HOME [PC Game Review]

Steam had a Canada Day sale just a little while ago. I decided to buy one game. A game I had heard of through Extra Credits, I think.

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It set me back a whole $1.49.
The game took about a penny a minute to complete.
I guess that's a bargain... I'm not sure.
I consider a game to be a deal when it costs only $1 an hour for entertainment. So $60 games that take 60 hours are great.

2 out of 5 stars

Yes, that entire diatribe means I'm weird.

So was Home.

That's some Killer 8-Bit!

After one completion, I'm still not certain what to think. It is both brilliant and boring at the same time.
That is an unusual and nearly unique combination.

What makes is brilliant?
Every actions and decision you the player make changes the story... but not as you would expect. You see, you the player are telling the story. Your expectations, as a cognitively aware person with agency, play the game.

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The main story is told by the player to themselves as they play.
This is absolutely brilliant. 

Unfortunately this is also what makes the game somewhat boring. If you are playing the game to your own story, nothing is really unexpected. In addition, the game does not appear to have any threats or dilemmas to overcome (unless in my first play through I completely and utterly bypassed each and every threat). There are a few small puzzles, but even they can be skipped. For example... there appears to be a river that can be crossed with a plank. I picked up said plank... and carried it all the way home because I never used it, and never dropped it. Kinda weird.

I need to play it again. Home is not too long, so I've got a couple of experiments to try. I'm going to give it a run where I say 'yes' to everything, and one where I say 'no.' I also plan to try a run through that involves the least possible interactions. That will probably be my last one since I'll need to have any and all required puzzles figured out in order to avoid unnecessary clicks.

Since it was $1.49 I don't feel bad. But it is certainly a strange game. Good... meh, not really. Bad... also, meh, not really. Creative idea, yes. Serious and deep flaws, also yes.

This is how you play. You create the story.