Gone Home

1. ALgendaryKiwi

   Aug 16, 2013

   10

   I don't usually give games a 10. In fact, there are only 2 other games that I would consider to be perfect 10s: the original portal andI don't usually give games a 10. In fact, there are only 2 other games that I would consider to be perfect 10s: the original portal and pacman ce dx. Those aren't necessarily the best games I've played, but they are the most perfect, if that makes sense. And that is a word that I would use to describe Gone Home: perfect. It is a game purely comprised of exploration and discovery, with virtually no other gameplay components with the exception of some very simplistic puzzles. And yet, Gone Home manages to make seemingly mundane exploration into some of the most engaging and emotional storytelling I have ever seen. Gone Home will be remembered for its brilliant design and execution, but also as a game that bravely led the charge in addressing contemporary social issues that have not as of yet found much representation in the medium.
   This game is not for everyone. If all you play are shooters and fast paced action games, then Gone Home will bore you. However, if you like slower games or games with interesting ways of telling stories, such as Journey, Heavy Rain, Dear Esther, or even mods like The Stanley Parable, than Gone home is certain to grab you and not let go for its 3 hour duration.… Expand

   • 100 of 366 users found this helpful
2. sagesource

   Dec 27, 2013

   10

   A lovely quiet story that stands your expectations on their heads.... come now, when you go to a home to find stuff scattered around and theA lovely quiet story that stands your expectations on their heads.... come now, when you go to a home to find stuff scattered around and the place empty when it shouldn't be, you expect to find the former residents dead or worse, don't you? Especially when you find that the house has a past..... Not to spoil it, let's just say if you go in with those ideas in your mind, you'll be disappointed. If you simply start exploring and putting pieces together, you won't. And if you are one of those people who runs around in online games calling everyone else a f*g, then you'll REALLY hate it. It has a protagonist who seems carefully designed to elicit hatred from the more despicable of the gaming crowd, so I'm not entirely surprised to see the number of negative reviews from users. Disappointed, though. I like blowing brains out as much as the next guy or making a run through something like Borderlands 1 melting people's faces off, but that isn't ALL of gaming. Part of it is individual taste, of course but some of those who authored the more incoherent of the negative reviews would benefit from professional help.… Expand

   • 0 of 12 users found this helpful
4. sneakysmurf1

   Dec 17, 2013

   9

   Gone Home is a work by the Fullbright Company that perfectly encapsulates the elements of great story telling into one brilliant game. TheGone Home is a work by the Fullbright Company that perfectly encapsulates the elements of great story telling into one brilliant game. The Fullbright Company is composed of a few people who worked together on DLC for the Bioshock franchise called Minerva’s Den. They decided they wanted to play around with story telling in video games and so they packed up and moved into one of their houses in Oregon to begin work on Gone Home, a story about teenage love, the dynamic of a family, and coming together after terrible hardships.
   
   The game plays almost like an interactive book, with the whole thing being about the story; there are no real collectables, mini-games, or alternate mechanics, and it is awesome. I personally live for amazing stories; tales like the Legend of Zelda and the Lord of The Rings are some of the things I love the most, and there is nothing better than a well-told video game story. Gone Home focuses on the idea of piecing together the story of your character’s family, the Greenbriers. You play as Katie, a twenty-something girl who has just come home after spending a year travelling in Europe to an empty house and an ominous note on the door telling you not to look around. Katie discovers the story by picking up and reading notes, pictures, letters, and books around the house and pieces the story together by herself (yourself). Aside from the sister Sam’s story, nothing is ever expressly said about the other stories, leaving you as the player with your own opinion about the family. This mechanic (while being used previously) is a welcome break from cinematic scenes and bland dialogue as the only way to tell a story in games. This way the story is in some ways left mostly up to interpretation, which a breath of fresh air that the gaming industry desperately needed. The only issue I had (fairly minor mind you) while playing was the convenience of some of the notes and their placement in the house, and the story felt at some points a bit too linear for it all to be taking place a family’s home. This was just a little bit of an annoyance in an otherwise almost perfect game, and you will soon forget the linear-ness of the story once you get sucked in.
   
   Despite having some very minor believability issues, this game was a joy to play from start to finish, with the little intricacies of the atmosphere, to the plethora of gaming references and “easter eggs”, to the melancholy mood and tone of the house, to the heartwarming and uplifting finale. I personally would rank this game among the best and most enjoyable I have ever played.
   
   9.5/10… Expand

   • 0 of 4 users found this helpful
5. DJKrimson

   Nov 9, 2020

   6

   An okay slowpaced walking telltale game. I like the story told about Sam, and it's a good voice actor that are nice to listen to. But it feelsAn okay slowpaced walking telltale game. I like the story told about Sam, and it's a good voice actor that are nice to listen to. But it feels a bit hollow, they could've done more with the story and they could've included some puzzling or something.… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
6. Cashloog

   Oct 10, 2013

   4

   I am very disappointed with the critics on this one. Gone Home was misrepresented every step of the way. All of the advertizing implied thisI am very disappointed with the critics on this one. Gone Home was misrepresented every step of the way. All of the advertizing implied this was a horror game. It's not. You will find yourself liking this game at the start but that's about it. The story is well done and well executed "until the end" but nothing we haven't seen before "in movies not video games anyway". Anyone who has played this game knows full well its fatal flaws and I don't want to spoil anything about the story. Critic have given this game overwhelmingly positive reviews and that's just scary. The New York Times "people who probably have never played a video game" called this the greatest love story in a video game...SIGH. All I will say is that if this game was made in the mid 90s "when this game was set" the love story would have been edgy but this is 2013! Just setting the game in the 90s doesn't make you "edgy" or "progressive" just boring yes BORING the main problem with this game is just how dull it is. Please don"t wast $20 on this 4 hour long movie with no payoff at the end.… Expand

   • 4 of 6 users found this helpful
7. wasabi1787

   Oct 22, 2013

   2

   Really I don't understand the rating of this game. So much praise for the story, but there it is pretty straight forward and generic (and IReally I don't understand the rating of this game. So much praise for the story, but there it is pretty straight forward and generic (and I think was supposed to be a "twist" really can't count as one in the 21st century). In addition to that, the entire game took less than 90 minutes on the first playthrough... It was really just uninteresting for what the cost of the game is. On top of that, the atmosphere was a farce (don't be fooled by hints of ghosts and the occult). The scariest thing in the game is a light bulb burning out. There is really no saving grace to make this game more than a two, which it earned on the fact that it was well put together. If it ever shows up for $5 or less, go for it. Basically you're renting a mediocre movie.… Expand

   • 4 of 7 users found this helpful
8. ivarivarivar123

   Oct 28, 2017

   0

   Game review of gone home
   Gone home is a first-person simulator experience. You are playing as the character Katie and you are finally home,Game review of gone home
   Gone home is a first-person simulator experience. You are playing as the character Katie and you are finally home, but your family is not. You go through the game searching thoroughly for clues to where your family members have gone off to.
   The game is a well-made first-person experience. The game holds the standard of games that was when the game was released for windows I 2012, but the game doesn’t meet the top standards of the modern gaming industry. I think the graphic is generally well done, but you can find someplace that are sloppy made. None huge places or spots, but just so that the games graphics are a little under the good modern standard.
   The game starts off with you coming home from a trip. You must find a key to unlock the front door. Then you explore the house to find more about yourself and the other main and side characters. The main objective the game is to find facts about your family and where they have gone off to.
   I think the game captures the atmosphere of where the game is set, which is in 1995. The furniture and other decorations looks like the classic 1990. The Greenbriar household is a perfect remake of the atmosphere of 1995. I think the graphics are suitable for the setting the house provides. The sounds in the game are very well made to the atmosphere. Sometimes I think that the music and sound make you distracted from the main objective and makes you day dreaming. I would say that this is a good thing because it makes you more in depth in the game and it makes the game more immersive. The voice overs from Sam that you find when you explore the house is a good feature to the games atmosphere. The sound effects from the outside noises such as the rain and thunder are also well made and make you emerged in the gameplay. You are given great instructions and the game is easy to play. There are very little controls that you need to use to play the game.
   In general, I liked the game. I think it’s a great first-person simulation and walkthrough that make you emerged in a new time and atmosphere. I would recommend this game for the age 13-24 because the game is about paying attention and remembering things that you find in the game.… Expand

   • 1 of 2 users found this helpful

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