Gone Home

Genre: First-Person Walking Simulator

Players: 1

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Review:

Gone Home is one of the formative games in the Walking Simulator genre, originally released on PC in 2013 and gradually ported to other platforms, with the Nintendo Switch getting a version in 2018. The game puts players in the role of Katie Greenbriar, just returned to her family’s large Oregon home after an overseas trip, only to discover an enigmatic note from her sister Sam asking her not to come looking for her or try to find out what happened. And, as this is a videogame, players spend the majority of the game doing just that, generally by looking around the house, picking up and looking at objects, and reading notes that have been left around.

The graphics here are fairly rudimentary. Gone Home wasn’t an impressive-looking game when it first came out in 2013, and it doesn’t look any better in 2018. It’s fine, and the graphics get the job done, since they’re not really the point in the first place here, but don’t expect anything noteworthy, aside from some nice art design behind the works of the various characters that players will be finding out about (although even there the game feels lacking in places – some of the art depicting the actual family is kinda’ hideous).

No, the focus here is clearly on the story, which is excellent. Players will be learning about Katie’s family little by little as she picks up and examines objects from the house, with most of the focus on Sam, as well as on Sam and Katie’s parents, Terry and Janice (although Sam is primarily who you’ll be finding out about). Most of this story is simply conveyed just through looking at these objects and reading documents, but upon finding crucial pieces of the story, this will be accompanied by a voice-over of Sam talking about the events that took place, which is pretty well-acted. There’s also some nice, subtle atmospheric music that starts up at key points in the story, as well as various music tapes players can find and play throughout the game (these I didn’t like, but it may just be that I personally don’t care for this style of punk/grunge music).

I will say that this game is excruciatingly slow to start, and less patient players may be put off by that, but once things get rolling, the game’s story is really gripping, telling a very grounded, realistic drama about a family growing up and growing apart. I’ll refrain from spoiling the details here. Suffice it to say, while an abandoned (and apparently rumored to be haunted) mansion might seem to imply some sort of horror story is about to take place, the actual tale of this game is far more down-to-Earth and character-driven, with the most extraordinary element of the story being the elaborate house itself, which players gradually unlock access to as they find keys and lock combinations while searching.

I can’t help but compare this game to the other noteworthy walking simulator I reviewed recently, What Remains of Edith Finch, which perhaps isn’t entirely fair, as Gone Home was first released four years prior, but no doubt many Switch owners will be playing both for the first time here. In short, I far preferred Gone Home’s story, but found Edith Finch to be far, far more inventive with its gameplay mechanics and art style, which dramatically shifted through the course of the game. Here, things remain fairly straightforward throughout, and the only surprises to be found here are in the story itself.

There is one complaint that I have here that has nothing to do with the age of the game, its graphics, or anything like that. The character walking speed here is frustratingly slow, and it would have been nice if players had an option to change that. Also, the load times when first starting up the game seem a bit long given how unimpressive the visuals are. And I feel I must also mention that the game can be easily completed in just a few hours.

One final note on the port to the Switch. This version of the game doesn’t support motion controls (not that they’d do much for the game), but it does make use of the touchscreen, although this mainly seems to supplement the traditional controls by allowing you to use it in place of the right stick to look – you still need the buttons to pick up and examine objects.

In the end, Gone Home is not a game that will appeal to everyone. The genre is niche enough as it is, but on top of that, the presentation is unimpressive, and while I enjoy the grounded story, others may find it lacking excitement. However, for those who are looking for a good story with relatable characters, Gone Home is well worth experiencing, for the short time it lasts.

tl;dr – Gone Home is a Walking Simulator that has the player in the role of a young woman returning home from an overseas trip to find the place empty, along with an enigmatic note from her sister. The game is short, visually unimpressive, and takes some time to get going, but once it does it has an excellent and well-told story that’s well worth experiencing.

Grade: B

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