Gone Home discussion

[Oobedoob S Benubi]

You miss the point. The criticism was of Sony, not of indies. PS+ continues to deluge us with these 2nd rate indies.

 

I indeed did not get that point.

 

I think we need to look from the other side of the argument here. The developers are sitting with a game that doesn't sell - it may have had good critic reviews but most gamers won't be giving away €20 for a game this short, since we're reading other people's experiences on the internet these days. Maybe they approached, maybe it was the other way around. Anyway, here Sony has a game which the developers agree could be for PS+. The game gets 85 on Metacritic from critic reviews and 86 for the PC version - and on GameRankings all versions rate above 80 as well. They probably don't play every game they put out themselves, and even if so there's accounting for other people's tastes. I think I would have agreed to put this on PS+ as well if the decision had been up to me.

 

I'd rate both PS4 "indie" games of last month, Table Top Racing World Tour and Switch Galaxy Ultra, as respectively an exellent and a decent game by the way.

[starcrunch061]

From what I read, Gone Home already had backlash for these absurdly high critical reviews. That suggests that the rank-and-file gamer was neither enthralled by the offering, nor pleased with the outlandish critical response. This is exactly NOT the type of game that should be on PS+.

[Oobedoob S Benubi]

From what I read, Gone Home already had backlash for these absurdly high critical reviews. That suggests that the rank-and-file gamer was neither enthralled by the offering, nor pleased with the outlandish critical response. This is exactly NOT the type of game that should be on PS+.

 

Indeed, user reviews on metacritic are almost all highly critical. That's a level of research you can't expect them to do or notice all the time though, since it's much work and very subjective.

[starcrunch061]

Indeed, user reviews on metacritic are almost all highly critical. That's a level of research you can't expect them to do or notice all the time though, since it's much work and very subjective.

Nah. On the contrary, I can expect such research. Sony absolutely should bother to check gaming reaction. But we're obviously not going to agree, so I'll give you the last word here.

On a (tongue-in-cheek) tangent,I think what gaming needs is the equivalent of the Sundance Film Festival, where pretentious wannabe auteurs can present this shlock to equally pretentious critics, where they can cluck at the gamer of average intelligence, and gamers can avoid this stuff.

[Oobedoob S Benubi]

Nah. On the contrary, I can expect such research. Sony absolutely should bother to check gaming reaction. But we're obviously not going to agree, so I'll give you the last word here.

On a (tongue-in-cheek) tangent,I think what gaming needs is the equivalent of the Sundance Film Festival, where pretentious wannabe auteurs can present this shlock to equally pretentious critics, where they can cluck at the gamer of average intelligence, and gamers can avoid this stuff.

 

Yay, last word! woohoo!

Seriously though, I keep feeling glad that arguments on PSNP can go on without people having to resort to namecalling. This was not possible at the previous forum I was at.

 

By the way: I did not get a PlayStation until two years ago (PS4) so I never experienced the "downfall" of PS+ some earlier adopters are talking about. PS+ is pretty much the way it was from the start to me. Might explain why I feel less negative towards the service, and feel more inclined to defend it.

 

I thought we already had a Sundance for games:

http://www.indiecade.com/

[x-Alec_J-x]

I found this travesty of a "game" to be the most overrated experience ive ever "played". All i kept hearing was how great it was, and how it was this wonderful story. I found it to be boring, predictable, and melodramatic. It belongs on the same shelf as teen vampire romance novels.

 

The nonstop accolades "Gone Home" has received confuses me. It does nothing new. The narrative is worthy of a 7th grade diary and is actually really quite thin. The setting of the 90's was used to distract from the lack of actual substance. It could have been set during any period and it really wouldnt have changed a thing. That says gimmick to me....which is another way "Gone Home" seems like it relies on cheap "pops". Its literally a 1 minute gimmick, manipulated and stretched until it reached the minimal standards (and thats still questionable) of a sellable "game". Literally. Ive heard it can be beat in under a minute.

 

I feel bad for people who paid full price for it. Its the same price as the recent "Witcher 3" DLC which is ridiculous when you compare them for content....and more importantly quality of content.

 

Hopefully this will be the last time it darkens my screen on any device, as i have been "given" multiple copies over the past year or two for various reasons.

 

I beat it on PC and cannot even bring myself to plow through it for the trophies on PS4.

 

Sorry, for the rant.....i just dont get way people praise it and have had to hear it all again since it was a PS+ game this month.

 

Bleck.

[marshmeowlo]

Well, I just did my play through of the game for the trophies. From the way people talked about Gone Home I thought it would be a super gripping experience with a great narrative that makes you want to find out more. Sadly, this game was a huge disappointment. I don't see why anyone would pay the asking price of $20 for this 3 hour experience. This is probably the loosest definition of a game I've ever played. And the walking speed... oh my god, no one walks that freaking slow. When you can legit beat a game in 1 minute that's not a good thing.

[MMDE]

I thought it was pretty neat for what it was, interesting way to tell a story and found myself surprisingly interested in characters you never even meet. Wouldn't have paid 20 euros for it though so I'm glad it came to plus as while I wouldn't really call it a game it was an interesting experience I enjoyed the couple of hours it took me to complete it. Going through the commentaries right now and I know that kind of thing isn't for everybody but I really love behind the scenes kinda stuff in games.

 

This is honestly all the game got going for it in my opinion. They've tried to use a lot of alternative ways to tell a story, and they've done so rather successfully IMO, but I've got more issue with the story and the gameplay. Neither does it all have to be told in such an alternative way. Then there's the clear political motivation and the way it is expressed.

 

The following is an open question meant to start some discussion. It is long since I played the game last time, though I'm going to do it for the trophies in some days, but how different do you think the story would have been if it had been about some (cis white hetro) unpopular boy and a girl rejecting him etc? Why do you think it would work/not work?

[Oobedoob S Benubi]

The following is an open question meant to start some discussion. It is long since I played the game last time, though I'm going to do it for the trophies in some days, but how different do you think the story would have been if it had been about some (cis white hetro) unpopular boy and a girl rejecting him etc? Why do you think it would work/not work?

 

It would have worked just as poorly but the critics probably would have been less kind towards it.

 

After Life Is Strange and Gone Home have made such a point about being about lesbian/bisexual teenage girls, I was blindsided by Unravel last weekend, suddenly featuring a story about two young women in love together. It was like the game was saying, "oh yeah, we have a lesbian relationship in our game as well. It's not that big a deal, is it?" This is my problem with many of those developers, making a big point about how their game features a lesbian relationship... It's demeaning to the message in my eyes. We haven't fully grown as a community before a game/movie/series/whatever doesn't have to advertise non-heterosexual relationships any more. It should just be there, like in Unravel, or Game Of Thrones.

[SilkyJay86]

I'm in love with the sisters relationship.  And her damn voice, it's so lovely.  

[jackmadrox]

This for me was definitely one of those play-once-and-never-again games. Not saying it was bad. Because you didn't know what to expect, walking around in a big empty house while you can hear thunder from outside, was enough to suck me into it. The atmosphere alone felt like the start of a horror game. It even begins to nudge a bit into that genre- but ultimately doesn't. Plainly put, it's a love story. Good story telling, gameplay isn't much. It's like a book turned into a video game.

[AxeToFall18]

Honestly, I really loved the game, up until the ending, which I'm not really sold on. I was fully enthralled by the story throughout, and grew attached to the two main characters in a way I rarely do with characters in video games. 

 

As for the political motivations that some people in the thread have had issues with, I really don't think anything here was forced or presented in a way that can reasonably be perceived as divisive. Do I think (as was posed earlier) that a game about a straight man's relationship with a girl would have been as much of a critical darling? No, certainly not to the same extent. A lot of the critical praise heaped on the game is surely a result of – or at least is colored by – the game portraying a lesbian relationship as normal, acceptable, and fulfilling, but that critical response is not the fault of the devs, nor is it a valid criticism of the game.

 

The relationship was portrayed in a grounded, sufficiently subtle way, and I'm sure it would have connected with me if Sam's gender had been reversed. That's what matters to me, not what Polygon or Sarkeesian may say about it. I'm not a fan of political correctness, I absolutely loathe it, but I still got more out of this game than plenty of $60 AAA games I've played, and $15-20 movies I've seen. Considering I got it for free, it was absolutely worth my time, and even if I would have had to pay $20, knowing what I know now I think I'd have been fine with that.

 

Very, very solid, game in my opinion. One I'd recommend.

[Manuelito]

played this game with ps plus and it's not worth more than 5€ IMO. How the hell they got such high reviews .... $$

[Denvirus]

This had to be the scariest game where nothing scary happens. I played through once with no guide or spoilers so I could see what I was in for. Creepy atmosphere, storming outside, was just waiting for something to kill me. Nothing ever did though. Overall fine game. Wasn't meant to be some big AAA title, so worth checking out for a walking game.

[KiraxKira]

This had to be the scariest game where nothing scary happens. I played through once with no guide or spoilers so I could see what I was in for. Creepy atmosphere, storming outside, was just waiting for something to kill me. Nothing ever did though. Overall fine game. Wasn't meant to be some big AAA title, so worth checking out for a walking game.

As someone who hates spoopy things, this was the perfect level of spoop. I will admit that I did jump a few times. I thought the story was pretty interesting, especially since the main character's perspective is so dependent on what you uncover. 

[Gryfer]

 

On 6/30/2016 at 0:51 AM, jackmadrox said:

This for me was definitely one of those play-once-and-never-again games. Not saying it was bad. Because you didn't know what to expect, walking around in a big empty house while you can hear thunder from outside, was enough to suck me into it. The atmosphere alone felt like the start of a horror game. It even begins to nudge a bit into that genre- but ultimately doesn't. Plainly put, it's a love story. Good story telling, gameplay isn't much. It's like a book turned into a video game.

 

On 7/2/2016 at 5:29 AM, AxeToFall18 said:

Honestly, I really loved the game, up until the ending, which I'm not really sold on. I was fully enthralled by the story throughout, and grew attached to the two main characters in a way I rarely do with characters in video games. 

 

As for the political motivations that some people in the thread have had issues with, I really don't think anything here was forced or presented in a way that can reasonably be perceived as divisive. Do I think (as was posed earlier) that a game about a straight man's relationship with a girl would have been as much of a critical darling? No, certainly not to the same extent. A lot of the critical praise heaped on the game is surely a result of – or at least is colored by – the game portraying a lesbian relationship as normal, acceptable, and fulfilling, but that critical response is not the fault of the devs, nor is it a valid criticism of the game.

 

The relationship was portrayed in a grounded, sufficiently subtle way, and I'm sure it would have connected with me if Sam's gender had been reversed. That's what matters to me, not what Polygon or Sarkeesian may say about it. I'm not a fan of political correctness, I absolutely loathe it, but I still got more out of this game than plenty of $60 AAA games I've played, and $15-20 movies I've seen. Considering I got it for free, it was absolutely worth my time, and even if I would have had to pay $20, knowing what I know now I think I'd have been fine with that.

 

Very, very solid, game in my opinion. One I'd recommend.

 

Everyone else has thrown their opinion in on this game, so I will as well.

 

I want to echo the sentiments of the two quoted posts. I went into this game, as I do with most, with as little information about it as possible. I knew it was a brief (2-3 hour) game limited to the house and involved a lesbian relationship. Past that, I didn't know anything.

 

So when I started playing it, I didn't know if there were any horror elements or jumpscares or anything. And the first hour of gameplay was me tentatively walking around the house anticipating a jumpscare. Playing it at night, alone, with volume up was enough to create a really excellent atmosphere that many other horror games have tried and failed to capture. Ultimately, there's no scripted jumpscares (although there's "one" slight thing the game does as you learn in the commentary). When I found the first secret passage and opened it, I noped out and saved it for a second night because the atmosphere had built well enough for me.

 

I eventually made it through the game and realized it was just a dark, creepy house and then I polished off the rest of the game in very little time. But every time I found a diary entry from Sam, I'd pause to listen to it. She has a great voice and tells a story that's relatable to being a teenager, not necessarily to being a lesbian. There's two portions related to that and they're right next to each other and other fairly quickly. The rest is just about being a teenager. For me, it was an enjoyable story because it reminded me of being a teenager and dealing with the same sort of romance issues that Sam was dealing with.

 

Is it a game of the year? No, by no means. Is it worth an hour or two? Sure. Is it worth $20? Definitely not. Is it worth $5? Sure -- especially when you consider that getting a Coke at a restaurant is going to run you $2.50 plus tax and tip. Is it worth your time given that most people got it through PSPlus? Yep.

[locoporkko]

the best moment of the game was deleted of my hdd after obtain the 100%,a piece of crap like a mountain

[DreddPirateRobb]

I absolutely loved this game, it had a fascinating story. From what I can gather people either love this or dislike it. I got it with PS plus so I didn't pay for it directly, but if you enjoy walking games, this is one of the best

[crauuecrauue]

10/10

 

The absolute best of its ilk ... at least until What Remains of Edith Finch came along.

[FilooGaroo]

On 2019-02-10 at 3:49 PM, locoporkko said:

the best moment of the game was deleted of my hdd after obtain the 100%,a piece of crap like a mountain

Totally agree 0/10 ———— and i l loved What Remains of Edith Finch

[Antiristus]

I think the game is pretentious and very low effort. Among one of the worst type offenders of what you'd think when you think of  "hipster indie". It was also marketed dishonestly and the reviews were fixed in favor to try to sell it. Had it not been a Plus game, it would not have ended up in my backlog.

[lostforever77]

On 12.1.2016 at 11:40 PM, PREDRAG-K said:

Played the game on PC, hated it. I'm surprised they're actually asking $20 for this garbage. Unless you really want the trophies, I would recommend just watching a playthrough on YouTube. You won't be missing out, and it's only 1 or 2 hours long (some have beaten it in under a minute).

It has a good, heartbreaking story 

On 6.12.2022 at 5:45 PM, Antiristus said:

I think the game is pretentious and very low effort. Among one of the worst type offenders of what you'd think when you think of  "hipster indie". It was also marketed dishonestly and the reviews were fixed in favor to try to sell it. Had it not been a Plus game, it would not have ended up in my backlog.

Low effort? Are you a video game developer?

On 10.2.2019 at 9:49 PM, locoporkko said:

the best moment of the game was deleted of my hdd after obtain the 100%,a piece of crap like a mountain

Do you not like games with a heartbreaking story?

Do you have a problem with lesbians in video games/real life? Hate speech isn't free speech

[lostforever77]

On 7.6.2016 at 5:20 PM, Mournblade05143 said:

At least you gave a more balanced reply. If some feminist gave it such high marks I definitely will pass. I don't think all indie games are bad but this one really sound bad. Probably got high review for politically correct reasons alone.

Misogyny doesn't make you edgy.

[Antiristus]

Too bad there is only kind of reaction here. I sure could use "facepalm" right now.