Three Fourths Home: Extended Edition

 Switch
User Score
6.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 9 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 9
  3. Negative: 3 out of 9

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  1. bulger_paul
    Oct 1, 2018
    3
    I've been interested in witnessing the development of "visual novels" (from what I understand, that's the term being used to describe these kinds of games, at least until a better one is coined) unfold over the past few years. I'm an adamant reader, so Interactive short stories are a really cool concept to me, but Three Fourths Home is a very weak showcase for what interactive visualI've been interested in witnessing the development of "visual novels" (from what I understand, that's the term being used to describe these kinds of games, at least until a better one is coined) unfold over the past few years. I'm an adamant reader, so Interactive short stories are a really cool concept to me, but Three Fourths Home is a very weak showcase for what interactive visual novels can potentially be.

    The dialogue itself is alright. We get a snapshot of a girl living through an economically depressed time, struggling to make it on her own, as we watch her family melodrama unfold through a conversation she's having on the phone with her mother while she's driving. Not conceptually extraordinary, but a solid premise if the aim is to showcase strong writing. And the writing her is...it's okay, it's just okay. There's a little bit of humor, but nothing that had me laughing out loud the way Night in the Woods did (I guess Night in the Woods is more of a dialogue heavy walking simulator with mini-game elements strewn around, but it's mainly just a showcase for great dialogue, so I think the comparison is fair), and I was interested in seeing the story unfold, but none of my dialogue choices felt meaningful, and I felt no compulsion to go back and see how the conversation might've changed if I had selected different choices.

    But, even though the dialogue is pretty okay, I still gave this game a very low score because of how the developers went out of their ways to make actually getting through this story as annoying as possible. First, you have to hold down the right trigger (I'm not sure what button you use if you're on a keyboard) throughout literally the entire thing to make the car keep going forward (or to make Kelly keep walking forward, if you're playing through the epilogue). If you stop holding it down for even a brief second to stretch your finger out, the dialogue stops entirely until you keep holding it down again, and getting through both halves of the story can take up to two hours (depending on your dialogue choices), which means holding down the right trigger for a consecutive two hours just so you can keep reading some lines of text on a screen, which is insanely annoying. The second thing I hated, was the ultra bright screen contrast. You're reading black text off of a mostly black, insanely bright white screen for two hours. I couldn't play this game for more than thirty minutes at a time before having to rest my eyes, because it physically hurt staring at this screen. It was straining me just to get through it. I turned the brightness on my TV screen from 50% to 25%, but it was still straining, and it made it harder to see the black text. If you design a game that is entirely composed of reading lines of text on a screen, then you make the screen your player is reading off of as eye straining as you possibly can, you've got a problem.

    So while I might have generously given this game a 5 out of 10, instead of a 3, since the dialogue is okay, and I do like seeing more and more game developers writing games that explore issues of economic depression and how they strain familial relations, the annoying fact that you have to hold down the right trigger for two consecutive hours just to read some lines of text, and the overwhelming brightness of the screen is physically painful to look at for prolonged periods of time, I had to knock my score down. I wouldn't recommend Three Fourths Home, there are visual novels out right now that are not this annoying and contain much better dialogue.    … Expand
  2. HelpfulReviews
    May 19, 2018
    5
    This is an interactive story, there really isn't much of a game here. This isn't an inherently bad thing if there is a satisfying story to follow, but there really isn't. There are some satisfying emotional moments, but not enough content to justify the purchase. At $8.99, you won't hate yourself for spending the money, but you will be left longing for more. Save your money and buyThis is an interactive story, there really isn't much of a game here. This isn't an inherently bad thing if there is a satisfying story to follow, but there really isn't. There are some satisfying emotional moments, but not enough content to justify the purchase. At $8.99, you won't hate yourself for spending the money, but you will be left longing for more. Save your money and buy Oxenfree if you're looking for a story driven game.… Expand
  3. JAG7
    Apr 16, 2022
    4
    It’s an ok game. It’s boring and monotonous. I fall asleep playing through it literally. Not a good thing. There’s no contrast visually. Everything is in the same background . And yes the eternally ZR pressing is annoying as hell. Your choices are not important at all. The end is terrible. Is just a forced rushed incomprehensible ending. The dialog is very boring. There’s no sense inIt’s an ok game. It’s boring and monotonous. I fall asleep playing through it literally. Not a good thing. There’s no contrast visually. Everything is in the same background . And yes the eternally ZR pressing is annoying as hell. Your choices are not important at all. The end is terrible. Is just a forced rushed incomprehensible ending. The dialog is very boring. There’s no sense in driving using the cellphone while a tornado is passing. Just stupid. Pointless conversations. I bought this on a Digerati bundle. Don’t buy unless you like reading story games, cause it’s just that.… Expand
  4. chosen0ne
    Oct 13, 2021
    6
    It's a text-based story. Don't expect a game, you'll be bored. The story isn't crazy or scary or overly interesting, it's just an emotionally engaging story where you discover the relationship dynamics in a somewhat dysfunctional family. If you're into that sort of thing, you'll love this. Myself, I was interested but not enthralled.

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
59

Mixed or average reviews - based on 5 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 5
  3. Negative: 1 out of 5
  1. Nintenderos
    Aug 19, 2018
    62
    A game that manages to be visceral following the easy path: taking extreme characters to create an effective drama. The freedom of choice that you have only serves to configure the alter ego you wish to embody. The epilogue is not up to the main game.
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  2. Nintendo Insider
    Jul 2, 2018
    70
    Three Fourths Home: Extended Edition is a different experience to many of the offerings that the Nintendo eShop has to offer. It doesn’t quite hit the emotional hammer that something like Last Day of June does, but it’s all very well written enough to be able to take a common piece of cake from it. I do think it’s a very hard game to review as it’s not a game in any way, shape or form in the conventional sense. If I was to see it as a game, it would be a terrible one. But, as a way to tell a story, it’s certainly effective enough to work as intended.
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  3. Cubed3
    Jun 28, 2018
    30
    If you want to get away with sticking a book on a console, it is pretty important to make the actual tale an intriguing one, and - better yet - add in some useful interactions. This all feels so empty, even when attempting to drive the conversation in certain directions. Mundane is the perfect word to describe Three Fourths Home, and its Extended Edition post-game story content is simply more of the same weak melodrama. There are so many alternatives out there vying for your attention; check them out instead.
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