Gone Home is v difficult to talk about divorced from the context it came out in and the upheaval that surrounded it shortly after. And honestly I really wouldn't like to, as now it ends up being a formative part of why this game is important to talk about still. Said underpinnings of that upheaval being marred in seriously toxic rhetoric and extremely tred-on ground prevents me from really talking about the history of the game's release though, and it's better I just skip right ahead to the point I want to make with this. And it's that ground hasn't really ever ended, as sincerely as some people would like to hope.
If the negative reviews of this game aren't already an implication of this, reading them will kinda reveal that the romantic pairing and overbearing levels of emphasis on such might've not been without reason today. While I wouldn't ever prop-up Gone Home's narrative as a fantastic success especially even compared to its peers of today in the same genre, it certainly was one that struck me enough back then and proves to me that lgbt acceptance is still a long way to go, especially for me. I didn't come out as enby until very recently, or coming out as being bisexual until a few years after this game's release, but looking back on this now that 'feeling' of what I could come out as being monstrous and haunting to those unfamiliar with it definitely bounced in my head back then.
Not to imply that's the intent of the house being somewhat terrifying when you walk in, but exploring through nooks and crannies in the dark and desolate to find out truths about who you are is a lot more relatable and passionately strung together than a lot of things I could name. Even still, if that kind of narrative slides off you, I'd argue Gone Home is a pretty effective puzzle thread game, even if the structure is a bit linear! So to continuously see its reputation tarnished most definitely for the fences it made, and the comments made to it being so snide and without much understanding for what it is, I end up defending it for the simulacra it stands for me. And idk that's definitely some individualist toxic cross to bear, but i don't care.
If the negative reviews of this game aren't already an implication of this, reading them will kinda reveal that the romantic pairing and overbearing levels of emphasis on such might've not been without reason today. While I wouldn't ever prop-up Gone Home's narrative as a fantastic success especially even compared to its peers of today in the same genre, it certainly was one that struck me enough back then and proves to me that lgbt acceptance is still a long way to go, especially for me. I didn't come out as enby until very recently, or coming out as being bisexual until a few years after this game's release, but looking back on this now that 'feeling' of what I could come out as being monstrous and haunting to those unfamiliar with it definitely bounced in my head back then.
Not to imply that's the intent of the house being somewhat terrifying when you walk in, but exploring through nooks and crannies in the dark and desolate to find out truths about who you are is a lot more relatable and passionately strung together than a lot of things I could name. Even still, if that kind of narrative slides off you, I'd argue Gone Home is a pretty effective puzzle thread game, even if the structure is a bit linear! So to continuously see its reputation tarnished most definitely for the fences it made, and the comments made to it being so snide and without much understanding for what it is, I end up defending it for the simulacra it stands for me. And idk that's definitely some individualist toxic cross to bear, but i don't care.