Gone Home - PC Review

While Gone Home's mechanics and story telling are nothing new, it is a fine example of how gameplay and plot can be melded together.

Gone Home is a first person adventure game where you play the role of Kaitlin, the eldest of two daughters, who is returning home from a yearlong trip abroad. You enter a new, unfamiliar house your family has moved into during your absence, and you slowly discover what has happened during the time you were gone.

The game is set in the mid-nineties and the house is full of items befitting the time such as VHS tapes with episodes of the "X-Files" on them, cassette tape decks, and Super Nintendo cartridges. You enter into the empty house during a thundertstorm and the unlit rooms set the tone perfectly.

Collecting and examining objects to progress is the entirety of the gameplay in Gone Home. Several doors will be initially locked, but finding maps and notes left around the house yields new passages to different rooms. You are able to pick up and manipulate items and several key items will produce a voiced diary entry from your younger sister Sam.

And this is the best part of Gone Home, the story. Without any previous knowledge of the people who live in this house, you are put right in the shoes of the main character. You discover an interesting story of your sister's first love which is both unaccepted by your parents and society. You find your fathers struggles to return to writing and your mother's attempts to keep the marriage together despite some possible infidelity.

 

Apart from the diary entries from Sam, this entire storyline is derived from objects found around the house. You mother's schedule with couple's activities crossed out and your fathers boxes of unsold books are all you need to build up these characters you will never see.

The story of Gone Home could never be told in any medium but a videogame. The feeling of being alone in a strangers home while riffling though their personal belongings brings on a uncomfortableness along with giddy voyeurism. The items are laid out perfectly for you to find in an order that serves the narrative.

 

The biggest knock against the game would have to be the length for the price. The entire game can be completed in 1-2 hours. I actually went back to play it again before writing this review and was able to finish it in 20 minutes. While there is nothing necessarily wrong about a short game, Gone Home's initial asking price of $20 is insane. While it can be found for sale on various sites, there is no way I could recommend this game for anything over $5.

 

BOTTOM LINE:

The developers at The Fullbright Company have created a great story in Gone Home that is sad and bittersweet dealing with themes of teenage rebellion and a collapsing family. It is a game that should be experienced by anyone interested in how story and gameplay can compliment each, but it's incredibly short length doesn't make it worth the reccomened price. Wait for a sale and then definetly get it.

7/10