Gone Home

Played this game over 10 years ago with a glass of wine on a stormy night. Did it all in one sitting. It is an impossible experience to replicate, because at the time, the walking simulator genre was relatively new and I just did not know what to expect from it. The expectations that I brought to my first playthrough had me on edge, expecting something terrible to happen at any given moment.
When it was over, I realized that I'd just had a gaming experience that was unique from any other that I had ever played before, and I absolutely fell in love with this genre of narrative/story/exploration adventure games. I'm genuinely grateful to this game for that, even now, all these years later.

So I played this back when it dropped. On launch, August 15th 2013. I see a lot of more recent reviews giving it some beef. I need to say my piece because its starting to annoy me. This game came out when nothing like it existed before (or least in a major release). It walked and achieved so games like What remains of Edith Finch and many others like it can run. This game was even at the heart of a huge debate online of what truly classifies as a game, the walking sim debate. It was that polarizing. That being said, this was one of the first major releases that I can remember that had a genuine LGBTQ+ story. No rainbow-washing or anything. It is heartfelt and takes it seriously. I praise it for that as a person who was a teenager when that was a dangerous thing to talk about. A lot of people forget the 1990s and 2000s, it was serious growing pains for a lot of people who had no choice but to run away from home. I can tell you this game's snap shot of the 1990s is really good as well. So is it dated, yes by many accounts in terms of mechanics but its also such a fantastic example of telling a story through visual clues. I played it again recently and fell in love with it all over again. So I ask, give it a chance.

After finishing your trip and returning home, you find the house empty. "What on earth happened?" you wonder as you embark on a walking simulator that captures the strange emotions of being home alone. Piece by piece, you gather clues to solve this mystery by putting together the fragments of one family's deeply personal story. Although there are no puzzles like secret passages that require moving levers or complex documents that need decoding, you become immersed in the realistic and lively space of the house, experiencing moments where you truly feel like part of the family.
텅 빈 집, 나홀로 집에.

I thought this game was a horror and spent most of it walking around in complete terror. It's a little spooky in terms of atmosphere but that is all, it's actually a really lovely story-telling experience. If walking sims are your thing, it's a good one.

"I'm sorry I can't be there to see you, but it is impossible. Please, please don't go digging around trying to find out where I am. I don't want anyone to know."
Gone Home is a first-person exploration video game developed and published by The Fullbright Company.
Story
7th June, 1995. 21 year old Katie Greenbriar returns from overseas to her family's new home in fictional Boon County, Oregon. She finds place empty, with many items still in moving boxes and a note on the entrance door from her younger sister Sam to not investigate the mansion to find out what happened, leading Katie to do exactly that.
Gameplay
As simple as it can get, and easy to figure out from above section.
In Gone Home you explore the mansion to figure out what happened with...well, everything.
Move around the house, investigate and interact with objects, discover ways to progress and unlock more parts of the building until you reach the truth (or simply end of the game).
In the house you will find messages, notes, texts, plus plenty of usual daily items you can pick up, rotate, and throw around if you fancy making a mess. Some will be picked up and put into your inventory!
Additionally in your journal you will be able to re-listen any messages you discovered and it has a map in case you get lost.
Playtime, replayability, other modes
Gone Home took me a bit longer than an hour to beat. Said playtime is quite flexible, game can be beaten in less than a minute but if you will take your time exploring and reading, you might even squeeze out 2-3 hours out of it.
You can give it another go thanks to modifiers that change certain aspects of the game but most importantly due to additional "Commentary Mode", where you get behind the scenes access to hear from developers about certain aspects of how game was developed or few humourous references.
Impressions
Gone Home was a decent experience all things considered. Solid non-linear exploration and narrative blend in great, which doesn't come as surprise because same can be said about Bioshock 2 Minerva DLC that developer of this game was working on before. Search around a house for clues, information about our family, and main spearpoint of the story that is related to our sister Sam, freedom of exploration given to us, all of this was very well made and immersive all together, mashed nicely with detailed 90's mansion setting that for older players might awake some sort of nostalgia, and will allow to immerse in game a bit further. Another positive surprise is how eerie game is sometimes. This should be somewhat expected with game taking inspiration from urbex (urban exploration) so storm, squeaky doorways and occasional footsteps here and there keep you on the edge when reading and walking. Didn't mind it though, served as a nice way to keep player attention to what is going on.
Voice acting deserves a special shutout as Sarah Grayson that is voicing Sam poured out her heart and soul for this one (further evident by audio logs from Commentary Mode), doing one wonderful work.
Speaking off, extra points for said mode. What can I say, I absolutely adore that stuff. Modifiers are okay but let's be real there is just not a lot of things you can modify in such small, short game.
Now unfortunately I have to throw the story into mixed bag. As much as I appreciate game focusing on LGBT Themes and how it portrays them, as I've read comments from both pro- and anti- people to said subject who were really open and very positive or got their entire opinion/viewpoint changed thanks to this game, I'm afraid it also "tunnel vision-ed" the overall narrative. Whole mystery with family gets sidetracked into being a mere "optional" investigation as we dive into only individual problem which while being well made as I said before, does leave a bit sour taste with the rest.
Nonetheless, can recommend Gone Home. Not the most emotional or impactful walking sim that I've played but it does convey nice message in an hour so that's a pretty good achievement.
Final words and conclusion
You can purchase Soundtrack DLC to further support developers!
Short and simple yet on point with emotional, non-linear narrative it provides, Gone Home is a title you can spend your evening on and not regret it.
Feel free to check out my curator page for more reviews!

Very fun exploring and getting to know the characters' stories. Spooky but not scary, love the creaky old house in the rainstorm. Really enjoyed just poking around in people's cabinets and files. Also I loaded the dishwasher, just to be considerate.

Astonishing, seriously a great game that can be completed in one sitting.
Gone home has always been a top favourite of mine for a few reasons.
- Relaxed play style, you can play at your own pace.
- Although relaxed you feel as something can be around any corner.
- A short but decent story.
- The 90's vibe I love.
- A normal family with their own problems that makes them feel almost real.
If your looking for a wholesome, sit down and enjoy in one sitting game, highly recommended and the slight thriller aspect is a cool touch as well.