Home Sweet Home

Home Sweet Home is deeply unnerving. There are several reasons why Home Sweet Home is lacking in the gameplay department, but the bottom line is that as an experience, Home Sweet Home is extremely scary and unsettling.

72%Game Brain Score

story, gameplay

optimization, grinding

81% User Score Based on 511 reviews

Critic Score 64%Based on 12 reviews

Platforms

Buy Nowfrom $1.89

Buy NowGet on Steam$15.99

About

"Home Sweet Home" is a first-person horror game that follows a man searching for his missing wife in a labyrinthine temple. Drawing inspiration from Thai folklore and beliefs, the game features a range of supernatural creatures that the player must avoid or outsmart. With a focus on stealth and exploration, "Home Sweet Home" aims to provide a tense and immersive experience.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

81%

Audience ScoreBased on 523 reviews

story53 positive mentions

optimization12 negative mentions

Great atmosphere and sound design that effectively builds tension.
Unique incorporation of Thai folklore and horror elements, providing a fresh experience.
Engaging puzzles and stealth mechanics that keep players on edge.

Game is episodic without clear indication, leaving players unsatisfied with an incomplete story.
Repetitive gameplay with frustrating stealth mechanics and AI behavior.
Performance issues, including long loading times and occasional crashes.

story
156 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
34%
62%
4%
The game's story is a mixed bag, with many players expressing frustration over its episodic nature and incomplete narrative, often ending on cliffhangers that require additional purchases to resolve. While some appreciate the incorporation of Thai myths and the intriguing atmosphere, others find the storytelling method—primarily through scattered notes—lacking and confusing, leading to a sense of dissatisfaction with the overall plot progression. Despite these criticisms, there are positive remarks about the story's potential and its ability to engage players, particularly those interested in horror rooted in cultural lore.
- “The story explores Thai myths and curses surrounding the mysterious disappearance of your girlfriend.”
- “I liked the atmosphere (terrifying but not too terrifying), the storytelling, and the incorporation of Thai myths, but the ghosts are killing me.”
- “Super unique horror game that both messes with your mind and provides a story based on Thai myths, an interactive and exciting way to learn about Thai ghosts and 'voodoo practices' by being ruthlessly chased and terrorized by them firsthand.”
- “That then requires you to spend another 20 euros to see the actual ending of the story.”
- “Add to this the bait-and-switch of this being a 'chapter 1,' with a completely unfinished story... that sealed it, I instantly tipped from a 'this is cool enough to recommend a playthrough despite its flaws,' to 'absolutely not, it's not a complete story and I wasn't informed of that going in.' Super disappointing ending.”
- “The story itself starts off fine and is understandable, but somewhere along the line they throw multiple other stories, characters, lore, and notes at you that things start to become confusing.”
gameplay
115 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
72%
11%
The gameplay of "Home Sweet Home" is characterized by a mix of stealth mechanics and puzzle-solving, set against a backdrop of horror influenced by Thai mythology. While the atmosphere and some horror elements are praised, many players find the mechanics repetitive and clunky, leading to frustration with the trial-and-error nature of the gameplay. Overall, the game offers a tense experience but suffers from inconsistencies and a lack of variety, which detracts from its potential.
- “Gameplay is awesome.”
- “For approximately 4-5 hours of gameplay, Home Sweet Home has a lot to offer to even the most seasoned of horror enthusiasts, with its ominous atmosphere, stealth gameplay, and background of Thai myths; these elements manage to overshadow its performance problems and poor English translations.”
- “It stands out by having some solid stealth mechanics that lead to some seriously tense moments within an atmosphere full of dread!”
- “The mechanics are way too janky to support the rather extensive stealth system, which unfortunately had to be the core mechanic of this game.”
- “The biggest issue is its super repetitive hide, crouch, sneak, and hide in locker mechanic, which is overused for the majority of the game.”
- “Tiring trial and error gameplay undermines everything Home Sweet Home tries to do, any tension giving way to frustration long before the credits suddenly roll.”
atmosphere
79 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
39%
4%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its chilling and immersive qualities, effectively incorporating Thai folklore and sound design to create a sense of dread and tension. While many players appreciate the balance of jump scares and slow-building creepiness, some critiques mention that the atmosphere can falter due to gameplay frustrations or repetitive elements. Overall, it stands out as a compelling horror experience with a strong atmospheric foundation.
- “The first half of this has great atmosphere and I really enjoyed learning a bit about the Thai mythology and monsters and curses.”
- “Home Sweet Home absolutely nails several things: atmosphere, mystery, suspense, details, sound design, and more.”
- “Amazing atmosphere, they did a fantastic job of building up tension, and making you feel on edge at all times.”
- “Nothing was scary, the atmosphere was practically ruined.”
- “Excessive death, trial and error, and boredom lead to frustration and remove the atmosphere at many places for me.”
- “The intense cat and mouse stealth segments become annoyingly difficult with death after death, the puzzles ridiculous and all of that tense atmosphere it had going just vanishes.”
graphics
64 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
53%
42%
5%
Overall, the graphics of the game are generally praised, especially considering it is an indie title, with many reviewers highlighting impressive visuals, good lighting, and detailed character models. However, some users reported performance issues, such as frame rate drops and the need to adjust settings in the main menu, which detracted from the experience. Despite these concerns, the atmosphere and artistic design received positive remarks, contributing to an engaging gameplay experience.
- “The atmosphere and visuals were great.”
- “The graphics are great for an indie title like this and there is some solid sound design.”
- “The visuals and attention to detail are both very impressive.”
- “Graphically it's not the best out there, but still good.”
- “Graphics stutter when moving into new areas, and my gaming rig is decent - GTX 1080.”
- “Graphic settings can only be adjusted in the beginning of the game, but even if you set the game to a specific setting, it automatically downgraded to 720.”
music
29 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
34%
41%
24%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many praising its chilling and atmospheric qualities that enhance the horror experience, while others criticize its repetitiveness and lack of variety. Some players noted that the soundtrack effectively builds tension and contributes to the game's overall sense of dread, although a few found it to be overly simplistic and monotonous. Overall, the sound design is generally well-regarded, but opinions vary on the effectiveness and diversity of the music itself.
- “The horror works, the sound and music are great, the art direction-- model, texture, lighting, all great.”
- “The game doesn't rely on jumpscares but instead uses the creepiness of the music and atmosphere.”
- “The music fit the setting and added some nice tension when it was needed.”
- “However, there's a huge lack of actual music and it feels like the same ambiance is used too often.”
- “Sound: the sound design is creepy, albeit the music is a little repetitive.”
- “- same sound and music for the whole game, very boring”
optimization
25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
12%
40%
48%
The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players reporting performance issues such as stuttering and frame drops, particularly during intense scenes. While some users managed to maintain decent frame rates, others found the VR support lacking and menus poorly optimized. Overall, there is a consensus that the game requires further optimization to enhance the experience, despite its engaging gameplay and atmosphere.
- “With a bigger budget to improve the graphics, English translation, and performance issues, I believe the developers behind Home Sweet Home could create some utterly hair-raising experiences, and I look forward to the second episode.”
- “Overall, I think the game is well optimized, looks good, and is scary for the most part.”
- “After this game gets a bit more love from the devs in the form of optimization patches, I would change my opinion.”
- “The VR support is janky: none of the menus or text boxes are optimized for VR, so you have to just blindly click through until you get into the game.”
- “However, the game suffers from poor optimization with some areas running at extremely high FPS while others stutter around even on a relatively powerful PC (GTX 1080).”
- “Performance-wise, I was able to maintain 60+ FPS in mostly all of the game areas except the occasional drop and stuttering as the game is not optimized properly.”
grinding
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
8%
15%
77%
Reviews consistently highlight that the grinding aspect of the game is excessively tedious, particularly in the latter chapters, where players feel the need for a "second life" to endure the repetitive and slow-paced gameplay. Many users describe the experience as frustrating and monotonous, with levels and objectives becoming stale and annoying, especially towards the end. Overall, the grinding is seen as a significant detractor from the game's enjoyment.
- “A lot of grinding is required.”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “This game can be described in two words: tedious and lazy.”
- “The levels, puzzles, and scares become repetitive and tedious as you continue on.”
stability
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
89%
The stability of the game has received mixed reviews, with many users reporting frequent bugs, glitches, and crashes, particularly as they progress further into the game. While some players noted that the game runs well at times, the overall experience is marred by inconsistent interface features and gameplay issues that necessitate restarts. It is generally recommended to wait for patches to address these stability concerns.
- “The game runs great.”
- “The performance is consistently smooth.”
- “I haven't experienced any crashes or bugs.”
- “Hopefully you don't run into any of the bugs/glitches I did.”
- “The cutscene glitches and my game freezes.”
- “This may be because of my computer, but the game is buggy and crashes frequently, and it gets worse the farther you get in the game.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
33%
The game's replayability is highly variable; while some players find it infinitely replayable in multiplayer modes, others feel it lacks replay value due to the absence of achievements.
- “The game is infinitely replayable, especially in multiplayer mode.”
- “Every playthrough feels fresh and exciting, making it a game I can return to time and again.”
- “The variety of choices and outcomes ensures that no two sessions are ever the same.”
- “Without any achievements, this game has no replay value at all.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is characterized by unexpected jumpscares that evoke laughter, particularly with absurd elements like a comical toilet character. While the story and mechanics may be lacking, they contribute to a lighthearted experience that players find entertaining enough to share with friends.
- “Some of the unexpected jump scares are quite funny, like that one toilet guy.”
- “I could not stop laughing the whole time, and I had to show my friends how terrible it was.”
- “The story was poor, but the mechanics were hilarious.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
150%
The monetization strategy of the game has been criticized for prioritizing profit over quality, with players describing the sequel and additional titles as uninspired cash grabs that lack depth and creativity.
- “The monetization strategy feels exploitative, with constant prompts to spend money on features that should be part of the base game.”
- “It's frustrating to see a game that could be great bogged down by aggressive monetization tactics that prioritize profit over player experience.”
- “The in-game purchases are overpriced and often necessary to enjoy the game fully, making it feel more like a cash grab than a genuine gaming experience.”