Nintendo helped shape a generation of kids and teenagers during the ’90s, as the Super Nintendo console delivered several classic video games that have stood the test of time. So, it’s only fitting that the period piece Gone Home, which is set during that decade, will be coming to Nintendo’s latest console, the Switch, later this month.
Publisher Annapurna Interactive will bring Gone Home to the Nintendo Switch on August 23. The announcement trailer for the game doesn’t tout any Switch-specific features, but the basic gameplay on other platforms was very simple. You control sort-of-protagonist Katie as she returns from a trip abroad to find her house completely empty, and you must use environmental clues and notes left by Katie’s sister to uncover exactly what happened to her.
Unlike many other contemporary first-person adventure games, Gone Home isn’t focused on horror, but a feeling of angst and young love that perfectly captures its mid-’90s setting. Notes, drawings, and even cassette tapes make mention of the era’s grunge and “riot grrrl” music, as well as games like Street Fighter. For anyone who grew up during that period, the nostalgia is enough to make you tear up.
Gone Home‘s narrative structure is also unique in that nothing actually happens during the course of the game. The events at hand have already played out, and the main character is never seen. It’s almost like reading a book you already know the ending to, just so you can learn the “why” rather than the “what.”
Following the success of Gone Home in 2013, developer Fullbright ported it to several different systems, including the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The studio then released the science-fiction-themed, first-person adventure game Tacoma. The game builds on what made Gone Home successful, but with a deeper and more thought-provoking narrative that packs in some real mysteries. The game originally launched on Xbox One and PC before arriving on the PlayStation 4, and we’re willing to bet it will make its way to the Switch eventually, as well.
We can’t wait to jump back into Gone Home later this month so we can cry in public.
