Have you ever thought about having an interactive book? How about a book that you could control by touching words on the pages? It seems almost like an element from a science fiction novel, but Your House delivers just this.
Your House is an interesting PC game, created by Patrones & Escondites, that mixes books with elements from the point-and-click adventure genre. This earned the game a few awards and recognition in 2024, declaring it a hidden gem among indie games. So, is Your House a diamond in the rough, or is it costume jewelry?
Running Away in the Dead of Night
Your House follows Debbie on what is possibly the worst night of her life. She’s been betrayed by her boyfriend and best friend, hit by a car, and the night couldn’t get worse. When she gets home and hopes for any semblance of calm, she instead finds a mysterious letter addressed to her.
Only a key and a postcard with a single address are in the envelope. At her wit’s end, Debbie decides to chase down the address and see if she can make her life any better. However, can the house’s mysteries really help her, or is it just a trap set by someone else?
Debbie is a great protagonist who makes all the decisions for herself, even while being dragged around by the letter. The anger she feels about her situation and her attitude makes it believable that she would run away. This is a huge positive that’s balanced by the fact that the mystery of the house is hard to describe. This is especially important when she decides to explore the house and attempts to solve the mystery of it.
At the onset, the mystery is about Serena Pulin, an architect who was held back by the time she lived in. Debbie sees a part of herself in the story of Serena, and that’s what makes it feel compelling. She pulls the narrative along. Otherwise, I wouldn’t care about Serena or the house since the mystery would feel like an excuse for the puzzles.
Turn the Page
Debbie is controlled by clicking certain highlighted words on the page. For example, the word “door” will be bold, and once clicked, it will prompt her to move to another section of the house. This very simple mechanic is how you move around the house and use items. The pictures that are featured for puzzles help break things up.
The dynamic between interactable stills and words is pretty interesting. At first, gameplay feels lengthy since animations will play whenever Debbie moves from one room to another. However, I quickly grew used to it and would instead scan the page for words I needed.
What I found fun is that the simple act of moving around is a puzzle itself. The only real issue that some may have is that solutions can feel very obtuse, and that includes moving for the first time. This is mostly due to the game throwing the player into the story without any explanation, and most scenes will require players to click certain words they wouldn’t consider immediately.
Solutions to puzzles themselves are fine for the most part. However, at times, some made me feel like I was taking an online IQ test. The solution isn’t exactly what you think it is sometimes, but by shifting your own perception, you’ll find where the solution is. I feel this works for some puzzles, but for others, I was begging for a hint from the game.
Unfortunately, I feel like the hint system is too variable to be of any use. There is only a limited number of hints that the game provides, and there is no downside to checking them. They are limited by what puzzle you have encountered in the chapter. For example, I would have two hints once I activated the front door puzzle. These would get cleared away once I solved it, and new ones wouldn’t appear until after I found a new puzzle.
This system is very fair at first, but the issue lies in the hints. These hints can range from outright giving away the puzzle’s solution to a vague explanation that feels like a puzzle itself. I remember begging for a hint with one puzzle, and when I finally checked, I felt like I had found a new puzzle. Luckily, there are only three puzzles that you might actually need hints for, so you won’t need to interact with the system very much.
Where We Belong
Your House is a fantastic game to play through. I found myself wanting to go back to it constantly, like I had read a good book. It’s different from the visual novels many are familiar with, but I can’t think of a better way to describe it. There is so much to discover in Your House, and Debbie’s story feels very relatable.
The puzzles may be obtuse at times, and even the help that we do get might not be what we expect. However, that makes everything more true to life. Many times, I felt like I was Debbie in her predicament, getting frustrated over a puzzle I was close to solving. Despite that, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Your House and Debbie will stick with me for a long time.
Disclaimer: Patrones & Esondites provided Final Weapon with a Steam copy of Your House for review purposes.
