Home Behind 2
- February 16, 2022
- TPP Studio
- 883h median play time
Get on Steam"Home Behind 2" is a survival simulation game that follows the story of a refugee fleeing their war-torn country. The player must manage resources, make decisions, and navigate through various challenges to reach safety. With improved graphics and new characters, this sequel offers an engaging and thought-provoking experience, shedding light on the struggles of refugees around the world.
Reviews
- The game features an addictive gameplay loop with a mix of resource management, exploration, and combat mechanics that keep players engaged.
- It offers a variety of character classes and customization options, allowing for diverse strategies and playstyles.
- The art style and soundtrack are well-received, contributing to an immersive atmosphere despite some dialogue issues.
- The dialogue and story writing are often criticized for being weak, excessive, and at times cringeworthy, detracting from the overall experience.
- Combat is primarily automated, leading to a lack of strategic depth that some players find disappointing compared to similar games like Darkest Dungeon.
- There are numerous bugs and translation issues, including instances of Chinese text appearing in the English version, which can hinder gameplay.
- story85 mentions
- 22 % positive mentions
- 73 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The game's story is a mixed bag, with some players finding it interesting and nuanced, particularly in its exploration of themes like revolution and personal sacrifice, while others criticize the dialogue and writing as weak and repetitive. The narrative often follows a traditional action hero arc, with players engaging in missions that involve combat and resource management, but many feel that the story lacks depth and meaningful choices. Overall, while the setting and premise are compelling, the execution leaves much to be desired, making it a secondary aspect to the gameplay experience.
“The story is interesting.”
“The game's presentation is crisp and stylized with a distinctive art style, a soundtrack that feels at home in the setting, and a story that is surprisingly nuanced and impactful.”
“The story follows a young female radical who has come back to her birth country to overthrow the dictatorial government there, with two supporting characters being a (not CIA) agent operating in the region and a local tribesman who has lost everything.”
“The writing and story elements were so unbearably bad, and there was a lot of it.”
“If you're here for the story and the dialogues, well, it's not that good.”
“While the overall story is okay, a lot of the writing is pretty mediocre, so if that's something that bothers you, then this won't be for you.”
- gameplay45 mentions
- 22 % positive mentions
- 62 % neutral mentions
- 16 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by an addictive loop of hit-and-run combat, looting, and base building, though it suffers from repetitiveness and a lack of clarity in mechanics. While many players appreciate the depth and complexity reminiscent of games like Darkest Dungeon, others find the core mechanics boring and overly familiar. Overall, the game offers solid replay value and enjoyable strategic elements, but may not appeal to those seeking fast-paced action or a well-explained tutorial experience.
“The gameplay loop of hit & run combat, looting, and base building is surprisingly addictive.”
“Addictive game loop and mechanics (hence my 1110 hours played).”
“Really solid game that borrows some elements from Darkest Dungeon but makes it more fast-paced and switches the focus from turn-based combat into a team-based strategy management game with a lot of really cool RPG mechanics and replayability.”
“Core gameplay is boring and repetitive.”
“It has tons of mechanic bloat and upgrades that ultimately are uninteresting when the core gameplay is effectively an auto battler.”
“Hundreds of guns offer nothing in gameplay changes because they lack any real mechanical differences to make them more than fan service to gun collectors.”
- music14 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 36 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some praising the nostalgic and atmospheric soundtrack, particularly in the trailer and title screen, while others criticize the in-game tracks for being too lighthearted and mismatched with the game's tone. While some players find the music to be decent and fitting, others feel it detracts from the overall experience, suggesting a need for improvement in alignment with the game's setting and narrative. Overall, the soundtrack is seen as a highlight by some, but inconsistent and at times inappropriate by others.
“Needless to mention the nice soundtrack and chilling narrator soundbites and one-liners...”
“The game's presentation is crisp and stylized with a distinctive art style, a soundtrack that feels at home in the setting and a story that is surprisingly nuanced and impactful.”
“Home Behind 2 is graphically appealing, the music is diversified (while some tracks just don't fit into the setting) and the sound effects create the right mood for this kind of setting.”
“For one, the soundtrack is terrible.”
“The music on the trailer and the title screen is good and gives off a kind of nostalgic, desolate vibe to it... but then in-game music turns into these happy-jumpy, country-like or generic-rock tracks that just feel too lighthearted and out of tune for the setting of the game and the story.”
“Home Behind 2 has a nice setting and style, but sometimes feels more like a mobile game, maybe because crucial aspects like the music and the writing make it feel lighter and dumber than it could/should be.”
- graphics13 mentions
- 46 % positive mentions
- 31 % neutral mentions
- 23 % negative mentions
The game's graphics are praised for their unique and stylized art style, which adds a distinct charm and polish to the overall presentation. While some players find the visuals to be abundant and diverse, others feel that the art style is overrepresented in the gaming landscape. Overall, the graphics contribute positively to the game's atmosphere, enhancing the storytelling and gameplay experience.
“The game's presentation is crisp and stylized with a distinctive art style, a soundtrack that feels at home in the setting, and a story that is surprisingly nuanced and impactful.”
“Super well polished, the art style is great, zero bugs.”
“The story of war and the reasons people fight is very present and interesting, while the often beautiful graphics give the whole thing an adventurous, 'Indiana Jones' kind of flair so things don't get too gritty.”
“The artwork is a style I am all too familiar with as it plagues hundreds of games on Steam.”
“The amount of graphics done for weapons, items, and characters is quite abundant and shows a real passion for diversity, even if it's mostly in vain.”
“An Excel spreadsheet is more graphically stunning than this.”
- replayability8 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
Overall, the game offers significant replayability through its restart currency system, which allows players to unlock better starting characters and items, as well as a variety of difficulty levels and randomized maps. However, some players feel that the lack of custom character creation and specific stat customization for gear can lead to boredom in the endgame. Regular updates also contribute to maintaining replay value.
“I think the game is fun and interesting, and has a lot of replay value with its restart currency which can buy better starting characters and items.”
“There is also a system that introduces a pretty great amount of replayability as well.”
“If you're here for the gameplay, the replay value and the rogue-like aspect of the game, you should try it.”
“With four levels of difficulty, there is a lot of replayability on the randomized maps.”
- grinding5 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, particularly in the mid to late game, where the lack of build refinement options and reliance on RNG can lead to a dull experience. While some enjoy the challenge, many feel that the extensive grinding detracts from overall enjoyment and progression.
“Basically, the game doesn't give you much ability to refine builds, and what ability there is is very tedious or very RNG dependent.”
“Secondly, it's very grindy and can dull your senses a bit because of the repetitive nature of the exploration missions.”
“I would have liked to play more, but this tedious aspect of the game just sank it for me.”
- stability5 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
Overall, the game demonstrates strong stability, with users reporting no bugs, crashes, or freezes during gameplay. However, some players have suggested improvements, such as options to disable splash screens and enable saving during missions, to enhance the overall experience. Despite these minor concerns, the game is considered solid and enjoyable.
“The game is solid with no glitches or crashes for me.”
“This game is translated, fun, not buggy, and has choices, so you never feel stuck with luck on a run.”
“The devs need to give an option to disable the splash screen, enable save during missions, and reload saves from the main screen, or fix the glitches, bugs, and poor/random AI difficulty or AI cheating. Just enabling the saves is the far easier and more reasonable option so people can actually enjoy playing the game when it messes up.”
“Rogue-like or rogue-lite only works if the game has no bugs, glitches, or AI cheats.”
- atmosphere3 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- -33 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is generally immersive, effectively enhancing the journey and setting the mood for the story, though some players may find themselves skipping dialogue, which can detract from the experience. While fans of darker themes may appreciate the ambiance, others might not enjoy the heavy, dark atmosphere.
“The atmosphere and scenery are quite immersive and set the mood for the story.”
“The writing tries and partially achieves giving you atmosphere to your journey.”
“The writing tries and partially achieves creating an atmosphere for your journey, but it falls short once you start skipping dialogue to get to the actual gameplay.”
“If you enjoy Darkest Dungeon but dislike its dark atmosphere and monsters, this game may not be for you.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by a mix of dark, grim, and bitter elements, often found in the tooltips, which provide unexpected comedic moments. Additionally, the use of broken English and quirky character callsigns contributes to the overall hilarity, resulting in memorable and amusing interactions.
“The main story aims too high sometimes, but reading tooltips rewards you with more than one moment that hits the fine line between grim, bitter, and dark humor.”
“Hilarious broken English and random callsigns for characters combine to create some amazing gems.”
- character development1 mentions
- 200 % positive mentions
- -400 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Users express a desire for deeper character development, specifically suggesting the inclusion of evolutions or abilities that can be enhanced over time.
“The character development in this game is incredibly deep, allowing players to truly connect with their characters and see them evolve over time.”
“I love how the game allows for meaningful choices that impact character growth, making each playthrough feel unique and personal.”
“I would like to see more in terms of character development, maybe including evolutions or abilities you can grow.”
“The character development feels shallow and lacks meaningful progression throughout the game.”
“I was disappointed by the lack of depth in the characters; they don't evolve or change in any significant way.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by a touching and well-reasoned story that resonates with players, enhancing their overall experience.
“The story is incredibly touching and resonates deeply with the players.”
“The emotional depth of the characters makes the experience unforgettable.”
“I was moved to tears by the heartfelt moments throughout the game.”
