14 DAY TRIAL // 
No Longer Home is an indie production that evoke the experience you may have seen in movies or modern art galleries: a bunch of people tilting their heads to the left and right trying to figure out if a painting or a sculpture can really be looked at as “art”. In this case the debate will center on the question if this production can be considered a game or not.
I am a fan of whimsical and well put together adventure games known by their derogatory classification as “walking simulator”. Focusing on an interactive narrative experience can be just as engaging as any other genre, as long as it is crafted on enticing premises, an interesting setting and a good story. No Longer Home is a very personal and specific experience, that many young adults should be able to relate to, but it fails as a game.
You are warned from the beginning that this production is based on the personal experiences of its creators, and their entourage. But you have to go through all of it to understand exactly how personal it is and realize that although there are some perhaps relatable moments, it feels rather like reading someone else’s journal. A page about the struggles, inner thoughts and interactions of someone you don’t know, a complete stranger.
It is like watching an approximatively two hours long Woody Allen movie about a non-topic that somehow gains almost cosmic proportions. We have an apartment with a few rooms as the place where this short drama will unfold. We have a circle of friends with various dynamics between them, who have strong opinions about everything, including each other. And last but not least we have our two heroes, a boy and a girl, whose relationship is unclear at best.
The game unfolds as a series of dialogues, where your choices don’t really matter. Of course, based on the lines you chose the interaction changes, but in the grand scheme of things No Longer Home inevitably stumbles towards the very same ending. You will control Bo and Ao in a sequence imagined and put together by the developers, with no influence or real choice involved.
You only have the illusion of a limited freedom in a few moments of this experience, since you can go with route A or B, but in the end the difference between them is minimal and they converge towards the same linear path that you are being shepherded on. You cannot switch characters and you cannot go off script. Also, there are no puzzles to challenge any of your brain cells.
On the other hand, you are free to explore the building and meet a few odd and inexplicable characters that are not really tied into what is going on. They represent the somewhat failed attempt of the developers to personify the psychological under layers of the main characters. Beyond these weird encounters and a few limited interactions with the environment there is not really much else to do other than go through the endless dialogues.
The developers chose to solely focus on the last couple of days of our heroes before they have to move out from a space, they shared with other friends during their university years. It is bitter-sweet story that tries to pluck at the emotional chord of insecurity combined with the pseudo intellectual high horse attitude of the freshly graduated, sprinkling on top the weight of losing the friendly bonds due to the necessity of securing income or moving somewhere else.
The gameplay is closer to a visual novel than any other genre, which wouldn’t have been bad if it was actually interesting. The dialogue choices are often as strange as the animation of the characters. Everybody moves in the same chunky way, which somewhat washes away the heartwarming feeling of the minimalist visual style.
The immersion is also completely broken by the inaccurate controls, which makes interacting with the surroundings truly annoying. The pace is just as fast as a geriatric snail, as a lot of dialogues feel forced courtesy or a lot of talk about nothing. I’m probably nitpicky, but the zoom in and out effects take way too long. If the visuals are a great benefit, the soundtrack not so much.
Ironically, one of the best things about No Longer Home is that it only takes around two hours to finish. Sadly, the game leaves you with no real curiosities, not really wanting more, but also not really regretting going through the experience. No Longer Home doesn't really offer any replay value and nothing truly memorable that will remain with you after the credits.
The Good
- Minimalistic yet catchy visual style
- A few interesting and odd characters
- Personal topics about relations and personal growth
The Bad
- Lack of any real gameplay
- No real consequences for any of the choices
- Really awkward animations
Conclusion
No Longer Home lacks puzzles or any other adventure-like elements. Judging by how the story flows, this feels more like a visual novel with dialogue choices having no influence on the final outcome.
Ultimately, No Longer Home seems to be a personal project put together by people who wanted to conserve a moment in time and chose to turn it into a video game because they like this medium. Although the original idea might have been good on paper, the result isn’t as palatable as developers probably hoped to be.
Some will probably relate to the story, but the way it’s conveyed to the player hardly makes it justice. It’s a pity because I did resonate with the visuals and the main idea of the game, but every other element made it almost impossible to like it.
Review key was provided by the publisher.
