Genuinely a very smart game with a fun 80s vibe that's held back purely by a few janky design decisions and a weak story. A lot of this is great. The start has such a fantastic cold open that sets the scene perfectly, and from there, the early goings are precisely what I love about the time loop format. Investigate the house, find clues, use the clues to learn new information, get violently murdered and then use that information to progress to the next area of the house once you inexplicably return from the grave unharmed. I've played (and loved) a lot of this new wave of 'information as a currency' focused games, and Homebody manages to use the formula to make a pretty effective mystery. It reminds me a lot of 12 Minutes, but while 12 Minutes is absolute shite, this takes the ideas that 12 Minutes had and executes them way more effectively.
But it also stumbles a lot. Some of the puzzles are just downright obtuse, and with a lot of them only being available at certain times of the night, an 'end run early' button or 'advance time button' would've been a godsend. Plus, while the killer emerging is definitely a cool moment in every run, the fixed camera angles sometimes make it hard to actually track where that lil bastard actually is and the controls can make navigating around him more hassle than it's worth.
The story is the worst offender here, though. I understand that it's going for more of an ambiguous slant, but after investigating the house thoroughly, there's so little information and so many lingering questions that need a resolution. What is the monster? Why can't I ever tell my friends about our impending doom? Why does anyone hang out with that Cliff dude even though he's horrible to be around? I don't really have answers to any of these questions, which is funny because the game has a lot of cutscenes and dialogue interactions. There's so much time to dive into things, but it ends up covering the same few ideas over and over rather than expanding on the stuff we don't know. And listen, I'm fully a believer that horror is largely much better when things are left unsaid and put to the imagination, but there's a healthy balance of giving and retaining information. Without many answers to your burning questions, the story just sort of washes over you.
On the whole though, this is a really fun game. Would love to see what Game Grumps could do with a potential sequel or a similar idea, as stalker horror and time loops go together like Guy Fierri and Hawaiian shirts. All I ask is, dear god, please stop putting those damn water-pressure puzzles in these games. I can't take it. There has never been a good water pressure puzzle. How many times have you had to alter the water pressure in your house? So few times... be honest. They just suck so much. STOP ADDING THEM. YOU'RE TEARING ME APART.
But it also stumbles a lot. Some of the puzzles are just downright obtuse, and with a lot of them only being available at certain times of the night, an 'end run early' button or 'advance time button' would've been a godsend. Plus, while the killer emerging is definitely a cool moment in every run, the fixed camera angles sometimes make it hard to actually track where that lil bastard actually is and the controls can make navigating around him more hassle than it's worth.
The story is the worst offender here, though. I understand that it's going for more of an ambiguous slant, but after investigating the house thoroughly, there's so little information and so many lingering questions that need a resolution. What is the monster? Why can't I ever tell my friends about our impending doom? Why does anyone hang out with that Cliff dude even though he's horrible to be around? I don't really have answers to any of these questions, which is funny because the game has a lot of cutscenes and dialogue interactions. There's so much time to dive into things, but it ends up covering the same few ideas over and over rather than expanding on the stuff we don't know. And listen, I'm fully a believer that horror is largely much better when things are left unsaid and put to the imagination, but there's a healthy balance of giving and retaining information. Without many answers to your burning questions, the story just sort of washes over you.
On the whole though, this is a really fun game. Would love to see what Game Grumps could do with a potential sequel or a similar idea, as stalker horror and time loops go together like Guy Fierri and Hawaiian shirts. All I ask is, dear god, please stop putting those damn water-pressure puzzles in these games. I can't take it. There has never been a good water pressure puzzle. How many times have you had to alter the water pressure in your house? So few times... be honest. They just suck so much. STOP ADDING THEM. YOU'RE TEARING ME APART.