Gone home is criminally overrated

I picked it up yesterday for 4 bucks, I thought it was a steal since the game is worth 20 bucks on Steam at regular price.

Turns out it was a steal, in the sense that if you bought it at ful price, they would pretty much be stealing from you.

9.5? What was Caroline thinking? It's barely 2 hours long with no replay value at all, there is literally no gameplay, it's just walking and picking up notes, before you go "Oh you fool it's a graphic adventure!", I'd like to tell you that I love GA, but that those usually have puzzles and are very, very long games. This one didn't had puzzles and it was extremely short.

The plot was captivating at first because I thought that something horrible had happened to the family, then you begin seeing all of these "lesbian" hints and you feel intrigued to find out more, but once it's confirmed, you pretty much lose interest in the plot.

The ending was completely dumb as well, they are giving you this ending where they expect you to go all "awwwwwww" but when you think about it, the whole ending act wont last for more than 2 days, and then all of that ordeal your sister went through will simply be dismissed as a teenager venting, which happens a lot, and everything will go back to how it was before.

How was this game 20 bucks?, or a 9.5? The fact that the game is so short and costs 20 bucks should have been a straight -2 from the score (seeing as how GS hates games that dont give you your money's worth).

I dont even want to call this a game, it was pretty much an interactive audio book.

Carolyn is now my officially least trusted reviewer on the site.

I don't get these new adventure games at all. They are nothing more than museum tours. I want to play actual games, where I make decisions, or control things with skillful actions.

I cant stand people defending these games.

Indeed.

There are plenty overrated games out there with price tag of 60$

I made sure to stay away from this even with all the hype... I have to say though I think the Stanley Parable looks pretty good, with the charm and all.

@jimmy_russell: It was 4 bucks, it had universal acclaim among reviewers so I said why not? I knew it was a graphic adventure, I just didn't know it had no puzzles at all and that it was just some sort of audio book, I was alsoexpecting good lenght and a groundbreaking story.

Dude, watch videos of gameplay before you decide; Critics nowdays review games by how much they get paid from the publisher.

@lightleggy: I think you need to edit your OP as it's a bit spoilerish!

Depends on which games you play.

Something like The Walking Dead from Telltale makes you make hard decisions and control lots of things.

I am not paying 20 for a 2 hour "game" like this.

Why would you enter a thread about an overrated game if you haven't beaten said game?.

Also, there are really no spoilers...the lesbian thing is hinted literally in the first ten minutes of the "game".

I was considering the game but you kind of ruined it a little with your comments :(

I think 20 dollars is too much to ask for it. I enjoyed the game, but even spending 10 on it a while ago I didn't feel overly satisfied with the play time.

Uhm, we just helped you if anything. The game is NOT worth 20 bucks, thats a criminal price for it. It's also NOT a 9.5, that's just a dumb elevator effect in motion.

Agreed 100% one of the most overrated games by the media in years.

Uhm it's an indie game, it has no publisher, this wasn't a bribed review, it was simply an elevator effect review.

It has gotten the perfect reviewer for it. I suppose that people in this business are desperate to prove something about gaming: that it can be art. The first presumptuous game they can get their hands on will get a good score because of that.

OK, how about asking here on forums 1st or just make it simple, go to game's page here on gamespot with the review and all and look at the players score:

Unfortunately, this might be true. I don't have a problem with the reviewer first of all.

What I do have a problem with is overrating these games because people think they're high brow or art. Its in their interest to do this because it keeps them employed to talk up this industry and boost it. None of the writers on here said what an awful year its been for games, otherwise people might be offended and ask what they're doing here.

Gone Home isn't bad at all but its a small game and definitely not worth $20. I don't want to see games become passive experiences for the sake of a story.

It might as well be a different medium altogether if it does. The physical input is what matters most.

@PredatorRules said:

@lightleggy said:

@PredatorRules said:

@lightleggy said:

@jimmy_russell: It was 4 bucks, it had universal acclaim among reviewers so I said why not? I knew it was a graphic adventure, I just didn't know it had no puzzles at all and that it was just some sort of audio book, I was alsoexpecting good lenght and a groundbreaking story.

Dude, watch videos of gameplay before you decide; Critics nowdays review games by how much they get paid from the publisher.

Uhm it's an indie game, it has no publisher, this wasn't a bribed review, it was simply an elevator effect review.

OK, how about asking here on forums 1st or just make it simple, go to game's page here on gamespot with the review and all and look at the players score:

You should know that user reviews are more often than not, just trolling. For example I'm pretty sure that DmC wasn't a 4.0 according to MC user's score.

Also, I had watched enough videos to know about the game, I wasn't going to watch a full playthrough, I watched videos, I knew it was an exploration game, I simply assumed that it would have puzzles and stuff and that they just didn't showed one during the videos that I watched (because I don't expect to see every single aspect of a game in a video)

And this is why I hate to see people defending the "game".

It's nothing unique, people defend it because they say "oh you're a fool! the game doesn't tries to focus on gameplay it tries to focus in story!".

Yeah, a bunch of games focus on story, and they also manage to have great gameplay and proper lenght, like the longest journey, bioshock, metal gear, broken sword and alan wake.

They are the full package, while gone home only has story and it's not even that good, it was simply praised because of "teh lesbianz!!"

As far as story game's go, this game's story is as shitty as they come. It's a perfect story for preteen girls. A Gabe Newell fart contains more art.

@lightleggy said:

@PredatorRules said:

@lightleggy said:

@PredatorRules said:

@lightleggy said:

@jimmy_russell: It was 4 bucks, it had universal acclaim among reviewers so I said why not? I knew it was a graphic adventure, I just didn't know it had no puzzles at all and that it was just some sort of audio book, I was alsoexpecting good lenght and a groundbreaking story.

Dude, watch videos of gameplay before you decide; Critics nowdays review games by how much they get paid from the publisher.

Uhm it's an indie game, it has no publisher, this wasn't a bribed review, it was simply an elevator effect review.

OK, how about asking here on forums 1st or just make it simple, go to game's page here on gamespot with the review and all and look at the players score:

You should know that user reviews are more often than not, just trolling. For example I'm pretty sure that DmC wasn't a 4.0 according to MC user's score.

Also, I had watched enough videos to know about the game, I wasn't going to watch a full playthrough, I watched videos, I knew it was an exploration game, I simply assumed that it would have puzzles and stuff and that they just didn't showed one during the videos that I watched (because I don't expect to see every single aspect of a game in a video)

Assuming is something whole lot a different than knowing; I recommend you to watch WTF is by TotalBiscuit on YouTube, he talks about new releases meanwhile playing the game.

I can give you an example of me assuming bad game but turns out to be wonderful one instead; I assumed Red Faction Armagedon to be a crappy game unlike Guerrilla - boy I was wrong.

Sometimes I do agree that inspite of reviewers and gameplay footage - actually playing the game can be totally different experience in a good way or opposite in a bad way.

Exactly. Gameplay first.

I don't really care what they call a game. As long as they make it clear that its not the type of game with actual gameplay so that people who care about that aren't being screwed

@Masculus: This. Gone Home is essentially an interactive short story and grade inflation for presumptuous progressive fiction has been standard practice in book reviews for years. Every book reviewer wants to be the one who discovered THE novel that changed society. The current 'it' progressive cause is homosexual equality and the past couple of years I have read some very mediocre novels that's supposed to be 'groundbreaking' and universally hailed by top reviewers but turned out to be nothing but homosexual romance novels. Had it not been the progressive theme I bet the reviews wouldn't be half as good for those books. Take Gone Home for example:

Spoiler:

This is the test whether grade inflation happened: Does the game change at all had the developers replaced the lesbian relationship in Gone Home with a boy from the wrong side of the track or an interracial relationship? For me the answer is no because the sister's lesbian tendency was revealed very early in the game and the game did not explore deeper issues regarding homosexuality other than parental disapproval and some superficial mentions about the 90s. Had this been a game about interracial teen love taking place in an era prior to 60s would the reviewers ignore the flaws of the game such as the sub-par graphics, unimaginative game play mechanics and an overly short game for $20? I doubt it because examining racial issues is now mainstream.

I am not saying Gone Home is a bad game because it was perfectly average, nor am I believe that developers should refrain from making progressive messages core part of their story, I am simply pointing out that the reviews Gone Home received is a result of grade inflation as a form of affirmative action. Whether affirmative action is still needed today is a whole different issue.

The lesbian angle is a big part of the scores this game has been getting...gaming 'journalists' seem to prioritize social commentary in games above all other things.

Hard to be over rated when it's not that well known of a game. First time I have even heard someone mention the game.

I think it's for the gay pride put your foot in the door innuendo reference. I would have died laughing if it was about to gay guys, and i bet it would have got a perfect 10 review score on GS. I don't think were there yet though.

I've never read such a smart 1st post before. I agree with all of it.

I had high expectations for this game, but in the end it was one of the most boring experience I had playing a video game.

I don't get it either.

But at $4.99, I really can't complain.

It's a linear, point-and-click game with a decent storyline.

Is it on par with The Walking Dead or The Wolf Among Us? Hell no

But it was entertaining.

7.5 (with the price I paid)

It is on par with The walking dead and kicks the hell out of The dog among us. It's about gay lesbians who just figured out the meaning of life, and reproducing is a bad thing.

Price is no issue for me, but game quality is. Gone Home is an interesting experience, one that achieves its deceptive goals. But it seems like that many critics are giving it praise because it's "different".

It's not a game. It's a house simulator which asks you to find a diary (which she wants you to find) by reading scraps of paper lying around a house.

i dont trust carolyn. She has a feminist agenda, and cant stay professional in her reviews. Its been a garbage year for gaming, but battlefield 4 and bioshock infinite saved it a little bit.

To me, I just stopped fussing about whether it's a game or not, high-brow/Art, or any other silly hyperbole the gaming press throws out for something different.

I enjoyed my time with Gone Home. It's as simple as that. I didnt think I'd find exploring a simple house equally unnearving, compelling and then feel satisfied in the end. Outside of the deliberately placed notes scattered around the house and ALL THOSE 3 RING BINDERS lel, it's one of the most convincing videogame environments that I can remember.

It's not worth the $20 had I paid for it, not because it's short, or that silly "It's a Unity Engine Game". It's just that there are some excellent $15-$20 games out there that deserve that price point that i'd prefer buying/recommending. But I'm not complaining about $10 that I did get it for.

There is a lot of fucking idiots on these forums.

Yup. I never even played Gone Home, but people who argue this game needs to have replay value or actual gameplay needs get a fucking clue, that's clearly not what this game is about.

I bought into the hype as well, not finished it since I found it kinda meh, you just walking around a house reading notes. 90s theme and interacting with things are kinda cool that's about it.

glad more people are realizing this lol

I liked the concept and for £5 for 2 hours of gameplay, I can't complain. I could complain if I had paid full price! It's not worth the original £15 asking price.

I'd give it a 6/10

It's a found object adventure game but unlike some other found object adventure games it's super linear and doesn't even try to get you to solve any semi complex puzzles. The game has plenty of feels but it's like 40 minutes long and has zero replay value. If you like adventure games then it's like a 6/10 sort of experience but it's not a GOTY contender.

Well, get used to it. Some people consider Gone Home to be a great game - likely because it touched them emotionally.

I agree. While the game may not be for everyone, I thought it was wonderfully atmostpheric and had a heartfelt story, but even if I dislike a game that tries something new I at least like that it tried something new. What's the point of new games if every new game is exactly like every previous game?

-bysh

how i feel exactly. Its weird alot of people just arent looking for a different type of experience and thats fine, but man it irks me to be at work and hear people diss games when they went in wanting it to fail (which is what i feel half the complaints are here). I had to take a break when i heard someone say the Telltales walking dead game was the most boring garbage they paid for lol "i cant even shoot anything its just a conversation simulator what a pos".

pleeeease god grant me patience