Gone Home

johnny_ultimate

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORsSxYDmPx8

Just played through this on the back of the stellar reviews (all the pretentious publications love it, with is as always a good sign ), and it did not disappoint.

You go in to a house (your family's house, but one you're unfamiliar with after a year in Europe), thunder and lightning roaring outside, severe weather warnings on the television. The house is empty, just full of vague hints and clues about where you family might have gone too. There's the strong sense there's something strange, perhaps even really bad going on here...

But the game doesn't take the easy route, and in fact goes in increasingly curious directions as it goes on and you uncover more about the goings-on of your parents and - most importantly - younger sister. It's similar to the likes of Journey or Dear Esther, although does give you more scope to explore even though it is (and needs to be) very linear. The exploration is key, as you uncover a tale of identity, frustration, confusion and riot grrrl music. Lots of riot grrrl music.

It's pretty powerful stuff, the rare game that finds poetry and emotion in the everyday. Sure, a lot of the thematic scope has been covered in other mediums before in more complex ways, but to see a game manage this kind of thing is a pretty rare treat, and the writing is superb at times.

It's available on Steam or a couple of euro cheaper through Humble. Even as a big supporter of short games (Steam registered 101 minutes all in all), 13.50 is a little bit steep, but the quality is undoubtedly there. Whether you play it now or wait for it to drop in price a bit, it is a genuine pleasure.

Between this and Papers, Please, indie gaming and interactive storytelling have had a really, really strong fortnight! Long may it continue.

meoklmrk91

This looks right up my street and pretty intriguing, will be waiting for a price drop myself cause I am a pauper these days.

5uspect

I'm really enjoying it. Then Windows decided to reboot my machine after I was about an hour in to install updates, I thought I had disables that... /grumble.
Some of the voice work is a little off but that's easy to forgive.

5uspect

I've played this to the end now and I'm genuinely moved. It's a wonderful experience and will pull at your heartstrings in a similar manner to Dear Esther.

I believe I even shed a tear, or two.

Asmodean

I've been waiting a long time for this but as others have said I'm broke as fcuk for the next few weeks so its gonna have to wait Really looking forward to playing it! I love games in this style such as Dear Esther and Miasmata.

SeantheMan

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

It's available on Steam or a couple of euro cheaper through Humble. Even as a big supporter of short games (Steam registered 101 minutes all in all), 13.50 is a little bit steep, but the quality is undoubtedly there. Whether you play it now or wait for it to drop in price a bit, it is a genuine pleasure.

Where is it available on "humble" ? can you link please

5uspect

Have a look here:
http://www.gonehomegame.com/
Scroll down to the end and click direct sale.

johnny_ultimate

5uspect wrote: »

I've played this to the end now and I'm genuinely moved. It's a wonderful experience and will pull at your heartstrings in a similar manner to Dear Esther.

I believe I even shed a tear, or two.

Every single time I caught a glimpse of that locked attic I was filled with genuine fear of what was up there. The way they use gothic imagery and survival horror tropes - indeed, those 'audio recordings' and notes that have become the default way of recounting how everything went to **** in game worlds - to mislead and ultimately surprise is inspired. That is how you earn a happy ending, one that makes you keen to analyse exactly how the developers teased you in advance of the final revelation that everything is OK. Also goes without saying how absolutely refreshing it is that tackles sexuality in a sensible, mature manner (and that bit where your character refuses to keep reading the most sexually explicit letter is inspired)

This game will never get the same attention as The Last of Us or its ilk, but really this is such a wonderful indication of the potential of interactive fiction.

5uspect

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Every single time I caught a glimpse of that locked attic I was filled with genuine fear of what was up there. The way they use gothic imagery and survival horror tropes - indeed, those 'audio recordings' and notes that have become the default way of recounting how everything went to **** in game worlds - to mislead and ultimately surprise is inspired. That is how you earn a happy ending, one that makes you keen to analyse exactly how the developers teased you in advance of the final revelation that everything is OK. Also goes without saying how absolutely refreshing it is that tackles sexuality in a sensible, mature manner (and that bit where your character refuses to keep reading the most sexually explicit letter is inspired)

This game will never get the same attention as The Last of Us or its ilk, but really this is such a wonderful indication of the potential of interactive fiction.

I was on my way up to the attic and my heart was racing. I found myself saying "no no no" to myself, "Don't be up there". But I had the key so I kept telling myself it should be okay, but the sense of dread was overpowering.

On another note I was convinced that I saw a person's silhouette when I looked back down a dark hall to a room I had left the door open to and the lights on in. We wouldn't have this game if it wasn't for envy thing that came before, something which it isn't ashamed to use.

Timmyctc

Just played through this. Amazing, loved it. Such a great way to tell a story.

Did anyone managed to open the filing cabinet in the dads study?

I feel I missed out on lots due to the overwhelming fear I had the whole way through the game. The mechanics remind me of Amnesia so I was terrified playing the whole thing :pac:

5uspect

Timmyctc wrote: »

Just played through this. Amazing, loved it. Such a great way to tell a story.

Did anyone managed to open the filing cabinet in the dads study?

I feel I missed out on lots due to the overwhelming fear I had the whole way through the game. The mechanics remind me of Amnesia so I was terrified playing the whole thing :pac:

This should help you find it:

If you go around to the end bookshelves in the next room, behind the study, you'll find a folder with some documents. The combination is written on the inside of the folder.

Timmyctc

It would be amazing if they released similar short story driven games like that. It would be hard to replicate the curiosity that you get in this imo but clearly they're a very talented group of devs.

wayne040576

Meself and herself played through it over the weekend taking turns controlling. Interesting game for two people to play as it has enough to keep the person not driving watching.
After we completed it, we started it up again and:

You can finish the game in under 5 mins if you know where to find the attic key. That hidden panel isn't scripted!

Just finished it.. Excellent.

Was fully sure I was going to walk in on a suicide at the end.

jaykhunter

Interested in playing this. Is the game really under 2 hours even exploring around?

johnny_ultimate

jaykhunter wrote: »

Interested in playing this. Is the game really under 2 hours even exploring around?

Yes, I explored basically everything and it took less than two hours.

Don't let that put you off, it's further proof that some games should absolutely stick to shorter running times. A much more effective way of immersing a player in certain worlds, devoid of all the filler and other nonsense so many games fall victim to. Gone Home, like Journey, Dear Esther and Proteus before it, is the perfect length.

C14N

Sounds good but at $20, I'm going to wait for a sale first. It's been compared a lot to Dear Esther which I wasn't really made about and $20 is sort of the upper limit of what I tend to spend on almost any game, indie or not.

Vojera

C14N wrote: »

Sounds good but at $20, I'm going to wait for a sale first. It's been compared a lot to Dear Esther which I wasn't really made about and $20 is sort of the upper limit of what I tend to spend on almost any game, indie or not.

I loved Dear Esther but I find it hard to justify €18 on a game that has two hours of gameplay. I get the argument that it's the perfect length for the game that it is, but I'd hate the feeling of being ripped off to colour my appreciation of it. For example, I got Dear Esther for €2.75 and I'd have happily paid €5-7 for it, but its RRP of €10 would have been too much, in my opinion.

Roll on the sales!

johnny_ultimate

I don't know, I tend to think games like this deserve RRP far more than your bog standard AAA game. Don't get me wrong, I think they certainly charged a fiver too much for this for it to gather the sales momentum it could have had at €10, but nor did I find I was in any way, shape or form ripped off at €15 - although any more would have been ripping the piss. I knew what length it was in advance, and was happy to pay and support the developers. But then I've long since stopped thinking of gaming as 'gameplay per euro', given how much more satisfaction I've gotten out of these shorter games than I have much longer ones.

As for the Dear Esther comparisons? They're valid, but Gone Home is very much its own beast too. Storytelling here is more straightforward, less ambiguous but also more immediately accessible. I think they both do what they do very, very well indeed.

C14N

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

I don't know, I tend to think games like this deserve RRP far more than your bog standard AAA game. Don't get me wrong, I think they certainly charged a fiver too much for this for it to gather the sales momentum it could have had at €10, but nor did I find I was in any way, shape or form ripped off at €15 - although any more would have been ripping the piss. I knew what length it was in advance, and was happy to pay and support the developers. But then I've long since stopped thinking of gaming as 'gameplay per euro', given how much more satisfaction I've gotten out of these shorter games than I have much longer ones.

Well the thing is that I almost never pay RRP for the AAA games either. Literally the only time I have done so this generation was for The Last of Us, besides that I rarely spend more than €20 on a game, just because pricing is so good that I don't have to. I also generally dislike looking at games as representing value for money. It makes me cringe when I see people complaining about a 10 hour game for not being long enough or saying "X should have had multiplayer for replay value" because it would kind of be like saying "Yeah, Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was a good album but come on, it should have been at least 50 minutes" or "the first 3 Harry Potters were enjoyable but I wish each one had about an extra 150 pages to give more value for money".

It's just that at the same time, a 2-hour experimental game just feels like it belongs in a different category to a regular game. I wouldn't really want to pay €12 to read a short-story, even if it was a really good short story. Similarly, I'd pay €15 for a film on Blu ray but I would think it was a bit weird if I was expected to pay €15 to watch an episode of Breaking Bad (even though that episode might be way better than the film). It's not really much about fussing over details, more just paying the same price for the same ballpark experience. I wouldn't for a moment suggest beefing the game up to justify the price, I just think I'll wait until it's a bit cheaper before I buy.

jaykhunter

Finished Gone Home tonight. My thoughts :

GOOD POINTS :
• The mystery surrounding the whereabouts of your family; and coming-of-age story of your younger sister Sam is interesting & heartfelt and she comes off as very likable.
• The house trappings of 1995 is a great nostalgia trip and deftly placed (like home taped recordings of X-Files)
• Method of storytelling delivery leaving you to make & update your current working theory of why everyone is gone

BAD POINTS :
• The third plot (the heavy supernatural influence & morbid past of the house) has no pay off. This felt like a bait & switch the game used it as the main part of the unnerving mystery to keep you interested, while ultimately telling you another story. You could view it as just clever use of horror game tropes but this red herring felt a little disappointing in the end. The other storylines had satisfying conclusions though.
• This is an indie game. It looks like a HD port of an N64 game from a purely aesthetic view of flat, simple textures, models and art direction. Thankfully the game hinges on the unfolding of the narrative and not just looks.

Overall the game hinges on it's story, and it was a very good experience, but not amazing. I think the accolades heaped upon it may be because it's a such unique storytelling method rather than an amazing game strictly based on it's own merits.

That said, I definitely recommend playing it.

johnny_ultimate

Flash 50% off sale for one day only: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/gonehome/OHFHXxPWMLTy

If the price was putting you off, perfect opportunity to support them The game deserves it!

SeantheMan

Also a free update has been released, basically an audio commentary

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/10/22/gone-home-gets-commentary-mode-today/

Shorty11857

Bought it yesterday in the sale (from their website, slightly cheaper than Steam) and absolutely loved it, pretty much played like a better version of Dear Esther. Dear Esther felt like I was walking through an island being told a story, while Gone Home felt like I was exploring a house and discovering a story

Vojera

I played through this last night. I really enjoyed it. I'll play it again with the commentary soon.

It wasn't what I expected, but probably all the better for that.

I was expecting more of a ghost story and, like jaykhunter, I was a bit disappointed that the haunted house angle wasn't a bit more fleshed out. Why did people think the uncle was mad, for example? Did something actually happen or was he just reclusive?

However, it was really refreshing to see LGBT themes in a game and dealt with in a real way, not just as a gimmick or for titillation, and I think the developers deserve kudos for that. It resonated with me on a very personal level because of Sam's story; I remember the confusion of getting butterflies in my stomach around certain girls; wondering if that girl I was talking to was just being friendly or if there was something more to it; and like Sam, Gillian Anderson was one of my first proper crushes, so I got a real laugh out of seeing her magazine hidden in her locker. I saw a lot of myself in it, even though my circumstances were and are totally different.

Sam felt like a real person to me, which is a great achievement for a game. The feeling of dread I had walking up those attic stairs was almost tangible. I was sick at the thought of finding her too late.

I'm looking forward to playing the game again, safe in the knowledge that nothing is going to jump out at me or scare me. I think it'll make for an altogether different experience again.

SeantheMan

Finished it there, 76 minutes, really enjoyed it and have to echo what most have written.
I did find myself near the end saying

she better not be dead in this attic !

...but luckily it wasn't the case


What's the combination to the safe ? I didn't find it

5uspect

SeantheMan wrote: »

Finished it there, 76 minutes, really enjoyed it and have to echo what most have written.
I did find myself near the end saying

she better not be dead in this attic !

...but luckily it wasn't the case


What's the combination to the safe ? I didn't find it

I posted a spoilered hint in this thread a few posts back.

Tipsy McSwagger

Playing this at the moment and it's scaring the crap out of me. It's just the atmosphere of the big empty house with its creepy past and the thunder & lightning outside. I played for half an hour last night but turned it off before investigating upstairs. I'm a big girls blouse when it comes to what you can't see type games/films.

tailgunner

Stick with it!

manonboard

wow..

based on the responses in this thread. I bought and played the game with my GF tonight...

A crazy and wonderful experience. We really got deep into the stories..

I cannot believe the depth the game went too..

Massive spoiler: Seriously don't read it if you plan to play the game, the whole experience is based on the story line unfolding like in no other game i've played

The main plot of the Sister Sam was heart warming and rewarding.

However... When I opened the safe.. the information that at first seemed odd.. turned out to be incredibly important. The Oscar/house owner subplot was one of the the most disturbing things i've ever seen in a game. The pieces all started to fit together.. The JFK books with time machine, the rocking horse, the secret passages and the heigh charts in the creepy basement.

The only part I did not get was, did the parents go on a anniversary or did they go on a couples counselling trip? Probably the latter as they would of been there to welcome home their long gone daughter. I guess I hope the wife would understand the distant husband after that trip..

A truly wonderful game to experience.

For anyone who has finished the game, I highly suggest googling the sub-plots to make sure you got them all. Great deep.


Edit: Kudos to the OP for posting the thread. Much appreciated.

ShooterSF

Bought this but for some strange reason it keeps powering off my laptop a few minutes in.

Duggy747

Is your machine overheating by any chance? Getting really hot, loud fan, crap performance, etc, or is it just a BSOD?

Retr0gamer

Could be an overheating issue, the game is really badly optimised despite how basic it is graphically. I had the framerate drop to single digits on a few occassions for absolutely no reason.

Timmyctc

ShooterSF wrote: »

Bought this but for some strange reason it keeps powering off my laptop a few minutes in.

Duggy747 wrote: »

Is your machine overheating by any chance? Getting really hot, loud fan, crap performance, etc, or is it just a BSOD?

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Could be an overheating issue, the game is really badly optimised despite how basic it is graphically. I had the framerate drop to single digits on a few occassions for absolutely no reason.

Does this to my system sporadically too!

ShooterSF

Nope it's the darndest thing. Screen goes black and the laptop shuts down properly and boots straight back up no problem. Theres no frame drop or glitchiness and the fan doesn't kick on any louder. No BSOD. Nothing. Plus at least one other person has the same problem with the same laptop. Shame I'd love to try it out properly.

Agricola

ShooterSF wrote: »

Nope it's the darndest thing. Screen goes black and the laptop shuts down properly and boots straight back up no problem. Theres no frame drop or glitchiness and the fan doesn't kick on any louder. No BSOD. Nothing. Plus at least one other person has the same problem with the same laptop. Shame I'd love to try it out properly.

Have a look in the event viewer, see what it says for the event occuring at the minute your pc restarts....

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-ie/windows/open-event-viewer#1TC=windows-7

tok9

I'd love to play this and The Stanley Parable but I'm afraid my laptop wouldn't be up to it.

Whenever I throw on a game (such as Super Meat Boy) it gets very hot.. the game is very much playable though.

Tipsy McSwagger

Been playing video games for 25 years and accomplished my biggest feat today

i went into the attic:).

calex71

Coming to consoles this year

http://www.trueachievements.com/n16366/gone-home-announced-for-consoles.htm

Take that master race :P

/hides

Great to see games like this getting the potential attention they deserve!!!!

tok9

calex71 wrote: »

Coming to consoles this year

http://www.trueachievements.com/n16366/gone-home-announced-for-consoles.htm

Take that master race :P

/hides

Great to see games like this getting the potential attention they deserve!!!!

That is brilliant news! Looking forward to it.

super_furry

It's only 6.99 on Steam at the moment, couldn't resist at that price.

Mr E

Same here. I've only played it for 10 minutes so far, but it seems great.
The voice work is exceptional. Looking forward to exploring the house.

meoklmrk91

€6.79 on Steam at the moment in case anyone else missed it, I completely forgot about it so gonna buy it now, at this price it sounds well worth it.

Lyaiera

It's €5.49 on HumbleBundle's Store.

shreddedloops

Picked this up on the Steam Sale earlier today. Just finished it now after 2 hours according to Steam (Think I may have had it minimised for a portion of that).

Was slightly disappointed with the ending but it was still a great atmospheric story. Don't think I've ever gotten goosebumps so much in the space of 2 hours!

Fakman87

Lads when I'm playing this it keeps returning to desktop once every minute but the game stays running. Any ideas what's causing that?

Star Lord

Is it coming back to a particular window? Sounds like something else stealing focus.

Fakman87

Star Lord wrote: »

Is it coming back to a particular window? Sounds like something else stealing focus.

It was returning to the desktop while leaving the game running. It stopped doing this long enough for me to finish the game though.

Very interesting game, I'm looking forward to reading this thread to see peoples opinions on it.

Have had this sitting in my Steam list since release and finally got around to playing it yesterday and regret not getting to it sooner as I would go so far as to call the 88 minutes I spent with the game the most satisfying gaming experience of my life. It's just a wonderful game which tells an adult and intelligent story in a most wonderful manner. The use of the recording and letters to tell the story is inspired especially in the manner in which it creates such tension, there's an ever building sense of dread throughout the game and I was genuinely terrified

to open the attic for fear of what I would find.

I can't recall ever being so touched by a game, as the credits rolled I got a little teary eyed and felt a huge weight lift off my shoulders. I was genuinely invested in the story being told, far more than any other and I'm looking forward to revisiting the game on some dreary winters evening.

Bought this on sale on Xbox yesterday, I'd been but off by the 19.99 price tag and what I'd heard about the games length. If I had paid full price I would not have felt ripped off after having played this. It was a wonderfully crafted story, and there was nothing unnecessary to it at all.

Even though it's linear pretty much it still makes you feel like you are playing a game more so than other games of it's type that make you feel like you would be better off just watching it rather than playing it.

The survival horror tropes are brilliantly placed in this and really cleverly used.

I really didn't want to open

the attic

I had to google the hidden journal entry, no way I would have seen

the purple ball

on my own.


Edit: I see the team are working on a new title called Tacoma due end of this year or early next. I'll look forward to that.

Zero-Cool

Chriiiiiiiiiiiiist that was ****ing quality.... absolutely sickened with myself for not playing it sooner although 20 euro on psn store was a bit much. Had it free on ps+ for a week but only tried it today. Finished with all journals except one (nunnery). The story was fantastic, had me completely hooked. The voice acting and music during the journsl entries were exceptional.

so happy with the ending and non ghost aspect, so many games now have to end on a downer or have jump scares. I couldn't make out the writing on the letter in the safe so looked it up. ........

Jaysus!!!!!

I had been reading all the parents stuff and Oscar news clippings......

Sub plot spoiler

Oscar was up to something bad . I was trying to figure out why the height chart was in the basement. Why that light in the creepy wood room didn't work, why did it look like something was bricked over in there. I put the dates from the chart on the safe and the most recent worked. Letter about transgression, safe full of drugs. Then i found the secret corridor to the guest room. I just dunno if Oscar was addicted to drugs and had to get rid of the pharmacy and maybe Terrence found the secret corridor and his drugs or what.

Looked up and saw the abuse theories and linking the JFK stuff....speechless

Article below sums it up perfectly

http://clockworkworlds.com/post/58411117679/the-transgression-you-can-do-better