The masked murderer and creepy house is just a reason to explore the tension between Emily, her agoraphobia, and her friends. The killer shows up earlier in the night, breaking the routine. Other characters give signs that they, too, are aware of the horrible fate they’re about to endure. As I progress, the time loop starts to break down. I retain my memories, however, which are helpfully sorted and cataloged in a memory log. When I die, the clock rolls back to the beginning of the night. These puzzle chains make up the challenge of Homebody I have to find clues and solve riddles while dealing with the pressure of avoiding a masked murderer. I find a note on a desk that corresponds to a letterbox if I open that, I find a color code, which can be used to adjust a machine in the basement to unlock another door. Making matters worse, the gentleman who owns the house that my friends rented is eccentric. She has been isolating herself over the last year, and it’s a growing source of resentment for her friends. Cutscenes and flashbacks punctuate Homebody, depicting Emily’s social anxiety. Emily isn’t gifted in combat, and as such, my best option for dealing with the killer is simply to hide in a closet or run away.

Homebody joyously draws inspiration from PlayStation-era survival-horror games, with fixed camera angles and polygonal graphics. Homebody mixes the primal fear for one’s life with the much less intense (but more relatable) fear of awkward conversations, strained friendships, and people being mad at you. I try to bring this experience up with my friends through dialogue trees when we chat, but it doesn’t matter how hard I try to warn them - it’s just filtered into banal small talk. Just as I resign myself to checking out the basement, I’m stabbed to death by a mysterious masked figure.īut then the clock reverses, and I’ve just arrived at the house again. These are also areas of the house that we’re forbidden from entering by the absent homeowner. After a few jokes about the horror movie atmosphere, I check the power box, which is weirdly empty - there are just two cords, one leading up to the attic and one to the cellar. I’m in an isolated house full of friends, rented out over the years by an eccentric writer, when the power unexpectedly cuts out. I assume the role of Emily, a young woman with agoraphobia - an isolating, suffocating fear of leaving one’s safe place and awkward, embarrassing, or uncomfortable experiences. Homebody, published by Rogue Games and developed by Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator studio Game Grumps, tends toward the latter. Horror is a vast genre, ranging from blood-soaked slasher films to strange and cerebral campfire stories.

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