Home Sweet Home

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Hide from a vengeful Thai spirit with a box cutter, with no weapon and nowhere you know.

Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Xbox, VR
Stores: Steam
Price: Paid
Rated: Very Positive on Steam (87% of 3,792 reviews); 4.1 of 5 on the PlayStation Store (727 ratings); OpenCritic top critic average 66
Length: about 2 to 5 hours
Players: 1
Controls: Full controller support on PC; on PS4 it uses the DualShock 4, also in PS VR.
Made by: YGGDRAZIL GROUP
Released: 2017

No. 9 of the police station horror games

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What frightens Rooted in Thai myths: a man whose wife has vanished wakes in an unknown place and is hunted by a rancorous female spirit with a box cutter, with no weapon, only hiding places, Thai ghosts to learn about and simple puzzles.
Content: jumpscares, blood, violence, suicide, strong language, partial nudity.

Home Sweet Home is a first-person horror game from Thailand, based on Thai myths and beliefs. Tim, whose wife Jane has disappeared, wakes in an unknown place instead of his house and is hunted by a rancorous female spirit. Unarmed, he has to hide, sneak past ghosts and solve simple puzzles to find a way out and learn what happened.

About Home Sweet Home

Home Sweet Home was made by the Thai studio YGGDRAZIL GROUP and released on Steam for Windows in September 2017. On 16 October 2018 it came to PlayStation 4, with a PlayStation VR mode, and to Xbox One, published there by Mastiff. It is built in Unreal Engine 4, and Steam lists full English and Thai voice audio. Its settings draw on Thai places, from wooden stilt houses to a police station and a school.

Tim has been grieving since his wife Jane went missing. He wakes not in his house but in an unknown, decaying place, and while he tries to get out a spirit begins to hunt him: a woman with a box cutter who bursts out of bloody patches in the walls. You cannot fight her. You hide in lockers and other hiding spots and wait for her to pass. If a ghost finds you in a hiding place, a quick time event gives you one chance to get away; fail it and you start again from the last save. Other ghosts work for her. Spotter ghosts sweep a red beam, and if they see you they scream to call her.

Many areas hold no danger at all. There you explore, read diary pages and articles, and pick up keys, cutters and other items, which the game uses for you when you reach the right spot. Leaflets explain each Thai ghost you meet and how to deal with it. Reviewers found the puzzles simple and the scares stronger than the gore, with slamming doors and eerie sounds doing much of the work.

On PlayStation 4 the whole game can be played in PS VR with the DualShock 4, or on a TV without the headset. PlayStation LifeStyle found the VR mode half-baked, while Use a Potion enjoyed it. Reviewers took from about two hours to five, more if you hunt every collectable. Critics were split, with an OpenCritic top critic average of 66, but players rate it well: Very Positive on Steam and 4.1 of 5 on the PlayStation Store.

It suits players who like hide-and-seek horror and want something drawn from Thai ghost stories. A sequel, Home Sweet Home Episode 2, continues Tim's story.

How to play Home Sweet Home

Explore in first person, reading diary pages, articles and leaflets, and picking up keys and other items; the game uses them for you at the right spot.
When the spirit with the box cutter comes, get into a locker or another hiding place and wait for her to go.
If a ghost finds you in a hiding place, follow the quick time prompt to escape; if you fail, you go back to the last save.
Solve the simple puzzles in each area to open the way on and learn what happened to Jane.

Screenshots

Home Sweet Home screenshot: a long, dim hallway in an old wooden Thai house under a corrugated roof, with a dresser, a table and chairs, cracked framed pictures and litter on the floor

Home Sweet Home screenshot: the space under a house lit by one fluorescent tube, with cooking pots, a kettle and floral enamel plates on a bamboo mat beside a bamboo fence

Home Sweet Home screenshot: under a wooden stilt house, with stairs, clay water jars, a red basin, a blue stool and a cart wheel under a fluorescent tube

Home Sweet Home screenshot: looking up inside a wooden house at a pillar wrapped in colored cloth, red threads strung across the ceiling and cracked framed portraits

Home Sweet Home screenshot: a dark Thai police office with desks, chairs, filing cabinets and notice boards

Home Sweet Home screenshot: the front desk of a Thai police station, with blue waiting chairs and a wall sign reading Police Station

Home Sweet Home screenshot: a dim school-like corridor with posters on the walls and a water cooler, and a figure standing far off at its end

Tips

Read the leaflets: each one explains a Thai ghost and how to deal with it.
Keep out of the red beam of the spotter ghosts; if they see you, they scream and call the spirit to you.
Know where the nearest hiding place is before you start on a puzzle.
In the safe areas, take your time and search; one reviewer finished with only about half the collectables.

Questions

Can you play Home Sweet Home in VR?

Yes, on PlayStation 4 with PlayStation VR, using the DualShock 4 controller. On PC and Xbox One it is played on a normal screen, and on PS4 you can also play it on a TV without the headset.

How long is Home Sweet Home?

Reviewers took from about two hours to five. God is a Geek finished in a little over two hours with about half the collectables and put a full run at three to three and a half hours; other critics reported four to five hours.

Is Home Sweet Home based on Thai horror?

Yes. Its makers describe it as a horror adventure based on Thai myths and beliefs, and leaflets in the game explain each Thai ghost you meet.

Can you fight the ghosts in Home Sweet Home?

No. There are no weapons. You survive by staying out of sight, hiding in lockers and other spots, and escaping with a quick time event if a ghost finds you.