Gone Home: Console Edition

 Xbox One
User Score
4.3

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 88 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 26 out of 88
  2. Mixed: 17 out of 88
  3. Negative: 45 out of 88

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  1. cdbarlow
    Mar 27, 2022
    0
    I created a Metacritic account just to warn others about this awful, awful game. The entire game consists of going from room to room, pointing at everything everywhere until something glows, then zooming in on it and turning it around. Rinse and repeat for a measly 55 minutes. That's literally the entire game. Nothing ever happens except a woke teenage love story cliché that had me rollingI created a Metacritic account just to warn others about this awful, awful game. The entire game consists of going from room to room, pointing at everything everywhere until something glows, then zooming in on it and turning it around. Rinse and repeat for a measly 55 minutes. That's literally the entire game. Nothing ever happens except a woke teenage love story cliché that had me rolling my eyes. It's basically a "look meticulously through a storage room of just tons of old junk" simulator. Ultimately, you click on a random notebook and it fades to black with a short voiceover and the game is over before anything ever happened... yet IGN gave this a 9.5 probably because it's WOKE!… Expand
  2. osprey
    Feb 15, 2016
    4
    For what it is this game is way to expensive. It is an o.k. story with very little to do and quite frankly a bit self congratulatory. It is hardly a game at all and seems to think just because of it's theme it should be praised. It has to be a game first and there is very, very little here and no surprises in my opinion. I think there are the bones of a game here but it needs way moreFor what it is this game is way to expensive. It is an o.k. story with very little to do and quite frankly a bit self congratulatory. It is hardly a game at all and seems to think just because of it's theme it should be praised. It has to be a game first and there is very, very little here and no surprises in my opinion. I think there are the bones of a game here but it needs way more content and challenge to make it worth even $5 never mind $20. I am in full support of what the game is about but really feel ripped off by the price and what we got for it.… Expand
  3. StormyWaters
    Jan 20, 2016
    2
    Just plain boring. Setting, puzzles, and gameplay are lackluster and add nothing to the experience. Story is alright and the only thing of substance, but it's nothing special. The story does not makes this game worth experiencing. Maybe worth a purchase at $3, but I would still give it a 2/10 regardless of price.
  4. XRavishX
    Nov 6, 2017
    0
    This game isn't what it looks like. On the surface one might think the game is a creepy story about something mysterious that happened in the house. The cover art looks spooky and the description leads you to believe there is some great mystery to unravel. The game is a lie.

    You arrive home from a trip abroad in the wee hours of the night/early morning amidst a coming storm to find out    This game isn't what it looks like. On the surface one might think the game is a creepy story about something mysterious that happened in the house. The cover art looks spooky and the description leads you to believe there is some great mystery to unravel. The game is a lie.

    You arrive home from a trip abroad in the wee hours of the night/early morning amidst a coming storm to find out that no one is home and note posted on the door telling you in no uncertain terms to not try to find out what happened. You then proceed to find out what happened by walking around the empty house into dark rooms, through locked doors, and in the midst of lightning crashes. During the silences you only have your footsteps as company as you traverse the mansion as you discover... your sister's lesbian love.

    You read that correctly. This game is dressed up like a spooky mystery and delivers a teen angst homosexual love story. It like picking up your glass of milk, taking a big gulp, and discovering you have lemonade instead. I think I made the same face when the game ended.

    Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with a story like this. My disappoint first and foremost comes from the fact that I didn't know what I was playing. There was no indication to the game's true purpose in the description, the cover art, even taking my first steps in the creepy looking mansion when first starting the game. It screams spookiness but never actually delivers. So, if you're looking for some kind of scary, spooky, or just plain tense game, this is far from it. Nothing of the sort every actually manifests itself beyond thunder cracking. People actually need to read reviews about the game before they play it in order to find out what kind of game it is. It's one thing to read reviews so you can get an idea of the pros and cons, but one of the cons should never be something like "it's a scary game that isn't scary and has nothing to do with being scary even though it looks like it should be scary." What happened to going to the store front and getting interested based on the cover art, description, and even title? All those points on this game amount to click bait. Just sad.

    The second disappointment is the actual story. We learn what happens with your character's little sister throughout high school. But, very, very early on you can piece together where the story is going. The developers thought of the most clichéd, propagandist message regarding homosexuality and teen love and gave that to us. Teen angst? Check. Girl meets girl? Check. Girl wants to join the military during the "don't ask, don't tell" controversy? Check. Homophobic parents in denial? Check. Even the little sister's lover is a Hispanic descended minority. The game has it all and they make use of these elements in the most basic of ways: voice acted journal entries. No, you don't really piece together anything that happens in any kind of detail. It's told to you. You aren't really lead anywhere to discover anything important. Any discoveries you have barely flesh the story out and only show how clichéd and boring the weak story actually is. There's no philosophical message, no lesson learned, only a throwback to past times in which people could be considered less enlightened.

    The only good part of the game is the atmosphere. It's unsuitably creepy and has you looking over your shoulders and being hesitant going into rooms with their lights off. Unsuitably is not a mistype, though, as the story doesn't match the atmosphere in the slightest and is an entire lie. Things around the house seem to be only added to increase how spooky the game is supposed to feel. Again, nothing comes of it except for a couple jump scares from thunder. That's it. You play music in a tape player and walk away. It stopped! What happened?! Oh, the tape ran out, so you can play it again. The basement lights don't work! Why is that?! Oh, no reason, just a bulb out or something. Nothing to see here. Red splatters in the bathtub! Someone died! Oh, wait, it's just hair dye. The entire game is like that in that it teases you with something potentially scary then stops just shy of saying "just kidding! lol!"

    In the end I can't recommend this game any more... as something someone should pass up. The game is a lie. Had all the creepiness in the game been removed and replaced with a daytime setting and advertised as a light mystery about teenage lesbian drama, the game would have been a thousand times better. Had all the junk story been removed and replaced with something less propagandist and more spooky like actual ghosts or cult happenings, the game would have been a thousand times better. Instead, we're given milk and lemonade, both of which people like and were told, "we mixed these things you like so now it's even better!" Except, we weren't told that. We were told it's milk, given the mix, and are now expected to appreciate it because the idiots at IGN and Gamespot tell us we should.    … Expand
  5. tim_spooker
    May 14, 2016
    5
    Not worth the money......

    Story was engaging and I enjoyed the short, maybe 2hour, play through....... but a let down as a whole

    As a game... it was way too short and devoid of reason to replay it......

    And all the praise for the story is a bit overblown........ its nothing earth shattering........ but enjoyable
  6. Microdork
    Oct 15, 2017
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Gone home is walking simulator game that is light on content but has a lot of character and charm. The motivations of the charters make sense and are not always thought out like many teen and young adult ideas. They make sense in a teen way of charters in love. The game gives you the atmosphere or a horror game and plays around with this notion with hair dye, material problems, potential suicide it a relief when nothing happens. It has good voice acting.it made me care about Sam as a human being and wanted to see what is next. the main problem with this game is the story is more interesting than the game play and makes me want to play as Sam or Lonnie instead. It is free on xbox live right now.
    This game demo straights why review scores don't always matter. It only has a meta critic score of 4.2 but I love the game and got goose bumps at the end but has no real game play and that is a real turn off for some. Zelda Ocarina of time has a 92 but I didn't like it. So if you are turned off by the low score don't be unless you don't like walking simulator games like the Stanley Parable. Games are not for everyone and you see this after an xbox live gives away an indie game you will see lots of negative comments by people who would never of bought it anyways.    … Expand
  7. Hooker21
    Jan 17, 2016
    10
    This is a big step forward in storytelling for video games. I absolutly admit, this is not a game, but interactive story that may be tellen only in game form.
  8. GoodWillHunting
    Jan 18, 2016
    10
    Another reviewer on here put it well, Gone Home isn't really a "game" per se, but an interactive story. There's no real challenge involved, it's just a story-based first-person narrative experience. It's unique, and I actually cared about the story... which is immensely rare for me in games these days. Shout out to the developers as they did a tremendous job in the level design, visuals,Another reviewer on here put it well, Gone Home isn't really a "game" per se, but an interactive story. There's no real challenge involved, it's just a story-based first-person narrative experience. It's unique, and I actually cared about the story... which is immensely rare for me in games these days. Shout out to the developers as they did a tremendous job in the level design, visuals, and sound.

    The only real downside of this game is that it can be beaten in 45-60 minutes, tops. And that's with exploring and analyzing almost everything. For this, I don't quite think it warrants the current $20 price tag. If you can catch it on sale or anything, snatch it up!

    Overall: B (though I'm rating this a 10 to offset all the unfair negative reviews, if you only play mindless games where you have to kill thousands of aliens/terrorists/robots every 10 seconds then this game is obliviously not made for you)    … Expand
  9. BetterCallSalt
    Jan 17, 2016
    8
    Actually quite a surprisingly great game. I had heard good things of this before-hand but went in pretty much blind. The way the story is slowly revealed is quite interesting and to be honest, quite addicting. The controls and art style play and look similar to other "walking simulator" games such as "The Vanishing of Ethan Carter" and "Amnesia" but does enough to make it unique enough toActually quite a surprisingly great game. I had heard good things of this before-hand but went in pretty much blind. The way the story is slowly revealed is quite interesting and to be honest, quite addicting. The controls and art style play and look similar to other "walking simulator" games such as "The Vanishing of Ethan Carter" and "Amnesia" but does enough to make it unique enough to be different. One downfall however, is that this game is extremely short, even when playing at a relatively slow pace. For this reason I feel that the price is a bit steep as there is very little replay value. Other than that, this is a great game with a great atmosphere and definitely worth a play.… Expand
  10. dirtboy69
    Jan 16, 2016
    8
    just leaving a short review here to say this is a very enjoyable game. dont like the asshats giving it negative scores stop you from trying this. consoles need more games like this. because than I wouldnt need to keep a half way decent pc to play them on lol. but seriously TRY THIS GAME.
  11. TheQuietGamer
    Oct 16, 2017
    7
    An interesting concept with one heck of a tale to tell. However the extreme of content and your severely limited interaction with it make more of an experience than an actual game. Have you ever wanted to have the house to yourself so you could dig around and unearth all of your family member's dirty little secrets? That's kind of the concept of Gone Home. After returning from abroad,An interesting concept with one heck of a tale to tell. However the extreme of content and your severely limited interaction with it make more of an experience than an actual game. Have you ever wanted to have the house to yourself so you could dig around and unearth all of your family member's dirty little secrets? That's kind of the concept of Gone Home. After returning from abroad, "Katie" comes home to find her family gone. Cryptic notes and secrets hidden around the house can help her put together the mystery of just where everyone went. A novel idea, but there's nothing to really do here outside of walk around and look at things. The reason you'll stick around is for the incredibly sweet story.

    The narrative in Gone Home is powerful and touching. Several side-stories are hidden in the notes scattered around the house, but they are nowhere near as interesting as the main plot. Getting through the game can be done in less than two hours and outside of some achievements there's no reason to come back. That's the problem with Gone Home. Not onl are you barely "playing" it, but the amount of content is so bare bones that it's just not worth the asking price. It's feels more like a tech demo for a program that could be used to actually make games, than something that should have been released to the public for $15.

    That being said, I don't regret my time with it. I loved the story, the house has a little bit of atmosphere to it, and it's just a good concept. Unfortunately, with a lack of puzzles, challenge, or any actual gameplay to go alongside that incredibly brief running time, I just can't recommend that anybody pay for this. Gone Home touched my heart with it's story and for that I'll say it is good. However, this is something you should simply not pay money for. I recommend that you experience it in some form at some point in your life, but purchasing this is just ridiculous for the lack of content you get. Especially at the price of $15.    … Expand
  12. Timgriff84
    Apr 26, 2017
    6
    In its day Gone Home was probably a game that raised the bar for story telling. However as a release on console it's dated. Really dated.

    For a start the puzzles aren't that great, there not bad but equally this isn't amazing. What's worse though is the atmosphere the game projects is great. There's this mystery that your solving, you read letters, find out difffernt things about the    In its day Gone Home was probably a game that raised the bar for story telling. However as a release on console it's dated. Really dated.

    For a start the puzzles aren't that great, there not bad but equally this isn't amazing. What's worse though is the atmosphere the game projects is great. There's this mystery that your solving, you read letters, find out difffernt things about the characters. It's gripping stuff and then you get to the end and the big reveal you were waiting for doesn't happen. There's a reveal, but it's dull. Really dull.

    Story games are fine, but they have to have a good story with a good end. This masters story telling but fails with the ending.    … Expand
  13. LordXangcris
    Dec 1, 2017
    1
    A plot twist shouldn't be predicted through sarcasm within the first 10 seconds of playing the game. I pity anyone who paid for this game. The achievement list hints at the developers thinking they have created a narrative a lot more profound than it actually was.
  14. CenkAlp
    Mar 1, 2018
    5
    Hikaye = 6
    Oynanış = 6
    Grafikler = 6
    Sesler = 6
    Keyif = 4
    Atmosfer = 6
    Süre = 3
  15. DemonLlama331
    Sep 29, 2018
    10
    I'm a sucker for games with LGBT themes and characters, and Gone Home is no exception! It kind of reminds me of The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth, and also has Life is Strange vibes to it.
  16. 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 board    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 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
  17. Locke_Cole
    Oct 24, 2017
    8
    Como parte del gold, he de decir que no pagué por este juego y como tal no puedo ponerme en los zapatos de una persona que si pagó y que, al parecer, se sienten bastante molestos por el contenido del juego. Para mí Gone Home ha sido toda una experiencia, y muestra como los videojuegos pueden ser un instrumento narrativo no anclado a lo lúdico para contar. Sí, nos movemos, y sí hay algo asíComo parte del gold, he de decir que no pagué por este juego y como tal no puedo ponerme en los zapatos de una persona que si pagó y que, al parecer, se sienten bastante molestos por el contenido del juego. Para mí Gone Home ha sido toda una experiencia, y muestra como los videojuegos pueden ser un instrumento narrativo no anclado a lo lúdico para contar. Sí, nos movemos, y sí hay algo así como puzzles. Pero la base del juego está en la observación, en la lectura, en la interacción. Sólo por eso recomiendo este juego. Sobre la historia, puedo decir que tiene carisma y enternece mucho, está muy bien narrada y es coherente.

    Para mí el juego tiene sólo un problema, y es que la historia pese a tener todas las buenas características que digo peca de ser previsible: un error que no se puede dejar pasar en un juego puramente narrativo. Que dure un par de horas es para mi lo de menos, su ambientación visual y sonora, el ambiente que transmite y sobre todo la forma de narrar que tiene, hace que para mi sea una obra redonda y muy recomendable si les interesan los juegos como medio de narración.    … Expand
  18. GeneralNekoShow
    Jan 18, 2018
    8
    Gone Home focuses on story telling and it does it very well. It is a game that shows that you don’t have to be a major studio in order to make a unique experience. For 20 dollars you are getting an interesting story that uses game play elements to tell. The story itself could have probably sold for 8 dollars as a short story book but its that interactivity that makes the price what it is.Gone Home focuses on story telling and it does it very well. It is a game that shows that you don’t have to be a major studio in order to make a unique experience. For 20 dollars you are getting an interesting story that uses game play elements to tell. The story itself could have probably sold for 8 dollars as a short story book but its that interactivity that makes the price what it is. It is a good game to try and I am glad I played it.

    Mechanics Score: 5/5
    Game had no notable glitches, bugs, or problems

    Impact Score: 3/5
    Game has met expectations that it has laid out for itself.

    Replay Value
    Low    … Expand
  19. MajinVegeta1986
    Sep 2, 2019
    5
    It almost annoys me that anyone would give this game less than top marks. Like many a game, I downloaded Gone Home while bored on a lazy afternoon. That was around three years ago, and to this day I remember it as being one of the most rewarding gaming experiences of my life. If you think you know what to expect, you don't. It's much more.
  20. Patedus
    Jun 3, 2021
    4
    An experience that focuses too much on its story and not enough on its actual gameplay.

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
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No score yet - based on 2 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 2
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 2
  3. Negative: 0 out of 2
  1. Official Xbox Magazine UK
    Mar 5, 2016
    70
    Light on action and adrenaline but filled with atmosphere, this isn't your typical Xbox game - and all the more powerful for it. A luxury purchase, but an experience to savour. [March 2016, p.77]
  2. ICXM
    Jan 15, 2016
    95
    Gone Home is a phenomenal game and should be considered an achievement for the entire gaming industry. It takes conviction to tell a story like this. I can't give Fullbright enough credit for making this game. The game is filled with masterful storytelling and real life lessons. It nails the mysterious atmosphere perfectly.
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