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Gone Home (Video Game)
Developed by Fullbright
Produced by Midnight City
No ESRB classification
Gone Home is the only game to have ever simultaneously disappoint and deeply move me. It isn’t that the game is bad, quite the opposite. I was disappointed that there was not more of it. Of the odd category known now as “walking simulators,” Gone Home tells the story of the Greenbriar family through the eyes of the eldest daughter, Kaitlin, who has recently returned home from college slightly after midnight to find that her family is all missing. The only you ever hear of Kaitlin’s voice comes from a message on the answering machine telling her family that she will be home soon, so the rest of the narrative is fleshed out by letters and journals left behind by various other members of the family. Piece by piece, you weave together a tapestry that depicts the intricacies of a family, where each life works as not only its own play, but as a part in a larger drama. Beautifully told, it really gets at the heart of character drama. The mother isn’t disapproving of her daughter’s romantic choices because of some unshakable moral standpoint, but is too distracted by her own dissatisfaction to give her the understanding she deserves. It beautifully reflects how real life sentiments are rarely so binary, and how our own misplaced emotion can harm those around us.
By putting the story together piece by piece, the game maintains a sense of progressive mystery. Start to finish, Gone Home takes place in the rooms, hallways, and sometimes secret passageways of the Greenbriar’s home. Certain doors are locked upon your arrival, and only through light puzzle solving can you progress. As you are led from room to room—sometimes by a breadcrumb trail, but more often by your own curiosity—you are free to pick up, examine, and sometimes manipulate various objects in the house. Sometimes these are just for flavor, and sometimes they lead to neat little secrets like extra songs or hidden information on the house’s mysterious past. Often times these little tidbits offer you hints on how to proceed, but actual progression is secondary to the pull of learning more about the family and house. The method distributing information is non-linear. You don’t learn about your father’s failed writing career until after you learn about his alcoholism, and you hear about your mother’s potential affair long before you hear about how she came to that point. It is a narrative style so compelling, that by sheer desire to know more was I able to will myself through the spookier parts of the game.
So, I wouldn’t be reviewing this if there wasn’t some kind of horror aspect. While it is hard to say that Gone Home is a horror game, it is certainly frightening. The premise alone of walking through the hallways alone of an unfamiliar house, dark and creeky, while wondering what happened to the warm and populated home you expected is enough to give pause to anyone wondering what lies behind the next door. Lights turn on and off on their own, bulbs pop, doors thump, and a mysterious red light seeps out from the attic. On top of that, secret passageways and compartments abound, and while some are necessary to progress, many of the game’s more buried treasures tell the story of great uncle Oscar. It is never entirely clear, but something bad happened with Oscar, and there are rumors that his ghost still walks the halls of the house.
Not the least of the believers in this tale is Kaitlin’s younger sister Sam, who serves as the primary narrative focus of the story. Most of the game is spent learning of the growing up and eventual sexual maturity of Sam, whose ghost hunting diaries through the house lead through secret passages and into the metaphorical and literal hidden lairs behind the home. Rarely does a game give you so much reason to care with so little hyperbolic or dramatic flair to make it seem larger than life. This is the story of real people living in a home, and the triumphs and tribulations they all face trying to get through life both as individuals and as a family.
There are some shortcomings to the game, but I really cannot say why without spoiling the whole thing for you. Keep in mind, this is the first and likely last spoiler free review you will ever get out of me, so realize the respect and love that I have for this game. That being said, it doesn’t lead up to much. There isn’t really any reason to play it again, so after the 2 hours it takes to beat it is unlikely you will get anything more out of it, save for intellectual discussions with friends. Likewise, there isn’t a whole lot to do in the game. Other than picking up objects, twirling them, and reading notes, the game doesn’t offer any other gameplay. Puzzles are also of the casual variety, so players looking for a challenge will not find one. The ending is a bit anticlimactic, especially given the way the tension ramps in the final act. Still, as far as fulfilling the narrative promise of the game, there is in my mind no conceivable ending that could have done better. Sure there were different ways to end it, but none that would have surpassed the original.
Gone Home is a beautiful triumph of narrative gaming. Walking simulators are a feat often tried, but rarely mastered. Dear Esther, The Stanley Parable, and Gone Home are the only three I’d ever recommend, and for me Gone Home towers over the other two in quality. As an English major from Berkeley, I have read books for college classes that had a less compelling grasp of storytelling than this game. A true marvel to behold for anyone looking for a creepy yet quiet and compelling mystery, Gone Home is a game that truly will stand the test of time.
5 out of 5
Categorized:Horror Gaming News
