Home Alone

"At last, an artistic medium has been perfected"

Films, books, music and works of art have had the power to move me beyond words. But at last I have found a creative achievement that transcends expression itself. Something so utterly perfect that it affects the rest of your life, and how you look at every aspect of it.

Graphics 10/10
Beautiful minimalism at it's most transcendentally sublime. The sense of loss and isolation, as a young child, symbolic of untainted innocence, is left Home Alone to face his demons, both physical and spiritual, is conveyed perfectly by the metaphoric childlike simplicity of the visuals.

Sound 10/10
A primal scream of pent up pain and terror is barely suppressed beneath a plethora of vague beeps and three-note tunes. The sound has the ability to convey the way the child is feeling; unable to express what he really needs to and simply wailing and moaning his misery out in a cathartic wave of tinny sound.

Gameplay 10/10
Never have I felt such a sense of terror conveyed as in this work. The feeling of being Home Alone and hunted by two burglars, perhaps representing the Oedipal penis-symbol taking over the household in place of a mother, is almost tangible in its execution, and I often found myself weeping from pure emotion, inspired by this wonderful, wonderful game.

Story 10/10
An epic tragedy in the most classic sense, with the central innocent child figure abandoned in his own home and left to overcome his demons, represented by an invasion of his personal space and so perhaps symbolic of his eventual sexual awakening into a world of experience. At last vanquishing these horrors, the child is left still with the prospect of growing up and leaving behind his innocence. Ultimately, as hard as he has strived, he is left with no hope for redemption.

Controls 10/10
If our input into the game defines just how much we get from it, the controls of Home Alone can be considered perfect. In fact, it seems that the buttons and directional pad become a physical extension of your body and mind, a gateway to the world of Home Alone. You become not so much a player of the game as an integral part of the game. You are the game. You are the game.

Replayabilty 1/10
The only failing of this magnificence, but can it truly be considered a failing? This is more an experience than a game, and an experience that should only be felt once, allowing it to channel itself through the rest of your life in its profound beauty.

Conclusion
This game changed my life. And I hope that it will somehow change yours. Farewell.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 04/30/04