Yeah, I just started it soon after posting that. It is quite apparent from the beginning, specifically the
hair dye
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Gone Home |OT| I ain't afraid of no ghost!
- Thread starter Sober
- Start date
Finally played through this tonight. I absolutely loved it and I'm glad these kinds of games exist. It's definitely earned a slot on my GOTY list and I'll be checking out that commentary mode later on.
BTW the sound design was superb. Little things like the creaking of the boards, the thunderstorm outside, the ambient music...all of it was fantastic.
BTW the sound design was superb. Little things like the creaking of the boards, the thunderstorm outside, the ambient music...all of it was fantastic.
Andrew Korenchkin
Member
So glad to hear other people are still playing it and liking it. One of the best games of the year.
I want more games like this, heh.
Just bought it and played through it...
I really enjoyed it...it was super unnerving, but the way it tells the story is a stroke of genius.
The little bits that it feeds you make you think one thing but all of the plot threads start to reshape into something completely new.
So glad I never spoiled it for myself...
Pretty crazy stuff.
I really enjoyed it...it was super unnerving, but the way it tells the story is a stroke of genius.
The little bits that it feeds you make you think one thing but all of the plot threads start to reshape into something completely new.
So glad I never spoiled it for myself...
I expected a mutual suicide or something else in the attic, but when I saw the book, I realized what was happening...I was listening to the last audio log while I stared at the book because I knew it would trigger the ending.
Pretty crazy stuff.
Bought it last night and finished tonight. Really wished I had beaten the game in one sitting. I certainly enjoyed it, but I am relieved I didn't pay full price for it. It reminded me in a sense of a movie like Gravity where I didn't love the experience, but it was still something that will stick with me for a while.
For me, the most powerful part of the narrative was when
For me, the most powerful part of the narrative was when
Sam talks about coming out to her parents. How her parents reacted (and how it was the complete opposite compared to how she expected) really hit home with me for some reason. Not that can I relate to that specific situation, but it hit me right in the feels.
Just finished it tonight in one sitting.
A great experience for $5. I can see why some might have been mad if they paid the full $20 but IMO it would be a great experience even at that price.
Like many others I expected a suicide in the attic and as corny as it sounds, my heart was actually racing in anticipation of what I might find up there.
What a stellar experience. I was able to find out so much about the family without ever meeting any of them. The dad and his troubling writing career, and his relationship with his own father. The mom probably having an affair. The parent's relationship problems. And everything with Sam. The paranormal stuff was definitely a great red herring.
What a stellar experience. I was able to find out so much about the family without ever meeting any of them. The dad and his troubling writing career, and his relationship with his own father. The mom probably having an affair. The parent's relationship problems. And everything with Sam. The paranormal stuff was definitely a great red herring.
A great experience for $5. I can see why some might have been mad if they paid the full $20 but IMO it would be a great experience even at that price.
Sir Garbageman
Member
Picked this up during the most recent STEAM sale and finished it in one sitting. Outside of small minor quibbles really enjoyed it from start to finish. A really poignant and unique experience. Definitely worth picking up imo and I'm glad indie games like this have the opportunity to flourish on the PC.
There is something pretty fucked up but not in a supernatural sense.
Oscar molesting the father, which ends up as the root of why he can't have a healthy sexual relationship with his wife while he's in that home. It's also why his novels center around the JFK assassination - he was molested right around that time and all of his stories are about traveling back to that time to fix things and make life better.
This might seem like a bit of a big bump but that point above is something I missed on my play-through and I was wondering if anyone else found any big pieces of subtext?
I just finished the game today and I feel it's worth talking about.
Along with that above, I originally missed
the ticket stuffed in the heating vent was meant to be the mothers ticket from going to see the concert with Rick.
I had assumed it was just one of Sam's.
I really appreciated how much this game was able to tell through subtle things like that.
davidsaurus
Member
I loved this game. I knew next to nothing about it and I played it through in one sitting. I'm personally not interested in having a debate over whether or not it's a game. It had great characters and interesting story developments.
VitalNerve
Member
Just picked the game up last night, beat it this morning. I had an absolutely phenomenal experience with the game. I was almost tearful by the end, it is a truthfully unique experience, it definitely shows that games, if none else, can tell a story that IMO could rival movies or books. I want more from these guys.
Suburban_Nooblet
Banned
I did the same, picked it up last night and beat it in one sitting.
174 minutes to be exact
What a trip, I didn't expect to sit down and finish it but man did it resonate well with me.
Going up to that attic...... probably the most tension I have ever felt playing a game
No exaggeration the best $5 I have ever spent.
VitalNerve
Member
Same here, I was almost terrified.
i was always under the impression the there was a ghost or some supernatural thing going on. Happy it didn't turn out that way. I was happy for Sam though! I wanted her to be happy.
I would have spent 20$ on it if I knew it was this good, it deserves every penny.
I'm happy for her too, but
the way she just robbed her parents blind is kind of sheisty.
VitalNerve
Member
Yeah, good point.
Suburban_Nooblet
Banned
Very true, but I have to say when playing thru the story
I never felt much sympathy for the parents. They obviously were trying to work out their own issues and I feel like Sam was kind of just caught in their bullshit
The parents very much had their own, pretty severe problems - especially the dad with the whole
living in the house of his molestor and being unable to be sexually active with his wife as a result
I think the way they
treated Sam had less to do with their own problems though and more with their religious upbringing and beliefs. For some people, the idea of their rebellious child being gay is a huge pill to swallow and some refuse to do so. They'd rather believe their daughter is rebelling through her sexually than actually, in their beliefs, a sin against their lord.
I have to echo this, although the night I bought it I actually played it... thought it was only going to take a half-hour or so, wound up taking three and was overtired (probably helped contribute to my emotional state, ahaha) but felt exactly the same as you did.
I was almost disappointed that there wasn't any more I could do to "interact" (even though there wasn't any literal interacting) with the family and the house.
VitalNerve
Member
Yeah,
it was sad when she wasn't accepted, the fact that her parents were not willing to accept her and continued to deny. Which is wrong, no matter your belief, if a child ends up that way then they most certainly should try to accept it. But that is a whole other topic 
Or sequel! Gone Home 2: Sam's RevengeBut that is a whole other topic
VitalNerve
Member
Or sequel! Gone Home 2: Sam's Revenge
Lol.
PetriP-TNT
Member
I just played it from start to finish in about an hour, not sure what I think. It certainly brought up many thoughts and I am not sure if I missed something or not, but it seems I didn't.
Hmm.
Weird.
Ummm...
hmm..
no that I read some spoilers it seems that I missed tons of stuff.
But then again reading through the wiki synopsis it seems I didn't. Are you guys making some of this stuff up.
Or what. Playing this while being drunk was a mistake. Or maybe it made it better.
Hmm.
Weird.
Ummm...
hmm..
no that I read some spoilers it seems that I missed tons of stuff.
But then again reading through the wiki synopsis it seems I didn't. Are you guys making some of this stuff up.
Or what. Playing this while being drunk was a mistake. Or maybe it made it better.
I played through the game in about 2 hours and 15 minutes and even I missed quite a few things.
You probably missed a lot.
PetriP-TNT
Member
Actually now that I woken up and sobered up I remember all kinds of things, the safe for instance.
MrOogieBoogie
BioShock Infinite is like playing some homeless guy's vivid imagination
Sam's voice actor was fantastic. So much so that the game wouldn't resonate nearly as well as it did with me had it not been for her. Looked up the actress online and it seems this is her first major voice acting gig. Hopefully this will light a fire under her career for a long while; she deserves it.
NekoToshiro
Member
Incredible out of the hour I played I was so creeped out the whole time worried something might come out and end the game. Heart racing more after opening every door and looking for the lamp in the corner of the room. I don't know how I will ever live alone in a house.....
Totally agree, everyone hyped it up to be the best game ever. It started out like a horror game, but the ending made the game into nothing more than a sub par romance novel. Everything as you started to piece stuff together it quickly lost any appeal.
This is honestly one of the first games I've ever played that I thought the storytelling was legitimately well done. Like, by normal standards and not just video game standards. That's probably the biggest takeaway I've got from this game. The story itself was heartfelt, but nothing particularly special(again, by normal standards). Just the manner in which it was told really brought me in and got me interested in my sister's times and, to a much lesser extent, my mother and father's lives.
From a mechanics standpoint, I enjoyed the free roam-ish aspect and the interactivity with objects. A good amount of thought went into the creation of the setting, which made exploring around quite fun, bringing back fond memories of the 90's and growing up during that time.
Lovely game and I think its really a concept that could be explored much further. I'd love to see more games in this vein.
From a mechanics standpoint, I enjoyed the free roam-ish aspect and the interactivity with objects. A good amount of thought went into the creation of the setting, which made exploring around quite fun, bringing back fond memories of the 90's and growing up during that time.
Lovely game and I think its really a concept that could be explored much further. I'd love to see more games in this vein.
I thought it was pretty good but not much more. Maybe got put off by all the phenomenal remarkable goty buzz talk from some people.
I mean it was well done, liked the voice acting a lot, but the actual content didn't really engage me to any great extent. Didn't really 'feel' like Kaitlin Greenbriar (was I supposed to?) just more like someone snooping around a house.
I mean it was well done, liked the voice acting a lot, but the actual content didn't really engage me to any great extent. Didn't really 'feel' like Kaitlin Greenbriar (was I supposed to?) just more like someone snooping around a house.
completed this last night. i knew i was being played and manipulated for emotion but i didn't care. i was more impressed in the details and design choices to dislike it. actually, i like it quite a lot. more than anything, i'm deeply impressed with how everything stayed completely grounded, and that there's a good explanation for just about everything.
i really... don't want to say it's my favorite game of 2013 because it's another western title that focuses on story but good god it does what it does with so much attention to detail and refinement that it's hard not to strongly respect the amount of work that went into it.
i really... don't want to say it's my favorite game of 2013 because it's another western title that focuses on story but good god it does what it does with so much attention to detail and refinement that it's hard not to strongly respect the amount of work that went into it.
Adam Scott Aukerman
Member
So I picked this up in the humble sale recently, just finished it this evening having spent three sessions with it over the last couple of days. I've skimmed through most of this thread, and I'm surprised that most people seem to have only spent 90-150 minutes on it as Steam claims it took me five flipping hours! It does run like absolute garbage on my 2008 MBP through (with an 'unsupported' version of OSX), so perhaps that exacerbated my already snail-like pace that was driven by both meticulous attention and utter fear.
As for the game itself though, I have to agree that it's a pretty incredible experience. I can safely say that I've never had my expectations played with like that by a game, let alone had it done so frequently and deftly.
As for the game itself though, I have to agree that it's a pretty incredible experience. I can safely say that I've never had my expectations played with like that by a game, let alone had it done so frequently and deftly.
All I knew going in (having watched the first few minutes of Giant Bomb's Quicklook upon release) was that there isn't a ghost. And to be honest, I wouldn't have gone anywhere near the game if I hadn't seen that assurance (because seriously, fuck ghosts), BUT STILL I was constantly giving myself reason to doubt it.
Perhaps it's all a big trick?
Perhaps I didn't actually read that all those months ago?
Perhaps I just misread it, or missed the end of the sentence that said, "actually there are. LOLZ!"
That was soon deflated a tad though with the discovery of the ghost board game and once Sam's supernatural interests came to light as I could see it all starting to get a bit meta.
BUT WHAT IF THERE IS THOUGH?
Basically my mind is a bastard and forces me to live in perpetual and ridiculous fear of such things, regardless of clear assertions to the contrary, but anyway that was just the tip of the iceberg.
The real emotional turmoil came delving into this family's lives, and the fears of what I might be piecing together. Like many, I frequently was given just enough to lead me to some pretty dire conclusions, and often bounced between fearing the worst and taking comfort in the mundane - and then came the first mention of a secret passage.
Fuck.
And entering those last two locations was frankly horrifying. So yeah, it was emotional. Brilliantly so.
Oh, and fuck that fucking crucifix.
Perhaps it's all a big trick?
Perhaps I didn't actually read that all those months ago?
Perhaps I just misread it, or missed the end of the sentence that said, "actually there are. LOLZ!"
That was soon deflated a tad though with the discovery of the ghost board game and once Sam's supernatural interests came to light as I could see it all starting to get a bit meta.
BUT WHAT IF THERE IS THOUGH?
Basically my mind is a bastard and forces me to live in perpetual and ridiculous fear of such things, regardless of clear assertions to the contrary, but anyway that was just the tip of the iceberg.
The real emotional turmoil came delving into this family's lives, and the fears of what I might be piecing together. Like many, I frequently was given just enough to lead me to some pretty dire conclusions, and often bounced between fearing the worst and taking comfort in the mundane - and then came the first mention of a secret passage.
Fuck.
And entering those last two locations was frankly horrifying. So yeah, it was emotional. Brilliantly so.
Oh, and fuck that fucking crucifix.
FaintDeftone
Junior Member
I picked it up on the Steam sale today and played through it in one sitting. I literally refused to stop playing until I had answers. I love how the game sort of misleads you into thinking the game is some sort of supernatural mystery but ends up being quite the opposite. The story was extremely refreshing and it ended by making me actually feel something, and I didn't have to shoot anyone or level up 50 times in order to accomplish that. The game does a fantastic job of sucking you into the story, making you want to search every nook and cranny for answers. What seems like a boring idea ended up being totally compelling.
I really hope we see more games like this (without being a blatant rip-off). Loved it.
The attic portion was totally nerve-racking. The first time I saw the locked attic door with the eerie red lights surrounding it, I actually freaked out a bit. Once I knew all of my questions would be answered in that attic, I rushed in there as fast as the game would allow me. I also thought I would end up finding Sam's body due to suicide.
I really hope we see more games like this (without being a blatant rip-off). Loved it.
toastyToast
Member
I think I made a mistake playing the whole game through at once because it started to wear me out dreadfully by the time I got to the east wing of the house. Anyway, I felt the narrative construction was pretty interesting and truthfully had something actually happened I might look back at the experience with a greater sense of satisfaction. After a while it felt so normal and mundane that by the time I got to the attic I expected to see a bunch of happy photos and sure enough... Well, yeah. I liked the father plot thread though, that was actually cool to unravel.
IAmtheFMan
Member
So I played and finished this after seeing David Jaffe's best games of the year, saw it was on sale and said "what the hell." I knew nothing about this game.
Overall, a strong experience. I don't think it'd be my top of the year, but I love having games like this.
Thoughts:
Overall I enjoyed it. I hope other companies take some cues from this.
Overall, a strong experience. I don't think it'd be my top of the year, but I love having games like this.
Thoughts:
- The fact that the two girls were lesbians was telegraphed pretty early. In the first few minutes when I first saw the picture of Lonnie in the ROTC uniform, I was thinking to myself "well, I hope they don't go down the gay-female-army route"... which is exactly what they did. It probably would've worked better without this in IMO. That being said, the progression and emotional journey of Sam did feel pretty organic.
- The subplots to me were much more interesting then the main story. The issues between Oscar/Terry, Terry's failure and then at least partial redemption in his writing career, Jan's possibly affair with Ranger Rick, and then reading the wedding invitation, Jan accepting the job away from him, and deciding not to go to the wedding, etc.
- The moment that struck me the most was a simple one; you see Jan's calendar, for about a month, where she has classes... but over the course of the weeks that narrows just to cooking classes with the last week saying "cooking for the family finally!" or something of that sort. You then go to Sam's room and read about how "(paraphrasing) mom's cooking for once, but I'm gonna ditch and go with you (Lonnie) to the concert." It just totally struck a nerve with me... I should call my mom.
- The other was listening to the answering machine at the beginning of the game, and realizing in the last moments what those first two messages were about.
- The subplots to me were much more interesting then the main story. The issues between Oscar/Terry, Terry's failure and then at least partial redemption in his writing career, Jan's possibly affair with Ranger Rick, and then reading the wedding invitation, Jan accepting the job away from him, and deciding not to go to the wedding, etc.
- The moment that struck me the most was a simple one; you see Jan's calendar, for about a month, where she has classes... but over the course of the weeks that narrows just to cooking classes with the last week saying "cooking for the family finally!" or something of that sort. You then go to Sam's room and read about how "(paraphrasing) mom's cooking for once, but I'm gonna ditch and go with you (Lonnie) to the concert." It just totally struck a nerve with me... I should call my mom.
- The other was listening to the answering machine at the beginning of the game, and realizing in the last moments what those first two messages were about.
Overall I enjoyed it. I hope other companies take some cues from this.
BurnOutBrighter
Banned
Just finished the game from the Steam sale and I loved it. I can't understand the ridiculous, hyperbolic criticism in the last couple of pages. GAF gon' GAF.
I think you'd get a little more out of it if you grew up in the 90s. The visual style of things like letters, magazine covers, celebrity photos, and postcards is captured perfectly. Also, knowing the bands, TV shows, movies and other pop culture references you see attached with people's belongings helps you get an idea of who they are.
Every time I'd walk into a new room, the first thing I'd do is hunt for the light switch or lamp, haha.
One tiny thing that bugged me: The answering machine messages didn't sound like they were made over the telephone! They were crystal clear, and not put through the "speaking on the telephone" audio filter.
I loved piecing those things together. In the garage you see a note
Absolutely. Putting a dollar sign on every gameplay hour is an absurd way to judge value. Multiple times I've spent several hundreds of dollars to fly to a nearby city and watch one of my favourite bands play, even though the show is only going to be a few hours long.
And the end of the show, when I'm blown away buy what I've just experienced, it's always worth it.
Setting the game in 1995 makes the premise work. These days, our personal lives are stored in emails, text messages, social networks and smartphone photos. Having the story told in physical objects and a house that you have to move around in, lets the hunt and detective sleuthing happen. If it were set today you'd just have to hack a laptop or figure out someone's cellphone code, which would be boring.
I think you'd get a little more out of it if you grew up in the 90s. The visual style of things like letters, magazine covers, celebrity photos, and postcards is captured perfectly. Also, knowing the bands, TV shows, movies and other pop culture references you see attached with people's belongings helps you get an idea of who they are.
Every time I'd walk into a new room, the first thing I'd do is hunt for the light switch or lamp, haha.
One tiny thing that bugged me: The answering machine messages didn't sound like they were made over the telephone! They were crystal clear, and not put through the "speaking on the telephone" audio filter.
I loved piecing those things together. In the garage you see a note
from Terry telling Sam that he and Jan were going to "celebrate their anniversary", and then finding the relationship counselling brochure with the exact same dates booked.
Absolutely. Putting a dollar sign on every gameplay hour is an absurd way to judge value. Multiple times I've spent several hundreds of dollars to fly to a nearby city and watch one of my favourite bands play, even though the show is only going to be a few hours long.
And the end of the show, when I'm blown away buy what I've just experienced, it's always worth it.
Setting the game in 1995 makes the premise work. These days, our personal lives are stored in emails, text messages, social networks and smartphone photos. Having the story told in physical objects and a house that you have to move around in, lets the hunt and detective sleuthing happen. If it were set today you'd just have to hack a laptop or figure out someone's cellphone code, which would be boring.
DashReindeer
Lead Community Manager, Outpost Games
One thing I'll say about the game is that the people in this family go to great lengths to keep written records of all of their transgressions. Geez. You'd think a woman cheating on her husband would have more discretion than to leave letters proving it strewn about her house.
PjotrStroganov
Member
I hope you haven't spoiled a major part of the game for me.
Spoilers dude.
It's not a major part. You'll see it coming from a mile away.
I just played this in one sitting. Did it in just under 2 hours.
I'm not sure what I think about it overall. It was certainly an experience.
Worth playing for sure, even though it won't be everyones cup of tea.
I enjoyed the experience, I was unsettled as hell all the way through. I felt tense, because of the emptiness and atmosphere with the thunder. It almost felt like a horror game which made it even weirder.
I'm not sure what I think about it overall. It was certainly an experience.
It was interesting finding out about the family members and slowly progressing through the house to piece together the story. I didn't feel like there was enough in the way of gameplay however. Everything was laid out to just pick up as you go along, there wasn't any figuring out as such, besides the basic lock combinations.
Just finished playing. I put this game off for far too long, and because of that pretty much every major plot point was spoiled for me through various podcasts (
). Still, I loved the game. Even though I pretty much knew how things were gonna go down, the details had me hooked the whole way through. It's probably the greatest love story ever told in a video game, which probably isn't saying much, but hopefully it counts for something as the medium matures. I wish I could go back in time and play this without having been spoiled, but even with spoilers it's one of my favorite games of 2013.
Sam being gay, Lonnie backing out of the military, no actual supernatural stuff
Sarcastico
Member
I loved the atmosphere of the game, especially
.
I'm a bit disappointed by the main plot, though.
the suggested existence of a ghost somewhere in the house kept me on my toes as I discovered new areas
I'm a bit disappointed by the main plot, though.
One of the scariest games I've ever played to be honest, and I don't scare easily, I like survival horror for example. That side of things was great. Plot wise I don't know what to think, I mean I appreciated and could even relate in some forms but otherwise I'm not sure exactly what they wanted to do. I noticed Kate gets very little attention even though there's various things from her in the house, so I liked the fact that I could actually feel some personality behind the person you were controlling even though they're silent. I played it the whole way through so I must've been pretty interested in the execution, just disappointed in terms of expectations.
Fuck I don't know what I think, it did something for me at least because of Sam I guess, but it was blown way out of proportion for me before I played it which probably ruined my enjoyment.
Fuck I don't know what I think, it did something for me at least because of Sam I guess, but it was blown way out of proportion for me before I played it which probably ruined my enjoyment.
Quick, hopefully non-spoilery question. Does the game ever become more sensational (that's not a perfect word but I can't think of a better one)?
I played for roughly an hour last night, which I judge to be about halfway through, and the experience is sparse to the point of being highly unpleasant to me. Walk into a room, look for sheets of paper or crumpled up paper, occasionally solve a "puzzle", and slowly learn more about a boring family. Is there more to the experience than this? Is the entire experience really this much of a slow burn? A simple yes or no would suffice.
I played for roughly an hour last night, which I judge to be about halfway through, and the experience is sparse to the point of being highly unpleasant to me. Walk into a room, look for sheets of paper or crumpled up paper, occasionally solve a "puzzle", and slowly learn more about a boring family. Is there more to the experience than this? Is the entire experience really this much of a slow burn? A simple yes or no would suffice.
I mean, you never fight a dragon but the story progresses interestingly.
The game is more about an interactive (most would think captivating) story. If it's not grabbing you because it's not gamey/interesting enough at this point, it probably won't.
What are you expecting to get out of it, if I may ask?