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Gone Home

Gone Home is a first-person adventure game that came out last week and has been getting rave reviews across the internet, like this 9.5 score from IGN. It's not often that a pure adventure game gets that kind of attention from mainstream reviewers these days, let alone an indie one, so I figured I'd give it a try.

It's basically a mystery game, creepy but not scary, in which you play a college-age woman returning home from a year in Europe to find her family missing. You explore the house to find notes and clues to try to discover their whereabouts. Without saying too much, its story turns out to be surprisingly adult and real, rather than delving into hokey genre cliche.

Surprisingly, it actually reminds me of Tex in a lot of ways. Where most 3D adventures borrow heavily from the interface paradigms of 2D adventures (either the third person, fixed-camera sort, or the Myst-like sort), this one truly feels designed for 3D, and a lot of the game is going through drawers and cabinets looking for clues and reading notes. It doesn't have the cinematic aspect of Tex, of course, nor does it have the puzzle design, but it's still a great first-person mystery with some common ideas.

Anyone else check it out?
I hadn't - but I will now!
"When you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas." Jean Harlow
I've heard good things about this too, will have to check it out sometime.
(Ruri_Ayanami from the old Tex Murphy ezboard).
"I don't believe in intuition, don't know why... just a feeling." - Tex Murphy
I've been to Steam and have downloaded it - after all the registering and so on I didn't have time to actually start playing it but it looks really good. :)
"When you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas." Jean Harlow
I think this is one of those games that is better the less you know about it.

I also think folks like Jen who prefer Entertainment mode and just enjoy the story will love this. It puts story first and doesn't obscure it with artificial puzzles or gamey elements that break the immersion.
I downloaded from steam, I like it. I have 2 doors that I need to find a key.
Lynne
tex murphy is back in town
So far so good, I too am into the story aspect more than anything but I also love a challenge. And up until now it has been really entertaining.
"When you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas." Jean Harlow
this game is a bit weird, you can finish the game by going into one room without finding all the keys & the full story.
Lynne
tex murphy is back in town
That sounds worrying...I haven't had a chance to go into it properly but was going to over the weekend, sounds like I shan't be needing a lot of time then!!!

:shock:
"When you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas." Jean Harlow
its not a long game , all I can say is don't save the game in the attic until you have got into all rooms .
Lynne
tex murphy is back in town
Thanks Lynne I'll bear that in mind -

Claudia
"When you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas." Jean Harlow
Yeah, I don't know how/why people would go to that hidden room and get the attic key early. Just don't do that.

This is not a game about rushing through. It's a game about absorbing every little detail.
This game has been getting rave reviews so I checked it out.

Wow. What a disappointment. It's a slideshow, folks. You'll figure out what going on fairly quickly.

If you read between the lines, most reviews talk about a powerful "poignant story' etc.

I don't want to ruin it for anybody who wants to "play" it, but I'll say that the rave reviews from big mainstream sights are most likely due to the game's storyline which is, let's say, politically correct to a fault.

I found the whole thing pretentious and boring. It's Myst for the teen angst crowd (minus the puzzles.) Ugh.

Come on Tex. We need you!
yep those that stated it was the best story in a adventure game....well they must not play many games.
I really don't think it was worth $20
Lynne
tex murphy is back in town
Yeah, and what ticks me off about the "game" is that it's being advertised as this BIG mystery. Nothing could be further from the truth.

It's a joke, and the reason no one wants to call out the publishers on this is because of it's "sensitive" subject matter.

If they'd called it "an experimental interactive exploration of teen angst" and sold it for $5, I wouldn't be writing this (because I wouldn't have played it.)

Anyway, it's a case of the emperor having no clothes ...