Скорошни рецензии на Transience

I finished my first playthrough in about six minutes. With that experience, the only thing I can say with absolute certainty about this title is that I did not enjoy it.

The presentation is good and the game itself works fine, but it all seems a bit vague, to put it lightly. It's essentially a slideshow in which you decide on an injured man's memories. You are presented with a set of three photographs, from which you have to select one. This occurs numerous times, and makes up the entirety of the gameplay.

There are apparently a number of endings to unlock, but I honestly cannot find any motivation whatsoever to bring myself to work towards them. I understand that the story is to be partially constructed by the player. but I feel that more explicit explanations would have really helped to flesh out the narrative. Doing so may go against the game's vision, but not everyone (myself included) is able and/or willing to piece together a coherent narrative through a series of still images and some sparse accompanying text.

There is no denying that Retention is an original piece of work. As far as my experiences go, there is nothing else like it. However, that alone does not warrant a recommendation. This is a shame, as the method of delivery has so much promise.

Disclaimer: The following statements are based entirely on first impressions (less than 2 hours of play).


Having not played an Assassin's Creed game since the original, and having not seen the gameplay of any since the second, I had very high expectations of the newer titles, believing that only improvements could have been made to the gameplay. In this respect, I was correct. The free-running, combat mechanics, visuals and overall feel of the game are great.

Unfortunately, I am victim to the same range of issues that countless others are experiencing. Sub-30 framerates and input lag make this game almost completely unplayable for me. To be more specific, combat becomes extremely difficult, as reacting on time is not enough; clairvoyance becomes a necessity.

The integration of the companion mobile app as a gatekeeper between the player and certain loot is also very unwelcome. As someone with a dated cellphone, I have no opportunity to take advantage of this "feature".

If the performance issues are resolved in future patches, I will gladly recommend this game, as that is the primary problem. Otherwise, stick to previous instalments.

I entered Gone Home with very few preconceptions. I knew nothing about it apart from what I could see from the first few screenshots and tags on the store page. As such, I assumed that it would be a simple exploration game with a few basic puzzles thrown in, expecting the experience to be on the slightly boring, possibly drawn-out side. While I wasn't entirely incorrect, to leave it at that would be a huge disservice to the narrative, which is the singularly most compelling part of this title.

I have done my best to keep this review free of any major spoilers.


Gone Home puts you in the role of Katie, who has returned home after a trip to Europe. Upon arriving, she finds no trace of the rest of her family. Most notably, her sister, Sam, has written a note requesting that she not be searched for. This is when the experience opens up, allowing the player to begin exploring the rather sizeable house in earnest.

The narrative unfolds in a somewhat unconventional way. Rather than having every plot point delivered through cutscenes, conversations or other exposition, the player learns about characters and the environment largely by reading written notes and letters scattered throughout the estate. Most of these simply serve to provide some background details to Katie's family and the house itself. Those that are related to Sam are often accompanied by a brief voiced anecdote that eventually build up to the reason that she is missing. One particularly nice level of detail with the notes is that they vary a lot depending on who wrote them, varying from cursive handwriting to typewriter print to childish scribbles, further adding to the impression of the writer.

You learn about Sam's growing friendship with a delinquent from her school, a seemingly stereotypical anti-authoritarian character who would rather play video games and attend concerts than classes. This seems to clash with Sam's personality, who is more creative and academic.


As you may have gathered from the above section, advancing the story is a simple matter of exploring and finding notes, but it also involves occasionally hunting for keys and codes to unlock doors and containers. While this may sound like a way to artifically extend playtime, these objects are often found in the vicinity of important notes, so they do not require any particularly extra effort to get. Some notes will also reveal hidden areas, but even these are conveniently marked on your equally-convenient map of the house. It's apparently so big that Katie has to carry one at all times.

One nice feature is the ability to closely examine and rotate any 3D object that you can pick up. Do you want to get a closer look at what that book is about? Turn it around and read the blurb. Do you want to know the nutritional information of that can of soda? Spin it around and turn your head. While certainly not necessary to get through the main story, this allows you to better immerse yourself in the environment, and it is needed to fully understand the characters' backgrounds.

On the other hand, the vast number of interactive objects in the world has the potential to obfuscate what is significant and what is not, especially in the initial few minutes. It can be hard to tell whether that book on the shelf will provide more clues to the whereabouts of Katie's family, or if the pack of cards in the drawer will. While this is not an objectively bad thing, some players might prefer that interactivity be restricted to objects of importance.


This game, which I hesitate to use as a label, is played from the first-person perspective. Anyone who has had any experience with this mechanic will feel immediately at home (pun totally intended). The controls are as one would expect: move the mouse to look around, WASD to walk, Ctrl to crouch and click to interact. Additionally, there is a field of view (FOV) slider that allows you to adjust how wide your view of the world is. This will help if you are prone to simulation or motion sickness in first-person titles. Apart from that, there isn't much else to say here; everything works well.


Gone Home employs a rather clean aesthetic, going for a simple and relatively realistic look for its environment. This makes almost every object in the world easily recognizable, whether it be a lamp, a magazine or a bag of frozen spinach. Lighting is also used to great effect. Unexplored areas are usually difficult to explore due to being unlit, making lamps serve two purposes: making things easier to see and acting as a marker of places that you have been without needing to refer to the map.

In short, the visuals do not detract from the experience. If you are bothered by HUD elements such as a reticle/crosshair and highlights on interactive objects, they can be easily disabled.


The ambient soundtrack of Gone Home, while certainly effective in creating an ominous atmosphere, is, I feel, nothing particularly amazing. It is one of those cases in which the music works fantastically within the given environment, but falls somewhat flat if listened to as standalone tracks. However, there are a few particular songs that bear mentioning.

Scattered throughout the house are cassettes containing music which can be listened to. The songs contained within simply ooze an aura of the mid 1990s, the period in which the story is set. Anyone who was born in the early 90s (myself included) should feel an immediate wave of nostalgia, regardless of whether they like the music or not.


If you are someone who can appreciate a strong and emotional story revolving around a teenage girl's emotional and sexual development delivered to you at your own pace in a realistic setting, then I would very strongly recommend Gone Home to you.

If the prospect of exploration and a bit of reading put you off, I would still tentatively say to give it a try. The story might still be enough to keep you interested. Besides, getting through the game should only take about two hours, give or take how much of said exploration and reading you do.

If none of the above sounds appealing whatsoever, then I suspect that you will not have read this far anyway. If you have, I saulte you!

My review for this game is located at:
http://gtm.you1.cn/app/72850/discussions/0/41973820730406687/

The reason that it is there and not here is due to it not fitting in this space.

If you are here simply to know whether or not I would recommend this game, then it is with a hearty yes. Skyrim is a fantastic open-world fantasy Western RPG that has held up extremely well since its release, largely due to its vibrant modding community.

While Dota is infamous for having a steep learning curve and a less than accomodating community, its rewarding team gameplay and rapidly evolving metagame make it one to be at least followed.