Gone Home

I couldn't find any mention of this game elsewhere and I debated putting this in the adventure game thread, but I think it deserves its own.

Gone Home is an exploration-based adventure game with minimal puzzles from some 2K Marin/Bioshock 2 vets, and it's been getting crazy good reviews. Like Journey, it's fairly short and can be played in a couple hours, but it's worth the ride.

Set in 1995, it tells the story of a college-age woman named Kaitlin returning home after a year of backpacking in Europe to find her family's house completely empty, and an ominous note on the door from her sister Sam says not to look for her. The story unfolds by exploring the house -- a large, vaguely creepy abode with some bad history and some hidden passages -- and finding notes, objects, and other evidence, some of which trigger Sam's journal entries (read out loud with some truly excellent voice acting). The story has all already taken place, and is discovered passively as you access more of the house.

But this is not The 7th Guest. Without saying too much, the game never delves into hokey video game horror/fantasy cliche, and its story is actually adult, human, and dare I say even touching. While it is a creepy game best played alone with the lights down, it actually manages to have a heart. Having seen so many games with strong stories unravel in the third act (Indigo Prophecy, hell, even Bioshock), it's great to see a game that has some restraint.

I reaaaaally want to play it, but $20 for like 3 hours isn't sitting right with me at the moment.

It looked interesting so I put it on my wishlist the other day, but it'll be a while before I get to it. Glad to hear it getting some positive news.

I'll pass.

I wasn't really interested before I read a couple reviews either, but it's a surprising game. It's more than what it seems. Or less. I don't know, just play it.

I actually welled up a bit at the end. That's the first game that's ever done that to me. It's not a complex story either, but the way it's told is surprisingly effective. It's plays to the strengths of the medium to tell a relatively simple story in a way that's more emotionally impactful than if it was told another way.

I enjoyed this. And I agree the story works well with the medium. I prefer letting gamers explore and piece stories together more than non-interactive cutscenes. I hope we see more non-shooting first-person games that use FPS controls like this (and Miasmata), too.

Harder puzzles would have been nice. I think they could have added mental challenge without taking away from the story.

As an old-school adventure gamer, I definitely enjoy a good puzzle, but I feel like in this game it might have run the risk of making things too "gamey" and breaking immersion. I like that they stuck to their guns and let the story carry the game, and it does.

I like that this is the sort of thing I can recommend to non-gamers and non-adventure-gamers, too. I almost think they'd appreciate it more. I suspect this kind of loose, discovery-based game will be very appealing when paired with something like the Oculus Rift. I think that sense of immersion might help gamers enjoy exploring and get over the need to have zombies to shoot.

I'll check it out for ~$10.

What kind of specs do you need to run this?

I doesn't seem to be graphically intensive.

Min Specs:

• 1.80GHz Processor
• 2GB Memory
• Intel HD Graphics 4000 on WinXP/Vista/7
• 2GB HDD space

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Chux

I doesn't seem to be graphically intensive.

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But you make up for it with character design, Chux.

Awwwwwwwwwwwww

I'm catching up on my PC backlog, and I had to give this game first priority since it's short and highly praised.

It's a cool game, but I'm glad I only spent $5 on it. $20 is way too much. $10 would have been perfect IMO.

Now I have a sudden urge to play Street Fighter 2 on mute while listening to some Melissa Etheridge, Lisa Loeb and The Cranberries.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by FirstBlood

Min Specs:

• 1.80GHz Processor
• 2GB Memory
• Intel HD Graphics 4000 on WinXP/Vista/7
• 2GB HDD space
• a Vagina

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Definitely helps.

Yeah, I loved it. Played it a few months ago and some of our non-gaming friends really enjoyed it, too. Would definitely play again if/when oculus rift support happens/me owning oculus rift happens.

And I second the nonviolent, storydriven, fps style exploration gameplay being great.

Oculus Rift? I found this game ran like crap (kinda hitchy, as if the engine/game world was not optimized)

Oh yeah, I played this. Whatever. Hippie games

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Originally Posted by Joust Williams

Oh yeah, I played this. Whatever. Hippie games

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I love posts like this because it means (some) indie games are finally getting as good as (some) indie movies.

Yep, but not this one

well, it's as good as a mediocre indie movie with no point, I guess, so you're right

Or it has that weirdo alienating quality that is the best

the jerk store called

and they're running out of you

It's like a movie in the way that it's 10 dollars per hour.

I paid $10. It was probably worth around that.

The game ran flawlessly on my old ass computer, any jank is probably due to issues with a specific setup because PC.

The family members' stories were fun to follow, but I far preferred the tension I felt for the first few minutes when I didn't know what to expect to the rest of the game where it was obvious that nothing would happen.

Well, until you get to the hell gate and the demons start appearing.

It held a constant 60 FPS?

I think it slowed down a little at the last boss because of all the spell effects.

It was a PhysX particle extravaganza, that's for sure. I had to turn down the spell effects a bit to keep a playable frame rate.

Yeah I would have had no problems paying $10 for what basically amounts to an interactive movie.

$20 was definitely reaching. I find it hard to believe that anyone, outside of Dawson Creek and Beverly Hills 90210 fangirls, could feel like Gone Home was a great $20 purchase.

But that's why video games are awesome and going to the theater sucks: theaters never have sales.

There are dollar theaters.

I paid 5 I think

20 dollars is the most ludicrous thing ever, there is ZERO replay value and what's there ain't even no game

To its credit, I did finish it

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mzo

There are dollar theaters.

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Are there still? I don't know of one around here.

There's one about 20 minutes from me.

Yeah, there's one somewhat close to me too.

Gone Home is alright. I liked the detail put into the house, but I liked that sort of piece-together-the-events environmental detective work better in games like BioShock and Fallout 3 where it was just side stuff to ponder while following an actual narrative and looking for useful items. This game is far from my favourite EFPASDBAFN. Proteus and The Stanley Parable are much better examples of the genre.

I thought it was great for the 5-7 dollars I spent on it.

I just can't imagine ever feeling good about spending 20 dollars on it and anyone that says otherwise is a goddamned liar (or a lesbo)

I spent $10, would have been fine with $20, but I'm the exact artfag audience it was aiming for. Also a lying lesbo

Played through this last night. The gripes about it being $20 are justified.

Aside from that, I really liked it. I liked going through the house, learning more about the people who lived there as I moved from room to room. I liked how how presumptions of a murder-suicide in the attic were slowly whittled away in favor of a happier ending. I really found myself cheering for Sam and hating her parents, especially her mother--the uptight religious woman who missed the commandment about getting pounded by Ranger Rick. And of course, the 90s setting means automatic bonus points.

I think I'm going to play The Stanley Parable sooner rather than later.

Hate to say it (I really wanted to like it, I liked the demo)... but I freaking can't stand Stanley Parable.