Day 231, Game 231 - Gone Home

I hesitated about buying this game. I looked at the price, being $18 on Steam (on sale currently, as usually it's $20), and asked myself if it was worth it. Then I went to Twitter and asked around to people I knew had played it, to see if they thought it was worth it. After asking this, I realized just how stupid that question is. Something is only worth what you get out of it. What one person sees as a deal, another feels is a complete rip-off. It's just not something that can be asked, especially about a game. ESPECIALLY about a game like Gone Home. 

Gone Home. Wow. I don't even know where to begin. 

Obviously, I decided to buy it. From everything I heard, it was a game that needed to be experienced.Sure, I thought about the possibility of this game going on a Steam Sale or being packaged within a Humble Bundle, but honestly, something told me that waiting wasn't something I wanted to do. Not for this game. Not for this experience.


The game is a point-and-click adventure type of game. You're just getting home after being overseas, and right off the bat, something feels weird, different ... not right. You're mission is to wander the house, looking for clues, trying to figure out what is wrong. You don't know what the end game will be. You don't know what you are trying to find or look for or how to even complete the game. You just know that at some point, the mystery will have a conclusion. The build up to that mystery is the experience. 

The game is creepy, moody and filled with atmosphere that will give you chills. I can honestly say that sitting here, with headphones on, I had chills and goosebumps on several different occasions, all of which were probably just induced by my own imagination, which was made to run wild because of the events in the game. A game that gives you chills without actually doing anything to give you chills? Yeah, that's something you don't play every day. 

The entire game, I knew where the game was going. All the subtle clues, all the writing on the wall - I was absolutely sure I knew how the game would end. And that scared me to death. I didn't want the game to end the way it did, because I wasn't sure if I could handle it, emotionally. Even though it was roughly an hour and a half long, I wanted to stop and come back to it at another time because my emotions were bouncing all over the place. I was freaking out in anticipation of getting to the end, but I knew that's what the experience was all about. I wouldn't get the same connection, feel the same emotions or experience the same story if I did it in several sessions. I had to man up and play on, despite my fear of completion. 

Let's just say that no matter how ready I thought I was for the ending, I wasn't. Not in the least bit. I spent the entire time playing the game psyching myself into finishing it, but when it was over, I didn't know how to feel. I had such mixed emotions bouncing around my confused mind that I'm still not sure what I feel, or even how I'm supposed to feel. 

So was it worth it? You tell me. 

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