This is not a happy game. Nor is it one that is easy to fully understand. I was drawn to it by the style of artwork and the promise a surreal atmosphere, which it delivers on. If you’re into arresting depictions of distress and depression with horror themes this could be your bag.
Closer to Home is dripping in unpleasant emotions. I’m not going to go into the story elements because it’s better to discover for yourself and there is only so much. A lot of it open to interpretation. From my point of view this is something to play for the mood above all else. The main character is a high school student and there is some relatable angst around that and some real depression. I’ve never had to violently kill myself so many times in order to progress through a game. So yeah, watch out for that. lol.
There’s an amazing bit when you briefly play as another character and the way it’s set up and the dialogue just sold it perfectly for me. A real standout moment. However, this will be an acquired taste kinda game. It’s not gonna be for everyone. It’s confusing and at times aimless. One quest develops around saving someone and I managed to royally screw it up. Although I’m not sure how much of a difference it would make to the ending if I’d have succeeded.
In essence this is an adventure game with a stronger focus on exploration and interactions. There is a lot of inventive playfulness around the design of the layout and how you interact with the environment. You have an inventory where items are used automatically at the right point, and some items seem to have no use at all. There are a few puzzles specifically about navigating labyrinths and some brief parts where you ride a skateboard. Sleeping lets you enter a dream version of the world. Both worlds are pretty weird and it’s easy to forget which you’re in at first.
Closer to Home feels like a game that should have secrets and branches but I’m not sure how much that is the case without more tries. I got the impression that my playthrough was quite comprehensive over a three hour period, even though getting a ‘bad’ ending. My main motivation for diving back in is to decipher a little more of the meaning behind the imagery and set up. There’s a poetic quality to some of the dialogue. I’m curious about the neighbour and their mother, could it be a manifestation of another side of the main character’s personality. I dunno. Also to see if there are other options during the scary descent into madness that carried me through to the end of the game like a runaway train.
This one is an experience for sure.
Available from Steam.
mishmash 