Gone Home (2013) is a first person point and click adventure game made by the Fullbright Company. It's a short game roughly about 120 minutes to play through.
The game takes you back to 1995 as 21 year old Kaitlin comes back home to her house in Oregon after a trip to Europe, things aren't as expected when Kaitlin finds a note from her younger sister Samantha asking her to not mention to her parents where she has gone. As you walk through an empty house you discover the story behind Samantha's disappearance all while unraveling the history of your family.
The game was made on unity and is quite visually impressive, graphics and art representing realism, despite the promotional and menu art. Everything looked tangible and interactive despite that not being the case. Visually the world felt like it moved and lived around you as you were playing even though the house was empty and not all items could be interacted with, I felt like the house was lived in until very recently which was a part of the atmosphere I really enjoyed.
Upon first playing this game I felt a 'Survival Horror' vibe, the ominous notes in the introduction to the game and empty, dark, disheveled mansion had me feeling a little unsettled.This was consistent throughout my play-through but after a while became appreciated. Knowing this wasn't a monster, survival horror game the eerie vibe and environment felt intentional and really built up an atmosphere while you learn about the circumstances you're currently facing.
It really feels like you've gone back in time to 1995. The style and aesthetic of the house and it's contents, to the era relevant electronics, to the current taste in music and social trends. Nothing felt out of place for the time it was set in. Every room and implicit character in the game represented the year in a different manner. From the 90s high school student, sneaking out to a Misfits concert and doodling notes to her friends, the video game and media tastes and fashion choices to the middle aged man caught up in the 90s trend of conspiracy theories on aliens and presidential assassinations. As well as being a fair aesthetic representation of 1995 it was convincing and felt consistent.
Gameplay aspects consist of moving and interacting with items to find notes, keys or information items to proceed to corresponding story relevant areas. I found the walking quite slow and a bit tedious.
Picking up and interacting with items took away from the experience, the item appears in the middle of your screen, almost just floating there and I felt it really took away from the realistic represented experience. These were only mild problems I had with the game play but I found the environment detailed and enchanting enough that it was easy to get back into the exploration experience without being too shaken by it.
I quite enjoyed the story and the fact it didn't need to be super confrontational. The game tells a tale, a coming of age almost. It's subtle, not shocking, I admired that about the game, made it more about the exploration, less about textual story telling, I found the environment told a better tale then what was textually relayed to you.
All and all I rate this a 7/10.
Could use smoother mechanics that fit in better with the environment, but I really liked the setting and plot. Would definitely recommend for a quiet night.