Home is where One Starts is a short memoir of a young girl who missed her school bus one morning. Developed by David Wehle, I bought this game for the low price and the high rating that it had, I had a feeling that I wasn’t going to be disappointed, and I was right to feel that way.
Home is where One Starts begins when a young girl misses her school bus one morning and decides to roam around the trailer where she and her father live, and the beautiful nature that surrounds it, while she recounts how she felt that morning, and many other of the days she spent there. The game is a soft and straightforward story of exploration and discovery, but the narration that you unlock as you walk around tells you of a dark past of a scared, lonely girl, and her alcoholic father.
In terms of the main character, not much can be said. Details are kept so minimal that she could be absolutely any girl, but it is her feelings and wishes that are made clear to the player, us. As the morning goes by, the early sun shining through the trees, you walk around finding lost toys and forgotten things, sometimes throw away on purpose, amongst the trash that is scattered around her trailer.
The game takes about 20 to 30 minutes to finish, and there are a few alternative endings depending on the things you were able to find, on the aspects of her story she ends up telling you about, and the direction that you decide to take when everything comes together and it ends.
All in all, Home is where One Stars is simply what the title tells you, a story of self-reflection and perhaps self-discovery. It is a short but satisfying story, with beautiful music and amazing graphics I originally wasn’t entirely expecting. For a mere 3.29$ on steam, I would say that it would be completely ridiculous for you not to go buy this gorgeous and touching game and play it in one sitting.
8/10Big pro: Gorgeous graphics.
Small con: The game has no save button, but considering how short it is, it is very easy to finish in one sitting.