So I Tried… Gone Home

Each edition of So I Tried… I will try a game that I have never tried before. Will I find something new to love? Will I find something new to despise? I'll take a full half hour, no matter how bad it gets or how badly I do, to see if this is the game for me. This time I went for the PC version of Gone Home.

What I thought it was

An exploration game. Something about a missing family, I believe, with no enemies to fight as you wander about an ‘80s setting.

Alternative name was: Home Invasion Simulator

What it actually is

Exactly what I thought, except it’s actually set in the ‘90s, meaning there are cassettes and VHS tapes scattered about the now-empty house. Your parents have gone somewhere without your 17-year old sister, and she has disappeared in the night, before you arrived. She left a note telling you not to tell anyone, nor snoop. So, like a mystery-solving gang that doesn’t own a van, nor a dog, and is only one person, you have to snoop and find out! There are tons of objects to pick up and examine, loads of letters and notes, and your sister’s voice in your head, as narration.

This... Wasn't... Too... Scary...

Will I keep playing

I figured that knowing there were no enemies would take away from any fear I might experience while a storm rages outside of the house. This was not the case… The house makes noises, and you learn that something happened in the house before your family moved in, related to someone going crazy. I was so immersed in the experience that I almost went over my time limit -- then this would have turned into a So I Finished…! So, yes, I will be playing this game to the end. There are two locked doors and, gee whiz, me, a mystery to solve!