Gone Home
Top Critic Average
Critics Recommend
Critic Reviews for Gone Home
Witty and melancholic, Gone Home is a triumphant exploration of a beautifully textured family space.
While it is a five-year-old game, there's no denying the cultural and developmental impact Gone Home has had on the game industry. Both as a near-perfect exercise in interactive storytelling and an example of how to handle complex and very real ideas in a game, only Life is Strange has ever come close to matching its significance. While there still isn't much ‘game' to be found here, the story you unravel through exploring an empty home will stay with you long after you've put down your Switch. Essential.
One of the best games of 2013 is finally out on consoles. If you haven't done so already, you owe it to yourself to experience a beautiful story and some very clever, but understated, game design.
Gone Home is a game that can be played by anyone, and should be played by everyone.
Despite there not being many engaging elements, I find that Gone Home is still a superb example of a narrative journey. We'll have to see in another five or fifty years just how Gone Home has set the stage for future immersive simulators.
Thoughtful, clever, and articulately composed, Gone Home is the sweet sort of story that games typically tend to shun. Katie's homecoming is emotionally charged, cleverly plotted, and impressively authentic. And while it may not quench the thirst of those anxious for action, it tells a tale that practically everyone will be able to identify with – as long as you give it the chance.
Ultimately, Gone Home is the same game no matter what platform it is played on. It brings the same emotions, anxieties, and intrigue to the table now as it did years ago. There is no denying, however, that the versatility offered by the Switch version fits the calm nature of the walking sim, whether it is played docked or not—plus it's just plain cool to experience the story in such close quarters.
One of the finest, most relatable examples of the incredible empathy that video games are capable of inspiring.
Industry Coverage
Gone Home is now available on the Nintendo Switch
