If you wanted to add a game to the list of things that you might not consider a "game" in the technical sense of the word, Home is a good one to check out. A retro style pixelated story that is almost reminiscent of Maniac Mansion, only here, there isn't much in the way of player agency. There isn't much of a challenge, and things don't radically change depending on the choices you make throughout the course of the game. There aren't exactly puzzles either; instead, players will likely have to do some digging around to find key items needed to advance.
Very much on the edge of the much-maligned "walking simulator" genre (think The Stanley Parable or Dear Esther), Home might not be too appealing to many gamers. For a game that pretty much only allows for moving around and choosing yes or no options, it doesn't even feel quite as "gamey" as something like Telltale's The Walking Dead franchise, which does many of the same things. No real puzzles or challenges, deceptively meaningful choices, and - in regards to season one - minimal meaningful changes to the unfolding story based on your decisions.
Still, Home should be judged on its own for what it does. It's visual style is a bit strange, given the horror nature of the narrative, but it actually works. Despite the retro graphical style, there is still a moment of tenseness building up as you make your way through doors and passageways. Every time, the perspective shifts from third person to first as the door opens up. A creepy, well-created sound effect blasts, the screen gets dark for a moment, and you almost expect a stereotypical jump-scare every time! The way it plays with that trope and defies the expectation in order to build suspense and anxiety is excellent. The limited range of the flashlight also creates an eerie atmosphere in a sketchy environment. All things considered, it works surprisingly well for a style that should by all means not work at all.
With limited visual fidelity to create the horror tone, the game relies heavily on sound effects. In order to make the player feel anxious at all, one has to be nearly perfect on the sound engineering. It was a key component to why P.T. was so goddamn terrifying, and it is a big reason why Home can make you tense despite the graphics. Sometimes they go a little overboard, but it's mostly successful. On the PS4, they even use the lights on the controller in an interesting fashion. After about half an hour of playing, as I began uncovering the mystery (or possibly doing so), I noticed that the light on the front of the controller had been getting progressively a darker shade of red, indicating a descent into the horror. When I got home and started denying some obvious facts, the light turned green. It's a subtle thing that doesn't really add anything to the game or story, but it was a neat use of a completely irrelevant feature of the console's controller.
In many ways, the game would be more akin to something like Her Story: not much player agency, but a lot of it being organized around the player piecing together a mysterious story and coming to some conclusion. In my playthrough, it was pretty obvious who "dunnit," but I've been reading some other aspects of other players' experiences, and it sounds like I missed some stuff. Being short - it takes about an hour to complete - it begs re-examination almost immediately. Like Her Story, many people might question whether or not it actually constitutes the label of "game." I, however, prefer to not get so wrapped up in those things. Home is less gripping than Her Story, but if you enjoyed the latter, than it might be worth checking out.
REDUCTIVE RATING: Interesting
(I'm creating a new rating system for things that aren't traditional in its format, which makes them a little bit more niche.)
Available On: PS4, PSVita, iOS, PC, and Mac
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