Homebody Review

Developer: Game Grumps

Platforms: PC (Reviewed), PlayStation, Switch, Xbox

Genre: Adventure

Publisher: Rogue Games Inc

Homebody is a survival horror puzzle game. The game is by the youtube sensation Game Grumps and published by Rogue Games Inc. Games similar to Homebody are many; of those indie-developed horror games like 9 Child’s Street and many others. This review was done for the PC version of the game but is also available for Xbox, Switch, and PlayStation.

You play as Emily, who has met up with her college buddies at a remote; rental house to watch the Perseid meteor shower. Throughout the game, you try to rekindle your relationship with your friends, but this leaves Emily feeling alone more; than ever. As a sudden blackout happens, under the darkness lies a mysterious killer that kills off each person one by one. The game is made up of many different puzzles that help you collect memories/pictures to guide Emily’s safe escape from this nightmare house. There is no combat featured in the game; it is mainly focused on deep storytelling and character relations, as well as solving puzzles.

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The controls for the game are very straightforward when playing on the PC. It is very useful how there is a set button to show; which items can be interacted with in the room. This keeps the player from spamming their button on every object to see if they can interact with it. When starting the game, you are also given a tutorial as you progress to familiarise yourself with the controls. Though, we found the game to play a lot smoother with controls; on a controller rather than a keyboard and mouse.

The visuals of the game resemble graphics similar to playing a game on the PlayStation 2. It also has this VHS type of look to it, with some resemblance of the characters looking close to being made out of clay. I would say that the visuals of this game really complement the horror theme as it adds more of a spooky vibe with the pixely, static effects. The game has a cartoonish look yet still has a touch of realism to it. What I like about this game is how the camera angles change from; one room to another.

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You could be controlling Emily from a top-view angle to one that tilts the room at an angle or to one that has a window view. The way the camera angles play out makes the game a lot more interesting and quirky, adding; to this mysterious vibe. The lighting is very well managed and in certain areas: I like the red light, which indicates danger that goes well with the story. The game truly is best played with headphones on. Many sound effects from cricket, chirping too, and having a loud grandfather clock all add to the experience of the game. Especially when reading the dialogue between characters, the sound effects and music that is played throughout the game create a strange and eerie atmosphere that; is very well complimented by the graphics of this game. The game also featured a lot of sinister sound effects from high-pitched noises that added to the room you were in. For instance, when going into the basement, you hear one of those noises, and it can give you a bit of a scare.

Something about the game that we enjoyed was the story aspect of the game. It seemed like those types of movies where a bunch of; students would go to a remote house, and one person at a time would get killed off. It felt very similar to that, and with the additions of the cutscenes, it felt like you were placed in one of those movies. The character interactions were; nice when building up relations, but sometimes the text did seem to drag. I liked the little in game-game you could play on the TV, and the achievement for beating it was a fun little easter egg.

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The puzzles throughout the game all varied from one another, which made the game a lot more enjoyable. Some puzzles were harder to understand, and some were relatively straightforward. The issue was that if you did not understand a puzzle, there wasn’t really a way around it other than moving on to somewhere else, so for the more difficult; puzzles, you could be stuck on it for a while before making progress. What I also liked about this game is that if you; do manage to get caught by the killer and killed. You pretty much start back at the beginning, so the game is played through multiple times where you have to be successful at not being caught by the murderer, which makes the game exciting, frustrating, difficult and very cautious.

If you are looking for an atmospheric story-driven horror game with the inclusion of solving many different puzzles to escape this horrific rental house: you are staying in. Or even if you are a fan of the youtube sensation Game Grumps then definitely go check out their game Homebody!

Overall: 8/10