Gone Home – How A Story Speaks To Everyone

Warning: This article explores some of the themes of Gone Home that new players might want to discover for themselves.

I didn’t think I’d be able to connect to Gone Home on any level, but then again I really didn’t know what to expect. While I was aware of the mid-90s setting and premise, where you return home from a holiday to find your family gone and must then delve into the darkest depths of your house, I didn’t know what I’d find when exploring the seemingly normal family home.

What I did find was a story which resonated with me in a way I could not foresee. Some people praise Gone Home for how they can relate to the family’s struggles and triumphs – with the father, a failing writer; his wife, fallen out of love and fed up with the mundane lifestyle; and their younger daughter, who knows she’s different in a way that shouldn’t really matter, even if everyone else acts as if it does. Others revel in the setting, revisiting 1995 with nods to The X-Files, Nirvana and pop culture aplenty. It may be a time to evoke nostalgia for many, but I was too young in the mid-90s to understand that.

It wasn’t any of these characters or the setting where I found a connection to the game, nor was it directly with the player character, Katie. I’ve never returned home to a mysteriously empty house after travelling to Europe, and I’ve certainly never been a twenty year old girl in 1995. You’d think it might be the more subtle writing and reviewing part, as it’s similar to what I do here, but again, that’s not where Gone Home caught me.

Instead, Gone Home made me understand some of my greatest friends in a way that I hadn’t quite managed before. As Katie learned of her sister’s experiences with finding out who she really was, I began to realise how strong and brilliant the people I consider my closest companions had been, going through much the same before I even really knew them. This wasn’t me listening to Samantha’s story anymore, this was my friends speaking to me – this was the game teaching me just one example of what people struggle with every day.

It’s not that I didn’t realise how hard coming out could be or that I’ve never had any experience with other people doing so before. It’s the fact that coming out was never something I personally had to do, and this first-hand account furthered the notion that anyone feeling guilty, wrong or different while having to do such a thing is just not right.

I know that this subject is often so much more complex than the seemingly very standard tale of accepting sexuality shown within the confines of the monologues in Gone Home, so when the game concluded, the first thing I did was speak to my best friend about the experience. We discussed how I now felt as though I understood a bit more just how incredible she was for going through something similar, years before I knew her, and then she told me how it was comparatively easy for her.

That may have been the case, but anyone who has faced their family with a truth such as this, particularly when they have to get through to people who are disillusioned, in denial or just can’t accept something completely natural, is filled with more bravery than I’ll ever possess. And it’s not just coming out – people are quietly brave every day, for myriad reasons often unbeknown to the outside world.

So while Sam’s tale is undoubtedly the focus of Gone Home, there are a lot of other important plot threads in which other people may find a story to relate to. And that’s the true beauty of the game. Everything from troublesome parents, to loss, love, friendship and personal identity is explored throughout the course of the experience, and all of these points are very human in their nature.

There’s even darker tones from the father’s side of things explored throughout – which are both necessary and unfortunately familiar for some – such as dealing with being abused leaving him stuck in the bleak past and, much like his daughter at first, not being able to come out and speak about things, or the way he works through failure – either in jobs or in trying to achieve his dream.

Their house at Arbor Hill is by all accounts a standard home, albeit a bit large and with more secret passageways than should be allowed, which only reveals its true nature and secrets when explored.

In the past I’ve been able to relate to characters, but when exploring this house I found more than I could ever have imagined. The world fell away from me as I sank into my chair, mouse and keyboard at my fingertips; the corn flies trapped in my PC monitor went glanced over unnoticed; I was well and truly immersed in the experience, and Sam speaking to Katie became the world speaking to me, telling me one thing:

Everyone is just trying to make it through life, in their own way. Some people can’t accept others for who they are, and some people can’t even accept themselves. Gone Home is a message – a thousand messages – showing all of the dynamics which affect the mindsets of individual members in a family. It shows life at its best and at its worst, teaching you to be honest and enjoy your experiences while you can, and ultimately there’s something everyone can learn from exploring 1 Arbor Hill.