Home Is Where One Starts... [Game Review]
Game: Home is Where One Starts...
Genre: First-person Exploration
Developer: David Wehle
Publisher: David Wehle
Copy supplied by developer
Home is Where One Starts... is a first-person exploration game similar to Dear Esther and Gone Home, developed by David Wehle.
STORY
If you played "Gone Home", you'll know what you are getting into. The game is about a girl who explores the surroundings of her house after having missed the bus. The area that you explore is filled with secrets and details revealing your character's story, without being too much "in-your-face".
GRAPHICS
Made in the Unity engine, the game looks beautiful: everything, from the shadows to the lightning, feels photorealistic. This is easily one of the best looking games developed with the engine.
GAMEPLAY
Just like all the other games like this, you walk around and look at some stuff. There are no puzzles and there is little to no interactivity with the environment. If you play this game, you must know that you will spend most of your time walking around and listening the narrator talk about her experiences and her life.
CHALLENGE
There is really no challenge at all, but that is not the point of the game, so I won't take this into account.
SOUND
Elise Wehle voices the narrator, and she makes a fantastic job, making you feel the sadness of her character. The music that accompanies you is also really good, but after hearing it for five times during a playthrough, it kinda got on my nerves.
REPLAYABILITY
The game took me 15 minutes to complete the first time, but there are enough secrets and achievements that will make you come back to fully explore the environment.
David Wehle created a relaxing and interesting experience, albeit short. Fans of this type of games will have a blast with it, while those who don't like them won't find anything fresh to make you feel any different toward this genre.
Story: 7.5
Graphics: 9
Gameplay: 7
Challenge: n/a
Sound: 8.5
Replayability: 7.5
ENJOYMENT: 8
FRUSTRATION: 0
