Gone Home...

     I enter the game as Katie Greenbriar. I have just returned from studying abroad in Europe and am expecting to come home to a warm welcome from my family. Upon arriving it appears as if no one is home. It's raining cats and dogs and the door is locked. Where did everyone go? Why the hell is no one here for me? What's going on here?!?

    It is here that my adventure begins. Gone Home is a first person exploratory adventure game. It set in 1995 . You can tell by looking at all the pictures of everyone with their perms and big bangs. There is even a salon ticket that you find for Katie's mom that lists the charges for a perm, shampoo set, and manicure. The house is also littered with cassette tapes (do those even exist anymore?) You get free range of the Greenbriar home, which is a mansion that the family inherited from a dead uncle. The house is filled with secrets and family history that hides itself in scattered notes and messages. The object of the game is to explore the house and find out where everyone went.

    The game is a lot like Amnesia: The Dark Descent in the sense of exploring every object, nook, and cranny. Gone Home is even a little creepy. Not creepy in the sense that there are monsters stalking you but creepy in the sense of flickering lights and a thunderstorm happening outside. The house itself even creaks and moans and there are some areas that are a little unsettling when you find them. The story of Gone Home is not scary at all, just a little bittersweet.

    Notes and letters litter the house in every room. It would seem as if the family was a little untidy with all the trash laying around. On every single one of these notes the story unravels a little more and you start to find out what is really going on with the family, and lets just say this family has A LOT of secrets. What makes this personal however, is that these secrets are very real and could happen to anyone. 

    Along with these notes you also stumble upon the occasional tape of Riot Grrl music. It seemed like an odd choice for the game since it was so melancholy, but the music gives the game a sense of teenage rebellion and angst. I definitely listened to Bratmobile when I was a teenager and angsty. It was nice to have a change from the constant sound of rain and thunder for a while.

    I would highly recommend this game. Even though there isn't much action it keeps you locked in and motivated to keep playing. The game doesn't drag on or lag in any spots. The beauty of the home and the secrets of your family will keep you interested until the very end. It's a touching experience to uncover all the mysteries of the Greenbriar home. I'd say The Fullbright Company wins with this one!