Closer To Home
itamu · 2022 · Psychological Horror, Stylized, Dark Fantasy, Horror, Story Rich
PC
Positive98% · 49
Compare prices in Official Stores
Screenshots
About Closer To Home
Players beware, this is a very difficult and self-obscuring game. There is little to no hand-holding or guidance. The majority of the gameplay is dialogue, getting lost, and wandering. It may seem like an incoherent passage in a dark tunnel, but there is an internal logic to all of the mechanisms of the game. I have made a basic guide in the community forum.
About the game
Closer To Home is a primarily dialogue-focused surreal horror exploration game. As you navigate the world and talk to its inhabitants you will come into possession of items that allow progression through the game. Ability granting items are explained in inventory descriptions. The world occasionally changes, so be observant of audio and visual changes. Check back in on the world's inhabitants from time to time, as they remember you. Please read the content warnings if you are one to heed them. I made this game entirely on my own, without any prior experience, so do not be surprised if you find a bug here or there. Thanks for checking it out.
All music and SFX created by Deltoid.
- Find all the pieces of your dad.
- Befriend a variety of entities. (by talking to them)
- Figure out where all the children in your town have gone.
- Talk to people!
- Investigate the cold breath that seems to come from the cracks under your school.
- Help out your friends, and set boundaries. (by talking to them)
- Learn how to use death. (by dying)
- Enjoy the scenery and vibrant music.
- Choose when the game is over. Believe the ending you see fit!
About the game
Closer To Home is a primarily dialogue-focused surreal horror exploration game. As you navigate the world and talk to its inhabitants you will come into possession of items that allow progression through the game. Ability granting items are explained in inventory descriptions. The world occasionally changes, so be observant of audio and visual changes. Check back in on the world's inhabitants from time to time, as they remember you. Please read the content warnings if you are one to heed them. I made this game entirely on my own, without any prior experience, so do not be surprised if you find a bug here or there. Thanks for checking it out.
All music and SFX created by Deltoid.
What Steam players say
Recent verbatim reviews from Steam — separate from playze.io community reviews below.
✦ AI summary
Players praise this surreal lo-fi horror game for its emotional depth, creative narrative mechanics around death and grief, and memorable characters that balance creepy and darkly humorous moments. The main complaints center on its deliberately obscure design that can feel confusing and frustrating, combined with tedious backtracking, though many appreciate the unique and weird journey despite these frustrations. Most reviewers recognize it as an underrated gem that tackles heavy themes in an unconventional way and recommend following the developer's future work.
[i]Find more of my reviews on my curator page: [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/45817624-Kasurot-Recommends/]Kasurot Recommends[/url][/i] [h2]Short Summary[/h2] A surreal, lo-fi horror experience that trades combat for conversation. It is a haunting, deliberately confusing journey through grief that rewards patience with genuine emotional depth. [h2]The Breakdown[/h2] [table] [tr] [td][h3]What We Loved[/h3][/td] [td]The "death as a mechanic" system is a brilliant narrative device. Traversing the dreamscape on a skateboard adds a surprising layer of fun to the exploration.[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td][h3]Minor Annoyances[/h3][/td] [td]The game is aggressively "self-obscuring"; getting lost is part of the design, which can be frustrating. Some backtracking is tedious, and the lack of a quest log demands intense player focus.[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td][h3]What It's About[/h3][/td] [td]A psychological descent into a fragmented world to find "pieces of your dad," serving as a dark metaphor for processing trauma and memory.[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td][h3]How It Plays[/h3][/td] [td]Exploration, dialogue, and skating. You wander a non-linear map, talk to entities to unlock paths, and intentionall…7 found this helpful
hidden gem2 found this helpful
My dad's dead too. I also was catfished by a cute girl once.
Deserves way more attention.
A small adorable game, a surreal journey through a small dreamscape world full of unexpectable imagery and memorable characters spiraling into a madness of total derealization. The topics this game brings are creepy sometimes, sometimes are hilariously funny but even then those never felt ordinary. I loved this game much and I will follow the developer for the next game, there already is a demo I saw.
this game is weird. like really weird. but it's so good
Community reviews
—
0 reviews
Sign in to write a review.
No reviews yet. Be the first to review this game.
