Topic: Gone Home

Has anybody played this game, and what are your thoughts about it? I'm about 5 issues behind on my Game Informers, so I was reading one the other day that had a preview of it, and I'm not sure what to think. It basically has no gameplay whatsoever. You apparently just go around a house finding clues about what happened to your family, and the story unravels, and that's it. Then in the next issue or two they reviewed it and gave it an 8.5. I looked it up on Metacritic and it is pretty much universally acclaimed by the official reviewers but right around a 5 by users who are pretty evenly divided between loving it and hating it with almost no one deeming it mediocre. So I was wondering what people's thoughts on it and the scores are. I'm really wondering if official, professional game people are so focused on proving that video games are an art that this game was guaranteed to get good reviews the same way any movie shot it sepia tones or with a queen as a main character was guaranteed to get a thumbs up from Roger Ebert. I like books and good stories, and I've loved all the "visual novel" games I've played like 999, but those at least have some gameplay elements. It seems like I could just look this up on GameFAQs, read the plot or even a script or something and it would be the same as playing it. But what are people's thoughts who have actually played it unlike me?

I accidentally the bookcase in the first five minutes. Very short game.

Damn what a simple, beautiful game. Definitely not what I expected.

I can see how this is difficult to recommend though. If you appreciate it for what it is, a point-and-click game with an elegant story, you'll like it. The story definitely struck a chord for me as well though.

I'd probably recommend this for the same reason Swiket said. You pay the same or even more for a movie, and this story is a lot more memorable and impactful than most movies.

As for the original post, reading the plot online would not have the same impact. The pace and atmosphere really help deliver the message. One of the more atmospheric games I've played in recent history.

I think it's a great experience, something everyone should try. It's regularly on Steam sales as people have said, and doesn't take a powerful machine to run it. There's no need to force games into such strict definitions. It's far too late now, but a lot of people are saying we shouldn't even be using the term video games anymore. Look at Wii Fit. It's not a game, but it's something a lot of people will want to experience. Stuff like Dear Esther and Gone Home shouldn't be shunned because they mainly want to tell a story, because they want to tell it through this medium of games. It's not the same as reading a book or looking up the plot on a website.

Not for everyone. It prominently features a lesbian couple into the story, so just a warning to those who may not greet that warmly.

Um, the "lesbian couple" is a story you happen to unravel from postit notes scattered throughout the game. You don't even necessarily need to read them to play the game. :/

That said, I didn't care for this game. I didn't like the story, even not knowing thing one about it going in. It had its surprises, but what when you make a game where the story is minimal, the gameplay better be damn good. If the gameplay is minimal, the story better be damn good. You can't have both minimal gameplay and a story that leaves a little too much to interpretation, IMO...

I still respect its themes and stuff, and at the very least it made me think, but it wasn't very engaging. If it was even a minute longer I would've fallen asleep before the ending...

why is that?

I guess users like you is why Nintendo did what they did Tomodachi life

Because Nintendo is an ethical company in America, so they try to keep their own games ethical? Why would I buy a game where i make two boys and two girls and then have my mii character be gay? That, to me, is disgusting. Don't go now and say "You shouldn't hate people" when in fact i don't hate homosexual people, I just don't agree with the lifestyle, and it's my freedom of speech to say so, same as you to say it's ok to you. I was just telling people that may want to know this before they get the game

um you said disgusting. that doesn't sound like i don't agree with. also you are insinuating that entertainment creater that represents homosexuals equally isn't ethical. yup your a hater

You do realize what ethics are, right? Well, if homosexually was looked majorly down upon in like the beginning of America to only a few years ago, Nintendo sorta had ethics in their games before the behavior was accepted. Besides, you didnt even need to respond to my first comment! I was warning people about the game because some people don't like that stuff

First, Nintendo is not anti-lgbt. Second, no one needs you to warn us of the "disgusting" relationship in Gone Home. Stop spreading hate and ignorance hidden behind a thin veil of ethics.

Some people don't want to be 'surprised' by this. I know i wouldn't. So plz stop attacking me because i'm defending how i feel. I already said i dont hat homosexual people, i have friends who are homosexual, all i said was i dont agree with the lifestyle, so plz stop getting upset.

inb4 imminent lock.

You are certainly entitled to your viewpoint.
It's just that your viewpoint is archaic, ignorant and uninformed.
But you are a youngling, so you still have plenty of years to actually develop in both mind and knowledge.
Good luck.

ethics is a group of moral principles that a group live by such as judge not unless ye be judged. the idea was created by the greeks who had little problem with homosexuality. it's not the fact that you are not interested in a game about lesbians. if it was that is how you would have put it. the disgust at the idea of having in your wiiu library is what i latched on too.

ok, i see what upset you now. I will edit the post so it doesn't seem so rude. Glad we could work this out.
Is that better, it points out its only to people who may just not be warm to that in a game they considered

Not even going to try this time.

@Aviator Really, i thought we just got over that.

@justlink Did you really just bring back this old thread to tell people that there's a lesbian couple in the game? Wow i get amazed sometimes by people in this website ,if you don't like something in a game then be quiet and move on is that simple.