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. Grinchernator
    May 9, 2016
    0
    I actually played this a while ago on steam but quickly got a refund. I didn't write a review until now because playing this game wasted enough of my life. But after playing another shoe horned steaming pile of poo that rhymes with Halters fate: faugnqueirs I created this account to slam home a solid ZERO for another epic fail by Beam Dog. Lies and misdirection led sales of this game.I actually played this a while ago on steam but quickly got a refund. I didn't write a review until now because playing this game wasted enough of my life. But after playing another shoe horned steaming pile of poo that rhymes with Halters fate: faugnqueirs I created this account to slam home a solid ZERO for another epic fail by Beam Dog. Lies and misdirection led sales of this game. stay away. read user reviews. The critics are all bought.… Expand
  2. d0x
    Apr 18, 2016
    1
    I have no issue with the walking simulator genre itself provided it tells a good story but this story is awfully generic. Based on professional reviews you would think it was written by Shakespeare. That is not the case.

    The "gameplay" itself is nothing more than walking, finding notes and keys and hearing things read to you. If you go super slow and look everywhere... Every possible    I have no issue with the walking simulator genre itself provided it tells a good story but this story is awfully generic. Based on professional reviews you would think it was written by Shakespeare. That is not the case.

    The "gameplay" itself is nothing more than walking, finding notes and keys and hearing things read to you. If you go super slow and look everywhere... Every possible corner the game might take an hour to finish. There isn't $10 worth of quality story here let alone $20.

    The visuals aren't exactly ground breaking either nor is the audio so I'm not quite sure why the game released for $20.

    If the game was $5 I'd say go ahead and buy it but any higher and you are wasting your time and money. Luckily with steams refund policy you can return it after completion... If you can manage to suffer long enough to make it that far.

    There are ways to make "games" like this interesting. This developer did none of those things. Even that could be completely ignored if the story was compelling or even half way decent but you can find better stories on internet forums that are more artistically satisfying as well as free
    I bought this game on the day it came out based on what was certainly purposefully misleading information from what was at the time an independent gaming site that I had trusted more than any other.

    It was strongly insinuated that this was some type of horror title but it was never outright spoken in the name of "spoilers". The way they played and spoke and where they stopped was misleading to the point where I no longer trust a word this " journalist " writes and he's only gotten more deceptive since.

    .    … Expand
  3. Young_Nacho
    Apr 10, 2016
    9
    Gone Home is landmark game. A big step in the realm of interactive storytelling. This game completely captivates you if you let it. There's no real gameplay other than picking things up and walking around the house. The basic premise is that a girl comes home to find her house empty. She must explore the house to find out where everyone went. The atmosphere in this game is absolutelyGone Home is landmark game. A big step in the realm of interactive storytelling. This game completely captivates you if you let it. There's no real gameplay other than picking things up and walking around the house. The basic premise is that a girl comes home to find her house empty. She must explore the house to find out where everyone went. The atmosphere in this game is absolutely amazing. In the game, your character, Katie, hasn't been to this new house yet because she was out on a trip while her family moved in. This game really uses that and it makes you really feel like you are walking in on a strange old house for the first time. You feel the house creak as you walk through the dark halls. The noises of faint footsteps create an amazingly eerie atmosphere that makes you want to turn on all the lights as if you were actually exploring a dark house. It has a surprisingly haunting atmosphere that I wasn't expecting from this game but I absolutely loved it. I caught myself dropping an item to look around a corner to see if there was someone there several times. The creaks and cracks of the old house make it feel so much more real and life like. I Also felt the story was surprisingly captivating and emotional considering that if this were written as teen fiction, I wouldn't have read it. The fact that the story was told in a house that felt so real made it even more emotional. I felt connected to the game and it really felt like I was learning about someone else's life through the belongings left in their abandoned home. The struggles of the teenage life may seem kind of boring and a bit cliche, but this game made them feel so real. There was something about the way the story was presented that made me feel a lot more emotionally attached to it. It had so many small details that made this game seem so real, from recorded VHS tapes of The X-Files, to movie tickets to see Pulp Fiction, to the homework assignments on desks, this game felt alive. The best thing about the story is that the more you explore, the more you learn and the more pieces of the puzzle fit together in the end. While the main story is about your younger sister, there are several other stories about the other family member that can be discovered. Some of which are kind of dark (which I like). Some of these stories are really up to your interpretation based on the clues you've found around the house.

    In the end Gone Home is a hauntingly beautiful game that really feels alive. This game wont be for everyone (as evident by the negative reviews) but for fans of great interactive story telling, this game is a must.    … Expand
  4. royksteam123
    Mar 28, 2016
    10
    Very well done game even if its short, since it has so much detail. Hope to see more from the fullbright company in the future, great experience and a journey back to the 90s when i grew up
  5. mentalundead83
    Mar 15, 2016
    10
    ♥love this game♥ because of the story.Really enjoy the soundtrack who wouldn't! bratmobile,and the messages stand up fight back ! smash patriarchy! great game ! love it ,support it,can't wait for more ♥
    cons: it is a short duration game ,wish it was more!and a bity pricey since its a short game.
    but overall loved it cause of the story plot .

    P.S Smash Patriaarchy!! ;)
  6. hornygoatweeds
    Feb 28, 2016
    0
    This will be my second review, and I am only posting it because the undeserved Firewatch reviews reminded me of the time that all of the developers' friends in 'journalism' tried to trick users into thinking a 2 hour walking simulator comprised a great game. Gone Home sucks. **** off. Take a look at your user score and realize you didn't make a good game. Pretentious ****
  7. scottmland
    Feb 13, 2016
    9
    When people argue that videogames are not the future of storytelling, I would tell them to look here.

    While I concede that shallow yet entertaining video games such as the Call of Duty franchise, or any arena-type MMORPG, do not display the emotional trials of ourselves as human beings in any sort of groundbreakingly intelligent light, they also have their merits. In my opinion there    When people argue that videogames are not the future of storytelling, I would tell them to look here.

    While I concede that shallow yet entertaining video games such as the Call of Duty franchise, or any arena-type MMORPG, do not display the emotional trials of ourselves as human beings in any sort of groundbreakingly intelligent light, they also have their merits. In my opinion there are two types of videogames in most situations: interactive storytelling and pure entertainment. While I enjoy playing games like Black Ops 2, Planetary Annihilation, Castle Crashers, and Gang Beasts, I play those knowing that I won't take anything away, besides the fun of playing with friends or solo. I don't not expect any crushingly deep emotional story or mind breaking moral dilemma. I expect fun, and those games easily meet those expectations. Then there are games like Gone Home. This game, as well as Life is Strange, the upcoming Firewatch, and the Telltale Games series are meant to be played as you would read a book. You are meant to wholeheartedly invest yourself into these characters and plotlines, to empathize and sympathize, to develop one sided relationships with the protagonists and antagonists; wishing the best for the former, and maybe death to the latter. I’m not saying you can't invest yourself into the stories of entertainment orientated games like Tomb Raider, the Last of Us, or Uncharted. Or even Black Ops. If you really relate to and care about Alex Mason, his family and his plight, I can't fault you for that. I’m just saying in my opinion that isn't truly what those games are meant for.

    So, moving forward with the theme that games like Gone Home are meant to affect the player as a good novel would, emotionally, we can observe how the story of this game can be judged as such. Despite the rather snoopish feeling of going through a teenage girl's things for a few hours; if you manage to put that strange, uneasy feeling behind you, and put yourself in the shoes of the returning Katie, who has come home to an empty house and needs to investigate this oddity, the game really does come into its own. I, personally, felt all the emotions I would if my sister were to disappear. And the plot points revealed further through Sam's wonderfully voice acted journals each tore at my heartstrings, and occasionally I felt myself rushing to unlock the next entry, to reveal more of the mystery, one that is not scary or action-packed, but is still engaging and intriguing. If it was a novel, I would buy it. As a videogame, I found that the interactivity of the world; drawers, lights, drawers was well done, quite immersive. I found myself turning off lights as I left rooms (especially after finding a scolding note from the parents about the bad habit of leaving them on) and closing doors to respect the virtual privacy of the virtual non-rendered family members. And as for the secrets and simple puzzles like lock combinations and hidden areas, I felt they were fitting, without being forced.

    All in all, I enjoyed this game to the very end. I played it all the way through and felt the same emotional craving for more as if my favorite book or movie had just ended, and I have to tear myself away from these beautiful characters to embrace reality again. If you like to connect to characters, to feel with them, and follow a story that you can choose to flesh out completely or leave as bare as you feel suits you; if you enjoy games that make you feel human, that make you think about and connect your life to these digital people you cannot possibly know. If you enjoy good storytelling, buy this game.

    But don't expect action.

    Edit: I think the price of this game is a bit much. I wasn't aware of the pricing until recently because I got this in a humble bundle. Wait for it to go on sale. It's like paying for the hardcover version of a book when you can wait for the softcover.
    Im not Spoole, a good game doesnt have to work out to be a dollar an hour, but an hour and a half doesn't equal $20 in my opinion, unless its the greatest story ever told, or replayable like a ************.
    It is a great story though. And a good game.    … Expand
  8. jlenoconel
    Feb 13, 2016
    0
    The only feelz this game gave me was an inpending feeling of doom that I just wasted $20 on such garbage. All this game is is basically walking from room to room, opening draws and cupboards, and listening to dialogue. Something VERY wrong with the gaming industry if stuff like this is getting perfect scores from game journalisys.
  9. Luizzrz
    Feb 13, 2016
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. You're finally home and find out by interacting with pictures/books that your family is absolutely f*****, your father has a psycho for an uncle, your mother has pretty much an affair, your sister is a lesbian and ran away with her lover and that's all.

    Saved you $20.    … Expand
  10. nathalieyoyo
    Jan 29, 2016
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The game gone home it`s about a girl named Kaitlin Greenbriar and her empty house. Kaitlin returns from Europe and found out that no one it`s home. Samanta`s letter hang on the door, and Kaitlin will later find out where her sister and family is. Kaitlin have to find the keyhouse and escape the whole house to find out what just happened to her sister Samantha, her mom Janice and her father Terrence.

    Gone Home was a very interesting game at the beginning. Graphics in the game was a bit scary because all the colours was a bit dark. All the sounds in the game was a bit creepy, I can hear when Kaitlin walk, opened the doors and much more. Sound and the graphics combined together very well. That makes the game seems and sounds interesting and a bit scarier than I thought. Gone home was a bit sad because her sister Samantha has no friends except her best friend Loonie, and they ends up to be girlfriend/boyfriend. In the house, there was many secret rooms and secret doors, that was very interesting for me. Personally I mean the length of the game was not long enough and the ending was so badly. I just got opened Samantha's book and the game was just done already. In the kitchen I think I saw a calendar, the parents went one week on holiday to a wedding when Kaitlin finally came home. Samantha was just gone, and i don't know 100% where she is and what had happened to her. So that's the whole reason why the ending of the game was bad. Kaitlins parents should die and be a very scary, dangerous ghost or zombie. In that way, the game should be very god.

    I mean that we should play something adventure games like this gone home again, because I like it. Normal english lessons there we have to write much and read in the books it's not fun. It's much funnier and better when we can play games with a partner or alone. I learned how the game world was, I learned some new words in the game and I feel that I worked very well in this way.    … Expand
  11. kake11
    Jan 29, 2016
    4
    The game is about a girl name Katie who been in Europe, and when she came home the house was empty. And she had no idea where her parents and sister could have been. She started to look after information on where they are. She found out that her parents had moved to new house and her sister Samantha was gone. And she found a lot of information about her sister that she don’t know before.The game is about a girl name Katie who been in Europe, and when she came home the house was empty. And she had no idea where her parents and sister could have been. She started to look after information on where they are. She found out that her parents had moved to new house and her sister Samantha was gone. And she found a lot of information about her sister that she don’t know before.
    The game is a typical mysterious game, and the house was fully with a lot of secrets. The house was huge, and we had to go everywhere to find out what we was looking for. The graphic was really good, and it was like we are there in real life. The narrator tell in chronological time, but you can find a lot of information that are in past time.
    I think the key message is when you are gone for a while, and when you came back everything could have been changed. You have to accept that not everything was as before, because everything can changes.    … Expand
  12. MarianneWB
    Jan 29, 2016
    4
    Gone Home
    Gone home was about a girl named Kaitlin Greenbriar that returns home in June, 1995 to a mansion in Arbor Hill, Oregon. When Kaitlin enters the house she realizes that nobody is home. Kaitlin investigates the house and try to find out where the family is. Her mum Janice, her dad Terry and her sister Samantha (Sam) Greenbriar. The player, Kaitlin, find objects which open other    Gone Home
    Gone home was about a girl named Kaitlin Greenbriar that returns home in June, 1995 to a mansion in Arbor Hill, Oregon. When Kaitlin enters the house she realizes that nobody is home. Kaitlin investigates the house and try to find out where the family is. Her mum Janice, her dad Terry and her sister Samantha (Sam) Greenbriar. The player, Kaitlin, find objects which open other area in the house. She found a lot of letters in drawers and secret rooms. It was most letters about her sister Samantha, and her journal. You have to search for information and keys while you exploring. You have to find a key to the attic.
    Kaitlin didn’t find her family when she came home, and then I think this is the message. That it is not funny to don’t find her family. She didn’t understand what have happened whit them.
    The game was a bit fun, but it was difficult to find out what I search for, but it was easier when I find more and more information. You have to use the map and the information you have found a lot to find secret rooms.
    The photography was very good. The game was more realistic when the photography and pictures was good. It looks like you was in the game. It was also good music and sound effects, for an example thunderstorm. So that was a plus. It was also cassettes that was very fun to play.
    I didn’t like the game so much, because it was very much information to find. It took a lot of time to find all information’s and keys to open the attic. I was very excited for the end, but the end was very bad and boring. In the end I didn’t get a result on what have happened with the family, special Sam. I expected to find a dead body of Sam or something, but the only thing I found was a book. Just one little book. When I opened it, the game was over.
    Because of that I think I will give the game a 4/10.    … Expand
  13. SiljeAG
    Jan 29, 2016
    5
    The game is about a girl named Kati who has been in Europa, and when she comes back to USA, her parents and sister are not at home. She goes inside the house and she finds many clues about where everyone is. She learns that her parents have moved to a new house, and her sister has run away to start a new and better life.
    In this short story, the main character tries to find out where her    The game is about a girl named Kati who has been in Europa, and when she comes back to USA, her parents and sister are not at home. She goes inside the house and she finds many clues about where everyone is. She learns that her parents have moved to a new house, and her sister has run away to start a new and better life.
    In this short story, the main character tries to find out where her family is. In addition, we see a lot of things and clues after Kati’s sister so she is almost the second main character. Her job is to give clues to her sister, in order to tell her where she is. She places a lot of different items and information in many secret rooms and all over the house. Some of those things we find are letters, pictures, music, articles, and many newspapers.
    The game has many journals from Sam that we can listen to in many different places in the house. All these things makes the game more exiting, because without them, the game would be a bit boring.
    The game can be played in chronological sequence, but it is not necessary because we find clues from many time periods. The game jump in time, actually. I think it is better to not to play the game in chronological sequence, because it makes the story more exiting.
    I think the key message is that when you leave your family, a lot of things can be different when you come home again. That means that you cannot accept that all things are the same, because all things changes.
    Personally, I think the game was a bit boring, because the only thing I did was going around in the house to find clues about where the family was. It would have been more exiting if we actually met her parents or sister. On a scale from 1-10, I give 5.    … Expand
  14. siljeH
    Jan 29, 2016
    4
    Katie returned home after a year in Europe. When she realize that the house is left empty. Neither her little sister, mother nor father is at home in the new house. As Katie wants you to find out what has happened and must lift and examine all kinds of things around the house. Perhaps there is a letter from the mother Greenbriar his job in a drawer, or half of a code to a cupboard underKatie returned home after a year in Europe. When she realize that the house is left empty. Neither her little sister, mother nor father is at home in the new house. As Katie wants you to find out what has happened and must lift and examine all kinds of things around the house. Perhaps there is a letter from the mother Greenbriar his job in a drawer, or half of a code to a cupboard under the pizza box.

    The entire plot of gone home takes place in the family Greenbriars home. They have recently moved in, and around the house are evidence of this. Halfway unpacked moving boxes and things that are positioned exactly where it should be located everywhere.

    The action was set to 1995. How things were at that time was old, I think then. Cassettes with recordings, Nintendo games and postcards with stamps are some of the things you will recognize. The house is like a time machine where you traveled back to the 90s. Not all the things I found had useful information.    … Expand
  15. RonjaPernille
    Jan 29, 2016
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Gone home
    The game gone home starts with a girl named Katie. She arrives home after a year of traveling in Europe and finds the house empty of people. Her sister, mother and father have all disappeared. The whole game involves on looking for items in the house and reading information that you find. When I played the game I found diaries that Sam, Katie’s sister left for Katie. The diaries told me a little bit about what happened to everyone, it was sort of like a little story. I also found notes and a lot of other things in the house.
    When you play the game you can sort of play it in the wrong order, but also in the correct order. Everyone starts at the porch when Katie comes home, but when you are in the house and when you are looking for clues, it is not necessarily in the right order you find them. You can for example find Sam’s diaries like that. In the game there was some symbols that I could find. One of them was a drawing of a heart with Sam’s and Lonnie’s initials together. Later I found the same kind of heart on a drawing but it was broken in two. I thought that was really fun for the story.
    One thing I liked about this game was the sounds and the design. I thought the Items you could find in the story was really well made. For example the music player that played the band’s music, the art that showed Katie’s family and other detailed things. The music fitted very well for the story and Sam’s voice was really soothing and relaxing. I also really liked the secret passage ways, they looked really old and they uncovered interesting secrets about the rest of the story.
    I think the key message of this story is that being gay is not easy and it is especially hard if your own family won’t support you. It may be easier now in 2015 for gay people, but this game takes place in the 1994. At that time people were maybe less accepting. Even today a lot of people are against gay people and this story shows what the consequences of not accepting a gay family member can lead to.
    Personally I liked this game very much. It was not exactly the kind of game I had hoped for. I expected a spooky game with ghosts and monsters. Based on the intro with the dark abandoned house, I really thought it was a haunted house. Regardless of that I thought it was fun and I think I learned very much about how it can be for people who does not have it that easy with their parents and themselves. I loved the game and I would give it an 9.    … Expand
  16. Fantorangen
    Jan 29, 2016
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Gone Home Game Review

    The game is about a 20 year old young lady called Katie Greenbriar. She had been away for about year in Europe, but when she came home her family was not there. So she starts exploring the house to find out what had happened to them. When she was looking for clues she found a lot of notes from her younger sister Samantha or just Sam. On the notes there was all about what had happened to Sam. Katie looks threw the whole house just to find out what had happened to her sister Sam.

    The main message of the novel/game “Gone Home” is that it was not very easy to be lesbian or a least think that you are lesbian in 1995. Today in 2016 it is pretty easy and you will not have so many problems if you are gay/bisexual or lesbian. That is because we are a lot more open about how people feel for each other then people were in 1995. So it is mostly about the struggle of being lesbian because of all of the highly christian people and all of the homophobes. That luckily are a lot fewer of today.

    The narrative style is chronological because she starts out on the porch when the door is locked. Then you have to find maps and secret passageways to find out what really happened with Sam. There are some things you need to find if you want to complete the game such as a map. After you have found everything you can come to the attic and that is where you find out what happened with Samantha.

    There are many symbols such as the Holy Bible you find in the parents room. The Holy Bible is a symbol for that Terrence and Janice were religious. That is maybe why Sam was scared of being a lesbian because of christians are against lesbian and gays and so on. Another symbol is the games in Samantha's room for that it was a long time ago. Not just yesterday.

    The gameplay in my opinion was quite bad. It lagged a bit but it could just be the school laptop. They are not the best sadly. The main point is that the game worked. We could play without a problem and the game in general was quite good. There were a few easter eggs that I liked which were cool. That was a big plus.

    I would give this game four stars out of five. That is because there were many cool items and easter eggs. The story was very good. I felt that I was surprised nearly every time I found out something new. I was also always curious about what was going to happen. The only bad thing was the gameplay. The graphics were not the best and the actual gameplay was a bit shaky.    … Expand
  17. Kroko1234
    Jan 29, 2016
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Gone Home

    Gone Home

    Katie comes home after a year in Europe. Voltage turned quickly into amazement when she realizes that the house stands empty . No little sister, mother or father is at home in the new , semi- stranger their house. What have happened. Where they are? Where they went from the new house? Your mission is to help to find out this. You will find secret passages and documents that will help you to find out of this mystery.

    Gone Home is the biggest gameplay I have had. Gone Home was so realistic. In the house you will find cartridges, recording box etc. All this is clearly helping to make the game more realistic. This is the best game I ever have played.

    In the house you will find cartridges, recording box etc. All this is clearly helping to make the game more realistic.

    I give it a big six-star rating. You must play it.    … Expand
  18. 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
  19. 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
  20. VidarM
    Jan 28, 2016
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Gone Home

    You’re the 19 years old girl named Katie Greenbriar that comes home to a “new” house after being in Europe for a year. The year is 1995 and you’re family have moved to your dead uncles villa. When u come home to your “new” house the clock is 1:15 AM and there is a storm outside. When I come inside the house you discover that all the lights are off and nobody is home. While you’re progressing around the house looking for clues about where your family is gone and you find more and more weird notes from you’re Sister Sam Greenbriar.

    I think the key message is that you should be yourself and don’t act different for other people. A lot of people hide their self just so other people think they are “cool”. I think it’s wrong because everyone is different and there is nothing that u can call weird or unusual.
    Sam is lesbian but haven’t told it because she thinks her family would get mad at here because they were Christians.

    The game itself is chronologic but the notes are from different times so you need to put them in the right order to fully understand the story line. I’m pretty sure the whole game happens in one night but the notes give you years of information and you learn a lot more about your family trough the notes and diary entrances.
    The game got a lot of different symbols about the different thoughts and ways of life. You can find a skull in the first room that is from the day of the dead which is a Spanish celebration day for the dead. You can find a Demon ritual under the stairs and you can find a bible.

    The game talks a lot about human relationships. In the Diary entries you learn a lot about the family, and Sam’s struggles with “fitting” in. In the diary’s Sam talks about how she doesn’t like the other girls and how she’s only been a friend with a boy that was living to close to her before the family moved.

    The main characters is Sam but you’re playing as Katie which is kind of strange as not many games does that kind of style. Some of the Other characters are Terrence Greenbriar, Janice Greenbriar and Lonnie.

    The game is romantic/sad. The feeling of the game is pretty sad and reminds me of a Horror game when u walk around in the dark house and u hear the Rain hit the house walls and the thunder strikes outside. The music is slow and helps the sad feel of the game flow.

    The gameplay is pretty good because of the story and diary entries. The game got no Action because of the simple reason of being a story telling game and not a shooting game. The game functions pretty well but I had a hard time finding the hitboxes of some of the smaller objects and doors. Some of the objects that could move seemed a bit buged since if u closed spammed open and close at a door and walking into it u could get inside the door or just walk through the door.

    I personally really liked the game and it was well made. What Fulbright managed to do with the game is incredible and I liked the soundtrack, diaries and story.

    I rate the game 7/10    … Expand
  21. 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
  22. HenrietteSophie
    Jan 28, 2016
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Gone Home - Game Review
    The game Gone Home is a short story that tells us about to sisters and their parents. This game brings us back to 1995. The biggest sister Katie has been away for one year in Europe. When she was gone, her family had moved to their dead uncle’s house, which is called the psycho house.

    When she comes home from Europe, the house is dark and the family is gone. The wind is blowing and you can hear the rain pouring down. She is coming home to a note on the door. The house is messy and empty, its obvious that something strange has happened there.

    The game is a little scary with all the sounds, the thunder and the rain, and its not better with a dark house rather.

    Gone home gives you the story of the people who live there. The story is beautiful, and when you play, you are getting to know the Greenbriar family better. You are playing the character Kaitlin Greenbriar, the oldest sister. The house is big and you have to go around in the house to find out what has happened. There is a lot of rooms to discover, and to some of the doors, you must find the keys. There is much to discover.

    The game is a little difficult to understand sometimes, but it is a very interesting story. The story focuses on Sam, and on your way you will hear some journals that Sam has written to Katie. The story is build up from the notes and journals form Sam. Its about her life, and her love who is difficult. She is a lesbian and her parents aren’t so happy with that. But where is everyone? That are exactly what the players are going to find out when they play.    … Expand
  23. solveigrose
    Jan 28, 2016
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Gone home – Game Review

    The game is from the 90`s, and they lived in an old house. The game handled about a girl named Kathy Greenbrier and mostly of her sister Samantha, Kathy moved away from her family and friends to study. When she came home her parents and sister was disappeared, and she couldn’t find them. She looked around in the house after any clues that could help her finding them. Or finding out where they were. Kathy found many letters and audio files that the sister (Sam) had left in the house. And that was very helpful for Kathy. In the end Kathy understood everything. Why they left and everything. But she cannot find them. Everything is about the sister Samantha, why she left and which file she has.
    The house in the game was very big and so pretty. But it was kind of old, from the 90`s or something. The house had many rooms, and almost every bedroom had a bathroom. Many of the rooms wasn’t in use, but full of boxes. It looked very real because of all the things everywhere. For example in the bathroom it was toilet paper on the floor.
    The game's key message is that it’s complicated to be lesbian, and the entire struggle behind it. Sam didn’t have it very easy; it was all though for her. But she was strong and made it okay and she also kind of admitted it for the sister and the rest of the family. She was scared about her feelings for Lonnie. And she didn’t know that gay is ok. But she may show us that the solution is not to run away and hide. That might be the message number two.
    Sam`s diary book was kind of a symbol to her sister. Symbol of her love, her love to Kathy. She had written in it almost every day, just to Kathy. She was confirming that she didn’t left because she wanted, but because she didn’t have a choice. Sam wanted to be home when Kathy arrived, but she couldn’t. She's explaining this in her diary book. She’s explaining that her love to Kathy is so big, bigger than she thought.
    The hardest or the toughest thing in the game most have been to open the closet (blue) in Samantha’s room, there we needed a code. In the beginning we couldn’t find the code, it was hidden. But finally we managed and fulgurated what the code was, and realized that it wasn’t so hard that we thought. It was a challenge!

    The music in the game was good, and placed at the rights times. It was helping the game to be more exciting, special and funny. Some places the music scared me, just because of the music.
    Telling was chronological or jumping forwards in time? It was kind of both. But most chronological, sometimes they jumped forwards in time. In addition it was ending with the end.
    The game was funny to play, but sometimes it was kind of boring. It was funny to go around in the house and find clues. What I liked with the game was that it was kind of realistic. Realistic stuff was everywhere in the house, and it felt realistic to play. Many of the doors were closed. So we had to find a key or another way into the room. Some places in the house it was secret “doors” on the walls, and it was kind of hard to get in. But it was fun to think an experimenter around in the house. Some of the letters was very much text, very much to read. So that was in a way boring. All in all I was enjoying playing it, my judgment of 1-10 are 7-10.    … Expand
  24. Rachelhestad
    Jan 28, 2016
    9
    Game review – Gone Home

    Gone Home is a game where you as the player takes place in Kaitlin Greenbriar, the first-person view. It’s June 6th 1995 and Kaitlin just got home from a year in Europe. In the year that has past her family has moved to a new house, but her sister wasn’t really excited about it. When Kaitlin arrives to the new house, it is empty. A storm is coming closer, and    Game review – Gone Home

    Gone Home is a game where you as the player takes place in Kaitlin Greenbriar, the first-person view.
    It’s June 6th 1995 and Kaitlin just got home from a year in Europe. In the year that has past her family has moved to a new house, but her sister wasn’t really excited about it. When Kaitlin arrives to the new house, it is empty. A storm is coming closer, and Kaitlin needs to find the house key which is hidden in the porch and comes in to a messy foyer. The house is gigantic, and there is a lot of doors and rooms to discover. The story is build up from the journals and notes from Sam, which Kaitlin finds around in the house.

    The game has a spooky touch caused by the lightning which is a little dark, you can hear the storm outside and there are somethings which is kind of strange and unexpected.

    I think this game was pretty fun, since it’s a short story made in to a game, you also get to hear the story. I think the story and the game graphics is pretty good too.
    In the beginning I thought it was kind of boring, but as soon as I really got in to it and understood what I was supposed to do, it became really fun and exciting
    The ability to move is good, but there is some adjustments in how you normally use a keyboard and touchpad if you don’t play often. But after a little while you get used to it and the game will appear even more fun and interesting, at least it did for me.    … Expand
  25. 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
  26. Oskipromlg
    Jan 28, 2016
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. After attending in Europe for a year Katie comes home to the states. In this timeline her family has moved to a new house. When she comes home she finds an empty note on the front door and an empty house. When you as the person in control enter the house the mood is dark and with the storm outside it gets kind of scary, you almost get the feeling that something is going to jump at you from around any corner.
    The gameplay is kind of boring and the graphics could be better. But the story itself is interesting with many twists and unexpected turns. There are turns about the main character Sam and her uncle Oscar.
    The function of the main character Sam is to make you want to play the game more, because she records herself, talking about her day and general stuff going on in her life. These cassettes you are going to find throughout the house and these are the “connectors” for the story to make sense.
    The whole game is played in 1st person, the music is kind of scary and sad, there are no cut scenes or “quick time events” in the game.
    My personal experience with the game wasn’t the best. I didn’t like the game because I thought the gameplay was a bit slow. I would give the game a 5/10.    … Expand
  27. Kamalias
    Jan 28, 2016
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The game is about this girl who just came home from a year in Europe. Her family recently moved to her dead uncle’s house. She arrives at the new house in the middle of the night. You could hear the rain pouring down. The door is locked. On the door there is a note, written by her sister Sam. Where is everyone?

    There’s two parallel stories in the game. One is about her dead uncle, the other one is about love. The one with her dead uncle I assume was in the game to make it seem scary. However the main story is about difficult love. It gives the game some romance.
    It’s quite a realistic way of telling a story I think. Everything is truly well founded.

    There are several things you need to find to manage to get forward in the game. You can’t finish it without finding a lot of different notes and codes. This makes the game chronological.

    In almost every room in the house you can find a holy bible. If you're really good, you would notice this. The game uses this book to show her family's Christian beliefs. Sam writes a lot in her diary about this girl named Lonnie. Later in the game she opens up and tells that she's gay. You can imagine how her parents responded to this. This made the game a bit dramatic.

    The graphics were surprisingly good. As I said earlier they told the story in a realistic way, the display was three-dimensional which made the game look realistic as well. Despite of this, there were many things annoying me throughout the game. One of them was the darkness. Everywhere you went it was dark. It felt like I spent more time turning on the lights then actually playing the game. I also had some trouble to stand up after going low. This may have been the computer though. The music was okey. I didn't notice it that much really.
    What I did like with the game was the diary. As you walked through the house a girl suddenly started talking. This was Sam telling her diary. It gives you major clues. I needed these very badly. The best part was the end. It was unexpected and nice.

    To be honest, I don't like gaming at all. This of course had a huge impact on my experience. I liked the scary part with this game. Sam and her love story was not that great, but ok I think. I give it a 7 out of 10.    … Expand
  28. Madelen
    Jan 28, 2016
    7
    Gone Home – game review
    In the game Gone Home you play a 19 years old girl, named Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn has been on a trip to Europe for 1 year. When she arrived back home at 1:15 am, the first thing that she sees is a note in the door. The note I from her sister Sam. The note says that Sam has left and she don’t want anybody to look after her.
    In the game you get to go into your dead crazy    Gone Home – game review
    In the game Gone Home you play a 19 years old girl, named Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn has been on a trip to Europe for 1 year. When she arrived back home at 1:15 am, the first thing that she sees is a note in the door. The note I from her sister Sam. The note says that Sam has left and she don’t want anybody to look after her.
    In the game you get to go into your dead crazy uncle’s house and explore. It is many secrets in the house, and secret passages. In the game you find many journals that belongs to Sam. When you listen to them, you can hear about different stories that Sam Is telling, and you get to know her more.
    When you first start the game you might think it is a scary game, but after you have finished the game you realize that it is a nice story. The story has many small details but most of all it is about love.
    The graphics in the game was not bad, but it was not that good either. I think that the sounds was a bit creepy, but it was also fun. The game jumps a little in time, and it was hard to understand everything in the beginning. But after a while playing it, I began to understand more.
    I liked the game, it was funny to explore in the house, and find out Sam’s story. I will rate the game 7 out of 10.    … Expand
  29. FilipWiik
    Jan 28, 2016
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Gone home

    Game review:

    Gone home was a game about a girl called Kaitlyn Greenbriar. She had been to Europe for a year. While she had been gone, her family had moved to this new house. But when she came home, there was no one there. The rain was pouring down and the wind was blowing.

    I think the main message in this game was to tell a short story about Kaitlyn’s little sister Samantha Greenbriar, and to show how to tell a short story in a game setting.

    The story is told in a chronologic order. With letters from Samantha every few months while Kaitlyn had been gone.

    It was quite a few important relationships in this game. Of course one of the relationships in the game was the family, but it wasn’t really the most important relationship in the game. In my opinion Samantha’s relationship to Loney was by far the most important in the game. But it also looked like Samantha had a pretty special relationship to her bigger sister Kaitlyn because of all the letters she wrote for her.

    Even though Kaitlyn is the controllable character in this game, I think that Samantha was the main person in this story. The reason I think Samantha was the main person is because the story told in this game was mainly about Samantha, and the whole point of the game was to find out about the story.

    I think the tone and setting in this game was quite creepy. With the empty house, the weather, all of the dark rooms in the house, and that the game was set in night-time made the whole setting both creepy and pretty mysterious.

    The gameplay in this game was at least in my opinion a bit boring. Without any action really happening and you just going around in a dark house all by yourself wasn’t the most exciting I’ve ever played. And I don’t know if it was the game or if it was just the computer I was playing on, but the frames per second rate seemed really slow and because of that the game had a lot of lag. And by doing nothing else than looking for letters and reading them made the game really bad in my opinion. But even though I wasn’t a fan of this kind of game, I could really see why some people would like it.

    If I were to rate this game I unfortunately wouldn’t be able to give it more than a 4/10.    … Expand
  30. HeleneRos
    Jan 28, 2016
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Game review: Gone home
    In this game, you play a girl named Kaitlyn Greenbriar. After a year traveling around Europe you come home to your family's new house. The date is June 7, 1994 and the clock is 01:15 am. The rain is pouring down, it is lightning and thundering. But something is of. Your sister isn't home but she has left you notes and journals all around the house. Your next mission is to go around in the house and find out what has happened and where your sister. But you should know, the story does not end how you think it will end in the start. You will discover a moving story about not being accepted for who you are and about what some will do for true love.

    I think the games main message is that even your closest family may not know who you really are, and when they find out they may not understand. That even though you think you know your parents, they may be keeping a lot of secrets from you. And those secrets will come out one day. If you want to know them or not.
    If the story is chronologic or not depends on how you go forward. In the end you will get the whole story but at first it won’t really make sense unless you listen to all the journals in the correct order. So it kind jumps in time but that will even out.
    Gone home has an environment that really helps on the excitement of the game. The lightning, thunder and the rain makes a perfect environment for a game like this. When they also have added the creaking in the house and the sound of doors opening and closing it just makes it even creepier.
    In addition to the moving story about Kaitlyn’s sister Sam, they bring up important political meanings. Since Sam starts dating her friend Lonnie we hear about how Sam at first tries not to bring it up. But after a while she tells her parents. Sam thought that they would get angry at her but that they would have accepted it after a while. But she got really angry. Because her parents didn’t just get angry, they started saying that it was just a phase and that she and Lonnie was just good friends. Her parents wouldn’t let Sam and Lonnie hang out as much as they used to and they wouldn’t accept the fact that Sam was a lesbian.    … Expand
  31. KarenNaalsund
    Jan 28, 2016
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Gone home is a short story game about Sam Greenbriar, Kaitlin
    Greenbriar’s sister. Kaitlin is the person everyone who play the game are. Kaitlin is a 19 year old girl, who has been traveling around in Europe for a year. When she comes home, the year is 1995. In the past year her family has moved to a new house, and when she comes home again, she comes home to an empty and messy house. She starts walking around in the house, and finds a lot of clues, about what happened and where the sister is. The game is about finding out where her sister Sam is, and what has happened the last year. The main message is about Sam and Lonnie’s “forbidden” love for each other. It jumps a little bit in time, it just depends on which journal you find. The game is a short story with a touch of love in it, because as Kaitlin walks around in the house, she finds journals her sister left to her. In the journals you hear about Sam and Lonnie’s love, how it was for Sam to move and start on a new school, and how her life is after she moved here.
    The game is build up nice. The house is this big mansion, with a cabin look, (the walls is made of a dark three type, and old furniture, or not as modern. But I wouldn’t say it was that old, because this game takes place in 1995. The game where bugging a little bit, but that was the pc we used I think.
    I thought this game where fun to play, and I recommend it to both boys and girls in an age of 13 and up. The reason I will say from 13 years old is because it was a little bit hard to understand what the meaning of the game was at first.
    I will give the game from a scale from 1 to 10 a 7.    … Expand
  32. 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
  33. Lolphy1234
    Jan 28, 2016
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Gone home
    The game is about Kaitlin Greenbriar whose just arriving home from her trip to Europe?
    The main message of the game I think is that people can be quite different on the inside than it seems.
    The game is straight forwards but it jumps a bit back and forwards.
    Some symbols are used in the game but as far as I could see they did not have any particular meaning.
    Relationships that are mentioned are lovers and family relations.
    The main character is Kaitlin Greenbriar who is discovering her own past.
    The game enviorment is pretty dark not only because how the house progresses but also due to the feeling that something terrible has taken place in that house.
    The mood of the game is quite dark or psychopathic.
    The creators did a good job in making this game they did an amazing job with the music and imagery.
    The gameplay is a little bit to slow and sometimes the framerate dropped quite a bit (but that might just be the computer I played it on.
    I personaly think this game is a great idea for use in for example school, although it was kind of boring but still I enjoied the game a whole lot.    … Expand
  34. Maaagzboi
    Jan 28, 2016
    7
    Gone Home

    The game. Kaitlin came home from a trip in Europe, her family had moved to a new house when Kaitlin where in Europa. When Kaitlin came to the new house, the house was empty. She started looking after her sister, and she found letters and tapes all around the house about her sister and her parents. She found out much information about her sister, and then she walk down to the    Gone Home

    The game.
    Kaitlin came home from a trip in Europe, her family had moved to a new house when Kaitlin where in Europa. When Kaitlin came to the new house, the house was empty. She started looking after her sister, and she found letters and tapes all around the house about her sister and her parents. She found out much information about her sister, and then she walk down to the basement...
    The game is very realistic and its look like you’re walking in to a real house but you’re doing it on an computer. The house looks like all other houses, or maybe it’s a bit old. The toilet looks realistic and there is magazine’s in the house that looks like It’s taken from the real life. The graphic could be better, but the rest I think was very good.
    The narrative style is chronological but you find much information from the old time. There are some letters and tapes that was made when the moved, and some letters that was made a long time ago.
    The main character function is that she’s coming home from a trip to Europe, when she came home there where no one home. Then she starts looking after her sister. There are one main character and that is Kaitlin , but there is also one more person that is very important in this game. You learn about some people when your playing the game. Kaitlin, Sam, her mother, her uncle, her father and some others.
    My experience after I played this game is that if you have been on a trip to somewhere, and your coming home, everything has maybe changed. It was not boring playing this game, and the game is has span lift in it.
    In last I would give this game and 7 out of 10 as an rating    … Expand
  35. ColaSponge
    Jan 28, 2016
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I would not recommend to spend 20$ on this game. It is no gamplay in this game, the story is flat, and the ending is horrible. So i would not buy this to play in my spare time.
    Now, the game is original. It is different, and creative. To be honest, i am not a fan of story-games at all. I mostly enjoy more action packed games. So i thought this was a bad game.

    You play as a young woman named Katilin Greenbriar. You are the oldest sister of the family. Kate has just arrived home after spending one year in Europe. The family has moved to a new home during your time in Europe, and when you arrive to the mansion, you find a empty house. Both the parents, and the younger sister is gone. During the time you play, you can pick up examine objects. Some of these objects triggers journals. The journals is the younger sister, Sam, talking about the year without her sister, the new school, friends and problems.
    If you pay attention to these journals, you will find out why Sam left almost instanly. So the storytelling, which i consider a major key to success in a story-game, was very bad aswell. And i was also frusterated by all the secret alleys, near the end of the game i became irritated and just wanted to smack the laptop down and go play some football/soccer.
    The graphics is not a important part of the game, but i will note that it was like Minecraft. And the FPS (Frames per Second) was also bad, prolly as low as the rating i gave the game.
    And in the end, after all the secret alleys, the searching for items to get to that attic, you of course come to the ending. Which is bad, very dissapointing indeed. You don’t even find out what happened to the parents. I have heard that they went on a vacation, but who does that when they’re daughter which they have not seen in a year, finally returns to the new mansion. Very dissapointing indeed.    … Expand
  36. THE_HELPFUL_FOX
    Jan 28, 2016
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. GONE HOME Review
    Story
    (The game is around 1995) the game is about Kaitlin Greenbear who came home to her parents but they have left and she is trying to find out why and where the family have moved, you walk around and explore a big mansion while discovering the secrets that lies within the house.
    The Message of the Game
    I think the games message is that they try to show you how it is to get home to an empty house without knowing where your family has left to without telling you.
    Symbols
    There`s symbols and books in the house that shows signs of exorcism in the house.
    Sound, graphics
    The background sounds gets very repetitive and boring, it`s supposed to make the house creepy but after a while it get very boring. The game has decent graphic cannot complain about that. But the game has performance issues that makes the game more disappointing
    Actual Review
    I think the game was actually boring because all you do is to explore and investigate the house until you finish it, and there is not as entertaining as you would think. You play for a couple minutes, decide the game is bad and quit playing it and waste of time and money but you decide yourself I am just a person who did not like the game. I give it 3/10    … Expand
  37. Sigridsmeby
    Jan 28, 2016
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The game takes place in the 90’s and it is all about Samantha Greenbriar. Her sister, Kaitlin, comes home from Europe and she finds all these diaries that Sam left for her to find. Before Kaitlin left they were living in another house, and she comes back to a new but empty house. Kaitlin has to find all the diaries, the hidden entries and all of the clues Sam left for her. The diaries are supposed to tell Kaitlin where Sam is and why she’s there. In the end Sam turns out to be gay, but her parents do not allow it. She ran away with her girlfriend, Lonnie, and that is what she want her sister to know. Sam does not tell her sister where their parents are. Maybe she doesn’t know where they are or she’s still hiding something from her.

    The way you play the game is by using the mouse and the arrows on the keypad. The player watches everything from Katie’s perspective. Once you get it, it’s pretty easy to play.

    I think that the game are supposed to tell us that “gay’s okay”! There’s nothing wrong with admitting that you’re different. Certainly, Sam did not have it very easy. She had a lot of difficulties. It must be so hard admitting to herself and her parents that she’s a lesbian. And her parents not approving, certainly doesn't make it any easier.

    The story isn’t just chronological. It starts when Kaitlin gets home from Europe, and then it goes on until we finally end up at Sam’s dark room. We also get to hear about things that has happened in the past. In that way it is also jumping in time.

    Sam’s diaries is kind of a symbol of her love for her sister. By leaving them for Kaitlin she shows her that she loves her and want her to know what happened.

    This is certainly a realistic story. This could happen. All the hidden doors and the cellar may not be as realistic, but the actual story could defiantly take place in real life. The story has a romantic view to it as well. Sam and Lonnie’s love story is both touching and shocking. What Sam had to do to be with her beloved was extreme. Run away from her home town, and who knows what or if she even did do something to her parents. By putting music and voices to it made the actual playing realistic.

    What I liked best about Gone Home was that it actually had a realistic story to tell. The only thing I didn’t like about the game was the ending. I was expecting a little bit more of a brutal ending. I was kind of disappointed when we finally got into Sam’s dark room and the thing that was waiting for us was just another journal. I really liked the journals and that it was Sam’s voice who read them to us. It made it all little bit more realistic. On the other hand, I would prefer more action. I’m still wondering where their parents are. I guess we’ll never know, but I wish the game told us that. The message of the game was great and defiantly important. Especially among young people these days, who may be struggling with this kind of stuff. The producer of Gone Home has defiantly managed to create a great game. He made a fun game and at the same time sent out a very important message. To sum up I’d say I really liked Gone Home.    … Expand
  38. NoraHamzaoui
    Jan 28, 2016
    5
    The game is about a girl called Kaitlin that went to Europe in June. Her family lived in a big house, but when she came back a rainy and stormful night she found the house empty. No one was inside the house just the things the family owned. She investigates the house to find out where her family is. She found a lot of old letters and signs that helped her to find out where her family was.The game is about a girl called Kaitlin that went to Europe in June. Her family lived in a big house, but when she came back a rainy and stormful night she found the house empty. No one was inside the house just the things the family owned. She investigates the house to find out where her family is. She found a lot of old letters and signs that helped her to find out where her family was. She also found a lot of secrets about her sister Samantha. While gaming you have to pick up and search for things that will help you to find information and secret rooms. You’ll finish the game when you come in to the attic by using a key you’ll find while searching in the house.
    It’s bad for a family to leave the house without all the family members knowing it. I think the message is that Kaitlin’s family had a lot of problems and secrets that Kaitlin didn’t know before she visited the house after they disappeared.
    It was a bit difficult to understand the game in the beginning, but it got easier. I think that it’s easy for gamers to understand the game from the beginning. The story is told in the past, but you’re playing is like it’s happening now.
    It’s used signs and symbols, like letters, maps, religious symbols and other information you find to lead you. By reading/finding the signs, you can get info about the family, some secret things and where you have to go and so.
    Its pictures on walls, and a lot of other places. By looking at the pictures, you can find out how the family members looks like, and their names. While playing I heard sound tracks, where Kaitlin was talking about things. While searching in the house, you’ll see cassette players. If you find a CD, you can put it in the cassette player for some music.
    I didn’t like the game, because it was a lot to find, and a lot of places to go to. I wish the end was a lot better. I was very excited for the ending, I was expecting something terrible in the attic, but guess what. After playing the whole game, and finally finding the key to the attic, nothing happened. When I walked around in the attic, I saw a book on a table. When I opened the book, the game ended. I thought that the game ended with finding Sam. And because of that, I’ll give it 5/10.    … Expand
  39. zyzzbrahjesper
    Jan 28, 2016
    4
    Gone Home is a short story game about a girl named Katie Greenbriar coming home from school in Europe to an empty house. She finds notes and clues throughout the game to find out what happened to her family and why they moved.

    The game is built in a way that makes you have to think and remember stuff like codes, clues and names etc. You really have to be on top and watch out for notes    Gone Home is a short story game about a girl named Katie Greenbriar coming home from school in Europe to an empty house. She finds notes and clues throughout the game to find out what happened to her family and why they moved.

    The game is built in a way that makes you have to think and remember stuff like codes, clues and names etc. You really have to be on top and watch out for notes and clues wherever you go in the house.

    There are some symbols throughout the game that plays a huge role in not only the story itself but also for the feeling of the game. There is placed a lot of Bibles around the house to show that the family is a pretty religious family. In a place in the map there is also pentagram to give that grimey/dark feeling to the game.

    There are a lot of people in the story but its only 3 people that really stand out from the rest, these can be called major characters in the story. These are Kaitlin Greenbriar (Katie), Samantha Greenbriar (Sam) and Yolanda DeSoto (Lonnie). Katie is Sam's big sister. Sam thinks that Katie is very cool but mentions several times that she misses her. Lonnie is Sam's friend and later turns into something more.

    The setting of the game is a dark romantic type setting. I think that the dark/grimey setting comes from the uncle which lived in the house before the family. The uncle, Oscar Masan, died in 1993 and willed the house to the Greenbriar family. Oscar was looked on as a creep by the town. Oscar Masan left many things in the house which is both creepy and dark. He left and pentagram and a note about him that he might have eaten another human being, just to mention a few.
    I think the romantic tone of the games comes from the relationship Sam and Lonnie had/have together.

    The music plays a huge role in the game. It helps to make some clips in the game very creepy and scary. Every time you found a vital thing in the story, you will get a piece of Sam's journal that will start to play automatic. In these journals you get to hear everything from Sam having no friends to Sam falling in love with her friend. I personally think that the journals play a huge part in the game.

    The gameplay in the game is that it is an easy game to get "used to". It is not a very long game, I wished that it would be even longer. But you always have to be alert on finding clues, notes, codes and keys.
    My experience with the game is that it wasn’t very long and that it was unclear sometimes. There were a few characters that they could have explained more, like Oscar Masan. I also think that they could have stretched the storyline a little more. It felt very short and they could have made it longer in my opinion.
    All in all I think this wasn’t a great game. For a game that costs $20 it wouldn’t be worth it, in my opinion. On steam most of the reviews doesn’t recommend it, and I wouldn’t nether. I would rate this game 4/10. I give the game this rating because even through it was very short I still enjoyed some of it. It would of course be a lot better if it was longer. I think that the storyline of the game wasn’t that interesting and exciting. It wasn’t very variety in the game and the storyline was pretty much the same throughout the game. You found out a few things throughout the game. But all in all I wouldn’t recommend this game.    … Expand
  40. 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
  41. Sander_Brattoy
    Jan 28, 2016
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The story in the game were mostly about Kathie Greenbriar’s little sister, Samantha Greenbriar and the story about what happened before and after they moved. Because they had moved without saying it to Kathie. So we`re just going around in the house and found different clues about where and why they are gone.
    I think that the game’s main theme where that some peoples didn’t care about the rules that were in the 90ths, and continued to be gay or lesbian because they were in love, and that love do no not have any rules and ending.
    The music in this game is meant to make the gameplay a bit more exciting. Like it can come sounds of thunder, and sounds of squeaking.
    The game has a romantic, scary theme. It were scary because you want find some weird things in this game like a sacrifice board and it were romantic because Samantha and her friend were in love and they did not care about the rules and how the gay peoples were treated so bad in the early 90ths.. IT were romantic because and you listens to Sam’s journals you will find out.
    The symbols in the game gave us a clue about how this family is and how they are.
    In the start of this game I were excited about this game, and a little later in the game it began to get boring, because you just walked around with no clue about what you should do. But closer to the end it started to get intense, when you found every hidden things, and secret objects like keys and maps.
    Personally i didn't like the game, because i don't like this type of game's.
    I would rate this game a 3/10, because it was a bit boring and they could have added a few more secret objects that was a bit more easier to find. And they could have made the game a bit more scary. Like with some things they thought were real in the 50ths to the 90ths, like ghosts.    … Expand
  42. QuietSpider317
    Jan 28, 2016
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Gone Home
    Game Review:

    Gone Home is a very good game, and I think that every school should have that game on their school computers. I like the game most because of the good history in it. And I like that you need to go thru the hole house the gather all the information you need to find out more about the family. Gone home is a remarkable first-person adventure that tells a very good story about how the family from the story. The game is good whit all its history, but I think the game is to short, they should have added more rooms and maybe something outside of the house, like you can go in the garden and find some information there to. Still this game is good even without the garden, I think that everyone should buy this game and play it because it is a very good game, that the developers must have used a long time to make all the room whit the texture. The best reason for that I like the game is because it is a first-person game, and I love to play first-person games. I like when you walk in the house sometimes it comes a story that you need to listen to get more information. The game has much good music when you walk around in the house, and it has many secret places you need to find to get more information. I like the ending because of that it does not say where Sam is, so you need to make up a story yourself about what happened to Sam.
    I hope that the game developers will make a new game like this one where you are in a house where the family has moved out from the house, and you need to find information about where your family live.
    The game is very good because of what you can do in the game, you can crouch and that is very needed to do in this game, and many games in the world does not have a crouch option. I think that the developers should make updates to gone home, there it will be added more features, like something that makes you see something that’s not there, something like a ghost, or a family member that is dead. They should make more rooms where there is more information to get before you can finish the game, and should make something outside of the house, where you can see how the house looks like and the nature around you.
    I hope that people will try out this game, cause it’s a very good game, and it’s a fun game even if you don’t have much time to play it, so I recommend that everyone that haven’t played the game yet, should buy it and play it. When you play you should not just rush thru the house, try finding everything you can, to solve the whole mystery about what happened to Sam, and check every room, because there is information everywhere. I hope that they add items like flashlight or food like you can use the flashlight while you go around on the dark places in the house, and eat when you need to or, your character will be slower or she will die from hunger. I hope that the next game the developers make is something that is close to this one. For some people this game may be scary, but that’s only because of the dark rooms, but there is nothing that can scare you in the game, it is only dark rooms but, you can just turn off the light on the side of the doors inside the rooms, or using the lamps. I would like that you spawn outside of the house and not inside the first room downstairs in the house. Gone home is a game you can play to take away a few hours in your life, since there is 4 floors, and many rooms on every floor.
    I have played many games, but this game is one of the best I have played, and I will give the game an 8.9score.    … Expand
  43. isakbrattoy
    Jan 28, 2016
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Gone Home is about a girl named Kaitlin Greenbriar. Her mission is to find her family that is gone. In the game you need to think a lot because it is letters from herself and her family.
    You need to remember a lot and seek in every corner in the house because it is things that are written places that you don’t think is important. There are letters that lead you closer to find out the big secret about your family. Sometimes you find letters and objects that triggers a story about your sister and your family’s life.
    The message in this game is that not everything look like what it is. It may be something else.
    This game jumps sometimes back and forth in time but I liked it. It helped me to get a feeling that I’m in the game. Some of the story’s in Gone Home are from your childhood and before you moved from your family.
    The peoples in Gone Home is very unknown, but sometimes it may be a letter from a person that you don’t know about in the game. And almost every person in the game that you hear about have an own story. Some of the people you get letters from in Gone Home are maybe in your family, just friends of you and your family or there are letter from peoples that are dead.
    The main character in this game is named Kaitlin Greenbriar. She needs to find things that take her closer to find where her family is. She can take up things and that triggers a new story from her sister that is closer than she thinks. The environment in this game is very nice.
    You are in the family Greenbriar`s old house and need find places that are hidden from you. Some places are dirty and nasty and other places are nice and clean.
    This game is very sad and sometimes scary. Sometimes when you go in dark places the scary music kicks in. The gameplay in Gone Home is sometimes good and sometimes bad. Because sometimes you know what`s going on an sometimes not. The game is very confusing because it is much back and forth. I don’t understand the whole story but what I know is that you need to find out what happened to your family and where your family is. The graphic in Gone Home is very nice and pretty. They made the pictures in the game look real and graphically at the same time. And the function in Gone Home is very good.
    You can pick up thing and look at it. You can open closets and doors. You can play music on music players and hear at phone calls from yourself and your family. And because of that I`ll give 7/10.    … Expand
  44. Teo_Lien
    Jan 28, 2016
    4
    The story in the game is about a girl named Katie who is 20 years old. She has been traveling for about a year. When she comes home, her family isn’t there. Katie starts exploring the house to maybe find out where her family is right now. Katie finds a lot of information, and from that information she starts thinking about that they have moved. But moved without their stuff?
    The games key    The story in the game is about a girl named Katie who is 20 years old. She has been traveling for about a year. When she comes home, her family isn’t there. Katie starts exploring the house to maybe find out where her family is right now. Katie finds a lot of information, and from that information she starts thinking about that they have moved. But moved without their stuff?
    The games key message is about lesbians. How lesbians were respected in 1995 is not the same as in 2016. The game is trying to tell us about how hard it is to be a lesbian back in 1995. And according to the game that was not an easy thing.
    When you are playing the game you will play as a carracter called Katie. You cannot see your own bodyparts but you have a little dot in the middle of the screen which shows what you are pointing at. The game has good graphics but not the best. Some things just looks like a plastic bocks, like the sink. The sink looks like its’ plastic with white paint on it.
    The main character is Sam (Samantha), but we can not see her, we can only read stuff she left behind. You can hear it when Katie (the person you are) is reading the Journals. I think especially that makes the game a lot better.
    The game has a really realistic tone. You can hear the thunder when you are in the basement. The soundeffects is better than I expected. The ¨mood¨ in the house makes you feel a bit freaked out. All off the sounds makes the game a lot better.
    The gameplay is good. It has something that is good, but a lot is not very good. In my opinion the game could have been better. But in total the game was ok too play.
    For me I think this game should get a 4 out of 10.    … Expand
  45. Kastomono
    Jan 28, 2016
    7
    Gone Home Review.

    Now, as this is a game review i’m going to take this slightly more seriously than my games of TF2. I’m going to shove this into a Pros/Cons system and give my rating afterwards. But first i’m going to make a short summary of the game. You play as Kaitlyn Greenbriar, a girl who has been in Europe for a year and has returned to her home in America. But no one is home    Gone Home Review.

    Now, as this is a game review i’m going to take this slightly more seriously than my games of TF2.
    I’m going to shove this into a Pros/Cons system and give my rating afterwards. But first i’m going to make a short summary of the game.

    You play as Kaitlyn Greenbriar, a girl who has been in Europe for a year and has returned to her home in America. But no one is home and she has to find out where everybody has gone.

    Pros:
    The game has some pretty good visuals if you set the graphics up.
    The story is really good and will surprise you on several occasions.
    I ADORE good lighting engines and this one was pretty.
    This is less of a game and more of a short novel than anything.
    Despite being set in a house there is still a bucketload to see.
    There is a lot of small objects you can pick up and hover in front of your face.
    The sound design is very satisfying.
    You can flush toilets.
    Light Switches exist.

    I’m going to mention that i spent 10 minutes shoving things into a box. It was oddly satisfying…

    Cons:
    It’s ridiculously short.
    Because of the aforementioned it is also very expensive on Steam.
    You walk very slowly for an exploration game. You can't even jog.
    You can complete this game in like 2 minutes if you know where to look.
    I don’t have legs! I want to see my legs!
    It’s not really a game and as such it doesn’t have any challenges.

    My conclusion is this: It’s an interesting experience but not a game. It’s also very expensive for its length. I’m going to rate this a 7 out of 10 Kasto Points due to it being a good story and fancy graphics and it’s pricing (ON STEAM) is pretty high.    … Expand
  46. christerds
    Jan 28, 2016
    8
    Gone Home

    Review by Christer Dragsnes Solli Gone Home is a creepy and scary game that never let’s you off the hook. From start to finish, this mind-blowing game never seems to end, and Kaitlin Greenbriar, the main character, is in constant search for her sister. The sudden scares and luring mysteries sets the tone for Gone Home as you explore the big mansion that leaves you with    Gone Home

    Review by Christer Dragsnes Solli

    Gone Home is a creepy and scary game that never let’s you off the hook. From start to finish, this mind-blowing game never seems to end, and Kaitlin Greenbriar, the main character, is in constant search for her sister. The sudden scares and luring mysteries sets the tone for Gone Home as you explore the big mansion that leaves you with goose-bumps.

    As the weather storms on outside the dark and creepy mansion, every door seems to be locked. The main objective is to reveal the story about the sister, and in order to get there, Kaitlin has to look for clues. In order to find the clues which takes her further into the mansion, she has to walk from room to room, never knowing what’s hiding in the dark corners. If you want to dig in to the whole story, you have to have your eyes open at all times, and on top of that, remember the secret codes for doors and lockers throughout the game. It’s not easy, I can tell. However, as time goes by, it get’s easier, especially if you play it with friends.

    The Greenbriar’s are very christian, almost decorating their enormous home with bibles. This is a very important part of the story which will help uss find out about what happened to her sister.

    What my opinion is on the game.

    The game was quite good. I didn’t think that the story of the game would be this good. I liked the aspect of finding out the story, that the main character didn’t just tell me the story. And I loved the feeling of the game. I liked the setting of a creepy old mansion with many secrets. And the weather was important for the creepy factor. I was hoping for a ending that would be more interesting. I think the ending wanted uss too look more into the papers and stuff to find out what the game was all about. But I also think that the ending is a setup for a sequel to Gone Home. Overall I think the game should get 8 out of 10.    … Expand
  47. Hannahklinge
    Jan 28, 2016
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Gone home

    Gone home is about a girl that comes home after traveling a year in Europe. This girl called Katie has a sister called Samantha. Katie gets home, but the house is empty. But full of secrets and hidden surprises. Terrance walks through the house in Portland, Oregon to find out what's going on and where is her sister and the rest of the family?
    The game happens in a chronological way. The symbols that's have been
    It have been brought up several relationship between the people in this story. Samantha(Katie little sister) has an relationship whit a girl called Lonnie. She does not tell anyone about this. Their mom Janice Greenbriar is friend with this lady Carol. A boy named Daniel has also been in the picture.
    The main character in this game is Terrance, or yourself you can say. You can Walk around the house and see if you find some answers. The games variation of environment makes it more eventful. The game is an scary/spooky genre. It gives you a feeling of being alone and scared.
    The filming , mowing and the music was generally good. The music made ​​you completely into the tuning of the little nasty feeling of being alone in the old big house. The game is realistic and have quite good graphics. The game play in the game is quite good. It doesn't challenge you like big time. But it definitely makes you upset when you can't find what you are looking for. This game is all about understands, you need to read if you want to find anything. Some of the letters are extremely hard to read because of the bad written cursive handwriting. But some of the letters is easier than others. Some of the letters are more important than other. Some of the items you have to find before you move on. The game is very optional. You can choose to do whatever you want to do and go. The more you find out, the more you want to know the rest. I give the game a 7/10. Because it was an exiting game and very good made.    … Expand
  48. 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
  49. danfrissora
    Jan 20, 2016
    1
    This game sucks. I spent $20 on it for a class and it was slightly creepy and confusing and I had to look up what to do. And all you had to do was go to the attic. So the plot line is that my sister is a lesbian, and she has runaway with her lesbian lover. My parents are at couples counseling, they come home tomorrow. And the ghost of my uncle is in the house. Sounds intense right? BUTThis game sucks. I spent $20 on it for a class and it was slightly creepy and confusing and I had to look up what to do. And all you had to do was go to the attic. So the plot line is that my sister is a lesbian, and she has runaway with her lesbian lover. My parents are at couples counseling, they come home tomorrow. And the ghost of my uncle is in the house. Sounds intense right? BUT GUESS WHAT. as soon as i find out my sister and her lesbian **** ran away together, the thing ENDS. i have no idea about the ghost. this game was a huge disappointment and nobody should buy it.… Expand
  50. tpenguin
    Jan 19, 2016
    0
    I created an account here to post my review regarding this game. I recall seeing the high media reviews when it came out a couple years ago but alas I am a console game and the title was exclusive to PC till last week. This is my first review here, but I feel compelled to provide it. I have never purchased an indie game feeling I had been swindled of my money, however this title has meI created an account here to post my review regarding this game. I recall seeing the high media reviews when it came out a couple years ago but alas I am a console game and the title was exclusive to PC till last week. This is my first review here, but I feel compelled to provide it. I have never purchased an indie game feeling I had been swindled of my money, however this title has me feeling that way. I will not spoil the game in my review.

    My first gripe with the game is that it costs 20$, I spent 2 and a 1/2 hours from start to finish and found all hidden content. For a 2 and a 1/2 hour game to be worth 20$ it has to have some type of phenomenal experience or story, this game delivered anything but.

    Gone Home is a one trick pony, once you go through the game, there is no reason to return as there is only one linear experience you could go through while playing the game. This amplifies the cost of the game being egregious.

    The story is predicated on a couple plot twists, however once you know what those twist are there is no intrigue to the game. If you played with knowing the plot up front you would likely think there is no way this game could be interesting and you would be right.

    With all the renown this game has surrounding it from major gaming reviews, you would think this game to be a gem. However it is placed on a pedestal because it is likely deemed 'progressive' in that homosexuality is a significant portion of the plot. I support homosexuality, however if this game did not have this element to it and was structured on a heterosexual relationship I can assure you this game would have received nothing more than mediocre scores at best and likely low scores like I am providing.

    It's rare this is such a great disparity between media and user reviews however you will see a significant disparity regarding this game. In this case I believe that media reviewers praised this game solely for political reasons and not because the game is actually good. Users, such as myself or you reading this spend hard earned money to play games that are fun or entertaining, this game is neither.

    Because the game play is poor, the story is awful, there is no replayability, and the cost of the game is 20$ I cannot in good conscience recommend anyone play this game. If the game were free, I would not recommend this game be played, the only thing my memory will take from this experience is the let down from all the media hype surrounding it I got sucked up in.    … Expand
  51. Rtheom
    Jan 11, 2016
    7
    I wouldn't say this is worth the full $20 that's usually charged, but it is worth at least half that. It's short, there isn't much to it, and honestly I would have said stay away except for one particular story twist that really got to me. There are very few games (or otherwise) that can make me flip-flop from absolute dread to breathless excitement so quickly. I would say more, but itI wouldn't say this is worth the full $20 that's usually charged, but it is worth at least half that. It's short, there isn't much to it, and honestly I would have said stay away except for one particular story twist that really got to me. There are very few games (or otherwise) that can make me flip-flop from absolute dread to breathless excitement so quickly. I would say more, but it would give away one of the only powerful moments in the game. If you play it, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.… Expand
  52. Lightf00t
    Jan 11, 2016
    0
    The games review industry is riddled with political propagandists and fraudsters who've been brainwashed in liberal arts degree courses. The fact this game got 9s and 10s out of 10 proves this yet again. This is why gamergate happened.

    This isn't a game. You wander about an empty house picking up letters and it transpires that this "game" is simply an excuse to addle people's brains    The games review industry is riddled with political propagandists and fraudsters who've been brainwashed in liberal arts degree courses. The fact this game got 9s and 10s out of 10 proves this yet again. This is why gamergate happened.

    This isn't a game. You wander about an empty house picking up letters and it transpires that this "game" is simply an excuse to addle people's brains with more homosexual propaganda. The guy who designed this is a feminist hipster who gets off on this stuff. The average person just doesn't want to play rubbish like this.

    I like lots of indie games and want more independent developers releasing alternatives to the usual Call of Duty clones, but this isn't enjoyable or interesting or fun. The graphics are okay, but what good are good graphics if it's not fun or interesting?

    If this had been about a love story between a man and a woman, i.e. a normal relationship, it would NEVER have got these high scores from critics. It would have got a 4 or 5 at most. At MOST. Blue Estate got 3/10 from Gamespot, yet it's far superior to this piece of rubbish. They didn't like Blue Estate because the protagonist was a man who wasn't "right-on" and PC who saved women and used "sexist" language, i.e. he was just normal and not a social justice warrior mangina with no balls.

    If you buy this game, you are throwing your money down the drain. It's up to you. But if you like slow-paced indie games which are actually interesting and fun, I suggest you instead buy The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, or Everybody's Gone to Rapture.    … Expand
  53. 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.
  54. thanatopsis
    Jan 3, 2016
    4
    This is a true walking simulator. If you like that sort of thing, you might like Gone Home.
    It might be worth $5, but no more. It takes no more than 2 hours to complete.
    I actually liked the way the story unfolds and how the locked rooms become unlocked little by little, but the story is not that compelling. What really annoyed me is that is has a sense of foreboding that just doesn't    This is a true walking simulator. If you like that sort of thing, you might like Gone Home.
    It might be worth $5, but no more. It takes no more than 2 hours to complete.
    I actually liked the way the story unfolds and how the locked rooms become unlocked little by little, but the story is not that compelling.
    What really annoyed me is that is has a sense of foreboding that just doesn't go anywhere. The dark rooms and thunder exist for no reason but to make you think something sinister might happen. And does it? Well yes: I spent $6 and two hours of my life on a walking simulator that went nowhere. It is pretty frightening to think people actually spent $20 on this and liked it.    … Expand
  55. rossignol98
    Dec 16, 2015
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Gone Home is a mysterious interactive fiction game, developed by The Fullbright Company. It tells the story of a teenage girl in the 1990s, who is gay. You take the role of her older sister Katie, exploring their empty house for clues as to what happened to her. It’s highly ambitious, choosing to allow for little interaction with the game environment, and treating the character as more of an observer, than an influencer of her surroundings. The game is well polished, and the house where the game takes place is full of details and intricacies to add to the player’s emersion in the game. The game features music from the Riot Grrrl movement, a movement stemming from the feminist-punk music genre in the 90s. Adding to the soundscape, the sound of rain and thunder can be heard through the old walls of the house. To capture the attention of the player, Gone Home chooses to tell a story through hand written notes and tape recordings, scattered through the dimly lit house. The goal of Gone Home is to establish an emotional connection to the player, but this goal becomes muddied by lackluster writing. Despite all of the conspicuously placed letters and diary entrees spread throughout the house, we are placed not into the shoes of Sam or her lover, but her sister- an outsider to Sam’s world. Try as we might to feel what Sam is feeling, in Gone Home, we remain the outsider looking in. This feeling of a lack of connection to the story is likely also due to the medium chosen to give these messages: emotionless documents and the scrawled handwriting of a seventeen-year-old. In summary, the game is well-worth playing. Although it didn’t connect with me as much as it tried to, Gone Home looked at many charged topics throughout the short game- sexual abuse, shame, traditional vs. progressive values, substance abuse, etc. and it tells a story that the player may never have previously encountered.… Expand
  56. MatMac7
    Dec 16, 2015
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Gone Home by the Fulbright company is a game about a girl named Katie Greenbriar, who you play as. She has just come back from a 1 year trip to find her new house with her parents and sister completely empty. She has no idea where they went and must explore the house to discover where they went and t reveal some of her families’ darkest secrets.

    The story behind Gone Home is that Katie is home from a year of traveling all over the world to find her house completely empty. There is no sign of where her parents or sister is. The main character, Katie Greenbriar, arrives home and see’s an ominous letter left from her sister on the door telling her to not go looking for her. As Katie explores the house more and more she starts to discover things about her family. The house is very old and spooky and as you look around you start to see where her family went. As Katie find’s certain notes it can trigger audio messages left from Sam to Katie and as you advance in the game the story of what happens to Sam starts to become more clear. The story behind Gone Home makes you really connect with the characters and feel with them. The story behind Gone Home is such a possible story that it allows you to connect with.

    In Gone Home they have exceptional graphics and sound. This makes the game. It makes it feel real. The graphics are great. Sure it’s a game but it gives you a sense of what an actually house would look like. It even shows the smallest of details. Like in the toilet paper. It shows the little divots that real toilet paper would have. Also a big part is the sound. Just like a real house there’s always going to be cracks and other little noises. In Gone Home they happen at random just like a normal house would have. When you first start Gone Home you can instantly tell that it is raining. As you explore the house further the noise level changes. If you are closer to the windows or the outside of the house, then the level of the rain and thunder gets louder. Overall the sound and graphics in Gone Home gives you the sense that you are in the game and that the house is real.

    In Gone Home there are many times in the game when you will actually feel attached to a character and connecting with them. Like when we find out how Terry, Katie’s father, has had a lot of pressure being put on him about getting his book sold. This game isn’t like any other game. There is no one you have to kill or nothing you have to run from. It makes you feel like it’s real life. As you play the game you get to know each of the characters on a deep level. You find out their secrets and you realize that the story of this family could happen to any family.

    In conclusion, I think Gone Home has achieved their goal of having you connect with the Greenbrier family and making it feel like you are really in the house. I think the Fulbright company has changed the way games are made and has shown that a game doesn’t have to have violence to make a good game.    … Expand
  57. JGraham
    Dec 16, 2015
    8
    Gone Home Review

    Gone Home, a first person adventure game, is very different from any other video game I have played. In the game you are a women named Katie Greenbriar. She has returned home after spending a year in Europe to find her family missing. It is your job to look for clues throughout the house and piece together their story. The main story focuses on Sam, Katie’s younger    Gone Home Review

    Gone Home, a first person adventure game, is very different from any other video game I have played. In the game you are a women named Katie Greenbriar. She has returned home after spending a year in Europe to find her family missing. It is your job to look for clues throughout the house and piece together their story. The main story focuses on Sam, Katie’s younger sister, but there are other segments of the story that focus on various relatives. While you search you uncover hidden truths about all of the characters and you begin to understand what has gone on in this house.

    The graphics, audio and story are exceptionally well done in Gone Home. The graphics are incredible. The Greenbriar house feels like a real home with amazing detail and a true ‘lived in’ look. During my playing time I did not encounter a single glitch - the only thing that even looked weird was that the doors opened both way. This minor issue does not take away from the game at all. No element of the house is neglected. There are post-it notes on the fridge door, labels on can goods and stacks of board games and VHS movies. All of these parts add up to make the house look amazing and realistic. The audio in the game is also outstanding. The thunder and lighting make you feel on edge as you wander through this dark and empty house. The narration is done well and Sam’s voice actor seems sincere as she talks about what is happening in her life. The main point in buying Gone Home is for the story. It is very well told and all of the characters seem real and like they could represent someone in your own family. It is very entertaining to try and piece together the history of the Greenbriar family and what has happened to them while exploring the house. The graphics, audio and story all come together to make the story seem real, which makes it very entertaining to play.

    What could be improved is the length of Gone Home. It is rather short. It takes about three hours to travel throughout the house in-depth. This feels a bit short and once you have beaten the game there is no multiplayer option like in most modern video games to keep you playing. Once the game is beaten it is highly unlikely that you will play it again. This can leave a bitter taste with the player because they have just spent money on a game that provides at most three hours of entertainment and then it is over.

    Overall Gone Home is very well done. The story is well told and the graphics and audio make it feel real. The problem though is that the game is too expensive for a three-hour story that once you finish has no replay value.    … Expand
  58. MaxDV
    Dec 16, 2015
    4
    Gone Home, a first person exploratory adventure game that allows the player to go through the family mansion. By family, I mean the Greenbriars. You play as Kaitlin who comes home from vacation to find her families house empty. The task of the game is to go through the story of tracing clues and ideas as to what has occurred to have no family there. The Game is created by the FullbrightGone Home, a first person exploratory adventure game that allows the player to go through the family mansion. By family, I mean the Greenbriars. You play as Kaitlin who comes home from vacation to find her families house empty. The task of the game is to go through the story of tracing clues and ideas as to what has occurred to have no family there. The Game is created by the Fullbright Company also famous for Minerva’s Den in BioShock 2.

    So, Gone Home allows you to go through your family mansion, which has many hidden secrets. The story of your family unfolds as you play the role of a detective figuring out different aspects of your family members lives. Oh and by family, I mean Terrence Greenbriar (your father), Janice Greenbriar (your mother), and your sister Samantha. All 3 of whom are not in your house and have left various pieces of their lives to be picked up and figured out by you. It’s a seriously cool twist of mystery and adventure.

    At many points in Gone Home, voices will speak to you. Usually it will be Samanthas or your own. After examining items or objects sometimes they will activate a voice recording that will normally tell you more information about whatever you’re on about. Walking through the house also gives a mysterious vibe as some lights are left on and off, and you have the power to turn on most lights open all doors and basically walk through the story. Without giving too much away you are taken through various past experiences that lead to future parts of the story and allow you to understand and appreciate the gameplay much more.

    In all honesty I myself did not enjoy playing Gone Home. I am not one for storyline exploratory games as they attract some for an exciting tale, they bore me. Gone Home had a lot I think that could’ve made the experience more fulfilling. A lot of what I found was boring useless achievements to figure out a story that didn’t reward you with anything at the end of the game. This is where the FullBright Company could have made a difference. Adding extra and bonus content and special unlocks to altar gameplay just makes everything more enjoyable. It allows the player to take exciting new approaches to games whilst enhancing the game itself for pure enjoyment.

    Overall Gone Home presented a fulfilling task of mystery and exploration. It created an environment of examination and thought rather then action and destruction. Gone Home gained much success but also much criticism from the gaming community. It is a fun slow paced game for those who look for more detail in a story mode, and will leave you wanting more!

    Thanks for reading!
    Max    … Expand
  59. RoneDawg
    Dec 16, 2015
    10
    The computer game “Gone Home,” developed by Fulbright was based in Portland 1995. After a year, young Kaitlin Greenbrair returns home to her house in Arbor Hill, Oregon. To her surprise no one appears home and the house is empty. The objective of the game is to figure out what has taken place in the house since the departure of Kaitlin. As you read more and discover clues, a very strangeThe computer game “Gone Home,” developed by Fulbright was based in Portland 1995. After a year, young Kaitlin Greenbrair returns home to her house in Arbor Hill, Oregon. To her surprise no one appears home and the house is empty. The objective of the game is to figure out what has taken place in the house since the departure of Kaitlin. As you read more and discover clues, a very strange picture seems to form. The game centers around Samantha, her parents and the many elements of love, confusion and disaster that are scattered around the mansion.
    Samantha’s story in the game was developed brilliantly combining many themes of love and teenage drama. As the player, you take on the role of Kaitlin, which investigates rooms to discover various documents and clues to what has occurred in the house. As the player moves through the house, he or she discovers a series of letters written to Kaitlin from Samantha located in her journal, which she has kept for the duration of the year. The player learns that after moving into the new house, Samantha also moves into a new school and is soon to be recognized as “the Psycho House Girl.” The name was given to her due to a man called Oscar Masan, who is the great uncle of Kaitlin and left everything in his will to her father, including the house. When Samantha attends school she notices a senior girl dressed in a military uniform. Samantha eventually speaks to the girl with the military uniform and the player learns that her name is Yolanda “Lonnie” Desoto who has always had the desire to view “The Psycho House.” Samantha, being desperate for friends, invites her to come over the next day. Their friendship sparks over the months and they become extremely close, sharing activities and viewing movies such as Pulp Fiction. Their relationship begins to escalate quickly by Lonnie telling Samantha that she “Looks beautiful.” Moreover, after they see a Halloween show in “the city,” they decide to stay overnight at a friend’s brother’s house and slept together. Lonnie commences to put her arm around Samantha and reveals her feelings for her; Samantha has mutual feelings but can not bring herself to speak. A couple days pass and Lonnie again visits Samantha at “The Psycho house”. However, this will be an encounter, which Samantha will not soon forget. Lonnie kisses Samantha and that’s when their relationship becomes serious and they become secret girlfriends. As the Kaitlin goes on, she discovers that Samantha was organizing and preparing herself for a college creative writing course. However, Lonnie explains to Samantha that she is serious about enrolling in the military and is to be shipped out on June 6th. Samantha’s parents then intervene and soon discover her relationship with Lonnie. They state that the relationship is “a phase,” not accepting the fact that Samantha is in fact a lesbian. Forty-eight hours before Lonnie is to be shipped out, Samantha becomes upset and wishes that she could go with Lonnie. The day Lonnie is supposed to be shipped out Lonnie can’t go through with joining the military and asks Samantha to run away with her where they will start a life together; Samantha agrees to join her. She packs up her valuables and writes a letter for Kaitlin, which the player discovers, stating, “ I love you so much, Katie. I’ll see you again, someday. Love, Sam”.
    While discovering these letters, Kaitlin looks through her father and mother’s room, along with her father’s study. She finds old novels her father, Terry, had published. All novels were based around the topic of the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Kaitlin learns that two of her father’s books had sold poorly and his publishing partner had dropped the series. Kaitlin also learns that eventually, Terry gave up writing due to writer’s block, an issue which makes the person unable to think about what to write. Sometime over the duration of the year, Terry received a letter from another publishing firm stating that they were willing to republish his two books under a new cover. Terry accepted and included a new novel, set 20 years after the second book. The player also learns that Kaitlin’s parents are at a couple’s counseling getaway, with evidence stating her mother may have had an affair with a coworker, and are due to return the following day. Kaitlin also learns that her great uncle sexually abused Terry. As the player tours the house, you may even see the various locations where the abuse has taken place.
    In addition discovering the story while investigating the home, this game also includes mind-altering graphics and eerie sounds. Fulbright manages to encompass the game with a creepy graphics along with a mysterious storyline. For example, upon entering the house you begin in the foyer where the light instantly flickers causing a dark atmosphere. Also stating, another characteristic of the graphics, which was well done, are the 3D effects when holding and looking through objects.    … Expand
  60. 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
  61. ehogie12345
    Dec 16, 2015
    8
    Gone Home is a first-person story adventure game in which the player controls a girl named Katie who has just returned to Portland, Oregon from a trip to Europe. The game starts on the front porch of a new home Katie’s family had moved to while she was away. She arrives only to discover that her entire family has left. The goal of the game is to find out why.

    I have played many    Gone Home is a first-person story adventure game in which the player controls a girl named Katie who has just returned to Portland, Oregon from a trip to Europe. The game starts on the front porch of a new home Katie’s family had moved to while she was away. She arrives only to discover that her entire family has left. The goal of the game is to find out why.

    I have played many different types of video games, and not once have I ever felt so intrigued and interested in a game’s story. Gone Home is possibly the first successful game where the creators sought to make the game’s story line the main attraction. Unlike the hugely popular mainstream games you always hear about, there are no guns, no violence and no puzzles. But that is alright because the fascinating twists and turns in Gone Home’s story line more than makes up for it. The narrative that you hear when picking up certain objects adds an emotional level to the story. These narrations, spoken by Katie’s younger sister, help you piece together the mystery of what has happened to Katie’s family. As a player, you can’t help but feel you are in her shoes. Hearing the sister’s voice makes you feel as though you know her in real life, and it makes you truly care about what happens next in the story.

    The graphics in Gone Home aren’t amazing but they get the job done, and that is all that the game’s developer, the Full Bright Company, needed them to do. Impressive graphics are a key draw for many other games. With Gone Home, in contrast, I can guarantee that when you have finished the game you won’t even consider the graphics to be a problem because of how deeply you get drawn into the story line. Another strong point is the game’s sounds, which are synced up closely with your character’s actions. The music used in Gone Home, which for the most part is eerie and dark, is effective in helping to create the game’s mood. Gameplay is another thing the Full Bright Company has done very well. Anyone can jump into this game and quickly learn how to play it – even my grandparents if they were so inclined. The controls are easy to learn. Within 5 minutes I knew them all and was on my way. One thing I wish the developers’ would have added, however, is a sprint feature. Sometimes clues will prompt you to go to the other side of the house to solve a problem. But the character’s slow movement can be very annoying. Some people may argue that this helps slow down the game so that players can look at everything more closely. But I think that, on balance, Gone Home would have been better with a sprint feature, and I would love to have seen it in the game.

    I highly recommend this game to anyone who is getting bored of standard first-person shooter action/adventure games, and to even someone who doesn’t play video games at all and simply wants to enjoy a good story. Gone Home’s compelling story line and overall playability have made me a big fan. I can’t wait to see what Full Bright comes up with next.    … Expand
  62. chappers
    Dec 16, 2015
    9
    Gone home was an innovative new take on the typical mystery/adventure game commonly found on the market in this current era of games. In the game you play as a girl, Katie, who has just gotten back form a year long trip to Europe. You’re in a dark atmospheric mansion left in a complete mess with no one home. The game has you explore the house and unravel the family’s troubled andGone home was an innovative new take on the typical mystery/adventure game commonly found on the market in this current era of games. In the game you play as a girl, Katie, who has just gotten back form a year long trip to Europe. You’re in a dark atmospheric mansion left in a complete mess with no one home. The game has you explore the house and unravel the family’s troubled and controversial past that they struggled with.
    Gone Home portrays the stories of those who were living in the house in a new and effective way. The game culture at the time of Gone Home’s release was dominated by first person shooters (fps) or other violent counterparts using multiplayer modes and fast paced action to entertain the player. Gone Home unlike the majority of other games on the market, uses the story almost exclusively to entertain and keep the player immersed in the game’s world. This results in an unusual experience that I found myself enjoying way beyond my original expectations. The story gradually grows and develops like a tree would, as you play the story may seem straightforward to begin with but as you play, you will realize you are bearing witness to the sum of every character’s story and that if you dig a little deeper can uncover each individual’s storyline, which are as intriguing as the main story.
    The game’s take on graphics may at first seem a little rough at the edges, and perhaps it is, but it has a warming effect and it perfectly suits the atmosphere and desired tone of the game. It provides an art style that can highlight the highs and lows of the game which is incredibly enhanced by the short interludes of soundtrack that occur whenever you find a journal of Sam’s. They embody the situations so well, and immerse the player in the situation where you find yourself unable to not empathize with Sam. Not to mention the voice acting in the game is absolutely flawless, I find myself replaying the journals as they seem so genuine and real.
    The gameplay is interesting, but there is definitely something to be said for the playing of the game. There are many times during the game where I found myself wandering the house completely lost as to where I was supposed to go next, or tediously looking through and under everything trying not to miss anything important. The developers of the game chose not to add a sprint/jump function into the game, which I can understand from the perspective that many people would rush and miss a fairly large amount of the content, but the game would probably benefit from a fast travel function of some sort. It was not uncommon to find myself running from one end of the house to the other and back which took a painfully long time. But besides these small little annoyances the game plays like a dream and it was very entertaining.
    The game has its quirks and its flaws, but overall I couldn’t help but find myself enjoying it tremendously. It has brought a new interesting genre of gaming to light and hope to find games in the future with a similar level of depth to their plot, while incorporating a larger map or interactive piece. It is an incredible game and I readily recommend it to friends and family, well done Fullbright you’ve made a masterpiece.    … Expand
  63. Abagwaygway
    Dec 16, 2015
    8
    “Gone Home” can only be described as an enigma wrapped in a mystery. You, playing as the girl Katie, must uncover the treacherous secrets of your family’s past in their abandoned mansion. There, you will discover a kaleidoscope of emotion, from great love and joy, to great despair and deceit.

    “Gone Home” is much less of a game, than it is an interactive story. Imagine a mystery novel,    “Gone Home” can only be described as an enigma wrapped in a mystery. You, playing as the girl Katie, must uncover the treacherous secrets of your family’s past in their abandoned mansion. There, you will discover a kaleidoscope of emotion, from great love and joy, to great despair and deceit.

    “Gone Home” is much less of a game, than it is an interactive story. Imagine a mystery novel, but instead of deciphers the case through reading a book, you have to explore the settings and evidence for yourself in a first-person point of view. “Gone Home” tells the narrative of the Greenbriar family. You play as the eldest daughter of the family, and you must uncover clues about your parents, siblings, and other relatives as you explore the dark and spooky mansion. As you gather physical evidence into your family’s strange past, you are also greeted with voiceovers upon interacting with certain items in the mansion. The voiceovers are voiced by Katie’s little sister Samantha, or ‘Sam’ for short. Sam is the main focus of “Gone Home,” as many of the item you will uncover relate to her high-school experiences, and shed light on her moments of self-discovery.

    The graphical abilities of “Gone Home” are not great compared to other games such as Skyrim and Fallout 4, as the entire game world is inside a mansion, with relatively small surface area to explore. Although the graphics are not the best, they are perfect for the small and niche area for which this game falls into. There is no need for fancy graphics, or lighting fast animations, but instead the present graphics in “Gone Home” perfectly portray the ideals set forward in the interactive adventure medium of gaming. The gameplay is extremely rudimentary compared to the hyper-realistic movement and interaction presented in a Bethesda title game, as there is only the ability to interact using the ‘E’ button, to move in all directs, and to turn the camera with the move of your mouse. It would be nice to have a sprint option in the game, as traversing the cavernous corridors of the mansion can sometimes feel like a slow grind. Finally, the soundtrack of “Gone Home” fits perfectly with the game as it portrays a dark ambient setting, contrasted with soft acoustic guitar reminiscent of a simpler time that was the era of the 90’s.

    In conclusion, I enjoyed the game for what it was; an interactive adventure. Fans of the RPG genre who are familiar with Bethesda titles will not be given a smaller, watered-down version of an RPG game, as “Gone Home” fits into its own sub-category of an interactive story, in which the player dictates the pace of discovery. I would recommend this game to those who love mystery, a compelling story, and an ambient atmosphere that you won’t forget.    … Expand
  64. andrewwindmills
    Dec 16, 2015
    7
    The game Gone Home is a story about a girl named Katie who comes home from a European trip to find her family is missing. As you walk around the house there are artifacts and audio journals left from Katie’s family. As you find more and more artifacts you can put together the story piece by piece.
    I thought that the game was overall a good game. Some things that I liked about it is the    The game Gone Home is a story about a girl named Katie who comes home from a European trip to find her family is missing. As you walk around the house there are artifacts and audio journals left from Katie’s family. As you find more and more artifacts you can put together the story piece by piece.
    I thought that the game was overall a good game. Some things that I liked about it is the fact that I got to connect with the characters in the story in a different way then I would be reading a book normally. The game was played in first person, even though I am not a teenage girl named Katie it really felt like when I was playing the game that I had a sister named Sam and parents named Terry and Janice. This made me a lot more interested in the game and connected to the other characters. The other thing that I really enjoyed about this game is the story. This game is nothing without the story and I think it is interesting how it was presented.
    There are something’s I did not like about the game however. I didn’t like the game play very much, I thought it was slow and it really seemed boring at times. I often did not know what the game wanted me to do. It also felt like for a game there was a lot of reading. There were so many documents, articles, and letters it was often hard to decide which were important and that I had to read or whether it was something that wasn’t of as much importance. One other thing that I would have liked to have seen is the parents being more involved in the story. It often felt as though I had to make up a lot of the story about the parents and I think that could have been a whole new side of the story that the developers missed out on. It would have been nice to see some audio journal entries from the parents as well.
    In conclusion, overall this game was a fun and cool way to learn a story but I think it could have been better. I liked the character development throughout the story and the idea of a first person game to tell it. While it was a fun game I think it could have been better in that the parents are not shown in the story as much as I would have liked and the game play was pretty slow and somewhat boring at times.    … Expand
  65. Dilombo
    Dec 15, 2015
    8
    Gone Home, by FullBright Studios, is a first-person interactive storytelling game. You play as Katie Greenbriar, daughter of Terrance and Janice, and sister to Sam Greenbriar. Katie has just arrived home from a long trip abroad to find the house completely empty. By going through their newly moved into mansion, you will find various objects that each tell a small piece of the story withGone Home, by FullBright Studios, is a first-person interactive storytelling game. You play as Katie Greenbriar, daughter of Terrance and Janice, and sister to Sam Greenbriar. Katie has just arrived home from a long trip abroad to find the house completely empty. By going through their newly moved into mansion, you will find various objects that each tell a small piece of the story with the hopes of finding out where everyone is and what has happened.
    The game does an amazing job at creating an atmosphere that makes you feel as though you are prying into a real family’s life. The atmosphere is rather ominous and mysterious. The lighting and thunder effect that you see and hear outside the windows, along with the eerie dim lit hallways help to create this feeling. The house is empty yet it is full of mysteries and secrets that you can uncover. With all the notes, letters, documents, and other items that can be found, you can easily piece together who each of the characters are without even seeing them. Most of the object found in the house can be connected with one of the characters. For example, if you find a note from a publisher, you know it was sent to the father, or you find a Riot Grrl album, you know it is Sam’s. This makes prying through everything seem incredibly real, especially when you unravel their deepest darkest secrets, you get to know everything about them.
    At times the game is somewhat monotonous because to discover everything there is to know about each character, you must be meticulous when finding evidence. You cannot just run through the game if you want to experience the complete storyline. This means clicking on everything and looking in every last possible spot to make sure nothing was overlooked. It seemed as though missing one object could keep you from knowing a very important point of the story or any of the many sub-stories. Its like losing the last piece of the puzzle just before completing it.
    I would recommend this to anyone who likes to play games that are rich with sub-textual storylines and plots. It is great for someone who enjoys interactive mysteries and puzzles. Someone who likes action packed fun may not enjoy this game. I personally liked it because I don’t mind taking time to do the in game research. Gone Home has a lot of depth in the storyline, characters, and gameplay, and that’s why I enjoyed it.    … Expand
  66. schilly06
    Dec 15, 2015
    8
    Gone Home tells the story of a teenage girl named Katie, who comes home from a trip across Europe, only to find a note from her sister and her family gone. Throughout the game, Katie goes on an investigative journey throughout her house in an attempt to figure out exactly what happened to her family.

    Gone Home is a unique gaming experience that takes storytelling to places that a video    Gone Home tells the story of a teenage girl named Katie, who comes home from a trip across Europe, only to find a note from her sister and her family gone. Throughout the game, Katie goes on an investigative journey throughout her house in an attempt to figure out exactly what happened to her family.

    Gone Home is a unique gaming experience that takes storytelling to places that a video game audience has never quite seen before. While playing, you are in a very organized environment while also feeling like there is an open-world sense around you, giving you freedom to go where you want, but never compromising from the story. The game is pitched to the gamer as a mystery/investigation type of gameplay and it delivers exactly that throughout the entire story. You are dropped off in a massive house and every single room and nook and cranny inside the house has some kind of clue or piece of information that leads your character closer to discovering exactly what has happened. The game gives you the power to interact with many objects in each room and I found that while this did make for an interesting approach to finding clues, I found that the objects you could and could not interact with was random at times. The game will give you the power to interact with a letter or a belonging of a certain character to investigate and closely examine, but at the same time, allows you to interact with a pencil or a soda can and other objects that do not really have any meaning.

    A very powerful aspect of the game that adds to the experience of investigating through the house, is the sound that is present in the game. You are playing in a stormy night atmosphere and the sound of the crackling thunder and lighting is exhilarating and at times makes it feel like you are playing a horror game. The sound effects of your character interacting with every day objects, such as turning on and off a TV, or turning on an overhead light is extremely realistic as well and makes you feel like you are watching someone actually go through a house. The game gives you options as to how high or low you want to set the graphics and while the graphics did not necessarily bother me, I did find disappointing that if you select the highest graphics option, it makes the game run slower. However, the intriguing story is the main focus of this game and it made me feel that the lower graphics did not necessarily matter in the long run.

    While the story is intriguing and you are continuously trying to figure out what has happened to your character’s parents, the payoff was unfortunately unsatisfying and I left the game wondering what the point of the story was in the first place. One aspect of the game that was extremely intriguing was that of Sam, the main character’s sister. Even though she is never present during your investigation, she plays an integral part of the game’s development and you are constantly finding out new things about her character.

    Gone Home takes gaming to the next level, not in terms of gunplay and excitement, but of character development and intrigue in the most realistic way possible, and after you have completed it, you feel a sense of accomplishment as you eventually uncover the truth that hides behind the walls of the house.    … Expand
  67. mhopeenglish
    Dec 15, 2015
    7
    The game, Gone Home, begins on a dark and stormy night on June 7, 1995. Kaitlin Greenbriar returns home to an empty mansion in Oregon after backpacking for a year through Europe. In the game, the gamer plays Kaitlin. Players are set loose in the empty mansion to find out what happened to Kaitlin’s mom, dad and younger sister, Sam.
    The gameplay in Gone Home focuses primarily on the    The game, Gone Home, begins on a dark and stormy night on June 7, 1995. Kaitlin Greenbriar returns home to an empty mansion in Oregon after backpacking for a year through Europe. In the game, the gamer plays Kaitlin. Players are set loose in the empty mansion to find out what happened to Kaitlin’s mom, dad and younger sister, Sam.
    The gameplay in Gone Home focuses primarily on the uncovering of clues to tell the story of the whereabouts of Kaitlin’s missing family. Whereas most video games (like Grand Theft Auto and Assassins Creed) operate under a set of rules and methods to drive players toward some sort of objective (like murder and zombie mass killings), Gone Home takes the interactive nature of video games and blends this with storytelling. In Gone Home, the story is everything. Players uncover the mystery of the missing family in an unguided way by learning through Sam’s audio journal, as well as through the presentation of environmental and audio clues.
    The graphics used in Gone Home look like those one sees in graphic novels published in the 1990s. The game allows the player to pick up the object and zoom in to get even more graphic details. Gone Home’s graphic treatment is in contrast to the more realistic (almost too realistic) computer generated graphics used in most video games today. In Gone Home, graphics are deliberately and specially placed by developers throughout the story so players can uncover the family story, especially when it comes to Kaitlin’s parents. The player essentially steps into the pages of the Greenbriar’s life storybook. For example, players look through Kaitlin’s parents’ things. Players find old novels that Terry wrote and published. The novels are based around the assassination of JFK and how the lead character knows the truth and must stop it. Players also learn that Kaitlin’s parents are at a Couples Retreat to get their marriage back on track.
    Sound is effectively used throughout Gone Home to set the mood and intrigue of the story. For example, players randomly hear rain and thunder throughout the story, and expect a zombie to jump out any moment from behind a dark corner. Environmental sounds, like lights turning off and on or a door opening, are also used to enhance the game and make the player feel like they are part of the story. It is like the storybook novel comes alive. Music is also an important component of Gone Home. For example, Sam’s interest in the Riot Grrrl music scene opens a window to a unique musical movement from the 90’s which helps portray the sexual awakening of Sam and Lonnie.
    I am not a fan of video games. In fact, I never play, and when I do, I am useless. However, I did have chills when playing Gone Home—not because it was so scary, but because it was so emotionally evocative. Being the eldest of three siblings, I could not imagine going through what Katie went through. Part of me wanted to rush through the game to just get through it. However, I ended up not rushing because I wanted to try my best to reflect upon how I (as Katie) would react in her situation. I would recommend this game highly, especially to non-gamers.    … Expand
  68. jacobakman
    Dec 15, 2015
    9
    A Review of Gone Home by Jacob Akman
    Gone Home is both an emotional and educational game which was created by the Fullbright Company in 2013. Playing as Katie Greenbriar you have just returned from a trip to Europe and while you were gone, your Mom, Dad, and little sister had moved to an old labyrinthine house owned by your father’s family. Over the next few hours of playing the game you    A Review of Gone Home by Jacob Akman
    Gone Home is both an emotional and educational game which was created by the Fullbright Company in 2013. Playing as Katie Greenbriar you have just returned from a trip to Europe and while you were gone, your Mom, Dad, and little sister had moved to an old labyrinthine house owned by your father’s family. Over the next few hours of playing the game you creep throughout the house discovering clues to explain the drama that occurred while you were away. When you begin Gone Home it is a “dark and stormy night” and this eerie theme continues throughout, punctuated by sudden bursts of thunder and lightning. This creative video game is non-violent and very “modestly” made. Be warned: this game is not for everyone, it can frustrate with tedium, but if you follow it all the way to its conclusion you will experience fear, chills, exhilaration, and ultimately, satisfaction.
    At the beginning of the story you are provided with almost no information which forces you to carefully explore every inch of the sprawling house observing each clue you can find. In the meantime, you will encounter several little side plots such as mother Janice Greenbriar’s “affair”, or the hunting for the ghost of house. However, the major storyline involves Sam’s new life in the “psycho house”, adjusting to her new school, and coming to terms with her sexuality.
    The sexuality theme contrasts Gone Home from typical shoot ‘em up and speed racer games and it confirms that you’re into a unique emotional experience.
    While the graphics in this game are not perfect, that is not what’s important when you compare them to the notes and letters placed around the house. Throughout Gone Home it is easy to get frustrated being hopeful to find an important clue every time you pick up a sharpie or a three ring binder, but when the moment of success and solution come it all seems worth it. To discover a new secret passage or hole in the wall is like a similar satisfaction to getting a “25 kill streak” in Call of Duty and receiving a Nuke. When discussing the “music” of gone home that refers to all the sounds of the house such as thunder, creek of a door, and footsteps on the floor. While the music is not one of the most evident and consistent elements, it adds to the eeriness of the house tremendously.
    For the first half of your gameplay of Gone Home you will be bored and frustrated. While you are paying extra close attention to every little detail and note you can find you will still not seem to find your way around the house. Only at the breakthrough of the locker combo will you be able to truly begin enjoying the game. From then on you will feel a rush as you discover each piece to the puzzle. While this thrill of the gameplay goes on you will also increasingly become interested in the storyline and actually get chills as you enter the attic and hear the final voice clips. Essentially, while the gameplay is slow to get into, not only does it pick up speed and become a very cool game physically, but you will really be able to dive into the story and enjoy that as well.    … Expand
  69. grahamy
    Dec 15, 2015
    9
    Gone Home is a unique video game different from all others. The game is played through a charter named Katie, the objective of the game is to find her families whereabouts when she finds her house empty. It uses gamers predictions to mess with them throughout the game, causing them to assume things so far off from what they truly are. At no point is the game what you would expect.
    The    Gone Home is a unique video game different from all others. The game is played through a charter named Katie, the objective of the game is to find her families whereabouts when she finds her house empty. It uses gamers predictions to mess with them throughout the game, causing them to assume things so far off from what they truly are. At no point is the game what you would expect.
    The setting in Gone Home is almost identical to a typical 1995 house. Its because of the simple setting that players are able to relate with the game on a much more personal level. There are notes, reminders, and work papers scattered all around the house for you to read. Its through these items that you connect with the family in the game on a more personal level. In some ways I dislike how the game is constantly trying to connect with you on a personal level. I personally play video games to take a break from reality. While traveling through the house it is crucial that you read every little note, if you miss something you could miss major plot points. This can be very annoying as the house is so cluttered with junk that it takes a very long time to go through a very small portion of the house.
    Overall game play for Gone Home was nothing special. The graphics had to be put on the lowest quality to run on a mac, which took away from the game visually. One thing I do commend the creators for is the sound. The sound in the game is what made it spooky to play. By having all of the lights turned off in the house it created an eerie feeling for the players. However, this was also annoying, as it would take a ridiculous amount of time to find the light switch’s. The sound effects including sudden bursts of lightning and the creaking of the house created a frightening setting for the players. There was also music playing throughout the game, which was usually riot grrrl. Overall the sound choices for the game were great and worked well with the setting.
    Gone Home is a different game that appeals to gamers by attempting to connect with them. I did not like the ending of the game as I found it to be a let down. However, I would recommend this game because it is very unique. Gone Home is a game so unusual it might just work.    … Expand
  70. Jahck
    Dec 15, 2015
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Gone Home presents a narrative game experience in a form that I couldn’t really put into words until I actually played it. It’s not a game in the traditional sense, more of an interactive story. Players shouldn’t enter expecting an intense gameplay experience that will test their skills or mindlessly entertain them, what they should expect is a well written story paired with a gripping atmosphere.
    The game’s atmosphere is where the gamer side of me would give praise. The moment you step through the front door, you almost immediately sense that something has gone awry. The quiet, unlit house welcomes you with the sound of a storm outside and the creek of your own footsteps. The atmosphere was excellent, the setting immediately grabbed me and encouraged exploration. The goal of the game is find clues and discover what has happened to your family over the course of the last year your character was away. The more you explore the more you learn about your family, but the focus is on your character’s sister Sam. Though other family members aren’t central to the narrative it is possible to learn more about them by looking for more clues. Sam’s story is the central narrative, and tells a very real, personal story, something rarely found in the interactive medium known as video games.
    If I had any gripes with the game, it would be in it’s conclusion, though I still have a hard time saying it had a bad ending. The creators have tried to tell a very real and personal story through a gaming medium, which is quite rare. My instincts as someone who plays video games kept forcing assumptions into my mind. I was expecting some supernatural element to be introduced, or perhaps to discover some gruesome event that had transpired, and these expectations weren’t really met. I naturally found this disappointing, but then realized that these expectations come from the critical gamer within me, rather than the critical consumer. If this story was told through any other medium, I believe I would have found the ending quite satisfactory. Most of the negatives I had playing this game rooted from my preconceptions made as a gamer, and are issues I wouldn’t have had it this was a film or a television show.
    Gone Home offers a well told story, something that video games still struggle to place in gameplay. Gone Home is an example of the other end of the spectrum, a game that prioritizes story over gameplay. If your looking for something to challenge what you perceive as a video game, I recommend this title.    … Expand
  71. DylanCEnglish
    Dec 15, 2015
    6
    The game, “Gone Home,” is a refreshing new take on the classic mystery and adventure genre, the player takes on the role of Kaitlyn Greenbriar, a young woman returning home for a visit from university, however upon arrival everyone is missing. You must take all the jumbled pieces to the puzzle that are hidden around the house and slowly piece the story in order to discover where everyoneThe game, “Gone Home,” is a refreshing new take on the classic mystery and adventure genre, the player takes on the role of Kaitlyn Greenbriar, a young woman returning home for a visit from university, however upon arrival everyone is missing. You must take all the jumbled pieces to the puzzle that are hidden around the house and slowly piece the story in order to discover where everyone has gone.
    Gone Home gets a lot of features correct, from how the music and sound attempt to pull the player in, and all of the visual effects in the house are simply superb. Upon first entering in the game, the player finds themselves on a dark and creaky porch outside of the house, a storm is raging and lighting crashes, these subtle tweaks add to the ominous overtones of the game. Then once inside it quiets, the only sounds that can be heard are your own footsteps as you slowly navigate the house searching for clues to pull you further in.
    The game is far from perfect, and has quite a few problems that prevent the player from fully immersing themselves in the story. The majority of the background story is narrated by Sam, the younger sister of Katie, it is done by walking around and triggering flashbacks or memories upon discovering and inspecting certain objects found in the house. While it is certainly a unique and novel idea, it lacks the elements of realism that the rest of the game strives so hard to achieve. The flashbacks tell Sam's story but because of the lack of connection to you the protagonist and the means of which they are deliver means the the message is not as effective as one might hope. Secondly while its mechanics provide a somewhat fresh and new experience in video games I find myself unconsciously wishing for a few more moment features to accompany the somewhat sparse controls provided to navigate the game. A sprint button to get from the top floor to the bottom would make the game much more enjoyable instead of slowing clomping your way down each set of stairs, and another wonderful idea would be a jumping mechanic. Hiding clues on top of objects would have added another element of realism and that ability to see on top of the bookshelves or cabinets would have made it so the player can immerse them self even further into the game.
    Gone Home attempts to break the generic restrictions that many video game titles face in this day and age, the belief that fast paced action and adventure are necessary to achieve success. Unfortunately, it ends up as a slightly disappointing mystery adventure game, with mechanics that make the player feel restricted and un-immersed because of the lackluster controls, however the plotline, audio and visual effect make up in part for these problems in order to create a game that for some could be described as enjoyable. 6/10    … Expand
  72. Bowlby08
    Dec 15, 2015
    8
    Gone Home, released by Fullbright on August 15, 2013, offers an intriguing narrative-driven experience. I thought the game portrayed a unique perspective of retelling Sam’s story through the clever usage of interactive objects and music.
    The story of the Gone Home is artfully revealed to the player to through the seamlessly interactive gameplay. The story is a exploration of the    Gone Home, released by Fullbright on August 15, 2013, offers an intriguing narrative-driven experience. I thought the game portrayed a unique perspective of retelling Sam’s story through the clever usage of interactive objects and music.
    The story of the Gone Home is artfully revealed to the player to through the seamlessly interactive gameplay. The story is a exploration of the protagonist's “new” house, which is in fact an inheritance from a deceased great uncle. Through journeying throughout the cavernous residence, the protagonist Katie goes about attempting to learn the reasons underlying a startling note left by her younger sister (Sam) on the front door. The flow of the story is not linear in any traditional sense. The gameplay allows for freedom of movement and wide open choice in determining the course of the action. More so than in other games, Gone Home relies on a highly plausible narrative structure and a realistic means of advancing the plot, similar to the manner in which one would proceed in real life. The 1995 setting suggests an environment not nearly as connected as our own.
    My main criticism of the game is in its graphics and sounds. In spite of the game’s efforts to achieve a realistic feel, I felt that it made the game look cartoonish and fake, due to the colours and textures. When you first enter into Gone Home you gain an instant feeling that this was created with the idea of an ultra-realistic but stylized adaption of the world in 1995. The ambient sound in the game was strongly used, such that every interaction seemed to provoke a new noise. I was not a fan of the Riot Grrrl music. The reason that I do not enjoy the Riot Grrrl music stems general dislike of grunge and punk music, rather than any particular dislike of the movement’s political tendencies.
    In conclusion, Gone Home offers an interesting change of pace away from my day to day games, such as shooters and sports games. The Game causes you to slow down and discover the hidden secrets within a family, while exploring the emotional rollercoaster of Sam’s life.    … Expand
  73. cr7madeinheaven
    Dec 15, 2015
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The video game Gone Home is a first-person storytelling, adventure game. It was made and published by the Full Bright Company. In the game you take on the role of the eldest daughter in the Greenbrier family. Her name is Kaitlin and she has just returned back from a year long trip abroad to find her whole family missing and a note on the front door written by her younger sister Sam, warning her not go looking for her family. You, as Kaitlin, proceed to investigate the house to try to find clues on the whereabouts of your family. This game provided me a similar experience to reading a novel. Despite having choice over what you do, everything seems pre determined. Additionally, the amount of detail present in the game is unparalleled to any other I have every played. I feel that the immersive graphics play big part in establishing a personal connection with the family. However, most of the objects in the house that did not play a significant role in the story had a very simple design. This allows the player to see their own life and house in the game. This is called masking. You also very rarely see Kaitlin and Sam’s face in the game. This purposefully vague technique is effective in two ways. Firstly, it is a form of masking and secondly, it forces you to create an opinion on the character without judging them by how they look. The graphics were used to full effect to develop a link between the game and gamer. The audio is a very important aspect of the game, as it sets the tone of the story. As you are playing you can even hear footsteps or lights flickering. At the conclusion of the game one is left wondering if they were all read herrings, or truly ghosts in the house. This uncertainty keeps the gamer on his toes and ensures the player keep searching the house so they can find the truth. I loved Gone Home because of the fact that there was no big twist, no revelation, and no ghost. I truly enjoyed developing real feelings for the characters in the game as I played. Finding out the small side stories felt just as rewarding as solving the mystery at the end of the game. If you are looking for your typical shoot-‘em-up game this is not for you. On the other hand if you want to experience something a little more fulfilling Gone Home may be worth a try.… Expand
  74. JonesLuc
    Dec 15, 2015
    9
    Gone Home is a video game based around a 20-year-old girl named Kate Greenbrier who returns to her families new home after a year abroad only to find the house empty and no sign of her family. As Katie you must make your way through the house and uncover what has become of her family and dark secrets which haunt the house.
    The creators of the game did a spectacular job in creating a    Gone Home is a video game based around a 20-year-old girl named Kate Greenbrier who returns to her families new home after a year abroad only to find the house empty and no sign of her family. As Katie you must make your way through the house and uncover what has become of her family and dark secrets which haunt the house.
    The creators of the game did a spectacular job in creating a spooky and creepy environment which adds to the mystery of the family. Though the graphics are not HD the creators designed the layout and dynamics of the house to give the player a feeling of anxiety and nervousness that something or someone will pop out behind every door and dark room where you can’t see an inch in front of your face. As you make your way through the dark and creepy hallways and secret corridors of the house the sound of constant rainfall and creaking floorboards makes it seem as if you are being followed and watched. The story that the game tells can be related to some aspects of everyone’s lives, whether its feeling out casted and not excepted because of certain tastes or interests.
    Though the game is well constructed and gives the player a psychological thrill by feeling watched or chased throughout the house, it lacks feeling as even though the other members of the family are all coping with and dealing with their own issues which affect their psyche the character or Katie seems to be just there walking around the house. She doesn’t really have a story to her unlike her sister.
    All in all I really enjoyed the game and have recommended it to many people. It is not only an enjoyable experience but can be used as a great teaching tool. It makes people use critical thinking and analysis to uncover the mysteries the house holds which gives the player an experience most other games cannot give. I loved the games story telling because the route you take through the house and the things you choose to dig through determine what you learn about the family and the ghosts which haunt the house.    … Expand
  75. Renovatia
    Dec 14, 2015
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is graphically a lightweight (< 1.5 GByte) Adventure, but decently looking. One plays the character Kaitlin who returns home and is to explore why her sister Sam isn't there and why she left an awkward note.

    This game is about taking you through a story, and it's far less about challenging your intellect, trigger amazement or boost your adrenaline like many other adventure games do! Be prepared to read a lot, because that's how you learn about Sam.

    Fundamentally it's a typical 3d Adventure, but confined to a single house. You walk around and interact with items to learn more about Sam's story. As the story progresses, you'll find out Sam is a lesbian and she ran off to her lesbian friend to live with her.

    Gaming-wise I have only one beef: your efforts as a player are not very rewarding. You have to read a lot of text but not much leads to a anything. You only gained more knowledge. You have to pick up almost everything (there's a lot to pick up) in the hope to find a secret code or a hidden key. When you finally found something, you're happy for a few seconds but then eons of boredom starts again; picking up stuff endlessly and hoping you didn't miss a thing.

    The biggest beef I have is about what the game does and about what kind of persons are behind this game.

    First of all this game is clearly an effort to celebrate LGBT issues and the method used is the good old "feel pity for the person, and when the desired emotions have been set, one automatically likes that person for being gay". For example this has been done in the movie "The Imitation Game" as well. Both the events in the movie and the flow of the game is a preamble to promote the LGBT culture.

    And, as often the case, the people behind such undertakings find reasons to stir some drama and artificially create victimhood: they refused to showcase their game at "PAX Prime" because they didn't like the convention managers' opinions. They (managers) don't buy too much into the usual political correct propaganda and therefore they are, according to the makers of this game, homophobes, transphobes and you name it.

    All in all this game is a project by, and for Social Justice Warriors, but you are not to find out until you're halfway into the game. Better not pay for this. It only encourages SJW's. Stay away from their world and focus on achieving something in your life; like saving money to buy a non-political, more challenging and rewarding game.    … Expand
  76. Marcusselle
    Dec 9, 2015
    9
    Entering the game “Gone Home” is as if you walk straight into a ghost story. You have no idea why you are in this freaky specific house or what you are going to experience next. The game is shaped as a metaphorical puzzle where the most satisfying feeling is to put the pieces together. As I rummaged through an abandoned living room examining moving boxes, locked drawers, pictures, theEntering the game “Gone Home” is as if you walk straight into a ghost story. You have no idea why you are in this freaky specific house or what you are going to experience next. The game is shaped as a metaphorical puzzle where the most satisfying feeling is to put the pieces together. As I rummaged through an abandoned living room examining moving boxes, locked drawers, pictures, the proverbial light bulb suddenly illuminated. Maybe it was the lighting storm outside or just a coincidence?

    The Fulbright Company are a video game development studio best known for their video game “Gone Home”. Basically, “Gone Home” is a first-person interactive fiction game, which means it´s a simulating game where the player uses the keypad to control the character or avatar you “are” during the game. Your goal is to find out what have happened in the spooky, old house at Harbor Hill. There are hidden clues and artifacts everywhere in this house which you have to find to get further on with the story. As you dig deeper into this creepy house, you´ll come across diary messages, scrawled notes and some freaky telephone messages that could unfold facts about every single family member. This could help you to find the actual truth of what have happened.

    The artifacts in this house are design so good that I felt a need to grab everything that wasn’t glued to the floor, and give it the attention it deserved. Another exiting aspect is the warm coming feeling that rushes through you when you walk through those doors. You can pick up and examine almost every object which supports the warm “lived in” feeling.

    The most exiting thing about Gone home is the visuals and audio effects. It´s not exaggerated, but rather painfully real. When I first heard Caitlin’s sister´s diary message my heart stopped. If you don’t use headphones, there is now point playing this game. You would miss the shocking thunder storm trembling outside, the tiny footsteps from the floor above and the squeaking noise from the book shelves.

    The structure to Gone Home I also felt intriguing. The climax is at end of the story which makes it easy to not lose interest. At the end of the game you maybe notice a handful of objects you´ve seen throughout the story. This gives the game a circle competition that also was a highlight for me.

    I would recommend this game to anyone who likes mystery and adventure games, as long as they have high tolerance for much exploring. Stepping foot inside Greenbrier’s house and discovering the things they left behind is a powerful experience. Another thing I noticed with the game was how quick you could finish it. Maybe Fulbright should have made it a bit longer, but how quickly you get through the whole story depends on your understanding and previous game experience. Gone Home is a truly amazing achievement, and piecing together its cascading story will be a memory for life.    … Expand
  77. Broccolli
    Dec 9, 2015
    6
    Gone home is a mystery and exploring game set in 1995, in a big empty(?) house.
    Created by the Fullbright Company. It is a first person game and the gist of the game is that there is no real action. It is only a storytelling game that is very interactive, you can almost interact with anything in the game.
    Perhaps it’s not much game-wise, perhaps there’s not much mechanics in the game,    Gone home is a mystery and exploring game set in 1995, in a big empty(?) house.
    Created by the Fullbright Company. It is a first person game and the gist of the game is that there is no real action. It is only a storytelling game that is very interactive, you can almost interact with anything in the game.
    Perhaps it’s not much game-wise, perhaps there’s not much mechanics in the game, but that’s not what the game is about. This game is the well basically like the developers merely trying to create a story, but letting you think you’re doing much.
    It has a horror game setting, but the only reason you can feel the suspense is without it the game would be very boring. Yes perhaps there’s a great story, perhaps they are great characters but the feeling that any second there’s going to be a jumpscare is the suspense needed to make it a more, playable game. Granted it’s nothing compared to games like: The Vanishing of Ethan Carter.
    But that’s what the creators wanted, and they got it. They got a game that doesn’t include any action but tells a story. But that’s the fault with this game, most games very often include some sort of mechanic, some sort of action happening even if it’s a storytelling game, or if it’s just a chill game. Compared to bigger games such as Dragon Age the story isn’t really super deep and it mostly develops one character, while Dragon Age has a very vast amount of story, characters and depth.
    I can say hands down from the bottom of my heart that Gone Home isn’t the greatest game created, but it’s not bad. It’s as some may have said, a start to a new genre of games.
    You can see more and more story telling games popping up here and there which are also good sellers to the public eye.    … Expand
  78. anettemogster
    Dec 9, 2015
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Gone home
    Gone Home is a videogame developed and published by a company from Portland, Oregon called The Fullbright Company. It was created by Steve Gaynor and some more people and released 15th of August 2013. Gone home is a fictional game that is packed with surprises and hidden adventures.

    At the beginning of the game, you get a phone call that gives you information about the character you are playing as. Her name is Katlin Greenbriar. You begin on the porch of the house the game takes place in and find some baggage that tells you that the year is 1995. The plot is about discovering the family’s secrets in the mansion in Portland, Oregon on Arbor Hill. You play Kaitlin Greenbriar in first-person who is the oldest daughter of the Greenbriar family. She has two parents, Terrance and Janice and a younger sister, Samantha. Samantha, also called Sam is 17 years old.
    After being in Europe for the past year Kaitlin returns back to America and arrives to an abandoned house. The objective of the game you try to find out what has happened to the family. The more you look the more clues you find making the game much more exciting.

    I think the game was a little bit disappointing. It did not turn out the way I thought it would and that kind of disappointed me. I think it is a really good story and the effects and mystery behind builds up the story, but I wish it would turn out in another way. One thing I really liked about the game was the diary Sam had written to Kaitlin, and especially when it got told in Sam´s voice after you had found something in the house. Other things I enjoyed include the music, the graphics and the house. It was really exciting to walk around in the enormous house. I loved to play the game and didn´t want to stop
    It is a really fun game to play because you can do so much. You can walk almost anywhere you want, pick up stuff and look at it making it feel very interactive and real. Except for the end it was one more thing I didn’t like, and that was that if you looked the “wrong” place you could finish the game after around 10 minutes, so I wish there was some sort of a block so that you wouldn’t be able to end the game before it was supposed to end.

    I would recommend the game to someone else because all in all I think it was a fun and exciting game. I think it is suitable for both girls and boys between age 14 to 18 and I would especially recommend it to people who like mystery.    … Expand
  79. Karolineemblem
    Dec 8, 2015
    6
    Gone Home

    The videogame “Gone Home” is developed by The Fullbright Company and designed by Steve Gaynor. It was published on August 15 2013. Gone Home is a mysterious and romantic video game. The game is set in Portland, Oregon in 1995. You play as the eldest daughter of the Greenbriar family, Kaitlin, who just arrived home after a year abroad. She expects her parents and sister to    Gone Home

    The videogame “Gone Home” is developed by The Fullbright Company and designed by Steve Gaynor. It was published on August 15 2013. Gone Home is a mysterious and romantic video game. The game is set in Portland, Oregon in 1995. You play as the eldest daughter of the Greenbriar family, Kaitlin, who just arrived home after a year abroad. She expects her parents and sister to greet her when she gets home, but instead Kaitlin only finds a deserted house, filled with secrets. What happened here? Where is everyone? These are both questions you will find answers to as you play the game.

    You can wander around the Greenbriar house and get to know what happened to the family by investigating the clues and secrets hidden around the house. There are no set goals in the game, however the game rewards and encourages you for exploring new areas of the house and finding all of the secret messages. All the clues lead you to one place that explains everything clearly.

    The game is very well designed. It allows you to open doors and drawers, and find out what´s inside. It even has furniture and small things like movies, which makes it feel extremely real, almost like you are actually in the house. In the beginning I was really confused because I did not know what I was looking for, but as I continued playing I understood what to do. After a while, I started to find the game a lot more interesting. I noticed that as you play and you start finding clues, you don´t want to stop, you just want to find more answers.

    Gone Home is also very different from most games because it has no fighting involved in it. Most games use combat as their main focus, but Gone Home is different. Because there is no risk of dying, it allows the player to carefully examine everything so they don’t miss any pieces of evidence. But this does not mean that you can relax when you are playing the game! If you aren’t very alert when you are playing the game, you could miss important clues and other pieces of the story.

    The main thing future buyers should be aware of is that when you complete the game, you can´t replay it with the same surprises, because you already know the what the outcome is. You can beat the game quickly because you will know the story line and all of the secret short cuts, and finding secrets won’t be as fun because you know them already. This means that after the first time you play, you will have completed the whole game.

    I would recommend this game to anyone who likes mysteries, uncovering secrets, and using their brain to think about what has happened. It could also be fun for people who are used to violent games, because it is so different from them, and opens a new world of video games to them. Even though you can only play it once, it is still a fun game and I would recommend you give it a try!    … Expand
  80. pettersolheim
    Dec 8, 2015
    10
    Gone home – game review

    You arrive home after a year abroad. You expect your family to greet you, but the house is left alone. Something is not right; what has happened? Where is everyone? The game is based on the story composed by Chris Remo and published by Fulbright. It was released in 2013. This is interactive fiction, which means it’s a simulating game where the player uses the    Gone home – game review

    You arrive home after a year abroad. You expect your family to greet you, but the house is left alone. Something is not right; what has happened? Where is everyone?

    The game is based on the story composed by Chris Remo and published by Fulbright. It was released in 2013. This is interactive fiction, which means it’s a simulating game where the player uses the keypad to control the character or the avatar you “are” during the game.
    Your mission is to find out what took place in the creepy, old and spooky house at Arbor Hill. There are clues to search for in the house, and each clue leads to another. For each step you take in to the deeply confusing and tragic story, you get closer to the answer. The story unfolds facts about every single family member.

    The game has a good build up and a lot of exciting aspects. What makes it interesting in my opinion, is the unkown concept and story that plays out; we have absolutely no idea what this game is about and how it will develop. Many people would say that lots of movies have the same exciting aspects, but to me the game is a bit different.
    In particular, I liked the graphics and the realistic surroundings. The producers have done a great job with the all the visuals and audio effects, which made the game a whole lot better.
    Another thing I noticed with the game was how quick you could finish it. Maybe the producers should have made it a bit longer; and you can’t skip right to the end. They have in a way done this already by adding “Sam`s notebook”, which we need to complete to get the full story.

    I would recommend this story to people with a general interest for both computers and stories. I don’t people with interest for opposite things would like this game. However, I think almost everyone could find joy from this game as it is a good concept. I would also say this game possibly would be more fun to play for kids than adults, as the game in a way is build up in a bit childish way.
    I think using this game in school is a very good solution and makes the class become a better one; where the class is different from the rest.    … Expand
  81. Zachen99
    Dec 8, 2015
    8
    The mysterious Gone Home game

    Every house is full of information. If you look at the right places, you can find out so much about who is living in the house and maybe their story. This is exactly what the game Gone Home is about. The developer of Gone Home is called Fullbright, and they published the game August 15. In 2013. You play as Kaitlin Greenbriar, the daughter of Janice and    The mysterious Gone Home game

    Every house is full of information. If you look at the right places, you can find out so much about who is living in the house and maybe their story. This is exactly what the game Gone Home is about. The developer of Gone Home is called Fullbright, and they published the game August 15. In 2013. You play as Kaitlin Greenbriar, the daughter of Janice and Terrance Greenbriar. After spending a year in Europe, Kaitlin comes home to her family`s new home. She gets a surprise, because her family are not to be found. When she walks around in the house looking for traces, she finds some info that she did not expect.
    The story takes place in 1995 in USA. Samantha is the main character, and as you are playing as Kaitlin, you have to discover what has happened to her and the rest of the family while you have been away. You have to explore the house by picking up objects, looking at Photos and reading letters. You also have to find hidden keys to open more doors, so you can explore even more. By doing this you will find information, and get closer to knowing what really happened to the family.
    While you play as Kaitlin Greenbriar in a first person view, you can pick up items to examine them closer. Sometimes when you pick up an object, it will trigger a voice that starts talking. This is the voice of Kaitlin`s sister Samantha, and it is about her journals. In her journals, she talks about what has happened to her at school, about her love life and a little about their parents. This makes the game a little bit more interesting. The sound of thunder and bad weather outside gives the game a little more tension, and makes the setting scarier.
    Gone Home is a good game. It is not just a win or lose game, but it is a game where you have to explore and do things the way you want to. There is not a manual for how to play this game, so you are free and do not have to follow a pattern. This is especially what I liked about Gone Home. I personally liked that I had to find out the story myself, instead of somebody reading the story to me. I strongly recommend this game to everybody who like to explore and solve mysteries. This is a game you will not regret playing.    … Expand
  82. Siver7marken
    Dec 8, 2015
    8
    Video Game Review

    The video game “Gone Home” is set in 1995 in Portland Oregon. The game had its release dates on August 15 for Windows, OS X and Linux. And on the 12th of January for Playstation 4 and Xbox One. In this game, we follow the oldest daughter in the Greenbriar family, Kaitlin. Who has returned to her home from a year abroad. Normally her family would be there to welcome    Video Game Review

    The video game “Gone Home” is set in 1995 in Portland Oregon. The game had its release dates on August 15 for Windows, OS X and Linux. And on the 12th of January for Playstation 4 and Xbox One.

    In this game, we follow the oldest daughter in the Greenbriar family, Kaitlin. Who has returned to her home from a year abroad. Normally her family would be there to welcome her, but the house is empty. Many questions needs to be answered.
    You will get the answers as you walk through in first-person and explore the Greenbrier house.
    “The Fullbright Company” is the developer of this game. The co-founders of the company have earlier worked on multiple games including the famous “Bioshock 2”. This game goes under the genre “adventure”, and it fits right in.
    The game has a small, scary vibe attached to it. The scariness increases at the start screen/menu, and the loud lighting inside the game intensifies it.

    You start at the front porch of the Greenbriar house. What you can see there is the locked entrance door to the house, a cabinet, a bench and your bags from the trip. At the front door there is a note:
    “Katie
    I’m sorry I can’t be there to see you, but it is impossible. Please, please don’t go digging around trying to find out where I am. I don’t want anyone to know. We’ll see each other again someday. Don’t be worried. I love you.
    - Sam”
    When the player reads this note it will trigger something in the brain and make the player want to find out more, investigate. At least it did for me. The first thing you will have to do is to find a key. When you find it, you can open the front door. Inside is the foyer, here you will start your adventure.

    It is quite easy to play this game, the controls are easily learnable. If you have played any game on a computer before, that is a plus. There will be used eight buttons and a computer mouse. With these buttons, and the mouse, it is possible to do different things. You can crouch, pick up objects, look closer at objects, open your backpack, view your map and look at your journals.

    In my opinion the storyline was good and exciting, with many surprises. It was the story that made me want to keep on playing. I wanted to find out what was going to happen next. I really liked the fact that you could always decide where to go. No cut scenes and the game never controlled your character for you. The game could have included some “side missions” though, to make it bigger and more whole. Overall I enjoyed playing Gone Home and I will probably tune in on Fullbright’s next game!    … Expand
  83. olivialouise
    Dec 7, 2015
    6
    GONE HOME

    Developers: Fullbright Designers: Steve Gaynor Released in the year 2013 The game is set to the year 1995, in Portland, Oregon. We experience and play the game in the first-person, through Kaitlin Greenbriar, the oldest of two sisters. She has just come home from a year abroad in Europe, and find the new family house empty. She has no idea where her mother, father or    GONE HOME

    Developers: Fullbright
    Designers: Steve Gaynor
    Released in the year 2013

    The game is set to the year 1995, in Portland, Oregon. We experience and play the game in the first-person, through Kaitlin Greenbriar, the oldest of two sisters. She has just come home from a year abroad in Europe, and find the new family house empty. She has no idea where her mother, father or sister are. As she searches through the house she discovers well hidden secrets about her family.

    The house is very large, with many rooms and hidden passages. To explore the whole house must find these passages and keys. In order to do this, we need to find documents and codes. Gone Home’s designers has done a great job in making us feel like we actually are the person walking around in the house. We can grasp things, throw it away and get frustrated when we cannot open a door or a drawer because something is in the way.

    The game is as mentioned, set in 1995, which is easily recognizable with the styling and the old cassettes.

    The game atmosphere is scary. You are always on the edge, waiting for some sort of climax or something horrifying to happen, but this never occurs. The scary atmosphere comes from all the spooky sounds of both rain and thunder and all the creaking from walking and opening a drawer and a door. When you walk in to rooms the lights are always out and you can see lighting strikes regularly. Also the background music plays a major role when it comes to my first impression of the game.

    My first impression of this game was far from the same impression I was left with after playing it to the end. You start to play with the feeling that something terrible has happened, and that you will find a something like a dead body around the next corner. When you play your way to the end and find out where Katie’s family are, you get somewhat disappointed with the story.

    You feel more like a detective than a member of the family when you go through the house. I see similarities to the concept of "escape rooms"

    Gone Home is nothing like other games I have played, I really enjoyed the game concept but I had wished there was a better story behind it and more challenging.    … Expand
  84. ChristianOstvik
    Dec 7, 2015
    8
    Gone Home is a storytelling and explorative game. The game was made by The Fullbright Company in 2013. You play as Kaitlin Greenbriar, who just returned home after spending a year in Europe. However, when you get home, no one is there.

    The story takes place in USA in 1995, in the new house of the Greenbriar Family. Through the game, you’re being told a story. It is told through    Gone Home is a storytelling and explorative game. The game was made by The Fullbright Company in 2013. You play as Kaitlin Greenbriar, who just returned home after spending a year in Europe. However, when you get home, no one is there.

    The story takes place in USA in 1995, in the new house of the Greenbriar Family. Through the game, you’re being told a story. It is told through environmental clues and audio narration. It’s your job to explore the house, to find clues and gather information about what’s happened while you’ve been gone. You will also hear Sam’s (your little sister) journals, while you’re playing. In these journals, she’s describing how her life has been for the last year.

    While you’re exploring the house, picking up notes, newspapers, letters and other items, you will eventually find out what’s happened to your parents and sister the last twelve months. The story itself is realistic, and it’s something every teenager can relate to in some way.

    It was the story that wanted me to keep playing. I always wanted to find the next clue/evidence, so that I could find out more of the story. It felt like the more I knew, the more I wanted to know. That’s something I really liked about the storytelling. However, this could feel a bit repetitive after a while, because you always had to pick up clues and evidences. If it weren’t for the great storytelling, I don’t think I would find the game that exciting.

    The gameplay itself is great, but nothing spectacular. The graphics are nice, and the background sounds of lightning and thunder is creating a scary and dreary atmosphere, which fits the gameplay well. The kind of “free” gameplay, where you could walk freely around and decide for yourself what you should do next, is also something I liked about the game.

    All in all, I think the game is great and enjoyable to play. Even though the gameplay feels a bit repetitive after a while, the story is so well told that it doesn’t ruin the game too much. I would recommend the game to people who likes exploring games, and who wants a different gaming experience.    … Expand
  85. Leandervolkmann
    Dec 7, 2015
    10
    Gone home is an exciting first person game with spooky effects and a creepy atmosphere. The game allows me to poke and pry at all the different stories the Greenbriar family has gone through. The best in this game is that every object picking up is important for solving the game. Putting together the information from all of them we have a completely insight of the family and we have theGone home is an exciting first person game with spooky effects and a creepy atmosphere. The game allows me to poke and pry at all the different stories the Greenbriar family has gone through. The best in this game is that every object picking up is important for solving the game. Putting together the information from all of them we have a completely insight of the family and we have the totally opportunity knowing where they are. We do not just solve the main story but create a picture of who each of them are.
    I will absolutely recommend this game. It is different to others. Normally I play games with levels/stages and different upgrades. GTAV is a good example of this. To get further in the game I need to complete missions. If I fail, I can try again. When I have reached and completed the last mission, I’m Finished. In Gone home, we are totally on our own. We have to find different evidences to get further in the story. The biggest difference between gone home compared to other games is that when we have opened all doors, and we cannot get any longer, we have not completed the game. The game has terminated when we have figured out the whole story about what has happened to the family. You have the responsibility to find the information and to decide when the game is over.
    The reason for why I like this sort of game is that I have to think in another way. I need to use the information to get further and every piece of evidence is important.
    There are many effects and objects, which affects the game experience. There are important sounds from thunder, door squeaks and squeaks from walking. In addition to the sounds there are lightning effects and flashing lights. I think, personally, that the game designer/designers has/have designed the house in a perfect, old and spooky way. The objects spread around in the house, are typical for 1995. The interesting thing about the objects is not that they just create the old atmosphere, but that they also are important to the story. Cassette players, for example, tells us something about one of the characters.
    I recommend this game to everyone who wants to try something different and special. It is perfect for those who like to investigate and/or like the feeling of fear and surprising. The game is easy to control, which means it is easy to play. Therefore, you do not need to be a “professional” gamer.    … Expand
  86. elinajao
    Dec 7, 2015
    5
    Gone home is made by The Fullbright Company, that was formed by Steve Gaynor, Karla Zimonja, Johnnemann Nordhagen and Kate Craig.
    It is a adventure and interactive fiction game that was released 15th August 2013. When the game begins you play as a 21-year-old girl named Kaitlin Greenbriar in the 90´s. She comes home to Arbor Hill after a year long trip away from her family, only to find a    Gone home is made by The Fullbright Company, that was formed by Steve Gaynor, Karla Zimonja, Johnnemann Nordhagen and Kate Craig.
    It is a adventure and interactive fiction game that was released 15th August 2013. When the game begins you play as a 21-year-old girl named Kaitlin Greenbriar in the 90´s. She comes home to Arbor Hill after a year long trip away from her family, only to find a note on the door from her sister Samantha saying that she should not try to find her or even looking for answers to where she is. As she walks in through the door she realizes that not even her parents are home. No one is.
    In my personal aspect I find the game interesting but almost a bit boring along the way. The game can be played out very fast and I think that is bad.
    But besides that Gone Home is a interesting game that makes you wondering what happened and what’s going on. I definitely thinks that it’s worth testing if your interested about the game.    … Expand
  87. 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
  88. 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
  89. 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
  90. 14samajb
    Dec 7, 2015
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. GONE HOME - Created by Fullbright Company

    Gone Home is a computer game created and designed by the team in Fullbright Company. The game was first released 15th of August, 2013.

    The game takes place in a empty mansion in Arbor Hill, Oregon, America. The environment of the game is a mix of thriller and adventure. You as a player get to explore the mansion as Kaitlyn Greenbriar, who is one of the daughters of the Greenbriar family. It’s the 7th of June, 1995, in the game and Kaitlin has just returned home from a year long trip to Europe, but she comes home to an empty house. As Kaitlin we get to walk around the mansion and find clues about what's going on and where everyone has gone.

    What we didn’t like about the game it that the atmosphere of the game is giving you a scary impression, but in fact there is nothing scary happening throughout the game. The setting is dark, messy and mysterious. The rain is pouring outside and the thunder comes when you least expect it, which makes you believe that something or someone is about to scare you. I guess it’s a success from the creators side, but to us it just didn’t make any sense.

    But what we did like about the game was that we got to walk around the house by ourselves and decide which room we walked in to. There were objects around the house that we could pick up, for example letters and they gave us clues.

    Overall, it’s a nice game. We would recommend it to people in all ages. It’s a good game if you are a new gamer and don’t have a lot of gaming experience.

    By Kaja & Sandra    … Expand
  91. IAmCynical
    Dec 7, 2015
    7
    A good story told through setting.
    In a desolate empty house late at night, you walk through the hallways in search of answers. Where are your dad, mom and sister? Where have they gone? What has happened? That is what the game “Gone Home” is about.
    The game “Gone Home” is a first person one-player adventure/explorer style game. It is developed by Fullbright, designed by Steve Gaynor    A good story told through setting.
    In a desolate empty house late at night, you walk through the hallways in search of answers. Where are your dad, mom and sister? Where have they gone? What has happened? That is what the game “Gone Home” is about.

    The game “Gone Home” is a first person one-player adventure/explorer style game. It is developed by Fullbright, designed by Steve Gaynor and the music composed by Chris Remo. Also, it was released in august 2013.

    “Gone Home” is set in Oregon, USA in 1995. The person whom you play is Kaitlin, the older sister of the Greenbrier family. She has just returned home from studying abroad for exactly a year. Upon returning, she finds the house empty and that the doors are all locked. Then the game starts, with you not having a clue of what had happened. From there you must find the answers.
    I loved experiencing the environment and the story hidden within the house. The environment seemed completely unknown and new to me, as the furniture and the house itself looked quite antique. The atmosphere, which the environment gave off, actually further enhanced the story.

    The thing, which kept me interested in the game, was the story. It was quite a well-made story in my opinion and I really enjoyed it. The reason as for why I enjoyed the story was its way of storytelling. It told the story through the environment. Not some pieces of paper or person, but the environment itself. Through the audio messages, clues and the realism within them. That was how I experienced the story’s ephemeral little story.

    The game’s story and environment was quite good. But, there was still something that I disliked. That was the brightness at some places within the game. It was simply too dark. I know that the developers intended for it to be dark for the setting. But I believe that they went overboard. Because it was too dark, it became too hard to find the light switches (if there was one). You would just get annoyed at that point and you don’t feel like continuing for a bit. Therefore was the brightness one of the few aspects I disliked about the game.

    In the end, I would like to give this game a 7/10, mostly because of the story. Moreover, I would like to recommend this game to people who enjoy realistic stories or maybe got some interest in antique stuff from the 1990s. As this game got its 7/10 rate mostly because of its story, but also because of the environmental features. The game could have gotten a perfect score (10/10), but because of some minor details like bad brightness, it did not achieve it.    … Expand
  92. 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
  93. HanneHaga
    Dec 6, 2015
    8
    Game Review – Gone Home

    Gone home is a first-person adventure game developed and published by a company called Fullbright. Gone home is a game that takes place in the new house to the Greenbriar family, in the late 1900s. In the game you play as the character Kaitlin Greenbriar who just returned from staying abroad a year. When Kaitlin comes back from Europe, she discovers something    Game Review – Gone Home

    Gone home is a first-person adventure game developed and published by a company called Fullbright. Gone home is a game that takes place in the new house to the Greenbriar family, in the late 1900s. In the game you play as the character Kaitlin Greenbriar who just returned from staying abroad a year. When Kaitlin comes back from Europe, she discovers something unexpected. The house is empty, with no furniture and she cannot find her family anywhere. She has no idea where her mother Janice, her father Terence and her sister Samanta are.

    When you start the game, you get to look around the house and try to find clues to what has happened with Kaitlin’s family while Kaitlin were away. You explore everything from papers, newspapers, books and cabinets, and in some cases you`ll need a code to unlock hidden secrets inside the house.

    The game is fun, and offers and exciting journey for the player to experience. You get new experiences, and you get to know the secrets that have laid hidden in the family for many years.

    One thing that is positive with the game is that you never get tired of playing, you always want to play more and explore new areas. The house has extremely many rooms full of surprises to discover, and lots of new information about different characters. In the game you don`t get told where you need to go next, but instead you have opportunity to roam around as you wish and in your own tempo.

    The music and the sounds you hear when playing through the game contributes to making the setting scarier and increasing the tension. The game is not packed with action, but once the sound and the music comes into play, it makes playing the game a completely new experience. Some players will probably be afraid to explore places such as dark rooms, at least i was when i started playing. The weather also plays a part in increasing the tension and excitement throughout the game.

    I really recommend others to try out the game, it is a game you definitely will have plenty of fun with. I for one will at least recommend the game to friends of mine who likes to explore and solve mysteries.    … Expand
  94. 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
  95. diaper
    Dec 1, 2015
    10
    This game is an indie game done right! Unlike Undertale, this game is good and thought provoking. The gameplay is awesome and fluid! The controls are excellent. This is the best written game I have ever played. Great game! Overall score: 10/10! My personal game of the year for 2013.
  96. reavor
    Nov 16, 2015
    4
    Severely overpriced for just about 1-2 hours. Not really a "game" since you can't loose. It's just an interactive story, although severely limited in it's interactivity. There was a lot of thought put into the story I guess, but not much more than that.
  97. Overvulture
    Nov 9, 2015
    8
    An interactive story that offers a special kind of personal insight into the lives of others that only the medium of games could provide. If you connect strongly with themes of family and coming-of-age drama, you'll find the writing here is convincing and reinforced by the home you're exploring as you go. The story itself is fine, but the way the setting and environment design communicatesAn interactive story that offers a special kind of personal insight into the lives of others that only the medium of games could provide. If you connect strongly with themes of family and coming-of-age drama, you'll find the writing here is convincing and reinforced by the home you're exploring as you go. The story itself is fine, but the way the setting and environment design communicates with you as you move through it is what sets this apart as a memorable experience.

    If you're not a fan of the interactive narrative style of game, there's nothing here for you to enjoy, but if you want a well-crafted experience, this one has a story to tell that's funny, honest, and heartwarming.    … Expand
  98. Moortiii
    Nov 8, 2015
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Gone Home is a first-person action adventure game released by Full Bright Company on August 15 2013. The game takes place in an old mansion on Arbor Hill, Oregon in 1995. The main character, Kaitlin Greenbriar, has just returned from a year-long trip to Europe only to find that the mansion is completely abandoned and that her sister has left but a vague message telling her not to search for clues about where she’s gone and why she chose to leave.

    I think that, right off the bat, a lot of players were expecting Gone Home to be your average Joe’s horror game filled with jump-scares, ridiculously difficult puzzles, monsters and an insanity-meter. I find this completely understandable, because at first I felt the exact same way and almost signed it off as a dull remake of Amnesia: The Dark Descent. However, it didn’t take very long to realize that Gone Home was completely different and that it wasn’t supposed to be played like any other game I’d ever tried before.

    My favourite thing about the game was Sarah Grayson’s voice acting. Never before have I “connected” with a character so quickly and I also want to highlight how well the developer managed to show that a video game made in 21st century doesn’t necessarily need to include a lot of violence, or any sort of combat system for that matter, in order to be interesting and entertaining. Some might argue that the storyline needs some altering, because it was fairly predictable, but personally I feel like having a huge plot-twist wouldn’t have fit the game and that the current ending is all it needs to be - a form of closure.

    In conclusion I can say that, for me, Gone Home was the game that I didn’t know I wanted until I first played it. With it’s interesting storyline and stunning graphics it’s hard not to love it. The player is instantly immersed in the story and the artifacts from the 90’s spread around the house makes the story believable and even makes the house feel lived in. I personally loved the game and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to try something different or just enjoys searching for clues and piecing together information.

    Rating: 10/10    … Expand
  99. lenesol
    Nov 8, 2015
    8
    Gone Home is a first-person interactive story adventure game. The player is about Kaitlin, who comes home after a year abroad in Europe, to her and her family’s mansion in Portland, Oregon. Kaitlin is of course expecting her family to be at home when she gets there, but returns to a locked and dark house, where no one is home. The plot, set in 1995, focuses on exploring the mansion, asGone Home is a first-person interactive story adventure game. The player is about Kaitlin, who comes home after a year abroad in Europe, to her and her family’s mansion in Portland, Oregon. Kaitlin is of course expecting her family to be at home when she gets there, but returns to a locked and dark house, where no one is home. The plot, set in 1995, focuses on exploring the mansion, as well as examining objects within the house in order to find out where Kaitlin’s family is.

    There are many positive sides to this game. The game is set in 1995, which is not difficult to notice at all. All from old cassettes, outdated televisions and magazines from 1995 is something the player will notice whilst playing the game. It feels like being dragged back in time, which tells me that the makers of Gone Home really did a good job with the game. Also, the whole idea of going from room to room, reading various papers and notes was something totally new to me, and probably for many of you too. This is also such a good aspect of this game. The creators thought outside of the box, which made everything so much more exiting.

    Something that I would like to change with the game is the lightning. Poor lightning did make the game a lot more spooky, and I was always waiting for a jump scare, which never came. However, I must admit that it was quite annoying to look around in some of the rooms, who were pitch black, for a light switch. It took some time and attention away from the actual game, which is not the best thing. Even though I do not totally agree with the choice of lightning, it is just a small aspect of the game, and it did not ruin the game for me.

    In conclusion, I really liked this game. I am not a huge fan of computer games, but Gone Home was something new and interesting to me. I believe this is a game which a lot of people out there will find interesting. Especially if you find games that is about shooting and killing people boring, you will almost definitely love this game!    … Expand
  100. eliseefristad
    Nov 8, 2015
    6
    Gone home is a first person interactive adventure game set in 1995. The player takes on the role of Kaitlin, a girl who returns from a year abroad to find that the new house her family has moved into is completely empty. The player then has to search through the house for clues to locate where Kaitlin’s family could be. As you play you come over hidden secrets of the other family membersGone home is a first person interactive adventure game set in 1995. The player takes on the role of Kaitlin, a girl who returns from a year abroad to find that the new house her family has moved into is completely empty. The player then has to search through the house for clues to locate where Kaitlin’s family could be. As you play you come over hidden secrets of the other family members all while unsettling noises is to be heard everywhere…

    The first thing that hit me about this game is its flawless graphics, the game never fail to flow elegantly between different moves the player makes and I almost forgot I was looking at a game and not a real home. It was a brilliant idea to choose the narrative to be Kaitlin who along with the player is discovering the house for the first time.

    The tone of Gone Home sets it up to be a creepy and scary game. There is something unsettling about hearing the rain outside while you are walking through a large and unfamiliar house and I was constantly waiting for a jumpscare or something really scary and dramatic to happen and was a bit frustrated when I realized the whole gameplay contains of walking around the house solving puzzles and looking for clues. After I got over that I realized just how amazing the story was and I was astonished of how many details the creator put into it to make it feel like your dealing with real life people. The journal and voiceover part was done wonderfully and made you really connect with the character Samantha and sympathize with her.

    So, the 10. 000 dollar question: Is Gone Home a good game? I’m not sure if I would call it a game at all. It hits me more like a visual novel than anything else. The creators succeeded in making you feel that you are walking through a real home, looking through the belongings of a real family, which usually is not a characteristic for video games. Since I view video games as an escape mechanism from everyday life I cannot say that I enjoyed Gone home that much. But I appreciate the originality and it is a well-made and interesting game, no doubt in that. I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a different kind of computer game that does not revolve around action and shooting stuff.    … 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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