Gone Home

noahcrawford

Dec 14, 2014

9

Gone Home is a first person hands on video game about a girl, Katie, who comes home from a long vacation, expecting to receive a big welcome home, to find a quiet empty house. Set in 1995, Katie is exposed to many artifacts and clues allowing the navigator to tie pieces and ideas together about the whereabouts of her family, more notably her sister, Sam.
In the story Katie quickly learnsGone Home is a first person hands on video game about a girl, Katie, who comes home from a long vacation, expecting to receive a big welcome home, to find a quiet empty house. Set in 1995, Katie is exposed to many artifacts and clues allowing the navigator to tie pieces and ideas together about the whereabouts of her family, more notably her sister, Sam.
In the story Katie quickly learns that her parents are abroad for their anniversary and know about Sam’s absence. Gone Home, contrary to most games, presents a realistic and relatable story for the character of Sam. Sam is going through a relatively typical stage of teenage life. Similarly to many teenagers in the real world, after switching schools Sam feels lost, lonely and becomes detached from her parents. Unlike most video games, Gone Home does a tremendous job displaying character progression through the cigarettes found in Sam’s locker and her partake in the riot grrl movement. Gone Home’s historical setting played a big role in its success. Setting the game in a modern and digitally intensified world would have made the game beatable with a simple text to Sam titled “where are you?”. By navigating through a house surrounded by artifacts from 1995, the player must slowly tie pieces together, make connections and reach creative conclusions. Equally as important as the story line is Gone Home’s game play.
The game play in Gone Home has both negative and positive aspects, however, it can be understood why such negative features were implemented as they comply with the games purpose. The inability to run shows a lack of attention to detail as in such moments of disarray Katie is bound to be running urgently around the house to locate her sister. It is unrealistic in a time of chaos for Katy to carefully investigate each room carefully. However, I recognize the importance of doing so, because the game’s purpose is to tie large ideas together and solve mysteries, therefor, the inability to run is essential in forcing the player to act attentively. Nevertheless, the game should strive further towards realism as it allows players to better relate to the scenario. The game’s ability to present an element of horror such as broken lights, locked doors and safes without prototypical pop-ups should be admired. Such a subtly realist mode of horror, which is uncommon for a video game, makes it more effective.
Gone Home disproves the misconception that playing video games is merely a way to pass time and serves no purpose. I recommend such a game to any student who isn’t fond off reading as such a progressive game serves the same purpose as reading a story, yet doesn’t require extensive reading. Gone Home demonstrates the potential video games have in the educational field as it forces people to act in a critical manner rather than turn their brains off.… Expand

bobbbbbbb

Dec 14, 2014

10

Gone Home is a first-person interactive story video game. It is set in the year 1995, the plot focuses on exploring a mansion in Portland, Oregon, and you must examining common household objects within the home. It starts with you arriving at an empty mansion. Your name is Katie and you are the eldest daughter of the Greenbriar family, you have just returned after a year abroad in Europe.Gone Home is a first-person interactive story video game. It is set in the year 1995, the plot focuses on exploring a mansion in Portland, Oregon, and you must examining common household objects within the home. It starts with you arriving at an empty mansion. Your name is Katie and you are the eldest daughter of the Greenbriar family, you have just returned after a year abroad in Europe. She expects her parents and sister to be there to greet her. Instead she finds only a deserted house, filled with secrets. It is up to you to explore the house and find out what has happened. Overall I thought that this was an incredible game, because it has a remarkable story and to me that is one of the most essential parts of a game. It was really entertaining to go around the house unlocking doors and solving the mystery of where your sister and parents are. The graphics in this game where mind-blowing, it was so good it almost felt like I was in an actual house. It was extremely realistic, it feels like your in a real house because there are all sorts of objects that you can pick up to examine that would be in a real house such as books to read and records to listen to. The kitchen is disorganized, and the bedrooms feel like someone is actually living there. The makers of the game put a lot of time and effort into all the small details such as all the objects that you can pick up, they all look very convincing. As you explore you come across notes, telephone messages, and diary entries that offer clues necessary for you to solve the mystery. The sound and graphics added a whole other level of complexity to it, because the lights flicker, there’s a thunderstorm outside, and the house seems to moan, which made it all scarier and more realistic at the same time. Throughout the game you get voice messages from your sister and they are really well done because they sound lifelike and give you hints about the plot but don’t give to much of it away. One of the parts that I didn’t enjoy was that there wasn’t a lot of action, you couldn’t jump or run which adds a layer of fun to a game. Over all I really admired the game. I had a lot of fun exploring the house and solving the mystery. I would recommend it to anyone I know because of its great mystery and story.… Expand

robertwsaunders

Dec 15, 2014

9

Initially the thought of "Gone Home" made me cringe. The components for the game did not line up. However after playing the game it could be that these strangely formatted components actually made the game puzzling, interesting and genuinely entertaining to play. IGN game critic Marty Sliva states "Gone Home’s" “jumbled mess of oddly shaped metaphorical puzzle pieces” is what makes theInitially the thought of "Gone Home" made me cringe. The components for the game did not line up. However after playing the game it could be that these strangely formatted components actually made the game puzzling, interesting and genuinely entertaining to play. IGN game critic Marty Sliva states "Gone Home’s" “jumbled mess of oddly shaped metaphorical puzzle pieces” is what makes the game remarkably interesting, I agree with him. Returning home, Kaitlin Greenbriar is greeted by a deserted house filled with secrets. In first-person you explore the house to uncover untold mysteries from finding notes and clues, ultimately to solve and understand the Greenbriar’s past.

"Gone Home" is not perfect, nothing is. What "Gone Home" fails to-do well is make its story and gameplay intertwine easily for every type of player. Most of the bad reviews for "Gone Home" are a result of people not playing the game how it is supposed to be played, not allowing them to see the true beauty that lies under the surface. Traditionally video games have a distinct objective whereas "Gone Home" dose not. If "Gone Home" could have found a way to force the player to follow the storyline it’s overall reception would have been much better, because the story is prodigious if played correctly.

In the case of "Gone Home", less is more. There is no elaborate graphic engine, no multi-million dollar company behind the game, but the simple gameplay, mediocre graphics, and intrinsic audio, all make the game great. The audio cues and readings from Kaitlin’s sister Sam’s journal, resonate an alternative perspective for the player, which might not come naturally at first, deeper meaning seems to be a common theme in the game. "Gone Home’s" profound story make it brilliant to play by immediately creating questions for the player, as a result you become captivated by the game. "Gone Home" perfectly shows that violence or external sources of entertainment are not needed to make a video game fun, which is why in my perspective Steve Gaynor and Fullbright made an amazing game.

When Steve Gaynor was unsatisfied with big budget work and decided to make a “personal game, one with an intimate narrative,” he made a bold choice. "Gone Home" combines great atmosphere with a fascinating story and simplistic gameplay to create something that other games do not have. I am not sure what that something is; it is more of a feeling that comes as you play rather than something you can describe. The fact that I got a feeling I have never had from a game tells me "Gone Home" is special.… Expand

Edong

Dec 15, 2014

5

Gone Home is a first-person game that is set in 1995. The game takes on the role of Kaitlin Greenbriar, who comes home one late night to find an empty house. The game then progresses throughout the house as you find clues left behind to unravel the mystery.
Gone Home is a game that narrates a story through the clues that are found throughout the house. The setting takes place at a lonelyGone Home is a first-person game that is set in 1995. The game takes on the role of Kaitlin Greenbriar, who comes home one late night to find an empty house. The game then progresses throughout the house as you find clues left behind to unravel the mystery.
Gone Home is a game that narrates a story through the clues that are found throughout the house. The setting takes place at a lonely mansion that is very close to the forest. All the items from the house are from 1995, and it certainly creates an aura that feels like it is set in that time. It is also very realistic. All the events that unfold through the story are believable.
I was first introduced to Gone Home through my teacher in class. At first, I thought that the game seemed unusual; telling a story through a game. However, as I started playing the game, it became more interesting. It does not feel like a game, but you can interact with objects, and observe items throughout the house. The controls are simple; even people who are just starting out the gaming path can play it.
There are different settings in the game itself to change the graphics. While the game runs best on the lowest graphic, the quality is very poor. However, while ran on the highest graphic, the quality is amazing and the furniture and items around the house almost look real. The down side is that the game takes longer to load and everything runs much slower. The sounds are very simple, yet also very realistic. It sets the mood of the night and would sound much like how you would be in the house in the middle of the night with no one else home; quiet, spooky, and almost haunting.
I find Gone Home to be boring and dull. Sure, the narrative is good, and the graphics and sound are okay, but the player must pay attention to the deepest details around the house. I, with not much patience to paying attention to the littlest things, did not find every detail that was in the house. Since I was not able to find out all the clues, the ending confused me. It was on my third try playing the game before I finally understood the plot of the story, however I was still missing some major details.
In conclusion, I find the game to have a good narrative story. However, there is a need to connect the dots to unravel what happened in the year that Katy was away from the house. I would recommend this game if you like mystery games and puzzle solving, however I would not recommend it if you are looking for something more exciting.… Expand

spears2112

Dec 15, 2014

9

Gone home is the coming of age story on Sam Greenbrier, told through game play from the point of view of Sam’s sister Katie as she explores her family’s new house after arriving home from a year long trip, to find her that her family is gone. The story takes you through the struggles of a 1995 family, and their daughter who is trying to find her self through her relationship with herGone home is the coming of age story on Sam Greenbrier, told through game play from the point of view of Sam’s sister Katie as she explores her family’s new house after arriving home from a year long trip, to find her that her family is gone. The story takes you through the struggles of a 1995 family, and their daughter who is trying to find her self through her relationship with her girlfriend Lonnie, and through the Riot Grrl music that she surrounds herself with, all while her family life begins to crumble beneath her.
I am not a gamer whatsoever, however I still managed to be captivated by this really amazing game; The rich narrative based in exploration, the suspense built by the incredible score, and the desire to discover more about what happened to Katie’s family made for a fantastic experience. The first reason I enjoyed this game is because it had a very rich story line, and very well developed characters. The most important character to the story was Sam; as we explore the house we discover all that Sam has gone through in the year that Katie has been away, from coming out to her parents, to experiencing her girlfriend leaving for the army, all the while being surrounded by the Riot Grrl, pun, and grunge scenes of 1995. One of the reasons this game was so fun to play is because of the suspense created by Chris Remo’s original score. The effect that this music had on me was not unlike that of the music in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. As I guided Katie through the dark passageways of the house the music kept my heart rate up, and kept me glued to my screen. Another one of the things I loved about this game was the way in which it tapped into my curiosity, and made me want to discover more. Generally people are very curious beings, and I am no exception, because of this curiosity I found gone home to be very intriguing. As I would stumble upon secret passageways and find hidden object, it would make me want to keep exploring and solve the many mysteries that the house held. All of these elements of the game made it incredibly enjoyable to play.
While I really enjoyed playing the game there was one thing that I really didn’t like, which was the ending. The suspense building up to the ending was huge; after a lengthy exploration of the house, I finally found the key to the locked attic. As I guided Katie up the stares and through the attic, I was prepared to see something huge. However, what I found was the anti-climactic realization that Sam had simply run away, and that the notes that we had been hearing throughout the game were all part of a journal that Sam had left in the attic for Katie to read. While I did enjoy the fact that the journal being read to us throughout the game was actually found in the attic, I still found the ending to be quite anti-climactic. Throughout the entire game, I had been learning about Sam and her family, and I had gone to great lengths to find the key into the attic; all of this build up made the end of the game quite anti-climactic.
In conclusion, I really enjoyed playing Gone Home, and despite the fact that I didn’t love the ending, the rich narrative, incredible score, and the way in which it peaked my curiosity made this game incredibly fun to play. Despite the fact that I am not a gamer, I am confident that anyone, gamer or not, will enjoy this game.… Expand

MackHolden9719

Dec 15, 2014

8

Do you know that moment when you are focusing so hard on a particular object that you develop tunnel vision and it is not until you step back and examine the whole object that you finally realize what you are looking at? Playing Gone Home is similar to focusing intently on that one spot, and it is not until the end of the game that you take the figurative “step back” and really see theDo you know that moment when you are focusing so hard on a particular object that you develop tunnel vision and it is not until you step back and examine the whole object that you finally realize what you are looking at? Playing Gone Home is similar to focusing intently on that one spot, and it is not until the end of the game that you take the figurative “step back” and really see the whole game. In Gone Home you play as Kaitlin Greenbriar, a 21 year old who has just come back from a year abroad, to her new house in Oregon. Playing as Kaitlin you quickly realize no one is home and you set out exploring the house to see where everyone is, accidently uncovering your family’s past and secrets throughout the process.

From the moment you step on to the porch of the house, Gone Home’s narrative pulls you in and engrosses you. The free flowing gameplay essentially allows the player to create their own game, as they choose the rooms and floors to explore. Gone Home’s intricate plot makes finding each clue a challenge and gives the player a sense of reward when they finally do uncover it. I really enjoyed how you can dictate the pace of the game yourself, making it easy for a gamer of any level to be able to enjoy the game.

However with the free flowing gameplay, there are no hints or directions of what to do, making it fairly easy to get stuck in the house and confused as what to do next. I think if the developers were to re-release this game, it would make sense to add a hint button. Even though a hint button could be abused, gamers with a high integrity that appreciate the game for its plot would only use it as a last resort, and to keep the gameplay moving.

An underrated aspect of this game in my opinion is the sound. Starting the game the soundtrack gives the game an ambiance of horror, almost foreshadowing a heavy supernatural theme. But as you progress the soundtrack proves to be wrong, as the game is more about an emotional journey. Nonetheless, the music adds a whole new dimension to the game, and while the music is overlooked, I strongly think without it the game would be drastically worse.

When I started the game, I had a very negative outlook on it. Now re-examining, the challenge of finding clues and progressing through the game proved to be highly enjoyable. I would highly recommend Gone Home to a gamer of any level, as even the most inexperienced gamer could find enjoyment of playing through the house uncovering secrets and clues.… Expand

nscime1234

Dec 15, 2014

6

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The game Gone Home is an interactive story game that is told from the perspective of Kaitlin Greenbriar who has just returned home from a trip around Europe. Upon her arrival at the house she finds that it is deserted and there is an ominous letter left for her from her sister. The ultimate goal of the game is to figure out what’s happened to your family by examining the many different items that can be found in the house.

After you get Sam’s note on the front door of the house you immediately begin assuming that something bad must have happened to your family for them not to be there. After being introduced to all of the members of the family you slowly begin to put together everyone’s stories. I found that the game focused more on the life of Sam then it did on her parents. Although that might have been the intention I felt like it made me disinterested in what her parents were doing. Although I liked the way that the game used different items and documents to get parts of the narrative across I found that it became annoying to constantly be picking up and closely examining every single item in the house to decide whether it was important to the story or not.

I liked the fact that the game was based more on real life and telling a story through interacting with different items within a house. But the game did raise some questions that kind of threw me off even though it’s probably just me nitpicking. First I find it kind of strange that there’s a way you can traverse the house and pick up all the items in a pretty much chronological order. Even though the ultimate path you choose is up to you it just seemed kind of strange that all of the documents that detail the beginning of the family’s experience in the house would all be in one section of the house. I personally think that it would have been more interesting for the items to kind of be more scattered about so that it’s more of a puzzle for the player to put together the entire story.

The second thing that came to mind was “is it just me or is the Greenbriar family made up of a bunch of complete slobs. Seriously there are piles of paper and other items just left about everywhere in the most disorganized fashion. Was recycling not a concept back in 1995 because no one is going to be able to find anything in the casual pile of one thousand post it notes left on a table. In fact some of the things in the house seem to have been lying there for over half a year and no one bothered picking it up. For example Katie got back on the 6th of June 1995 and she discovered a sheet on the ground and a document from around when Sam started school on September 6th 1994. That would be almost ten months that those documents were left lying on the floor. But I guess I could really just drop the nitpicking and call the Greenbriar’s messiness a somewhat arbitrary plot device.

Overall I found the game and it’s concept to be rather interesting. The graphics were pretty good and gave the house some nice detail. Even though I found the ending to take a surprising and somewhat disappointing turn I would recommend that you play the game for yourself to make your own experience in the Greenbriar house.… Expand

evanhickey222

Jan 6, 2015

5

Gone Home is a first person seeker video game that is centralized around Katie Greenbrier, a 17-year-old girl. Katie returns to a mansion in Arbor hill, Oregon from a yearlong trip, and discovers a note written to her from her sister, Sam. This note instructs Kaitlin (Katie) not to go looking for answers as to where she is. Curious, Katie steps into the house, after realizing nobody isGone Home is a first person seeker video game that is centralized around Katie Greenbrier, a 17-year-old girl. Katie returns to a mansion in Arbor hill, Oregon from a yearlong trip, and discovers a note written to her from her sister, Sam. This note instructs Kaitlin (Katie) not to go looking for answers as to where she is. Curious, Katie steps into the house, after realizing nobody is home, a series of characters, notes, and hints lead Kaitlin to her answer.

The story of Gone Home mainly focuses on Sam, Janice (Mother), and Terrence (Father). Finding clues about her family allowed Katie to discover more and more about what happened when she was gone. I think this was a very unique and creative way of revealing information and critical plot points throughout the game. Because the game did not just hand you the knowledge, it forced you to start thinking outside the box to uncover more information about other characters. Although some may find this a challenging way to play a game, I found that this strategy made for highly effective gameplay.

One aspect of the game that could have been stronger was the map exploration. . Katie was only permitted outside one time, and that was at the beginning of the game. I discovered that there were multiple missed opportunities to make the map more interesting, but instead there was only just a dead end or a blacked out window. Outside was barely explored throughout the game, which I thought was a big mistake both in terms of the game’s depth or intrigue and game time. While playing, I found that every room was becoming more and more predictable, where we would find the lights out, maybe one or two scraps of paper, and an unopened pizza box. Adding outside parameters of the house would have made the gameplay more intriguing and less predictable. In addition, adding the outdoor aspect would have added to the game time, which I found too short.

The sound in the game was brilliantly done. If the intention was to feel like you were actually in the house yourself, then they succeeded and beyond. While playing the game I felt entrenched in this house, and that I genuinely had no clue where my family was. Every creaky door, rustled piece of paper, and opened safe noise enhanced this game immensely.

I enjoyed playing this game a lot. It was packed full of information, clues and secret passages. Every twist and turn in the plot kept me on the edge of my seat. I would highly recommend this game.… Expand

mariels

Apr 21, 2015

10

Short and sweet first person point-and-click game. The story is the main selling point, so do not expect any heavy action. Do not buy this if you want anything action packed. Do buy this if you want to play a game that unfolds a really touching story. Excellent voice actiong.

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

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

lillybratland

Nov 1, 2015

8

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The game, “Gone home”, takes place in 1995 and presents the Greenbriar family and the returning of the oldest sister in the family, Kaitlin Greenbriar, who is the character you play. She has been away for a year and are expecting to come home to a lot of greetings and celebrations, but the game takes a dramatic twist. You now have to go trough the scary, haunted house, which the family just moved to, to figure out where they are and what has happened.

If I should point out the negative sides in this game, I would say that the lightning could have been better. I know the dark rooms play a great role in making the game scarier, but the lightening really bothered me. In some rooms I could not see anything at all and it took me some time to find the switch and I do not like wasting time. Something else I was not as happy with, was that the ending of the game was kind of obvious and boring. I felt like I could predict the ending and I figured out what the clues were about before I actually knew.

But of course there are not only negative sides with the game. I really loved that the game took place in 1995 because it made the game spookier and everything seemed more mystical and scary. The sounds and music in the game also participated with the scary parts, because the floor cracked when you walked on it and outside it was raining and there were crashes of thunder. You also have to solve many puzzles in the game to get to know what is really going on. When you start at the foyer you have to get in to the house and search around the house to figure out where to get to other rooms, where everyone is and what has happened when you were away. When you are getting towards the end you, hopefully, have gotten to know some characters who I, at least, though was very interesting characters.

To sum this up I would say that I really liked the game because you are playing a role who has to figure out what is really going on, you have to be a detective which is the type of game I like. So if you are the type of person who likes to figure things out based on clues and objects you find this is the game for you!… Expand

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

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.

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 somethingGame 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

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 welcomeVideo 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

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 andThe 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

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 theGone 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

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

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

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

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 youA 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

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 manyGone 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

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

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

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

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 youngerGone 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

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

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

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

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 withGone 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

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

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

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, andGame 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

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

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

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

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 thereWhen 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

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!! ;)

georgiorojas

May 27, 2016

8

When I first saw the trailer for Gone Home I was a bit skeptical about the game, it isn’t the typical action game that you will have you playing it for hours. Gone Home is a game about the exploration and discovery of what has happened to your character’s family. It is set in 1995 a year that, in my opinion, is brilliant for the developers to discuss the topics they do in the game. TheWhen I first saw the trailer for Gone Home I was a bit skeptical about the game, it isn’t the typical action game that you will have you playing it for hours. Gone Home is a game about the exploration and discovery of what has happened to your character’s family. It is set in 1995 a year that, in my opinion, is brilliant for the developers to discuss the topics they do in the game. The combination of the exploration of a house and the thematics of the game suits very well since the thematics, which by the way are: the discovery of sexuality, marital issues, and the struggle of a Christian family with a daughter who acts un-christian like, are all about discovering oneself. For example as a player I noticed that the element of discovery in the game with the thematic of the exploration of Samantha’s (the main character’s sister) sexuality went very well together as the player would be forced to go through Sam’s process of finding her true sexuality.

The thematics of the game and the year that it is set in go perfectly, primarily because 1995 isn’t a period of time where a person could be open about their sexuality, in fact as a player I saw many hints at this through the game as Samantha and Lonnie (Samantha’s love interest) get into trouble with other kids at schools that don't accept them. Player will also encounter the disapproval of the friendship between Sam and Lonnie, they disapprove of this because according to them it is a friendship that has affected Sam’s good behavior. After the friendship turn into relationship it is noticeable that Sam’s parents fully disapprove of her love, and further believe it to be a phase. The thematic of discovering sexuality is complemented by that of the Christian family since Sam is a lesbian she is considered un-christian like, this is also supported by the fact that Sam continued to summon spirits which is something many Christians don’t appreciate. The discovery element really immerses the player into what Sam can feel like though her discovery and acceptance of being lesbian. Since the game is set in 1995 the discovery element in the game can take players through what a homosexual person goes through when coming to terms with their sexuality.

Another important theme that I noticed was the marital issues and this one is much more obscure and hard to discover, we again see a relationship between the main gaming element of discovery and the themes that developers wish to explore. With these issues players are led through a series of books, magazines, and catalogues which help many discover the current state of the relationship of the parents.

Having addressed the main themes I would like to shift my focus into the actual game, and not its themes. I will disregard the themes for now since they are not very important to the common gamers. The first thing that I want to make note of is the fact that there is no action or puzzle gameplay (I was frequently scared with the constant sound of thunder during the game, but that is as much action you will get). This might turn lots of gamers off since as a gamer myself I look for action or puzzle or a mix of both in the games I play. It originally presented an issue for me as I got bored with the lack of these two elements in the game, but as I got accustomed to this lack of elements the discovery element of the game overtook me. Soon I wanted to keep on playing the game, it kept me at a constant state of a cliffhanger every time that I stopped playing it. This appealed to me as a person who has played lots of games since the storytelling element was heavily complimented by this. Speaking about storytelling, this game has a fantastic story, which partially complements its design as a non action/puzzle game. Despite having a good story there are lots of negatives to the game, the first thing that I find negative is the lack of action there no interaction with any being with life beings. Both of these lacking elements definitely downgrade this game for me as a game is supposed to make every aspect of the gameplay exciting. Don’t take this as if I am saying that the storyline is bad or anything of the sort, it is just that this game is not ideal in terms of gameplay, story wise it is brilliant.

Gone Home presents an alternative for many gamers to switch up their current formula of action and puzzle games into a more artistic and literary way of gaming. Storywise it is one of the best games I have played, its setting, time, and themes show how developers not only wish for the gamer to have a good time playing, but also to feel intrigued about the characters, discover more, find secrets, and finally comprehend the struggles many people deal with on a daily basis. These issues presented in the game go hand in hand with the main and only gaming element the game has, which is discovery. The game does have negatives though, mainly being that there is a lack of action and interaction through the game.… Expand

Awsla

Jun 28, 2016

8

Much of the conflict this game produces is between the price and its ambitious intent. If we could suppress grumblings over price of a game, whatever it may be, and presuppose that people who are interested in exploring video games as an evolving, branching genre, being rapidly redefined by technological platforms and with unique pressures to innovate exerted by the redundancy ofMuch of the conflict this game produces is between the price and its ambitious intent. If we could suppress grumblings over price of a game, whatever it may be, and presuppose that people who are interested in exploring video games as an evolving, branching genre, being rapidly redefined by technological platforms and with unique pressures to innovate exerted by the redundancy of mainstream games, then maybe some could adopt the mindset that we are paying to preview separate attempts to test the medium.

No, its not gaming in the typical sense, with objectives and enemies and points and what not. Finding the items that further unlock chapters of the story isn't even challenging- and would be annoying if it were. The game play encourages a type of player participation which some may not be willing to engage with because that just isn't what they have been conditioned to expect when they boot up their computer or turn on their console after a begrudging day's work. Perhaps the negativity stems from video games being used and abused as an unambiguous, private 'system of rewards and punishments' where the user can manipulate a simulation representing their metric worth through predictable, rational choices. Very unlike the external systems in daily life people use to feel reward and fulfillment which tend to be impersonal, ambiguous and transitory such as relationships and careers.
Gone Home then has subtleties which can be crushed or completely overlooked by a mind prickling and hastening for achievements or to get to the end. To such a player, this game may well seem empty and tedious.
Gone Home presents a sense of 'place' that you can carry with you when you are not playing the game, similar to the way a book's characters and story lines can continue to resonate while you are away. The story is psychological- the father's various manuscript titles seem to reflect his subconscious grappling with his role as father, author, and son. They are a side story in themselves if the player cares to care. The central growth of the relationship which objects and audio reveals is clever and has characteristics of actual relationships where two people search for compatibility through imitation, worship, showboating, etc.
It is interesting to watch how the family 'hangs together' as depicted by their material lives and sparse usage of various spaces. The scarcity of directives paired with sandbox like freedom to remove items from the dishwasher, put things back as they were or toss them anywhere, close the trash lid on scandalous notes or leave them in view for the family to discover later, creates a unique feeling of participation, but only to those who care to place their actions within the narrative context.
That said, I wouldn't read this story if it were a book. But can appreciate it as a laudable exercise in experimenting with less overt ways of attaching meaning to action in a game instead of downgrading it as not worth your money because it defied (or rather attempted to broaden) an expectation. Rather than using metrics that reduce value to a numeric scale, the significance of things are bounded only by the player's imagination and interpretations, and the conflicts within a nuclear family is a rife universal theme.… Expand

x_Tash_x

Nov 27, 2016

6

When we were told in our Critical Thinking class that we had to play a game, I wasn’t too thrilled about it (partly because my laptop is pretty heavy to carry along with my Calculus book), but hearing about Gone Home being this interactive game that unfolds a story as you go along to ‘investigate’, I thought that wasn’t too bad at all—it was even more than exciting for me. The game startsWhen we were told in our Critical Thinking class that we had to play a game, I wasn’t too thrilled about it (partly because my laptop is pretty heavy to carry along with my Calculus book), but hearing about Gone Home being this interactive game that unfolds a story as you go along to ‘investigate’, I thought that wasn’t too bad at all—it was even more than exciting for me. The game starts on a dark and stormy night; it was June 7, 1995, and the character you’re playing, Kaitlin Greenbriar, just returned to an empty home. The goal is to search around the house and discover clues on what happened while she was gone—exactly what her sister, Samantha, asked her not to do on a note stuck to the front door. Exploring inside the large house, wherein we will later find secret passageways, was surreal even with the graphics set on low. All the items you’ll see, whether you are able to pick them up or not, and even the technology stick to the setting of the game quite loyally, giving you a peek of the ‘90s. While searching for clues, you can observe a room fully and be able to feel as if you’re looking through the personal belongings of a real person or in the case of Sam’s room, you can actually relate to what being a teenager felt like. The journals you’ll suddenly hear when you touch certain objects were also well-recorded. I don’t have much experience with games to compare it with anything, but I have heard that the voice acting for this game was quite exceptional on its own. While I found the game enjoyable at first, especially when you’re still at the beginning, madly curious to piece everything, I found the whole point of the game lacking. It may be due to the fact that I am fond of horror and more dramatic plot lines, but the game doesn’t really give you much space to actually investigate your own, only to find that the story of the family is not quite the dark past (or present for them) that you expected. Rather than setting standards too high, it is logical that the eerie sound effects and lights suddenly turning off or dimming set the mood for a more interesting story. This also wasn’t the detective game I was hoping for. On the contrary, you’re simply an outsider going through the house and observing what unfolds until you finish the game. Even Kaitlin’s reactions feel too far from what a real family member should be experiencing after finding a creepily deserted home instead of a warm homecoming. I think I also expected the clues to be harder to unlock, actually requiring some critical thinking and even small deductions within the game to get a good guess of your own as to how the game ends. It is understandable that others who actually paid $20 for this find it unsatisfactory and don’t even consider it a good adventure game. However, I think the game’s attention to the smallest details on objects around the house and the fact that it seems to be a time capsule on its own, able to bring nostalgia to the older audience, make the game a worthwhile experience on a quiet and lazy day given that there’s nothing more interesting to do than poke around the privacy of a digital family.… Expand

pheonix3411

Nov 27, 2016

2

Gone Home is walking simulation game. A girl, which we are playing, comes back her family’s new home from one year trip but there is no one in home. She looks for some evidence and stuffs to find out what happened to her family and where they are. We walk around the house and find hints and keys. As we play the game, we can play game as fast as we can, but we can read, listen and followGone Home is walking simulation game. A girl, which we are playing, comes back her family’s new home from one year trip but there is no one in home. She looks for some evidence and stuffs to find out what happened to her family and where they are. We walk around the house and find hints and keys. As we play the game, we can play game as fast as we can, but we can read, listen and follow the story line.
Well, since it’s a game, it has some good and some bad like every other games. For the good aspects, it gives us well-implemented cultural stuffs in 20th century such as teenager rock group. We can also play this game as we want. We can clear the game as soon as possible. We can go inside every room, throw every things we can, read every papers and letter, and find every stories about this family. Also, its story line consists of some conflicts in real society, such as teenager standing against their parents, mother’s new boyfriend, and widespread taboo for homosexual love. This is very meaningful that dealing with such sensitive issues in the game.
This game, gone home, has some negative points. To finish this game, we have find some paper and read about secret passage in this home. But this paper doesn’t indicate exactly where it is. I first found it by coincidence, and it may take much time to find it. This can be a big problem. Also, it is so non-addictive. When we first play the game, we are interested and concentrated to find a hint and strictly follow the story. But when we first clear the game and play it again, it has nothing new. We know where the every hint and key is and every passwords for safe. Place for hint and key are never changed and also the passage. There’s even video for clearing this game in less than one minute! I think we will play this game at most 5 times.
Well, this was very new game for me. It was very fresh and interesting, but for the first time. Its story is profound and this game can be played in various ways. I think we have to take a very long time to play this game for each turn, reading and listening papers and find the storyline.… Expand

Laflak

Nov 28, 2016

1

I can’t call this a GAME.

Indeed, I loved the graphics and story of Gone Home. The whole story was full of interactions, which were very detailed and interesting. It somewhat felt like playing ‘Skyrim’, and I even tried to find some 'sweetrolls' while playing. However, none of those tremendous interactions had any single consequence. This is why I felt like being an observer, not aI can’t call this a GAME.

Indeed, I loved the graphics and story of Gone Home. The whole story was full of interactions, which were very detailed and interesting. It somewhat felt like playing ‘Skyrim’, and I even tried to find some 'sweetrolls' while playing. However, none of those tremendous interactions had any single consequence. This is why I felt like being an observer, not a player. Also, there were lots of objects interacting with the player, but the story didn’t make a single interaction with the player. The story didn’t allow the player to participate. Instead, it forced and dictated the player to ‘study’ the whole story. This is why I can’t call Gone Home a ‘game’. Also, there was no single battle event in this game, and the puzzles were too boring. Combinations and secret pathways were not creative at all, and I’m pretty sure that most of the players didn’t get thrilled when they found the secret pathways.

In the technical part, this program had some frame drop issues. I ran this program with GTX 980M and i7 skylake, and I could feel the frames drop while throwing an object or crouching.

However, I didn’t give ZERO to this program just because the music in this game were so good. They fit well to the story and the mood. Especially the ending theme was quite touching, which changed my score from zero to one.

This game could have been much better if they provided some choices and consequences, just like ‘Life Is Strange’. Actually, I think that this program is a downgrade version of ‘Life Is Strange’ in some points, such as interactions and storytelling.

And the worst part of this program is the fact that it costs 20 BUCKS. The price is totally unreasonable since this ‘program’ is never worth it. You’d better buy Portal 2 or Stanley parable with your precious 20 bucks, if you still don’t have them. I also suggest you to add another 20 bucks to buy STEINS;GATE on steam, which is tenfold better than this ‘software’.… Expand

CriticalHit20

Oct 21, 2019

6

I did not pay for this game and would not pay much for it. If I did, then I might give it a low review for its value. In terms of the overall experience, it was merely okay. I wasn't as offended by the ending as others. That said, this game is all about story and there is not a good story in this game.

Dead_Reckon

May 21, 2018

8

The farther I get away from my playtime in this game the less favorable I find it. I originally scored it a 10, but now I would say it's an 8. I did enjoy it, and it does what it does well but I don't think the act of playing it is actually all that enjoyable, IE I don't want to play it again.

Psy_pmP

Nov 5, 2020

1

Скучная и тупая история. Излишне романтизированная параша про лесбиянок, феминизм и прочую поебень. Стандартная программа пропаганды. Ну, может это поможет молодежи быть более толерантными. Но я думал для этого нужно нормальное обучение, а не навязыванием идей через тупые фанфики.
Если вы когда-нибудь читали тупые истории на форумах, которые обычно пишут неудачники по жизни. Их жизньСкучная и тупая история. Излишне романтизированная параша про лесбиянок, феминизм и прочую поебень. Стандартная программа пропаганды. Ну, может это поможет молодежи быть более толерантными. Но я думал для этого нужно нормальное обучение, а не навязыванием идей через тупые фанфики.
Если вы когда-нибудь читали тупые истории на форумах, которые обычно пишут неудачники по жизни. Их жизнь скучное дерьмо и они придумывают себе истории, в которых все прекрасно, удачно и летают бабочки. Так вот, это как раз такой фанфик. ФАНатам ФИКалий.… Expand

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

Rem

Jul 10, 2015

7

Gone Home presents a clear divide between gamers on it being a piece of art that represents the best of video games, while being rectified for being too much of an interactive novel. Gone Home achieves neither of these, but instead carves out a unique identity of its own, catered to the most patient and open of gamers who are willing to look past a few design flaws. You play as KatieGone Home presents a clear divide between gamers on it being a piece of art that represents the best of video games, while being rectified for being too much of an interactive novel. Gone Home achieves neither of these, but instead carves out a unique identity of its own, catered to the most patient and open of gamers who are willing to look past a few design flaws. You play as Katie Greenbriar an older sister who returns from her round trip around Europe back to her home in Boston to find the house completely empty. The sole mechanics of this game include walking and picking up items to inspect them. Each item is terribly mundane, but it adds charm to a setting in the 90s where Street Fighter 2 was still a thing. Gone Home really makes you feel lonely and exploring the ridiculously large house uncovering the story of your absent sister is pleasing, despite the only real piece of story bits coming from Sam's voiceovers. Her story that unfolds is beautiful and captivating, but I can't shake the feeling that this was charged for 20 dollars. It's a clear experience, but I feel it would have been more powerful if you had more interactivity with how you went about, but what's there is serviceable to the plot. It's interesting to explore the Greenbriar's residence, but the experience is over before you can say "lesbians". It's captivating, but the feeling is fleeting.… Expand

Skeeter206

Feb 11, 2021

4

Honestly, the game was fine. I rated it a 4 because the game relies upon the story to elevate it, but the story has little to no depth.

The story of the sister was a roller coaster, but ultimately you learn everything you need to in a matter of an hour and a half. I don't know about other people but for me to really gain emotional attachment to characters and stories, I need more thanHonestly, the game was fine. I rated it a 4 because the game relies upon the story to elevate it, but the story has little to no depth.

The story of the sister was a roller coaster, but ultimately you learn everything you need to in a matter of an hour and a half. I don't know about other people but for me to really gain emotional attachment to characters and stories, I need more than an hour or so of 15 minutes of setting the stage, an hour of build up, and 15 minutes of payoff.

Nothing about the game is dumb, but nothing about the game really warrants you actually experiencing it either. For the most part, the parts of the story that I felt were supposed to hit hardest, felt like things I've read, watched, and personally experienced a dozen times before.

Who would I suggest this game to? Someone who can relate to growing up in a two child family, with parent issues, who moved to a new house in the middle of nowhere and one of the two siblings has difficulty connecting to others like most.

Also, you shouldn't spend more than $5 on this game.… Expand

TheDavyStar

Aug 30, 2015

7

Gone Home, like all of them other games where the act of walking advances you further into the game, is a weird one. It's obviously not a game in the sense that there is a challenge, or that you play to have fun. Instead, Gone Home puts you in the role of Katie, a young woman who returns home after traveling around Europe. When she finds nobody home and a suspicious note on the door, KatieGone Home, like all of them other games where the act of walking advances you further into the game, is a weird one. It's obviously not a game in the sense that there is a challenge, or that you play to have fun. Instead, Gone Home puts you in the role of Katie, a young woman who returns home after traveling around Europe. When she finds nobody home and a suspicious note on the door, Katie finds she hasa lot of catching up to do. From here you proceed to walk around, looking at various items around the house. It sounds unexciting, but the subtlety that comes with it helps you get really immersed in Gone Home's lovely setting. You can feel for how human each character is, despite never physically manifesting in the actual game.

I would mark this game down, however, on the basis that the ending is just a bit too sudden and open-ended for my tastes. I came back to this game after misplacing my laptop for a whole month, and when I came back to it I didn't realise I was so close to the end. Additionally, it's too expensive for its length - 2 hours. It's a great 2 hours, but na pricey 2 hours nonetheless.

If you don't mind spending a fair amount of cash on a 2-hour game, it's fair to say that Gone Home will be worth your while. The open-endedness of it and its rather abrupt ending may put off some, but the brilliant, subtle storytelling and character development will make sure that you come back from this game enlightened at what the art of videogames can be.… Expand

Metathronxyz

Sep 29, 2019

3

Uninteresting, uninspired story. Forces you to perform repetitive tasks, such as opening doors and flicking on light switches. This is all the 'gameplay' you're going to get. Not deserving of anyone's time or money. Go for Firewatch if you're into walking simulators - that one's a masterpiece.

ozzsoffy

Oct 18, 2019

3

Very slow game, easy past , the narrative was interesting, but not that much, will not recommend it

PublicNuisance

May 29, 2021

8

Gone Home has come a long way since it was released. When it first came out it ran horribly on Linux and happily I can say that is no longer the case. It will be tough to talk a lot about the plot of Gone Home without spoiling it so I will simply say I enjoyed the story and liked how it was presented. You arrive home after catching a late flight to an empty house and trying to figure outGone Home has come a long way since it was released. When it first came out it ran horribly on Linux and happily I can say that is no longer the case. It will be tough to talk a lot about the plot of Gone Home without spoiling it so I will simply say I enjoyed the story and liked how it was presented. You arrive home after catching a late flight to an empty house and trying to figure out where your sister is. Your parents are also not home but that is more of a side story. You have to explore the house trying to find clues. When you find certain ones it triggers a audio journal from your sister. You can also learn a lot about your parents lives and that of your late uncle if you dig around enough. I liked the form of many of the clues such as crumpled pieces of paper; diaries; letters; etc. You will have to find combinations to many locks as well as keys. It is a little convoluted at times as you will have to start finding wall panels to tear off and secret passages, I can’t imagine the cleanup after I was done searching. The game really nails the nostalgia of the 90’s well. It takes place in 1995 and I can say they hit on many things I remember doing back then. The music is also great for the time period. One thing I will also mention is that, while the game is not a horror game, it did a great job having some creepy horror vibes at times. There are times where between the rain storm going on outside; the creaky floor boards; and the music that I expected things to take a grim turn. The graphics are mediocre to decent. The object detail such as furniture; appliances; etc were decent to good. The shadows and lighting were a little sub par but not terrible.

I played Gone Home on Linux. It never crashed on me and I didn’t notice any bugs or glitches. There is an AF toggle; an AA toggle; an AO toggle; a Vsync toggle; an FOV slider that went from 60-90 and 3 other graphics options. The games save system is to save on exit and there is just the one save slot. Alt-tab didn’t work. I did find the mouse movement to be a little funky where it felt slow and unresponsive at times but normal at others. This didn’t seem to correspond to a frame rate issue as that was always 60+ FPS. The game seemed to use 100% of my GPU for much of my play through, which given the detail level seemed odd, but the performance was great.

Game Engine: Unity
Graphics API: OpenGL
Save System: Save on Exit
Disk Space Used: 3.03 GB
Input Used: Keyboard and Mouse

Settings Used: AO; AF; AA; Bloom on; Motion Blur off; Shadow Distance at Max; 90 FOV @ 1080P
GPU Usage: 1-100 %
VRAM Usage: 1667-1876 MB
CPU Usage: 16-33 %
RAM Usage: 3.1-3.5 GB
Frame Rate: 72-121 FPS

Overall if you enjoy walking sims you should give Gone Home a try. It has a great atmosphere and story as well as really nails it’s time period. I finished my play through in 110 minutes although I didn’t find all possible clues; journal logs and secrets. It is easily worth it’s current price of $16.99 CAD.

My Score: 8/10

My System:

AMD Ryzen 5 2600X | 16GB DDR4-3000 CL15 | MSI RX 580 8GB Gaming X | Mesa 21.0.3 | Samsung 970 Evo Plus 500GB | Manjaro 21.0.5 | Mate 1.24.1 | Kernel 5.12.2-1-MANJARO | AOC G2460P 1920*1080 @ 144hz… Expand

gloriouspotato

Nov 18, 2016

6

Ultimately, Gone Home is a story about the struggles of a teenager coping with the stigma of homosexuality and the sad realities of life, including the dysfunctions in her family and history of the setting the game takes place in. A well told story overall, but otherwise quite unremarkable in all other aspects of the game.

SuperkenGaming

Oct 4, 2017

7

Gone Home
A Nostalgia Trip
Gone Home is a 2 hr long walking Simulator where you play as Kaitlynn return home from Europe after studying abroad.. you come home to find a note from your little sister sam and an empty house you spend these 2 hours finding out where everyone went… the game is set in the mid 90s, it does a decent job at setting the house with nostalgic items like boardGone Home
A Nostalgia Trip
Gone Home is a 2 hr long walking Simulator where you play as Kaitlynn return home from Europe after studying abroad.. you come home to find a note from your little sister sam and an empty house
you spend these 2 hours finding out where everyone went…
the game is set in the mid 90s, it does a decent job at setting the house with nostalgic items like board games, answering machines, vhs tapes, cassettes and game cartridges, though as a 90s kid myself.. none of this really hit me and brought me back…
the house didn’t really feel 90s to me as everything sortve felt like decoration, the house didn’t really feel lived in to me…
You can interactive with practically everything in the game, rotate items to inspect them, and the occasional note and letter will give more insight into what exactly happened, and who her parents were and what they did and their own problems theyre dealing with..
Im not going to spoil the story, ill just say its really touching and heartbreaking at times..
listening to the occasional voiced dialog while you explore this house is the best part of the game…
however I feel this game is a tad bit overrated and I cant really go into why without spoiling the story…
But once you play it I think the reason for this game getting such high scores will be fairly apparent..
as the experience isn’t really that special… youre just looking through things, and stumbling on the occasional secret until you’ve found what you needed for the end game…
I didn’t find game progression to be clever, I just felt my heartstring pulled on a little bit here and there…
Gone Home is a good experience..
but it isn’t this masterpiece you’ve been hearing about for years
I give Gone Home
a 7/10… Expand

Topfpflanze

Mar 6, 2021

2

There's not much that stays in your mind about this game. So many moments make you reflect, but every time you have to realize that the authors have missed the development opportunity. I am sorry to say that this game is not worth the money.

frozen_flame123

Jun 8, 2015

7

Gone Home is an interactive story where you play as Kaitlin, a girl who comes back from Europe to visit her family and her childhood home, only to find that her parents and sister Samantha are gone. The rest of the game is spent trying to piece together clues about where your sister is. You find, I forget, but I think it is 7 notes throughout the game. These 7 notes are the things thatGone Home is an interactive story where you play as Kaitlin, a girl who comes back from Europe to visit her family and her childhood home, only to find that her parents and sister Samantha are gone. The rest of the game is spent trying to piece together clues about where your sister is. You find, I forget, but I think it is 7 notes throughout the game. These 7 notes are the things that progress the story. Each note tells a different part of Sam's life. The game has very good atmosphere, it's not a horror game, but it has almost a creepy atmosphere. It's made on the Amnesia engine, so that probably has something to do with it. A lot of log hallways and big rooms with very dim lighting.

What this game does very well, better than virtually all game out there, is environmental storytelling. The only character in the game is you, and there is no other dialogue with any other character. The story moves along as you find clues. As you find more and more clues, you really get a good feel for the world that you are in. Games do not do this enough.

However, GH's biggest problem is that environmental storytelling is ALL that it does. In a story driven game character interactions are very important because it can give the characters more dimensions. All of the characters are very one dimensional. You don't ever go into any depth to find out the motivations or the facets of their characters. This is why you can't build a game around environmental storytelling. Environmental storytelling paired with dialogue can turn one dimensional characters into three dimensional characters. If the game allowed you to talk to Sam, your parents, or Lonnie, it could give you better insight into the personalities of each of them, allowing for a stronger story.… Expand

SondreVa

Nov 1, 2015

6

Gone home is a game about Kaitlin, who have just come home from he backpacking trip in Europe. When she comes home no one is there, and she finds clues to where the rest of the family have gone.

The good things about this “game” is that it has a somewhat great story, and you can interact with almost all the 1990s artifacts you find in the house. The amount of details the developers putGone home is a game about Kaitlin, who have just come home from he backpacking trip in Europe. When she comes home no one is there, and she finds clues to where the rest of the family have gone.

The good things about this “game” is that it has a somewhat great story, and you can interact with almost all the 1990s artifacts you find in the house. The amount of details the developers put in to the house is also astounding. It is like they googled the 1990s and just put everything in the house. So if you are a 90s kid you will most likely get a nostalgic feeling. The journals were also really well written, and the voice actor for Samantha did an amazing job of making you invested in her, but the gameplay felt really slow, mainly because you could not sprint, so you had to take your time with everything. Which I personally don’t like, because I am really impatient. The graphics was not amazing, but they aren’t really the focus of the game either, and you cant expect really expect the most advanced graphics from a crew of 3-4 people.

Gone home is a very short game, I spent 1-2 hours on the game, this includes the entire story, inspecting various 90s artefacts and even using the developer commentary. Because of the lack of length of gameplay I don’t think this game should be priced at 20$. And I personally would not really call this a game, sure it is interactive, but you would get the same experience from watching a short movie with the same plot.

As I said I only spent about 2 hours on the game, so the story is not that long and it is not really detailed, and I would like to see journals written by both her parents, Daniel and Lonnie. It was an interesting concept to only follow Samantha, but the story became very predictable after 4 journals.

It is not the best game I’ve played but it is certainly not the worst either. But I think Fullbright as a company has great potential, and Gone home is good steppingstone to make great games.… Expand

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

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

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 GaynorA 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

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

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 aGone 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

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 orGONE 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

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 toGone 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

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

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 aGone 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

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

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 theGone 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

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

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 theThe 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

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.
TheGone 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

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 videoGone 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

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

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 theThe 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

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

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 homeGone 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

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

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

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

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 theGone 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

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

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

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

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 crazyGone 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

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

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

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

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 herThe 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

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

calvarez

May 27, 2016

7

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. As Steve Gaynor, one of the seniors at the Fullbright Company, was set to bring out the simplicity in all of his games, he decided to create an interactive game for consoles, Gone Home. In this IGF-Award nominated game, you are placed in an unilluminated and unknown setting, in which you are encouraged to explore the empty house, the screeching drawers, and the notes thrown around the house.

Gone Home takes place in 1995 as one of the family members arrives at their house and finds that there is nobody there. It is these moments, where you are still unaccustomed to the house and its setup, where the suspense of what has happened to the others that comes to mind. According to The Guardian, “the period is a time that many players of the game will have lived through and will be immediately familiar with” because of the fact that it is not period far from what we know today. Many people still live in environments like these where letters and books are used more than the internet and tablets.

The main character in the PC game is Katie Greenbriar, who arrives to the house after a year of studying abroad, only to find a note on the front porch from her sister, Samantha, telling her not to go out looking for her. Although Steve states that his intention with this game was not to make it a game with “combat or puzzles in it,” it is easy to state that, from the very first moment when the note is found and you have to find a way into the house, that there are many puzzle pieces to find in order to crack Sam’s story.

The game experience is more of a storytelling, but, as stated by The Guardian, it is done so “through design” rather than through an actual book. The story within the game develops as to find out what happened to Sam.

Now, the storytelling game is not only about exploring the house in general, but it also seeks to explore the relationship and secrets of two sisters and how these secrets can lead to knowing about Katie’s sister, Sam, and her first lover from school, a girl she met after having so much in common. As more notes are found throughout the house and more rooms are unlocked only to find there are stories about Sam and her life feelings in each of them, the players are more engaged to find out why Sam has run away from her own house.

The various clues, as I like to call them, around the house allow the players to engage in the middle-classed family and their personal struggles, as well as in their problems with the other people in the family itself. As Sam and her lover, Lonnie’s, relationship arouses through the playing of Nintendo games, ghost hunting, anarchic behaviors, and secret love letters, one is drawn into a world that Sam has created and imagined for herself and Lonnie to reside in without taking into account the possible consequences that these behaviors have had on her personality and on her piled up family problems.

The release of the Slenderman game, Slender: The Eight Pages, came out in 2012 where one was placed in a single-player world with nothing but a flashlight in search of the eight pages that tell you the story of the horrifying, and totally fictional, creature of the Slenderman. This adventurous and exploring game can relate directly to the mysteries that can be found in Gone Home as Sam and Lonnie have tried to have first hand experiences with the supernatural world and a ghost who is thought to be haunting the house. Whilst investigating the possible outcomes of Sam and her departure, it comes to the player’s attention that a man called Oscar Masan died and that he may be the ghost that resided in the house, which may lead people to think that many of the clues around the house lead to the finding or the encounter of a ghost in the middle of the house.

As stated by The Atlantic, with the rise of one relationship, comes the unknown story of Katie’s sister and how she can relate to Sam’s life. With the development of one story, it seems as if there are many others branching out of that one story. This comes to say as Sam and Lonnie's adventures started out with ghost hunting and, as time passed, it quickly escalated to Sam’s first cigarette, her first sexual experience, and her leaving this childish world behind only to start a life with someone who actually understands her: Lonnie.

With a small team of workers building a PC game there came a great story told. As stated by Steve, “normal people's stories are really interesting if you are able to discover them.” This being said, a normal family’s problems and drawbacks cause for an exploration in a small house in search of the ending of such a metaphoric story wherein each clue and each of the notes left in the house call for another story to be told about the family itself.… Expand

Dco326

Apr 10, 2021

5

I wouldnt ever never play this again. Bukvalno nikad vise ne bih pipnuo ovu igru.

artificeprime

May 27, 2017

5

Dramatically over-rated. While Gone Home offers a subtly crafted narrative and some interesting atmospheric story telling it is average or below average in nearly all other areas. In this case the user score is far more accurate than the critics score. I can see this game appealing to some people as a somewhat unique way of experiencing a story but even as a slightly interactive storyDramatically over-rated. While Gone Home offers a subtly crafted narrative and some interesting atmospheric story telling it is average or below average in nearly all other areas. In this case the user score is far more accurate than the critics score. I can see this game appealing to some people as a somewhat unique way of experiencing a story but even as a slightly interactive story there are many games that do it far better.

There really isn't much gameplay to speak of. You walk through a house and pick up objects to investigate. The controls are extremely clunky, even simply movement feels awkward, sometimes just performing simple tasks was challenging just because the controls were poor. For a game where all you do is walk around, picking up and investigating items that should have been done far better. There are a few puzzles in the game but they aren't really puzzles, basically you just have to find a few pieces of codes and then use those codes together. There is no creative problem solving to speak of. The developers could have added some riddles or clever ways of solving puzzles to add some element of gameplay but they didn't.

The Story and writing is what most people praise this game for but even that is way over-rated. The main story itself hints at having a lot of depth but ultimately is little more than an overly dramatic teenage drama. The way the game reveals the story is quite intriguing with the player needing to uncover hints by looking at little objects in the house but the supposed big twists are so obvious that by the time they are revealed fully they have very little impact. I guessed all of the twists long before they were revealed and so when I actually got to the big moments I was expecting that there would be more to the mystery, there wasn't. The ending is plays out as though it is supposed to be this big dramatic surprise but really it just left me asking "Is that it?" The story isn't bad, it would be good if it was a side quest in a game with more going on but as the central plot it is very underwhelming. There are no big ideas here. I suppose it gets a few points for telling the kind of story that isn't told often but that only goes so far.

Where the game does shine, and why I gave it a 5 as opposed to a 2 or 3, is the atmospheric story
telling. The main story is a pretty standard teenage drama but how the story is revealed with little items in the home is quite compelling. Also, there are things about the characters that are not told through the main narrative that can be discovered by finding certain objects and drawing the lines together yourself. Learning what happened to the family through their possessions is interesting and is the one thing that this game does that makes it stand out. Unfortunately those discovers have little to no impact on how the game plays out.

Visually Gone Home is fine but the house itself really seems generic. With the house being the only set piece in the whole game the creators really could have put a lot more care into making it feel personal. It is supposed to be some kind of old mansion that has been in the family for many years but for the most part its design seems really basic. Many games that have dozens of houses have better ones than this one.

The sound design is good for an indie game. The voice work is all good enough and the atmospheric sounds are nice. There are several similar interactive story games that have far better soundtracks though. For example, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, Everybody's Gone to the Rapture and Fire Watch.

I can understand why some people might really enjoy this game as an experience. The story might really appeal to some people and the atmosphere might really appeal to you. That's fine but I think giving this game an 8 or a 9 for those reasons alone is an insult to games that have been crafted with far greater effort and artistic skill. The critical score for this game currently stands at an 86, that puts it in league with legendary games that are dramatically better in almost every way and that is truly unfortunate.

I give Gone Home a 52%

Gameplay - 2
Story/Progression - 7
World - 4
Sound Design - 7
Uniqueness/Ideas - 6
Characters - 7
Visual Style - 5
Length/Amount of Content - 3
Immersion - 6
X-Factor - 5… Expand

dandalis

Nov 2, 2016

6

This is barely a game. Its a mystery story that you have to unravel yourself by exploring a house and interacting with objects, mostly its just reading written messages. Gone Home made me understand that im not a fan of this kind of story telling, but that doesnt say i outright hated it or didnt enjoy it to some degree. It was a short and decent experience for me. Which i really liked wasThis is barely a game. Its a mystery story that you have to unravel yourself by exploring a house and interacting with objects, mostly its just reading written messages. Gone Home made me understand that im not a fan of this kind of story telling, but that doesnt say i outright hated it or didnt enjoy it to some degree. It was a short and decent experience for me. Which i really liked was the atmosphere and the ambience you get to experience by playing this, game feels kinda spooky and feeling of being all alone in the house worked really well.

As for story, it was intriguing to see mid 90's from teen's perspective and i wanted to solve the mystery of main protagonist's missing family. Its just that once you do, you dont feel that rewarded. Once you find out to what has happaned to your little sister, which also is the game's main objective and the ending, will leave players either pissed or understanding, depedning how you look at the world, itll overall help you decide if you wasted your money on this game or not. I for myself feel that 20 $ is quite steep for what you get here considering the content and 2 - 3 hour gameplay if you play the game as devs intended that is.… Expand

Blackfury

Nov 26, 2016

5

I played this game as an activity in my English class and before I even started playing it, I sort of knew what it was talking about. It is an interactive story driven game, that tries to tell the struggles of a young lady. This game contains a rich environment, that tries to talk about the family, their activities and their personalities.

But to be honest the game falls flat realI played this game as an activity in my English class and before I even started playing it, I sort of knew what it was talking about. It is an interactive story driven game, that tries to tell the struggles of a young lady. This game contains a rich environment, that tries to talk about the family, their activities and their personalities.

But to be honest the game falls flat real quick. Yes, the environment feels full of things but same objects repeated again and again. I found the same toilet paper roll around the house in a large number. Everything looks bland. There are so many things in the mansion yet, it feels empty. There are people living in the house, yet it doesn't feel like it. It just feels meh.

The story is a very predictable one. After playing one-fourth of the game, the player will know what will happen next. It is not bad, but it is not amazing. Everything surrounding the main character is great but the main story just falls flat. The relationship between the mother and the father, the school and the crazy uncle's story is all great but Lonnie's and Sam's relationship is meh.

Overall, Gone Home is a slow and boring walking simulator that finishes with a story not good enough for my liking.… Expand

minukim

Nov 27, 2016

8

To be honest, this is not that kind of game that I actually like. I am more of a FPS game person so having a "gone home" experience wasn't really attractive to me. However, I had to give it 8 out of 10 and here are the reasons:

First of all, the story behind this whole setup was so interesting and detailed. At first, the game feels like one of those typical "room escape" but then as youTo be honest, this is not that kind of game that I actually like. I am more of a FPS game person so having a "gone home" experience wasn't really attractive to me. However, I had to give it 8 out of 10 and here are the reasons:

First of all, the story behind this whole setup was so interesting and detailed. At first, the game feels like one of those typical "room escape" but then as you explore the game, players are made to find out about the story and get deeper into it. Also, the graphics and details in the game are extremely amazing, and this is one of the biggest reason that made me give this game an 8 out of 10 — I love to look at such details(even in FPS games, I look for details, since they create the atmosphere so that players could be "absorbed" in the game). For instance, when you pick up an item and throw it back, you can find out that the items and the objects around them follow physics law, which helps give you a surprisingly real-like experience. Maybe they mounted physics and math engine?
I admit that story telling games definitely do have limitations, that is, once the story is fully discovered, the players won't go back to the game to start over again, making the game a one-time experience. Though, it could have been better if they had the story to be more various, like having variety of endings, insert hidden missions, etc. This was one of the few factors that made me disappointed; once you clear the game and collect all the objectives in the game(which is not even a lot) you will quickly lose interest in the game.
Now, the other disappointing factor — and probably the greatest negative factor for most other players who bought this game — is the price. The game, for me, is more likely a masterpiece worth keeping, not that kind of game that I frequently open and play for fun(like civilization or overwatch). This is why my rating doesn't take price into consideration that much(otherwise it would have been less than 6). If you are not one of those people who are interested in collecting good masterpiece games —which means that you are more likely a person who is more interested in games that are not one-time enjoy only — I strongly suggest you not to buy the game.… Expand

wonwoosuh

Nov 27, 2016

5

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The game Gone Home, was like a second-lasting magnificence. I really enjoyed playing it, but it was somewhat disappointing.
First of all, like all the other reviews, the story itself were essentially well-made. Hidden stories of love and growing up of Sam Greenbriar were wisely distributed and placed through the empty mansion. Each clue was not so big or so small that I could follow the whole story flow naturally, and records played at particular moments or places of the game also helped me understand the stories. (Actaully my favorite part was the emergence of the character "Lonnie" after opening the locker, who actually takes almost same importance in the story as the protagonist(Sam) does.)
However, the route to finding the story in the game was not that satisfying. Before finding the story, all I did was wandering around the mansion examining useless things like all the books in the whole house. Very first clues to "enter" the main story such as stuff in Sam's locker, or loose panels were too hard to find. For me, who have not ever played this kind of game before, spent almost eighty percent of whole playing time wandering around. But more disappointing thing was that the main story(after entering the secret door) was super fast. It took just five to ten minutes. As this was the most enjoyable part of this game, I wish this part should be much longer to be a good game. Actually, I even felt 'what have i done???' after opening the attic door and listening to ending clip. It takes too long to the starting line, and the track to rush is too short.
For the technical reasons, I was a little disappointed again. At the very first moment playing this game, I had no idea how to pick or select objects. White dot in the center of the screen, or "cursor" is too small, and I could barely find the tutorial about this. It would be easier for players to enlarge the cursor and make it more visible.
The game Gone Home was one of my first game experience in this mystery - exploration field, and it was quite an interesting experience!… Expand

jungyeon

Nov 27, 2016

6

This game has a good story and an intriguing, pretty complicated plot. Also, the hidden message behind the story was pretty fun.
What really got me were the details of the game. The voice acting was very good and realistic, and there were many details and parts that made the game a real-life experience. I could pick up anything from a pizza box to a letter from a girlfriend, or doThis game has a good story and an intriguing, pretty complicated plot. Also, the hidden message behind the story was pretty fun.
What really got me were the details of the game. The voice acting was very good and realistic, and there were many details and parts that made the game a real-life experience. I could pick up anything from a pizza box to a letter from a girlfriend, or do anything, from meaningful things such as discovering a secret passage to very mundane and very non-meaningful things such as flushing a toilet or crouching down. The details were totally realistic, and it felt as if I were really in the American house itself.
However, as an international player, anything else excluding the main plot was very hard to understand. There were tons of video game references and other 90’s American references that were impossible to understand. Without this, the game was, except for the actual plot, straightforward and dull. If I understood some things about American culture in the 90’s, it would have been kind of exciting and like a treasure hunt, but I could only relate to the main plot and nothing else. It was like watching ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them’ without reading Harry Potter. Nothing really caught me, and something was missing.
Also, I would have liked to know about the other characters a bit more as well. It would have been nice if there was more evidence and more references for the other characters, leading to their own stories as well. Uncle Oscar deserved a bigger role, and Katie’s parents did as well. There was nothing about Katie as well, and although I understand the concept of the game and that Katie is only a strictly third-person narrator, it would have been better if there were more quips or narrations with her opinion. The evidence was too matter-of-fact, and the narrator was too calm and composed. Wouldn’t it be better if the narrator was more… human?
Since I got this file for free during class, I can’t complain about its price. However, I think the price is too extreme for this one-time experience. If you want to purchase this file, I recommend you reconsider. It’s nice enough, but not worth your 20 dollars. Go buy yourself something delicious, watch a movie, or buy a present for someone you love. Although this is a good experience, I can think of a million things better to do with this amount of money.… Expand

Lunarwolf

Nov 24, 2016

4

Although I myself is not much of a game-person, I am a big fan of puzzle-solving, adventure genre games, such as ‘The Walking Dead’ by Telltale Games, or ‘The Room’ by Fireproof Games, which are not only beautifully designed, but also come with great stories and some serious topics. I had high expectation about this game, ‘Gone Home’, as I loved games of this genre, and critics also gaveAlthough I myself is not much of a game-person, I am a big fan of puzzle-solving, adventure genre games, such as ‘The Walking Dead’ by Telltale Games, or ‘The Room’ by Fireproof Games, which are not only beautifully designed, but also come with great stories and some serious topics. I had high expectation about this game, ‘Gone Home’, as I loved games of this genre, and critics also gave great scores on it. After playing this game however, I was bit disappointed.
To talk about story first, the plot itself has bit interesting parts, but is boring overall. There aren’t many twists and the story is too simple, which also makes the game itself boring. Another problem with the story is that it has too much unnecessary characters and stories related to them, while main story related to the key characters in this game is way too short. Stories of those minor characters, where most of them are members of Greenbriar family, represents typical American family, which brings extra reality to game. However, most of them are quite irrelevant to the main story, and make players get easily distracted. I think the developers should have get rid of these unnecessary stories, and should have invested more time in making main story more sophisticated.
Second, let’s talk about actual gameplay. To talk about good things first, I really liked the user interface. It was really easy to use, and it didn’t take more than a minute to get used to controls. Also, the maps and journals helped me understand the general story and gameplay in depth. There were some minor bugs. Some objects disappeared when they were thrown away, but it didn’t affect gameplay much. Some disappointing aspects were limited map size, small number of in-game problems, and unnecessary clues. The map, which is the Greenbriar family’s house, is too small. Most of the areas in the house, including the hidden ones, are accessible within an hour or two, and they make players get bored quickly. Small number of problems that you actually have to solve in game also made gameplay boring. Most of them were quite easy; merely finding hints to get passwords for lockers, or finding keys and maps for hidden places. There weren’t much problems to solve by using objects in the game. There were a lot of stuff from 90s, but most of them were just left as a background, which had almost no effect in the main gameplay. Game graphics and sound effects were great, but I think they can still be improved.
To sum up, ‘Gone Home’ is more of an interactive visual novel, rather than exciting puzzle-solving, adventure genre game, and can be disappointing. Although it features nice graphics and sound effects, it lacks in depth and length of main story, and contains some unnecessary details that can be distracting. While I don’t think this game worth anywhere near $ 20, it is still a game where you can sit back, relax, and enjoy.… Expand

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

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