"Walking Around a House Simulator 2013" has a pretty great story.
Since its release Gone Home has been at the center of debate. Some question if we can actually call Gone Home a game. I'm not here to talk about that, but I will say this, Gone Home is a great example of how diverse and interesting gaming has become- and I consider it a fantastic game.
Gone Home, developed by The Fullbirght Company, is by design a simple game. You play as Kaitlin, the older sister of Samantha. It is 1995 and you've been away for awhile, exploring the world. Your family has moved to a new house and you come home early to find the house empty and a note from your sister. She is gone, and now you search this home for clues about why she left and what happened to your family.
The whole game is set inside the house, which is designed in such a way that it never felt like a big random video game house. It felt lived in, it felt like a real home. There are no random 500 ft long hallways with 20 different rooms or a hidden jail cell or anything absurd like that. Its a home, one that I could easily see my self or my family living in. But the house has some history to it and a reputation. I won't spoil anything, but if you search around enough you'll discover some interesting history about the place.
You spend nearly the whole game searching rooms and closets, looking for notes or postcards. Looking for anything to help you find out where your sister went, or what happened to her. As you discover some of these you will unlock audio clips. They are of your younger sister and its her journal she's reading from. It might seem a bit weird, and at first I was confused. I picked up a red sharpie and she talks about doing homework for 2 minutes? How does that work. But by the end of the game I didn't care, I was too interested in the story to think about it. And at the very end it all makes sense.
Again, I won't spoil anything about the story, but for me at least, it was brilliantly written and paced. As I discovered more I became hungry for that next part. And soon I found my self smiling as I discovered happy moments, and I found my self filled with anxiety and dread as some of the games more depressing moments were uncovered. Very few games tell a story worth caring about. Fewer having the emotional impact that Gone Home has.Part of this is also due to the fact that Gone Home is a tight and focused experience. Its not 30 hours long, filled with grind or side missions, its instead a short and smart game that tells a beautiful story. Since completing the game I still think about those characters and the moments they shared.
On a technical level the game is no slouch. The art style is based in reality, but everything has a softness to it. It felt like a dream or at times a nightmare. The amount of detail is also pretty incredible, every word can be read. From VHS covers to the back of a medicine bottle. You can pick up and look at tons of objects and they all felt real, like something you could find in your own home. Sound design and lighting are also quite impressive, and really add to the ambiance. The whole time you play, a thunderstorm rages outside. The constant sound of rain hitting the roof, or nearby window, added to the dream like atmosphere. It was constant source of white noise, causing the real world around me to slowly fade away.
Gone Home is a fantastic game. It masterfully blends story and design, and the results are amazing. As I reached the end of the game, I was honestly so anxious and worried I almost couldn't finish. I had never really felt anything like that before in a game. Truth be told I have never experience anything like Gone Home before. In a year filled with Season Passes, graphic violence, boring sequels, overpriced map packs, padded out campaigns and underwhelming launch titles Gone Home stands alone. A interesting game, telling a great story in a fantastic way. I loved it.
