Homebody is the latest game from GameGrumps, the second game they have developed, the first being 2017’s Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator. This is a horror-puzzler game set in a strange old house where old friends decide to get together and discover a creature living outside of them that goes hunting on a schedule. This is our Homebody for PC review.
Homebody is nicely reminiscent of the old and original Resident Evil with its fixed camera, and that’s where any Escape Room games come to mind. And add good and thoughtful puzzles and get a Homebody.
You play as a girl named Emily, who, as players will soon find out, is riddled with anxiety. She finds it hard to decide whether to meet her friends at a party in the middle of nowhere in a large rented house. However, after some persuasion from another friend, she pushes through and finally makes it to the house.
There is also interaction with NPCs, exploration of the house, and interaction with objects to understand how and what works. And while you are all exploring an unforeseen and incomprehensible creature appears in the house from nowhere and haunts you until you back yourself into a corner. Surprisingly, for the first time, I also played a game carefully removed by the homeowner – then the electricity was turned off, I began to find out what and how and died in the basement from the killer. And then our heroine realizes that she has returned to the beginning of the evening, and the cycle of this evening is repeated every time you die. And when I first interacted with an NPC after my death, I had various dialogue options to choose from. Most of them indicated that Emily knew about the existence of the killer, and the NPCs did not pay attention to it.
Trying to save the day, she tries to remain calm and solve all the puzzles, and what was a pleasant surprise was that this game is not “one life”, where you start all over again. If you solve any puzzle, then what it will give will remain in the heroine’s notes, and we will be able to use it in our future playthroughs.
The game is mechanical, it forces you to solve the same puzzles over and over again in an incredibly short time, allowing you to find useful information to use the next time you inevitably fail again and again. When Emily tries to talk to her friends about the events that keep happening, she finds that the words coming out of her mouth mysteriously change, making it difficult for her to discuss the nightmare that just happened.
New game, old graphics
Homebody is a tribute to the classic survival horror from the PS2 era. The game combines pixel art with smooth, unpolished 3D models. The best way I can describe it is that the characters are like avatars in old games. Not all games have to be hyper-realistic to be good, Emily isn’t nearly as perfect, but she’s a well-rounded and realistic character that shows the time and effort put into it, and that’s all that really matters.
However, the game has its problems. Although unique, the monster’s design does not cause a strong reaction. And the lack of detailed animations and voice acting deprives some of the moments and turns the game into a simple puzzle runner with monsters.
The sound design is excellent, except for the lack of voice acting. Plenty of unnerving sound effects and atmospheric sounds keep you on your toes. Although the ominous chiming of the clock every hour can be a little annoying, given how often you hear them, since the evening repeats itself from time to time. So while the graphics and sound design aren’t groundbreaking, they still feel like old horror.
As I said, Homebody happily draws inspiration from survival horror games from the PlayStation era with fixed camera angles and polygonal graphics. And as part of the same games, Emily is not gifted in combat, so the best way to deal with the killer is to simply hide in the closet or run away. Emily’s cutscenes and flashbacks create a backstory depicting Emily’s social angst that introduces us to her better. She isolated herself last year, and this is becoming a source of growing discontent among her friends.
The stay-at-home keeps the tension high as he makes many turns on his way to escape this house. The gameplay is a simple point-and-click puzzle game, and you are often offered an interesting narrative to keep you engrossed in the game. The characters are likable and expressive, and there are plenty of interesting twists and turns underneath the surface.
Altogether, Homebody is a good, not great, game. It’s a fun entry into the horror genre with above-average puzzles and action. For fans of retro themes, this one definitely brings the goods. If you love horror, puzzles, a retro feel, and the GameGrumps, Homebody is the game for you.
Homebody is currently available for PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.
This review was completed thanks to a code provided by PR.
