History VideoGame / GoneHome

** Not to mention that some of the background noise sorta sounds like an animal growling - kept expecting to run across a dog or ghostly/demonic equivalent at some point.

* ParentalSexualitySquick: Katie is rather put off when she finds her father's PornStash and discovers an unused condom in her parents' dresser.

** In keeping with the period-appropriate setting, the game features references from everything from ''Series/TwinPeaks'' to ''Series/TheXFiles''. Simply looking at the TV Guide in the living room and seeing what shows were on the air on Fridays in 1995 is its own trip down memory lane all by itself, from cherished classics like ''Series/HomicideLifeontheStreet'' and ''Series/BoyMeetsWorld'' to long forgotten stuff like ''Series/HanginWithMrCooper''.

** All the [[spoiler:mysteriously missing electronics]] are just that, [[spoiler:mysteriously missing and nothing else. Sam leaves a note asking Katie to tell her parents about the things that were stolen, presumably to help her and Lonnie start a new life somewhere.]]

* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Lonnie's full name, only found on one or two letters, is Yolanda DeSoto.

* PeriodPiece: The game takes place in 1995, and the details are very accurate to the era. Cassette players (CD players were just starting to catch on, and not everybody had them), SuperNES cartridges that are themed after actual game genres that were popular at the time (including ones very strongly resembling ''[[VideoGame/AnotherWorld Out of this World]]'' and ''VideoGame/{{Bubsy}}''), posters and music that was popular at the time are all over the place. Not everyone owned a PC, and typewriters were still used along with handwritten letters.

** One of the trophies in the console edition lampshades this heavily, by requiring you complete the game in less than ONE MINUTE without any cheats. [[spoiler: If you know where the door and attic keys are, you can skip straight to the attic and 'complete' the game in next to no time at all.]]

The game was critically acclaimed and commercially successful. Fullbright went on to release ''VideoGame/{{Tacoma}}'' in 2017.

''Gone Home'' is a 2013 EnvironmentalNarrativeGame developed by the Fullbright Company. You play as Kaitlin "Katie" Greenbriar, a college student. On June 7th 1995, she returns to the States after traveling abroad for a year, during which time her family has moved to a new house. Katie took the midnight flight home, because it was the cheapest, and took the shuttle home so her mother wouldn't have to pick her up. But everything isn't like she expects. She arrives home to a locked door, an empty house, and has to figure out where everyone went and why they're gone.

* TheNineties: The game takes place in 1995.

** It's possible to [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5g3trvkAFQw complete the game]] in about [[spoiler: two minutes. It's possible for a thorough player get close to that time, as the (hidden) door leading to the penultimate note is not locked.]]

* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Lonnie's full name, only found on one or two letters, is Yolanda Del Soto.

* ShownTheirWork: Prescribed burns are a real technique, and began to be used around the time of the story. They can be very dangerous as well, hence the request for additional personnel.
** Also, Reed College, the school that [[spoiler:Sam gets a writing scholarship to]], is a real, highly regarded liberal arts college in Portland, OR.

* SequenceBreaking: It's possible to [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5g3trvkAFQw complete the game]] in about [[spoiler: two minutes. It's possible for a thorough player get close to that time, as the (hidden) door leading to the penultimate note is not locked.]]

* NothingIsScarier: A natural choice, considering this game originally started as a mod for ''VideoGame/AmnesiaTheDarkDescent''. After all, there's something very suspenseful about an empty house, on a dark and stormy night, after midnight, with nothing to keep you company but the sound of rain, thunder, and the creaking floorboards of an old house. It does keep you on your toes, especially when [[spoiler: you find a bathtub full of "blood" (actually red hair dye), or when the only lightbulb in a secret hallway burns out right as you pick up a creepy crucifix]].

* FollowTheLeader: Regardless of its own merits, comparisons to ''VideoGame/DearEsther'' have proven inevitable, as they have very similar presentations.

* PoorCommunicationKills: If any of the missing family members had left a note for Katie that wasn't vague and unclear, the story would have been over much more quickly. [[spoiler:Sam ran away without her girlfriend, while Sam and Katie's parents are at a Couples Counseling getaway.]] Justified in that Katie came home significantly earlier than she was supposed to, so her parents weren't expecting her, and Sam didn't want to leave any clues for her parents to find.

The game is more an exercise in narrative fiction thhean a game, heavily focused on exploration, and with few actual 'puzzles', but many hidden notes and tidbits easily missed if you don't scrutinize everything. Much like ''VideoGame/DearEsther'', a narrative unfolds as you explore the house, primarily chronicling Katie's younger sister Sam's life at home while Katie was abroad.

* FauxHorrorFilm: More in terms of presentation than plot content. Dark, spooky, mysteriously abandoned house? Check. Stormy night outside? Check. Ghosts and the suggestion that the house might be haunted? Check. Suggestions of child abuse many years previous? Check. [[spoiler:It's actually a tender ComingOutStory, with the mysterious gothic elements used more as a device to draw the player into the narrative]].

The game is more an exercise in narrative fiction than a game, heavily focused on exploration, and with few actual 'puzzles', but many hidden notes and tidbits easily missed if you don't scrutinize everything. Much like ''VideoGame/DearEsther'', a narrative unfolds as you explore the house, primarily chronicling Katie's younger sister Sam's life at home while Katie was abroad.

* RiotGrrrl: The game contains music by Heavens to Betsy and Bratmobile, two major riot grrrl bands from the era, that you can listen to by playing Sam's cassettes.

** In keeping with the period-appropriate setting, the game features references from everything from ''Series/TwinPeaks'' to ''Series/TheXFiles''. Simply looking at the TV Guide in the living room and seeing what shows were on the air on Fridays in 1995 is its own trip down memory lane all by itself, from cherished classics like ''Series/HomicideLifeontheStreet'' and ''Series/BoyMeetsWorld'' to long forgotten stuff like ''Hangin' With Mr. Cooper''.