Three Fourths Home

Played On: PS4

Also Available On: Xbox One; Vita; PC

What It Is

A narrative-driven, visual novel-style exploration of a young woman, her inner thoughts and feelings, and her relationship with her family.

What I Liked

The Visual Style – The visuals are incredibly simplistic, using various shades of white, grey, and black to great effect. While not flashy, the visuals set a magnificent tone and mesh wonderfully with the narrative experience.

The Characters and Relationships – This game made me feel something that games rarely do. Articulating what, exactly, those feelings were is rather difficult, but it was something special. I found the game to hit close to home for me. I was able to relate to and sympathize with the main character Kelly, in her mid-20s and navigating inner struggles and the difficulties of managing relationships. Not only was I able to see glimpses of myself in Kelly and her family members, I saw elements of those I hold dearest, and that closeness touched a personal nerve that triggered introspection rarely encouraged by interactive experiences. It is also worth noting that the writing – the conversations between characters – is grounded in reality and brings the experience full-circle.

Complexity in Simplicity – This game is incredibly simplistic, in visual style, in gameplay, and in sound design. But these simple elements are melded together and combined with characters and a narrative that creates an incredible amount of depth and complexity. Despite the game’s short length, the characters display incredible depth, and the experience triggered in me a complex emotional response that had me thinking about it for many more hours after the credits rolled.

What I Didn’t Like

Driving – For the duration of the main game, you will be driving. To do this, you are required to hold down the right trigger. While it’s not really a problem, holding down that trigger for an hour or so straight, while selecting dialogue options with the face buttons, became tiresome.

One Long Story – I’ll avoid spoilers, but there was one conversation with Kelly’s brother where he tells a story. The story is haunting and fits interestingly into the larger narrative, but that one particular story dragged on for a bit too long, at least to me.

My Recommendation

Put simply, Three Fourths Home was one of the absolute most wonderful experiences I’ve had with a video game in a long time. While this may fall victim to the senseless criticism of “not being a game,” it is an interactive experience that manages to hit an amazingly emotional high without overstaying its welcome. If you haven’t yet, go play this game.

 

So, what do you think? Have you played Three Fourths Home? Do you want to? Is this type of experience interesting to you? Let’s talk about it in the comments below!