I don’t know about you, but I thought the Steam summer sale was a bit of a bust this year. In a way, of course, I’m glad, because it means I wasn’t too tempted to add yet more titles to the backlog, although I’ve long since fallen off the ‘no new games in 2014’ wagon.

One title I did pick up was Gone Home, which was one of the most talked-about games of last year – although, being an out-of-touch old so-and-so, I didn’t really pay much attention to that talk at the time.

For once, such ignorance probably did me a favour, seeing as you’re probably best off approaching Gone Home while knowing virtually nothing about it. I’m not about to ruin it for you now, either, other than to say that I really did enjoy it a lot.

GoneHome

All you really need to know is that it’s an adventure with plenty of exploration but virtually no puzzles, and it’s fairly short (2-3 hours max I reckon) – so if such things bother you, make sure you acquire it at an acceptable price point.

Any further explanation is pretty redundant. The mechanics will be obvious to anyone who’s ever played a game (and even those who haven’t), while uncovering the story in little pieces – from the very start – is pretty much the whole point.

(I should point out that such secrecy is advised not because there’s anything mind-bendingly shocking to uncover here, more that the uncovering itself is such a fundamental part of the game that to say anything beforehand is to spoil a rather large proportion of the overall experience.)

Having finished the game and taken some time to look at the reviews, the general consensus seems to be that Gone Home is a triumph, a touching and original title that also represents a refreshing counterpoint to the macho nonsense that makes up the majority of the gaming world. I’d go along with that.

Best of all, though, it’s set in the 90s. What more could you ask for?