Yggdrazil Group’s Home Sweet Home offers gamers a mix of P.T inspired scares and Thai mythology, that hits just as much as it misses.
In proper P.T fashion, the game opens with the protagonist waking up in an unknown place, with no clue how they got there.
The only thing they know is that they have to find a way home.
Thus it’s up to the player to bimble around the dark, decaying environment, uncovering clues and solving puzzles, all while avoiding a menagerie of malicious spirits.
So far, so much like every other first-person horror puzzler from the last half a decade – a grizzly game of hide-and-seek with the occasional jump scare tossed in for good measure.
What sets Home Sweet Home apart from its contemporaries is its use of Thai mythology mixed with typical Asian horror tropes. The result is an experience which though not mechanically significant, is nevertheless memorable.
The game’s greatest strength though is its top-notch sound design which uses a mix of ambient industrial noises and a minimalistic soundtrack comprised of piercing strings that give the player an ever-pervasive sense of dread.
Each of Home Sweet Home’s malevolent spirits also has a distinct and disturbing audio cue designed to have players darting for the nearest locker, drain, or over-sized vase as soon as they hear them. I never thought the click, click, click, of a Stanley knife could be so menacing, but when a screaming, blood-soaked college student is stalking the halls waiting to slash you to death with one, it’s hard not to feel intimidated.
Likewise, the game’s grainy, grimy visuals have a low-rent found footage feel to them, reminiscent of early Silent Hill which adds quite nicely to its bleak, nightmarish tone.
However, the things which raise Home Sweet Home up also bring it down.
The creepy cues and musical turns clearly delineate when the player is in trouble and when they aren’t. the sudden appearance of places to hide and a quick save icon every time the monsters draw near also suck any sense of surprise from the game, save from the occasional irritating jump scare.
The stealth mechanics are also borderline busted at times, with some of the monsters to having an almost preternatural ability to detect you, even when you are standing still, and their back is turned, and you haven’t moved a muscle.
The game’s use of VR also feels like an afterthought. Though it is serviceable and the sound design certainly shines through whenever you hear those blood-curdling clicks, the limitations of the PSVR hardware and the game’s grimy art style create a distancing effect which saps any proper sense of immersion.
Ultimately though, despite some minor gameplay niggles, Home Sweet Home’s intriguing plot and unique Thai folklore elements make it worthy of your time.