Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture
Yaughton, Shropshire. 06:37am 6th June 1984. Deep within the Shropshire countryside, the village of Yaughton stands empty. Toys lie forgotten in the playground, the wind blows quarantine leaflets around the silent churchyard. Down on Appleton’s farm, crops rustle untended. The birds lie where they have fallen. Strange voices haunt the radio waves as uncollected washing hangs listlessly on the line. The televisions are tuned to vacant channels. Above it all, the telescopes of the Observatory point out at dead stars and endless darkness. And someone remains behind, to try and unravel the mystery. Immerse yourself in a rich, deep adventure from award-winning developer The Chinese Room and investigate the last days of Yaughton Valley. Uncover the traces of the vanished community; discover fragments of events and memories to piece together the mystery of the apocalypse.
Game Discussion
Steam User 103
This is not a game. It's a digital theatrical play.
Before you go into it make sure you're not interrupted for about 4 hours as it's a rather slow pace experience.
Play this game with headphones, make yourself something to drink. and dim the lights.
After all is prepared, dive in.
Absolutely recommended.
Steam User 36
IT'S A WALKING SIMULATOR! You don't get to do anything as a player. You just walk around and find out things. You don't fight, you don't jump or run. Just walk. And walk. Huge map. If you have the time and patience, you walk around more than necessary to progress the game. If you are in a hurry (lol) you take one specific route, indicated to you by the game. It's a heartbreaking story and it has great graphics. Very beautiful game. Boring if you're not the walking simulator kind of gamer, but beautiful.
Steam User 18
Everybody's Gone to the Rapture is one of those games that sticks with you, not because of intense action or fast paced game play, but because of how beautifully it tells its story. It's my all time favourite release and I love to revisit it every few years.
The graphics make you feel as though you're walking through a painting of the English countryside and the music is just incredible. The score really ties the whole experience together and adds so much emotion to every moment.
It's definitely a slow burn, so if you're looking for something action packed, this probably isn’t for you. But if you enjoy thoughtful, atmospheric stories, it’s absolutely worth your time and I cannot recommend it highly enough.
Steam User 16
On roads where only footsteps echo, it feels like eavesdropping on other people's lives. Without any flashy events, the story still burrows into the heart, and when the voices of the empty village finally come together, it feels less like playing a game and more like visiting a place.
Steam User 27
-Lux æterna luceat eis, Domine.
The light we cast
Everybody's Gone to the Rapture is an immersive narrative experience, a walking simulator with a gripping story, beautiful graphics and stunning soundtrack. If you loved Dear Esther, Gone Home or What Remains of Edith Finch you will most likely appreciate what this game has to offer as well. Prepare for a dreamlike walk in 1984's Yaughton, an English village, where apparently everyone has vanished. Empty houses, cars left abandoned on similarly deserted streets: an inexplicable emptiness that would be terrifying, if only there wasn't such a mournful serenity to this desolation.
-Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine.
Despite Rapture's melancholic facade, watch out for lightborne poignance and the attrition that comes with everyday life. You may take a peek at vignettes from the lives of Yaughton's residents and bring their lowest points to light. In this most lonesome seance, bear witness: the people are gone, but their failures remain. Their shortcomings, forever part of the light they cast. It is human nature -to err is human, after all. As is the innate drive to seek answers. Much like you do.
The answers are in the light. Always have been. But what else lies there with them, nesting in the brightest afterglow, waiting? On the fringes of the dimmest constellation, watching? There, in the everlasting, glaring light.
Do you want to find out?
-Et lux perpetua luceat eis.
Steam User 12
This game is awesome. The music is fantastic and the story is told in a very interesting way.
My only complain is the slow walking... I think that's done to get you to appreciate the world they built around you, as it also has elements that tell you part of the story but I'd welcomed a run mode or something after the first play-through.
If the game looks/sounds interesting to you, play it!
PS. I played this a few time over in PS4 years ago and recently picked it up so I can play it on PC again.
Steam User 10
This definitely won't be a game for everyone. But it is a hauntingly beautiful experience if you are someone who possesses the patience and inquisitive nature to (slowly) move through an unraveling story via atmospheric exploration rather than action and puzzles. The voice acting is phenomenal, graphics are lovely (especially if you are a fan of an English town setting), and the soundtrack is gorgeous.
If you are having trouble telling voices apart, I recommend turning the subtitles on.
Performance: You'll need a reasonably decent computer to play this game, but I did not experience any issues that I saw some mention in the comments. I had one event where I got stuck on stairs, but luckily reloading only meant replaying 6 minutes.