Gone Home is a first person "adventure" game with some of the best voice acting and overall setting there is on the market now. It was released on Steam on August 15th, 2013. It is highly acclaimed and it received "Best PC game" and "Best Independent game" in this year's VGX.
Despite the huge praise it's received and what the critics or media may say. I'm here to shed some light on the matter and explain to you as to why this game is good, some might even say outstanding, but it is far from being the best PC game this year or the best indie game for that matter.
I want to clarify that even though the title of this article is "Let's Take a Peek at:" it's more of a review. I usually do not make full reviews of short Steam games because most of them are targeted to a very specific audience and just because I did not enjoy the experience I had with a portion of it the game deserves either a good or bad score. Hence why I only recommend it for some and advice against a regrettable purchase for others, with that being said, let's talk positive firsts.
like how cool this 3D modeled snes cartridge looks
It's difficult to write about a game like this without risking to spoil something, it's not that the game's strong suit is it's story. The game's lungs, heart, brain and skeleton are it's plot and it's delivery so there's not much else to talk about. The story is excellent, but it isn't why I'm gonna sing the game's praises. The Fullbright Company managed to create and put the player into one of the most immersive and plausible settings you will ever encounter in a video game.
To give you a small summary of what the game is about: You are a girl just coming back home from a long trip to Europe, you live with your mom, dad and sister in the U.S. When you get home, due to a sudden change in schedules you arrive to an empty house. Your sister leaves a note for you since she knows you're coming home, and the note welcomes you back but warns and asks of you not to look for clues or belongings related to her or where she currently is. From this point onward everything else is just exploration.
The game does a fine job making you feel like this place and these characters could totally exist, you are in the 90's and everything in this house fits in. There's no weird items that feel out of place, no home appliances, art or just furniture and decoration in general that seem unfitting. You get this sense of reward and curiosity by learning of the characters that are there for you to relate to even though you're completely alone. And by connecting the dots and taking a peek into your sister's interests and environment you ultimately hear and interact with a great story in a simple way.
for instance: you know you're in the 90's when a girl has a completely impractical locker in her room
instead of using her Iphone as her teenage drama deposit
Now, the cons. This game is not the best game for PC or the best indie game, I cannot stress this enough. You might be mad at me if you have played it before, you might be disagreeing with what I'm saying but all I want is to state my opinion and offer some undeniable facts that make this game an overrated product, not bad, but extremely overrated.
This is a game that costs 20 bucks at full price on Steam, and a game that I managed to beat in an hour and forty minutes. This isn't because I was speed running it, had played it before or because I didn't explore. I read every text I came across with and explored every room on the in-game map. Which is terrible too because there's almost no extra content, you MUST visit every room to beat the game and finish the story and once you beat it, there's no alternate story or collectibles, achievements, nothing. This is meant to be a story driven game, an art piece, a mix of literature, cinematography and voice acting but there is absolutely no video game related elements employed other than the fact that it "is" a game. Games like Portal, Journey or even mini games like The Company of Myself, have shown us in the past that a game doesn't have to be lengthy or overproduced to deliver an incredible experience but they are still games which involve the least bit of skill, intelligence or just general reflex and coordination but this game has absolutely zero of this. There are no cut-scenes, quick-time events or choices to make so unless you like hearing a really good story over and over again, this game's exact replay value is 1, you might want to hear it once again because maybe you missed something the first time or because you fell in love with the plot but that's it. It isn't even fun or exciting, all that keeps you going is the story and the setting, the whole "adventure" is a scavenge hunt in a place that isn't even that big and where things can be found easily, you'll go through the motions and reach the ending and there's your reward.
I probably sound like someone who is just whining too much, but I bought this game out of recommendation and praise and I feel so dissappointed. The game isn't bad, anyone out there into video games or not, looking to hear an interesting story, go ahead, this is for you. But you'll be paying 20$ for an interactive movie with no cutscenes or character appearances whatsoever, so you've been warned. Gone Home is ultimately a great story driven game that lasts less than 2 hours and brings absolutely no gameplay challenge/reward, no real innovation and no replay value whatsoever.
call me George Constanza if you like but I dont feel comfy paying 20 dollars for a movie I know I wont watch more than twice
*P.S: I only payed about 7 bucks for it during the autumn steam sale, and I would value this game at 5 dollars tops.
Here`s some contact info you might like to know in case you wanna add me up and play or just have a chat with me, I must not seem like it now and I don`t think I`ll seem like it any time soon, but I`m not a company, I`m a kid who enjoys playing video games and is very excited to share them with you guys.
Steam: Bombermanganzon
Diablo III: kiwicupcake (yeah, dont ask about that one)
League of Legends: Skyward Svvord
Guild Wars 2: Vitesong
If you are looking to see If I`m available in any other game or platform such as Miiverse by example, email me at: fastpegasusboots@gmail.com
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