House Simulator (Gone Home Review)

QUICK FACTS:

Developer: The Fullbright Company
Initial Release Date: August 15, 2013

Platforms: PC, Mac, Linux, PS4, Xbox One

Rating: Not Rated (Strong Language, Suggestive Themes)

It was a dark and stormy night. Rain spatters against the window as you suddenly arrive at your front door. You don't remember how you got there, or why you have this odd sensation that there is nothing beyond your front porch. You peek out the window only to see the inky blackness of the night, along with some weird pixelated rain dripping down the glass.

Within a few minutes, you realize that you don't have a key to your own house and have to go looking for it by throwing random objects around the room. In little fits of frustration you manage to toss a series of random objects in telekinetic rage, looking for a key that a voice in your head says must be around somewhere. Finally, you find it under a stuffed animal. Naturally.

As time goes on you explore the interior of a normal looking house, force pushing doors open and maneuvering the laws of physics to open drawers towards you by looking at them. You soon realize that objects take on a mysterious white glow when you get near them, indicating that your force powers will work on them. This is not a Star Wars game, just to be clear. It's an odd little story driven walking simulator called, "Gone Home".

I never realized I wanted to go around an abandoned house and look through stuff until now, and the game captures that immersion decently well. I can turn lights on and off, flush toilets, turn sinks on, and open drawers all through the power of my mind! In fact, if I could do this in real life, I would never leave my house. I'd just wander around using my telekinetic abilities on all of my belongings until I got skilled enough to become a Jedi knight! Honestly I don't know why I have Star Wars on the brain today, anyways...back to "Gone Home".

Surprisingly there actually is a decent story in this game. For some reason it's all told through the voice of the main character (who is you) narrating her own life to herself. I don't know about you, but whenever I have a memory, I don't narrate what happened to myself. I am fully aware of what went down because I was there. Sam, the main character, is a spunky, rebellious girl who likes grungy rock music and exploring her house using the force.

As you progress through the game, you hear more tidbits about her life, as told by her to herself, and things get more complex. What started off as a simple drawer opening simulator turns into a twisted mystery. Where did her family go? Why is everything abandoned in the house? Where did Sam get her telekinetic abilities? Why does she not have feet, hands, or any physical presence? Is she a ghost?

I cannot answer any of these questions, since that would spoil the story, but I can tell you one thing for certain. I never finished the story. You see, the game was going along smoothly until Sam started narrating about a certain aspect of her life. Without spoiling too much let's just say that I was getting a little feeling in my gut that she was speaking of one of her female friends too fondly. At first it was kinda sweet, hearing her talk about how she liked spending time with this friend of hers, and how they used to hang out and play video games, but then everything changed. What started off as a narrative of friendship evolved into something a little more intimate than I would've preferred.

Overall, if this narrative arc does not bother you, and you don't mind a slower paced game laced with an intriguing mystery, then I'd recommend it on it's ability to immerse you as a player. There are even some spooky elements intertwined in the story line that could intrigue you, but don't expect the game to turn into horror. It never reaches the point of being scary, but it is a little spooky.

If you like mysteries, and are into moody lighting and sound effects that draw you into a virtual world, then I'd recommend you go home...where you will find out that you have telekinetic powers and are secretly a Jedi.