Gone Home: A "Game" About Exploration, Narratives, and Christmas "Ducks"

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Gone Home: A "Game" About Exploration, Narratives, and Christmas "Ducks"

Unlucky7: Jul 11, 2006; Fallen Rib

Wait, so this was made by some of the people who made Minervas Den? I loved that DLC, and I concider it to be better than Bioshock Infinite, which I also adored. I will have to pick this up.

# ¿ Aug 15, 2013 19:46

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# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 08:07

Unlucky7: Jul 11, 2006; Fallen Rib

To point out the odd man out, Eurogamer did not seem to crazy about the game.

# ¿ Aug 15, 2013 21:11

Unlucky7: Jul 11, 2006; Fallen Rib

Yuriki posted:

Thanks for the reassurance, just beat the game, no jump scares but the atmosphere was still intense.

ENDING SPOILERS DO NOT LOOK SERIOUSLY

Well...there is one, but it is actually really clever; In the secret passage from the library to the parent's room, there is a crucifix proped up on the struts on the wall. Grab it. And make sure the light is on.

Did anyone else feel dread when going up to the attic, afraid of what they find? I was convinced that the story will not end well, but, well, here we go. Also, thanks to whoever dug up that page on Terrence and Oscar, cause I would not have guessed from what I played.

I would have completed this in one sitting, but I needed to sleep for work, and even then I was tempted.

EDIT: Not mine, but got it from the PA forums. Non-spoiler easter egg: http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/613900632002438640/3682B40D3270C8DFF42D60EF4EE2E162AD0ABE3D/

EDIT2: Yep, definately there. Behind the boxes in the pantry

I can see why people think it is overpriced, but I went into this expecting a game from the devs who made Minerva's Den, my favorite Bioshock game, and did not leave disappointed.
VVV

Unlucky7 fucked around with this message at 08:36 on Aug 17, 2013

# ¿ Aug 17, 2013 08:05

Unlucky7: Jul 11, 2006; Fallen Rib

Not Al-Qaeda posted:

Oh whoops, Carol's 2nd letter says "night out" and for some reason I misread that as a one night stand. I guess there's a possibility that Rick and the mom had nothing romantic going on.

I dunno, there is a condom inside one of the drawers in the parents room. That makes me think there was something going on.

# ¿ Aug 18, 2013 01:32

Unlucky7: Jul 11, 2006; Fallen Rib

Reacon posted:

On one hand, following the wake of Dear Esther is a beautiful collusion of level design and narrative to tell a story in subtle ways. On the other, it has several inconsistencies, can hardly be considered a game, and is /hardly/ worth the full $20.

The house you get to explore seems daunting at first, but the journey through it is almost linear in the way it progresses, with certain doors locked as not-so-subtle progress inhibitors. I'm not sure what the need of the map and inventory are - maybe the devs just had a lack of faith in humanity to put two and two together. Combinations to various compartments were in obviously places progression-wise, but make no sense contextually and actually confused me on several occasions.

The house is permeated with effectively placed, but woefully overused props and assets. Some props are used in certain "early" areas of the house, others hidden behind locked doors to make the obvious backstory more obvious I suppose. Otherwise they only serve to slip an inconsistency in their recipe for immersion.

The atmosphere of the game seems conflicted in that it emanates the aura of a ghost story - and actually alludes to it in a few hints here and there - but no sense of paranormal other than creepy shading is ever apparent. It kept me guessing throughout the entire game whether or not it would veer off in that direction, and left me decidedly disappointed in the end because of this.

There are a few tricks and references littered about that caught me off guard, and I have to give them credit where credit is due. For example, the first combination was the legendary weapon stash door code in UNATCO HQ of Deus Ex, and the elevator code in Human Revolution. Nice touch. Since the game's story revolves around a rebellious teenager, seeing a bathtub covered in red hair dye was pretty horrifying until I inspected further.

Overall I'm sure this game is attracting all the tryhards who see something different and confuse "unique" with "good." loving hipsters. If you want brilliant, unconventional but perfectly executed narrative, check out Dear Esther. Far more meaningful than a teenager's broken heart with hint of father-son conflict.

I'm sure this uncommon opinion will earn me a shitstorm for looking past emotions. Bring it on - see if I give a gently caress.

That's cool. Nobody has the same opinion, nor should they.

# ¿ Aug 18, 2013 07:31

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