LTTP: Am I the only one who played Gone Home thinking it was a horror game?

[BillFromAccounting]

I knew nothing about the game except that it was free one month on PSN and downloaded it.

I've never been so bamboozled by a game before. The whole time I was on my toes, the setting felt pretty dreary and tense, especially once you started seeing the occult notes and symbols.

And then...it just ends with nothing happening? Turns out it was just a walking/exploration simulator?

Was I the only one who expected something...more when playing this game? Is it my own fault for not reading the game description and just assuming it was some type of horror/suspense game? If I ever recommend it to someone I'm definitely going to tell them that it's a horror game, as in retrospect if I knew that it was just an exploration game I don't think I would have gotten as much enjoyment out of it.

 

[Patitoloco]

That's kinda the whole point of the game.

 

[Kiro]

Did this being shared somehow ruin any chance of enjoying this game in the future?

 

[JusDoIt]

As intended.

 

[jon bones]

I loved that about it - makes the whole game "click."


What a great game.

 

[Platy]

The game literally has an option for all the lights to be on and everything


...and in a way it was an horror game

 

[MDSVeritas]

Yeah I think the game definitely aims for that vibe when it starts up. The slow way it unfurls into a much more grounded and human story is really well done.

 

[ghostcrew]

That was the whole point of the game at launch. I totally played it thinking it was going to be a horror game.

I didn't expect the actual content at all. And it hit me so hard. I cried so hard during that game. I found the whole thing incredibly powerful. Fucking Bratmobile man...

 

[Chackan]

Thought the same lol spent the whole game waiting for some "thing" to appear and try to kill me lol

 

[julia crawford]

I knew it wasn't horror and i STILL couldn't play it at night because it was real fucking scary.

 

[Vonocourt]

I mean, that was intentional.

 

[blueredandgold]

Played it at launch or near enough to get that intended vibe, glad I did.

 

[hwarang]

Congrats, you've ruined the point of the game to a lot of those who have yet to play it.

 

[JINX]

Well yeah.... it's supposed to lol.

 

[Budi]

I didn't think it was a horror game while playing it, but I was frightened nonetheless. Really liked the game too, horror games I don't usually like.

Edit: For me it was just something that I could feel in real life too, when exploring a mysteriously empty house I'm not familiar with during a storm. But I didn't boot up the game expecting ghosts or monsters etc, my mind just naturally went wild during the game.

 

[Kolx]

yea, I think most people going into this game blind had the same idea.

 

[Buttzerker]

It is a horror game for homophobes.

 

[VideogameVices]

it bored the shit out of me.

 

[the_wart]

The ambiguity about what kind of game you are playing is key to the whole experience. Unfortunately that's not a premise you can really build on. There's no way to make an iterative sequel to Gone Home, because the hook is already... dehooked? corked? Whatever you do to hooks to make them not hook things.

 

[SoH]

Bamboozled by your own presumptions. Autoboozled.

 

[strotee]

"Am I the only one...", the answer is always "no".

 

[Gnorman]

I think Gone Home is a fantastic experience if you go in blind and the ending was awesome.

 

[Ant_17]

Wow, I didn't know that. Guess I can go and play it now.

 

[NoName999]

7 billion humans.

Even if you drastically reduced the number to the humans who played this game, odds are, you're not the only one. :P

 

[Incite]

I read it wasn't then I started playing it and it felt like a horror game so I never got very far.

 

[Qwark]

I remember being bamboozled by Invisible, Inc. I got it mixed up with Indivisible (which isn't out yet) and was ready for some Valkyrie Profile goodness. I was so sad when I figured out my mistake.

 

[Pargon]

Did this being shared somehow ruin any chance of enjoying this game in the future?

Click to shrink...

No. I had no expectation that it was going to be a horror game, and still thought it was amazing.
Does this give off a horror game vibe?



The old forum was certainly full of people making "ghost game" jokes when it came out, referencing an Idle Thumbs podcast:



That really doesn't sound like Steve (Gaynor) wanted people to think it was a horror game - or at least no ghosts.
The soundtrack for the game is the Gone Home: Original Soundtrack though; the GH:OST.

 

[SavoyPrime]

I kept expecting it to be a thriller. Was seriously disappointed with what it ended up being.

 

[Red UFO]

It is a horror game! I'm horrified of the SJW menace!!!!

 

[Lueken]

I remember being caught up in the atmosphere and slowly walking around the house, expecting something to pop out at any moment. Went upstairs early, saw the red lights, and noped out of there. Then in the end, when I knew what to expect with the lights, it was the complete opposite. Great experience.

 

[Aaron D.]

Nope.

Followed the game closely before launch.

I found the concept of everyday normal people leading everyday normal lives intoxicating.

In a gaming landscape dominated by tired 'save the world' power-fantasy tropes, Gone Home's authentic & intimate real world setting was refreshing as hell.

Game still stands as one of last gen's most powerful experiences. A landmark production.

 

[chrominance]

I remember being concerned enough that I wanted to ask outright if it was a horror game or not (so all the ghost game comments really didn't help), and the game itself does lean into it enough that I remember playing with the lights on a bunch (in the same way I played Dead Space on bright, sunny weekend mornings without really thinking about it). And it does this all the way to the very end of the game.

What I really wanted out of the game was what I ended up getting, and what some of the initial pitches were about, so it's hard to know how much of the horror angle was really intentional and how much of it was just podcast jokes. But I wouldn't blame anyone for going in think they were going to get a horror game.

 

[BizzyBum]

The house was actually haunted, though.

 

[Fat4all]

i like that in the secret passageway from the patents closet to the library there's a cross, and as soon as you examine the cross, the light in the passageway burns out

 

[VaporSnake]

I kept expecting it to be a thriller. Was seriously disappointed with what it ended up being.

Click to shrink...

This. Definitely one of those games where I wish everyone else would pass me what they are smoking...

 

[Deleted member 8861]

I was spoiled on what it's actually about so it didn't grip me lol.. Good story, though

 

[SavoyPrime]

This. Definitely one of those games where I wish everyone else would pass me what they are smoking...

Click to shrink...

It was my own fault. Everyone was hyping it to the moon and I completely fell for it. Then I played it, finished it, and was like...

 

[Egida]

Yep, I went not knowing anything about it and thought the same. I think it's pretty much the point and obviously intentional.

 

[Masterspeed]

I played the whole thing with headphones before knowing anything about the ending. I literally thought it was a horror game and got so unsettled in so many areas expecting something to get me. No only that, some of the sounds in that game were earie as fuck.

 

[Mathieran]

I kept waiting for something scary to happen for the first half of the game at least, before I realized nothing scary was going to happen.

 

[N.47H.4N]

I kept expecting it to be a thriller. Was seriously disappointed with what it ended up being.

Click to shrink...

Same here,was free,but regret my time with it.

 

[sythyx]

Same with everyone here, was expecting a jump scare that never came

 

[OmegaX]

Same, I was expecting cool shit to happen but it never did :(
At least I didn't pay full price for it.

 

[A Strong Latte]

I scared the shit out of myself because I tipped over a bunch of shit, went somewhere else, forgot about it, and then came back to the room i trashed thinking some kind of monster had been through there

 

[BillFromAccounting]

Nope.

Followed the game closely before launch.

I found the concept of everyday normal people leading everyday normal lives intoxicating.

In a gaming landscape dominated by tired 'save the world' power-fantasy tropes, Gone Home's authentic & intimate real world setting was refreshing as hell.

Game still stands as one of last gen's most powerful experiences. A landmark production.

Click to shrink...

While the game definitely didn't hit me the way it did for you, I am interested in the type of game you like. Is there another example of a game that you liked that you felt nailed the "normal people living normal lives" thing?

 

[Weltall Zero]

I played without knowing anything, and indeed wondered if it was an horror game at first, but it didn't take me long to realize it wasn't. It never occurred to me this may, in fact, be intentional; what an interesting thought. Do we know for sure if that's the case, did the dev state so?

While the game definitely didn't hit me the way it did for you, I am interested in the type of game you like. Is there another example of a game that you liked that you felt nailed the "normal people living normal lives" thing?

Click to shrink...

What Remains of Edith Finch mixes in "real people's lives" with some magic realism (depending on what your interpretation of the game is and how much of it is metaphorical or literal). It's also an absolutely mesmerizing experience that I wholeheartedly recommend.

 

[Bakercat]

I played it last month and yeah. Felt it was a good time though.

 

[Border]

It never really made me think that there was going to be any kind of horror premise. The game never introduces you to any type of combat or escape mechanic, and nothing supernatural ever happens. Most horror games have you knee-deep in ghosts and monsters after like 10 minutes.

I think they definitely went for kind of a spooky and unsettling atmosphere, but that is largely because thy want you to be concerned about what might have happened to your family.

 

[RF Switch]

Spoilers?

 

[Nax]

Yup. I thought something seriously sinister was going on. Maybe it's because I played the game 4 - 5 years after it came out, but the actual ending had no impact. I appreciated that story could be told through gaming, but I was bored to tears.