Home

"Indeed, it was Rivers belief that the negative feedback he received wasn't the result of poor game design, but rather Home's habit of making players feel uncomfortable." I was going back and forth on whether this was good enough to recommend, and then I made the mistake of looking up interviews with the creator, and that made the choice a lot easier. For the first 95% of the game, I actually enjoyed the experience a lot. The visual style works well, the setup is interesting, and there's a good atmosphere to it. The problem is that during that 95%, the game basically plays out like a detective/exploration game, with your character observing various clues and working out the details of what's happened in the different places he explores. A lot of what keeps you playing is the excitement that you're getting closer to figuring out the plot of what happened before your character woke up at the start of the game... ...and then you get to the end, the game just kind of shrugs its shoulders, calls whatever explanation you came up with good enough, and rolls the credits. And it's not like there's an actual correct solution if you find all the clues. You can even just go against your instincts and say the exact opposite of what you think happened, and the game just accepts the answer as canon. In the end, you're not so much Sherlock Holmes as you are the lazy police officer who jumped to conclusions the second they saw a body and didn't feel like investigating their hunch any further. We all hate that guy when we read a good mystery...it really sucks to find yourself actually playing as him in the final moments of the game. Reading about the creator's intentions, it seems like he thinks this is some bold new approach that's subverting traditional narrative structures, but I'd argue this is a case where no one's done this before because they realized it's simply a bad way to tell a story (or lack thereof). It makes the game feel aimless...unfinished...even hostile to the player in a way. Like why should the creator have to figure out a plot when the player could just use a little more imagination to write one themselves? I think we can take this one step further, and if you're considering buying this, just watch the trailer and imagine you played a good game that looked like that. You won't miss much story-wise...

Played it at night. The darkness wasn’t the scary part, the pacing was. Home sets up a great atmosphere, then sprints to the finish line like it’s late for work. I kept waiting for the big twist, the big scare, the big something, but the game just patted me on the shoulder and said “We’re done here.” Cool concept, but it feels more like a demo for a bigger idea that never arrived. [b][6.5/10][/b]

Eerie lil game, yes I say lil because it only takes about 30min - 1 hr to finish. For all the achievements you need to finish the game at least three times. Doable. ---------------------------------------- Play this game if: - You want to solve a mystery in a creepy pixel world of dried blood and skeletal remnaints - You want to feel constantly worried, but not scared (this is NOT a horror game thou creepy) - You want to be entertained for a few short hours (worth it) Do Not play this game if: - You are looking for a horror game. This is creepy but not spooky. - You are looking for a Point&Click game, this is not really it - If you are looking for a game with high replay value Verdict: 6.5/10

I can't remember when was the last time game had me check its manual to find a code, beyond MGS1's Codec frequency, but Home now has that dubious honor if you want an optional achievement + note bringing some narrative clarity. Game itself is perhaps a bit too simple, but that may be of P&C charms if you boil them down. You barely even need puzzles these days if you can make due with atmosphere. Our protagonist wakes up dazed in a house he doesn't recognize. At first blaming it on sleepwalking he then goes along with the flow as mystery compounds. Going through some kind of industrial plant, one where he seems to have worked at, and even finds his way through the local park while making a horrible discovery seemingly unrelated to his own motivation - get home to Rachel. All set against the backdrop of an impending storm looking to shake up more than just local weather. That summary above is meatier exposition than Home provides, but that's more because this a slow burn. Every new location reveals clues, direct or otherwise, both you and protagonist are piecing together. I especially found the game's insistence on asking you "do you want to pick up X?" whenever you came across a new object odd. This is apparently part of getting an achievement where you ignore everything and rush through, remaining none the wiser as to what actually happened. Home's supposed selling point is how in critical moments you get to decide what happened retroactively which is peculiar when you're putting together a story post-fact. I wouldn't really say it's the narrative shaping according to your decisions, but it gives certain weight to everything that makes you want to scrounge for every bit of information you can get your hands on. Your reward for this approach is our protagonist making assumptions based on what he knows. I'll just say if you DO make the effort you may end up not liking the result very much which is quirky award. Especially considering you get to decide how the game "ends". As I've alluded to in the opening, there aren't really any puzzles present since whatever you find you'll also automatically use where appropriate, and locations are small enough with clear PONR (Point of No Return) telegraphing. Production-wise soundtrack is doing the heavy lifting in Home. Not that chunky pixels fail to portray a sufficiently depressing vibe, even though I was sometimes entertained by our ginger guy shuffling over the screen, but it's the subdued atmosphere that ends up stealing the show. Especially when it tonally shifts in the finale and goes for an oppression galore where you're supposed to be the safest.

Decent little walking sim horror game with minimal jump scares. Somewhat of a "Choose your own adventure" story with some branching narrative options. Couldn't bring myself to play it 2 more times for the completion, but worth a playthrough. 5/10

I did not enjoy this game. The story was open and reasonably interesting, but the text is so slow that it takes away from the experience

An interesting murder mystery game. Mostly a 2D walking sim and the ending is a bit anti-climatic, but piecing together the story and solving the mystery is fun. The game has a creepy atmosphere, but the only "horror" aspect is loud, random noises that were more annoying than scary. I enjoyed the game but would only recommend it if you're open to weird, niche titles.

It's a more decent experince than what the reviews led onto...

A great and short experience that I've played through 3 or 4 times before. I've always loved the open ended structure of the narrative and the overall style of the game! Very thought provoking and intelligent game.

Esta piola, sin más. Lo mejor son los sonidos pero no tiene mucho más. La narrativa si bien atrapa al principio después solo quieres saber respuestas y no hay muchos giros en el guión. Por lo que vale no lo recomiendo, lo jugaría gratis o una muy buena oferta. 4/10