Forums > Submission Feedback > jerec's Gone Home review

I had the thought as I played through the game that if the same story were presented as a Lifetime movie and offered to many of the people who adore it when they encounter it in game form, they would pull away in disgust or, at the very least, disinterest. Gone Home is exciting in large part because it's an effort to expand the boundaries that hold games back from occasionally trying the brave things they otherwise might. I also felt that the "originality" is overly hyped, since it actually shares a lot in common with any number of classic adventure titles (though the less obfuscated puzzles and the lack of inventory management woes were welcome here). I clearly liked Gone Home a lot more than you did, judging by the difference in our reviews, but it's easy to sympathize with your standpoint to at least some extent and I would imagine it's one that a lot of people would share, were they ever enticed into downloading the art house game. Is that a term? I get the feeling that it will eventually need to be, if it isn't yet.

I don't generally mind these games. Dear Esther was also fun for a couple of hours, but I'd probably score it around a 5 or 6 because I suppose value for money is an important factor for me. But this one is just a linear story broken up by touching different items around the house and opening a few locked doors. 90 mins and it was over and there's no real reason to go back.

I can avoid death by not having a life.