5/30/2023 0 Comments Gone home controversy![]() There is a reason I hesitate to call this a “game” in the traditional sense, and a reason why The Fullbright Company describes Gone Home as a “story exploration video game.” It is a game, in so much as it is 3D rendered and can be played with a controller and has items you collect and a map you can consult, but its core mechanics are simply discovery, exploration, and narrative. The outcome of the game is one you might suspect, but not necessarily the one you’re primed to expect. Without giving anything away, the way in which the game manages to reconcile all of these horror genre tropes with the overarching story is perhaps its greatest achievement. Characters leave cryptic notes, warnings and apologies behind. There are hints of paranormal activity – books about hauntings, sobbing on the answering machine – and rumours of your mysterious “psycho” uncle. You arrive at your new family home after midnight, in the dark, in the midst of a terrible storm. What Gone Home should be commended for most, however, is how the game manages to play with our expectations of how these narratives play out. The fate of all of these characters is revealed in due time. Your mom works in forestry as a senior conservationist. Your dad is a struggling author who reviews hi-fi audio and video equipment to get by. There are glimpses into the lives of the rest of your family too. It’s these heartfelt and personal entires that are really used to advance the plot. Though you’re the one returning home, it soon becomes apparent this is really a story about her. Sam used to tell you everything, she says, but in your absence, she’s confided in a series of notes instead. ![]() With no one else to the point the way, the house is the only clue you have – and as this is a new house you’ve never seen, it’s only natural you’d want to explore. While in other games, the act of rooting through drawers and cupboards can feel like a chore, there’s actually a point to all of this rummaging in Gone Home. What’s fascinating about the way Gone Home relies upon this clue finding mechanic to advance the progress of the game is that, as part of the narrative, it actually makes sense. Many of these objects are but fragments, ephemera of daily living with little bearing on the story that’s being told – but some offer hints and scant details of a larger story that exists just beyond the fore. You can pick up and examine boxes of tissues, magazines and potato chips left strewn throughout the house, with the ability to turn each item over in your hands. This is a game for the curious – those who relish the opportunity to explore every box, every nook, every passage and cranny inside a virtual environment. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
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