But please don't read any of that. Don't read this review. The best way to experience Gone Home is with a clean slate, not knowing anything about it going in. I'll attempt to convey my thoughts on the game while spoiling as little of the plot as possible.
Gone Home is an interactive story in the vein of Dear Esther. Evoking classic children's stories like The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Coraline, Gone Home is about exploring a creepy mansion. It's not quite a horror game, but it teeters on the edge of becoming one: creaking floorboards, secret passageways, and of course, a dark and stormy night outside.
You play as a college-age girl who's returned home to Oregon after a trip backpacking around Europe. Your family moved to a new house while you were gone, so you're unfamiliar with the imposing mansion you've come home to. Your flight was late, so you arrive in the middle of the night... and no one's home. There's a handwritten note taped to the front door from your younger sister, Sam, telling you she's gone and "Please, please don't go digging around trying to find out where I am." Of course, this is the natural videogame impetus to do exactly that. Gone Home is all about digging around.
The gameplay of Gone Home is fairly simple. It's more interactive than Dear Esther, but there's no combat or puzzle-solving (aside from solving the mystery of the story). Its bread and butter is environmental storytelling. You explore the abandoned house, rummage through cabinets and closets, and try to figure out what happened to your family.
