REVIEW: Gone Home (PC) - by Mark Sullivan

Gaming is evolving, and in many ways. Indie are on the rise, gaining strong popularity, shifting the tables in gaming platforms, and creating unique experiences. Sometimes with many games, both indie and not, I struggle to call them a "game." To me, they feel more like experiences.

Gone Home is one of those experiences, and it's a pretty heartbreaking one. But in a good way.

The game revolves around the Greenbriar family, as eldest daughter Kaitlin "Katie" Greenbriar returns home from a year abroad in Amsterdam to find her mother, father, and younger sister gone and the house entirely vacant. The "gameplay" is based entirely on exploring the house, finding clues and investigating what happened in the year Katie was gone, and where everyone has gone.

In searching through the hallways and rooms of the large Greenbriar estate, with each clue you find, the story is revealed to primarily be about the younger daughter, Sam, and how she has changed during the year Katie was away. Without describing how, the story felt like a real "coming-of-age" story, taking place in a realistic family household in 1995. With that said, it can be seen with multiple cliches, which are overshadowed by emotions and sympathy, but still everlastingly present. In addition to clues to Sam's disappearance, you discover more about the parent's careers, and less and subtle clues regarding their relationship. With most of the focus on Sam, I suppose this could be gotten away with, but a family could be heavily influenced by the parent's relationship, and building upon that may have helped to expand with a better understanding.

Gameplay is accomplished through a first person view, with your main mechanics being to walk and interact with objects, such as picking them up and moving them, viewing and reading them, and taking them with you in your bag. You are also equipped with a map of the estate, so if you're ever not sure where you are or where to go, you can figure it out by going to an area you haven't yet been. The map's areas only show as you enter them; this game is very much about discovery, so you find your way around yourself at first.

The ambiance and atmosphere in this game could not be more perfect. Katie returns home at 1:15 am during a thunderstorm. This coupled with the average time to play through the game (I highly suggest setting a few hours aside and doing it in one sitting) makes it feel reasonable and possible. With this setting, the game may however trick you. Without spoiling too much of anything, the setting that's placed and some of the information given may fool you into misplacing this game into another genre, so try to avoid changing your thoughts on what could come. For those who hate them, other than surprise lightning strikes, there are no jump scares to be had in this game. Only a chilling atmosphere.

Along with your surroundings, there's a clashing of the soundtrack. The music, heard majorly through cassette tapes, consists of '90s punk rock, underground type music. Keep in mind, this game takes place in 1995, so it's extremely fitting, especially since these are '90s teenagers that the story revolves around. If you're not a fan of the punk music, it's entirely optional; you actually pick up and play the cassettes yourself, and while its fitting for the narrative, you can skip them.

The biggest problem lies in the replay value I feel. In one sitting, I completed Gone Home in about 2.5 hours, while searching pretty much every nook and cranny I could possibly find. It does not wear out its welcome, and is very much a compelling enough experience to keep you hooked, but once you complete it, that's it. It goes by fairly quickly and there isn't much left afterwards, except for perhaps a yearly playthrough. At a starting price of $20, I can't say that's worth it to everyone.

However, Gone Home is unique. The Fullbright Company has created a compelling narrative through familiar means, without silly distractions of modern gaming mechanics that made this game one I'll recommend and remember for a long time to come. I struggle to call this and other games "games" because they just seem so different than what we've played before. There's so much more to it than just a "game," where it feels more like an experience. If you enjoy compelling and realistic narrative, then Gone Home is an experience for you.

By Mark Sullivan
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Gone Home
The Fullbright Company
PC, Mac, Linux
$19.99