home won't be worth it to you if you are impatient or have a short attention span.    … Expand
  80. Jacer200
    May 17, 2014
    7
    This is a good little interactive story. The graphics are good and the single voice actor gives her character some soul. In my opinion interactive stories are a genre of gaming like RTS or RPG to first person shooters. But it is very niche. Only buy this game at under $10 because of the length per dollar you get.
  81. Noxzoul
    Nov 1, 2013
    7
    The game is well done from the voice acting to the graphics. It is very original and is able to keep you hooked until the very end. However, is it a very short game. I had 1.6 hours of game play. Personally I feel this is over priced for a game that is this short. I would give this game a better score if it was longer or cheaper.
    I cannot say I was mislead when purchasing this game,    The game is well done from the voice acting to the graphics. It is very original and is able to keep you hooked until the very end. However, is it a very short game. I had 1.6 hours of game play. Personally I feel this is over priced for a game that is this short. I would give this game a better score if it was longer or cheaper.
    I cannot say I was mislead when purchasing this game, because they did not really give any direction. However, it was not what I expected. Without giving away spoilers, they cannot do a better job describing this game.    … Expand
  82. victorhjkl
    Dec 8, 2013
    6
    Gone home has a very short story but it doesn't mean that the it isn't good, in the game you just have to go through the story without trouble there isn't guns or something like that, Gone Home is boring sometimes it hasn't amazing graphics, just some persons will like this game, but if story is just what you are looking for in a game you will enjoy it.
  83. Citizen2BX
    Mar 11, 2014
    6
    Over all was interesting. I like how the story of it unraveled. Seemed to have just enough clues to help solve what ever simple puzzle was going on, and, or on where to go next.
    It really kept me glued to it most of the time for the few hours it took to play/walk the game.
    I think they are on to something here, but in the end I was a bit cheated and disappointed. I was starting to    Over all was interesting. I like how the story of it unraveled. Seemed to have just enough clues to help solve what ever simple puzzle was going on, and, or on where to go next.
    It really kept me glued to it most of the time for the few hours it took to play/walk the game.

    I think they are on to something here, but in the end I was a bit cheated and disappointed.
    I was starting to feel let down when it was obvious where the story was headed. What was the main story I thought was just a side story.

    Either at one time, or, it's just to throw you off, you play because you hope there is something supernatural in the house. For a while I suspected that maybe I would find "Sam" hanging to death in
    some secret passage.

    Instead I am forced to hear some homosexuality story. Not that I have some hatred towards homosexuals, but then at the same time I don't really need to know all the details of it.
    I don't really care if you want to have sex with animals or inanimate objects, etc., for the most part I'd be like okay, yea, please don't tell me about it, I'm not asking.
    But like a lot of homosexuality in the media, etc., as in this game you are forced to know about it, and it ends up being the story.

    I don't like all the "haha you thought you would see ghosts, or something (interesting)". Yea I'd rather see those things then rather have it all be about homosexuality.

    I don't see how people gave this the "game of the year" last year.
    Other then like Hollywood it seems obligatory for like minded people to give such subject matter high praises. Like it was no big surprise that "brokeback mtn" got so many Oscars et al.

    Okay, just over hyped and shallow in the end.    … Expand
  84. WinkOrDie
    Jul 1, 2014
    6
    The bad thing about reviewing this game is that the game is not very depth mechanics wise. This review is basically hindered on the fact of how well I liked the story and the few characters that are in it.

    I enjoyed the story quite a bit, I did find myself really enjoying the character development and recording. It really let you into the life of you (Kaitlin) and your sister you hear    The bad thing about reviewing this game is that the game is not very depth mechanics wise. This review is basically hindered on the fact of how well I liked the story and the few characters that are in it.

    I enjoyed the story quite a bit, I did find myself really enjoying the character development and recording. It really let you into the life of you (Kaitlin) and your sister you hear through recordings (Sam).

    The audio was pretty great. The voice acting was solid, not that this was an extremely difficult job but great nonetheless. The music was pretty solid queuing in when needed and the song at the ending makes a nice parallel to something you hear from your sister earlier on it hit home with the song at the end.

    Graphics... I am not one to talk about graphics too much because I do not care about them unless they take you out of the experience the game is going for. For this game I think they are okay, nothing spectacular in the sense the textures are a little messy which take you out of the "zone" but for what it is it's okay. Period.

    The length of the game is very short. Even with someone like me who read every document and what not, it only took me ~2 hours. That is good and bad... Good because the story could only really a hold a 1-3 hour length. Bad because some people have paid $10-$20 for this game and it is not worth that price at all. I picked it up today on the steam sale for $2.99. Yes it was worth that price tag and maybe a $5-7 price range but nothing more.

    For those saying this shouldn't be a game, I disagree wholeheartedly. The reason being this game could not exist as is in another medium. It is far too short and lacks depth to be a book or a movie.

    Overall, it is a good game, with a huge emphasis on story so don't expect anymore mechanics from a interactive story. Should you pick it up? Yes, if you enjoy JUST a story and ONLY if you can find it from a $0-5 price range. I feel very bad for the people who spent $20 on the game so I do understand where there frustrations come from.    … Expand
  85. davidfon
    Aug 20, 2013
    7
    Gone Home is a fantastic story told through the medium of a video game. Be forewarned, the primary focus of Gone Home is the story. There are no real game elements other than exploration, reading, and listening as the story unfolds. If you're looking for a challenge or looking to engage your logic or reflexes, look elsewhere. Gone Home is a unique storytelling experience that really drawsGone Home is a fantastic story told through the medium of a video game. Be forewarned, the primary focus of Gone Home is the story. There are no real game elements other than exploration, reading, and listening as the story unfolds. If you're looking for a challenge or looking to engage your logic or reflexes, look elsewhere. Gone Home is a unique storytelling experience that really draws you in. Atmospheric sounds, great 90's references, and excellent voice-work accompany you on your journey through the house to discover why the home you've come home to is vacant. I only have one real criticism (be warned, my criticism does not reveal any plot points, but it does regard the general mood at the end of Gone Home). The story is fantastic, but I couldn't help feeling like the ending was too cathartic for all parties involved.… Expand
  86. Gua
    Aug 20, 2013
    5
    I appreciate compelling story and innovation that this game has. Also I appreciate the fact that they didn't filled this game with non sense puzzles.But it's hard to ignore game downsides like the amount of text you'll need to read and a fact that this is barely a game.
  87. preetamchan217
    Sep 3, 2013
    7
    This game is an intense story-telling experience. If you are interested in story based games rather than shoot'em up games then it is definitely for you. My rating is just 7 because i was expecting even more from this game after i reached the end.
  88. thenthomwaslike
    Nov 28, 2014
    7
    It was a nice game, well paced, with obsessive attention to detail. It gave me a nice fuzzy feeling, some nostalgia, and a hefty dose of melancholy. Every character is flawed and has a subplot worth uncovering. Worth checking out and getting through in one go, which takes a couple hours.
  89. JimCorbett
    Sep 16, 2014
    5
    Gone Home is a game that touches on "sensitive" issues and has a political agenda which is the only reason why this game has been praised by "critics." For $20 you'll get 1-2 hours worth of gameplay. You'll walk around your house searching for what happened to your sister and parents. You'll open doors, search drawers, and shuffle through socks to find notes and other items that will leadGone Home is a game that touches on "sensitive" issues and has a political agenda which is the only reason why this game has been praised by "critics." For $20 you'll get 1-2 hours worth of gameplay. You'll walk around your house searching for what happened to your sister and parents. You'll open doors, search drawers, and shuffle through socks to find notes and other items that will lead your on your journey. It's actually fairly linear since you're basically set to "Find X key to open X" And then you find the key, move to the next area and repeat until the game is over. The twist is that the story deals with a (spoiler!) oppressed lesbian. Honestly, the story itself sucked. I was never given a reason to care about this girl and she never seemed interesting in the first place. Yet, I enjoyed my time with the game. It was fun to roam through the house learning new things and I never got annoyed trying to find a specific item so it was quite casual. However there really wasn't anything great about it. The only possible reason i can see people giving this such a high score is because for some reason if you don't agree with a feminist or LGBT you'll be deemed intolerant or some other crap. This game only seeks to put fuel to the fire which is quite disappointing.… Expand
  90. ChoicestGames
    Feb 3, 2014
    6
    Probably the best "non-game" I've played yet with a comprehensible plot, fitting music and decent graphics. Just make sure you don't go in expecting any puzzles as this is another of those games where discovering the narrative is the sole focus.
  91. ns0l
    Aug 11, 2014
    6
    I disagree. 9 or 10 is too much. Gone home is just a good game nothing more. It feels real, but I think it still lacks many things to be that perfect.
  92. Un0va
    Aug 25, 2013
    6
    Gone Home tells its story in a unique way, and that alongside the fact that it's willing to tackle a subject that often either gets shied away from or treated fairly awkwardly (I'm looking at you, Dragon Age 2) should be commended. However, there's barely anything to do, and the game was made in Unity and REALLY reflects it in a lot of areas. With more polish or a different engine, andGone Home tells its story in a unique way, and that alongside the fact that it's willing to tackle a subject that often either gets shied away from or treated fairly awkwardly (I'm looking at you, Dragon Age 2) should be commended. However, there's barely anything to do, and the game was made in Unity and REALLY reflects it in a lot of areas. With more polish or a different engine, and maybe some more significant interaction here and there, the game has potential to be pretty fantastic.… Expand
  93. Diablo92
    Sep 29, 2013
    7
    Its got alot of hidden secrets but not as many as i expected.. I expected it to be the game itself to be a whole lot longer and with more storyline to it but i guess this is it! It's a nice game, dont get me wrong but i could'nt have hurt to put in more to make the story go deeper and the game be alot longer.

    When i started playing it.. I could already tell within just an hour of play    Its got alot of hidden secrets but not as many as i expected.. I expected it to be the game itself to be a whole lot longer and with more storyline to it but i guess this is it! It's a nice game, dont get me wrong but i could'nt have hurt to put in more to make the story go deeper and the game be alot longer.

    When i started playing it.. I could already tell within just an hour of play that the game could be ran through but i don't run through things. I go back and pick up the peaces like the stuff that i have'nt yet discovered or had a glance at yet. The creators were aiming towards a good direction, should'v kept going.. Still good however and with some interest. 7/10 since my experience in gameplay and the fun i had exploring was pleased.    … Expand
  94. ausgebombt85
    Aug 20, 2014
    6
    Unconventional is the word; its not a game but rather a display of an interactive short story. There are no game mechanics, no puzzles, nothing, just progression through unlocking sections of the house, and a beautiful story, with great music and voice acting. But it would not be fair to give it a higher score, yes its artistic, but I was expecting some kind of involvement through play,Unconventional is the word; its not a game but rather a display of an interactive short story. There are no game mechanics, no puzzles, nothing, just progression through unlocking sections of the house, and a beautiful story, with great music and voice acting. But it would not be fair to give it a higher score, yes its artistic, but I was expecting some kind of involvement through play, puzzles would have been nice.

    I wish this level of writing could be achieved by real games, but in the meantime, you've got "Gone Home".    … Expand
  95. Darthghost1
    Oct 28, 2013
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Wow

    Its been a good two months since I first played this game the day it was released, and let me just tell you I was surprised the community was so divisive over it. I decided to wait for the hype to wear off before I wrote anything.
    I paid 18 dollars for this game. I did not get my money worth. Do not get me wrong, the actual game (if you still want to call it that) is incredible. Engaging story, well-rounded characters, and a sense of discovery that rarely comes in games anymore. However, this whole "adventure" took me only 90 minutes. That's it. 18 bucks for 90 minutes. I don't care what I am playing, that is an absurd asking price. My advice to potential consumers? Wait for the price to drop. Or even better, wait for a steam sale. I just saw it go for 5 bucks last weekend and that my friend is a steal.
    I think everyone should try out this fresh take on storytelling from the people behind Bioshock 2: Minerva's Den. Just wait for the right price.    … Expand
  96. NickPreveza
    Jan 30, 2014
    7
    You either love it or hate it . For me , the game contains a beautiful story ... the price is unreasonable though ... just buy it on sale , like i did . Its about 45 minutes long , and you explore a house uncovering the life of your smaller sister ... Just this...and its sooo beautiful... .
  97. Genesis2010
    Sep 13, 2013
    7
    The people saying Gone Home is not a game failed to describe what "is" a "game". When Cinema began it has no sound and color, and then it has no computer generated content and so one. Now Cinema is a whole different thing than it was in the beginning of the 20th century. Video game is a new medium and no one know what will be a game tomorow. I need to applause to this studio to bringing usThe people saying Gone Home is not a game failed to describe what "is" a "game". When Cinema began it has no sound and color, and then it has no computer generated content and so one. Now Cinema is a whole different thing than it was in the beginning of the 20th century. Video game is a new medium and no one know what will be a game tomorow. I need to applause to this studio to bringing us a non-violent experience. I myself dont like the LGBT agenda being put everywhere but still i liked the story, it remind me of my teen years.… Expand
  98. p1menta
    Jun 9, 2019
    7
    too many bad reviews for an okay game. i wonder if it is related to the story being about a lesbian teen couple instead of hetero-broken-hearted-man's-self-pity
  99. ArjanS87
    Oct 25, 2013
    6
    Again I have to say in a game review that people by default try to rate a game as if it was made by the big game companies that produce big series. However, The Fullbright Company is a team that tries to bring their fresh view onto gaming from a virtually unknown reputation.
    The comments about it being a slightly repetitive, short game with little action are definitely true and if you    Again I have to say in a game review that people by default try to rate a game as if it was made by the big game companies that produce big series. However, The Fullbright Company is a team that tries to bring their fresh view onto gaming from a virtually unknown reputation.
    The comments about it being a slightly repetitive, short game with little action are definitely true and if you really need to have this in a game you better can skip this one.
    However, I personally found the narrative to be of such a quality that I kept on looking for new rooms and items, all the way until the end.
    Granted... it is not the best game by far and to say that it is good is already a heavy statement, but for the 10 euros I paid for it, it was well well worth the spending and I'll be keeping a sharp eye onto this fledgling company!    … Expand
  100. fluoridezombie
    Aug 28, 2013
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. i give this game a 5 cause i just played a whole game about lesbians and didn't see one tit or growler in the whole game, lame. there is a letter in the basement where she is taking about some steamy sex and when you read it you get cut off saying i don't want to read that, you game i wanted to read it!! lol story is good though keeps you locked in but is too short 20 bucks is a little steep for this.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

12
#12 Best PC Game of 2013
11
#11 Most Discussed PC Game of 2013
3
#3 Most Shared PC Game of 2013

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
86

Generally favorable reviews - based on 56 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 49 out of 56
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 56
  3. Negative: 0 out of 56
  1. JeuxActu
    Feb 10, 2015
    85
    Grow Home is an interesting surprise from a publisher who get used to mismanaging his own IP's. This platformer like no other has everything going for you and for a very low price tag. You can easily give it a try.
    Read full review
  2. IGN Italia
    Jan 5, 2014
    95
    A beautiful, emotionally engaging, artfully crafted game, completely centered around exploration and telling a mature story through interaction.
    Read full review
  3. RPG Fan
    Dec 2, 2013
    75
    A story that will move some and alienate others.
    Read full review
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