Developer: Benjamin Rivers
Publisher: Benjamin Rivers
Rrp: £1.99 (Steam), £1.99 (Humblebundle), $2.99 (Amazon)
Released: 1st June 2012
Available on Steam, Humblebundle and Amazon
Played Using: An XBox 360 Control Pad
You awake in a strange house, there’s blood on your trousers and you can’t remember anything from the previous day. What the hell happened?
Home is a 2D side scrolling game that is one part murder mystery, one part point and click adventure (except there’s no inventory) and one part psychological horror. You play as a nameless protagonist, who has no memory of the previous day and awakes in a strange house.
When you start the game it will suggest that you turn off the lights and wear headphones, and I have to agree that doing so really does make the whole experience a bit more unsettling as it adds to the feeling of isolation. Then again I think that using headphones and playing in the dark is generally a good idea when playing a horror themed game.
If you do choose to use a keyboard rather than a control pad then you come across the strange choice the designer made regarding controls. Rather than using the standard [W][A][S][D] control scheme he has opted only allow the arrow keys to be used.
When it comes to using a control pad the designer made clever use the rumble feature, if the protagonist gets scared by something it vibrates… this is pretty usual fair. But over time the vibrations get stronger and stronger and last longer.
The actions you perform will dictate what the ending will be, I’m not sure how many endings there are, having played through this title I have had four so far and from what I have researched there are at least another four.
Although I wouldn’t say that Home made me feel scared, it certainly successfully made me feel unsettled, and while I dare say that I think that was one of the designers goals I’m sure he wanted a feeling of fear too.
For its price the game lasts just long enough to justify the cost (approximately an hour and a half), at least in a single playthrough. If like me you wanted to find out what other endings there are then perhaps it could even be considered good value. Of course that would have to mean I felt I got a good experience from the game… I didn’t get a bad one, but it wasn’t good either.
If this appeals to you perhaps try;
To the Moon
Lone Survivor
The Dream Machine
