Gone Home
was released two years ago, and garnered a surprisingly large buzz around it
thanks to its nostalgia for the utter horror that was the 90’s and its
surprisingly touching love story. It also drew a sizeable backlash thanks to its
gameplay and its surprisingly touching love story. I picked the game up a few
months ago, and whilst waiting for Hotline Miami 2 to finally come out – now seems
a good time to dive into a very different indie darling.
You
play as Kaitlin, a young adult who’s just returned from travelling around Europe
and has returned to her home: which is the largest house in the freaking world.
But you turn out to be the most boring character here. Your parents have gone
away, as has Samantha your sister. Using bits of paper and Sam’s excellently
voice-acted journals, you discover piece-by-piece what’s happened in your
absence.
You
only hear Kaitlin talk once, and I really like how she’s characterised by the
descriptions that pop up when you highlight objects. Wave your mouse over an
ugly sweater and the word: “Ew” will appear. It’s much better than it sounds,
trust me.
It’s
basically the part of Bioshock where
you walk around finding audio-logs but without the part where you shoot people.
And this sounds admirable, but I don’t think this game realises that exploration
games have been done before. The cynically titled ‘walking simulator’ genre has
frequented Steam ever since people started modding Half Life 2 and realised you could remove the guns and still have
an interesting experience. This is not new, but innovation doesn’t necessarily
mean progress.
Truthfully:
the plot is rather good. Whilst you’ve probably heard what it’s about, I always
like to keep things spoiler-free here; and like other games that tackle a similar
subject manner it actually helps if you don’t know it’s what it is until you
experience it. More games need to surprise players like this. It’s also told
through scraps of paper found around the environment…although the game is still
linear in its progression and there’s no danger of missing anything or learning
anything out of synch.
The
chilling atmosphere created is a bluff, however. Whilst you’ll jump at the
intermittent lighting-strikes, and hesitate before opening a door into a
darkened room…there’s nothing. The game hints that the house might be haunted,
but this goes nowhere and the lighting soon becomes really, really annoying. Later, the touching aspect of the game arrives
to pleasantly surprise you – but this means there’s no replayability. It’s the
same problem Amnesia: A Machine of Pigs
had: the game fools you into thinking something horrific is going to happen…but
it never shows up. Granted, it keeps the tension going, but again: no replay
value.
And
now we come to the biggest problem with the game: It’s overpriced. Currently, Gone Home costs a whopping £15 on Steam. I completed this game in two hours. I only went back and replayed
it so I could take screenshots for this review. Since there is no replay value,
the game has now been uninstalled from my computer to free up space. I know
Triple A gaming is a ripoff these days, and I know Steam Early Access is only
for those with a fear of money and good games – but I feel kinda robbed.
This
game feels like a standalone mod. I understand that this was made on a
micro-budget with a limited team, but the story of the developers is one I’ve
heard countless of times before and better, cheaper games have spawned from
them. The Stanley Parable is £5
cheaper, I’ve played it for about 20 hours, and now I intend to play it again
since I’ve just mentioned it.
If
this game was free, I wouldn’t necessarily be gushing; but I would strongly recommend
it. If this game was £6, I would encourage you to play it if you get the
chance. Since this is a £15 game that provides two hours of entertainment in a
market flooded with first-person exploration games, all of which are cheaper
and many of which are better – I’m afraid I can’t recommend. Sorry.
