Go Home Annie left me with mixed feelings. Certain aspects of the game are well-designed, but if you’re expecting a horror game, you’re looking in the wrong place. Although the atmosphere contributes to that feeling, it’s primarily a puzzle game and a walking simulator that follows a story with various twists, and there are also SCP creatures that we encounter during the playthrough.
The game can be divided into two parts: in the first, we are introduced to Annie, the main protagonist, and the SCP Replication Division where she works, while in the second part, the story takes on a completely new form to reach a certain climax.Yes, this is a game that features pronounced Croatian motifs, such as kobasica (sausage) and kulen, and even includes the stickers you receive during a house blessing.
The plot is set in the Žumberak mountains, and that ambiance is quite prevalent. Unfortunately, the game doesn’t fully utilize the rich potential of the SCP universe, which is otherwise exceptionally intriguing. Still, Go Home Annie manages to present diverse anomalies in an interesting way, from a bathtub and water that communicate with you, to a red bucket that causes chaos, a disfigured deer, and a machine that transforms objects.
If you’re not too familiar with the SCP universe, Go Home Annie can serve as an interesting introduction to its secrets. The game succeeds in showing how an SCP can be anyone or anything, but, as already mentioned, the limited number of creatures showcased isn’t enough to satisfy curiosity. Had the game gone in the direction of a more detailed exploration of SCP anomalies, with a focus on the first three hours to get acquainted with them, as well as a deeper development of Annie and her friends (who have too few scenes) the overall experience would have been significantly better.
The detail in the descriptions of these creatures is truly impressive, encouraging us to explore every corner of the world. However, interaction with the anomalies themselves is limited, except in the case of the bathtub and its water, which play an important role in the story. As in the demo version, the game begins with exploring your own house while the Chief Director harasses you in a repetitive manner to discover something obvious. Although Annie doesn’t seem special at first, that quickly changes when visions of her father begin to surface.
The start of the story offers a meaningful and coherent development, but after leaving the SCP base, the narrative begins to lose quality. The plot speeds up and becomes less coherent. From initial exploration and anomaly containment, the game is reduced to solving puzzles inspired by other games. The car driving sections are particularly problematic: long, boring, and tiresome, which easily makes you wonder if it’s all worth it. Go Home Annie also, at one point, takes on a pronounced supernatural tone that suddenly changes the story’s direction by 360 degrees.
What certainly stands out throughout the entire game is the voice acting, which is at an exceptionally high level. It’s incredible how well it’s executed. Graphically, the game looks very appealing, the ambiance and details are carefully designed, creating an eerie visual atmosphere. However, the animations sometimes don’t keep pace with the rest of the game, especially when getting in and out of the car or while climbing the radio tower ladder. In those moments, it leaves the impression that the budget ran out, as the quality varies in several instances.
The game’s focus lies on the mystery — who is Annie, what is the camera’s purpose, and why is she where she is? It is this feeling of the unknown that heightens interest in the story. The puzzles particularly contribute to the development of this theme, and their full significance shines through in the second part of the game. For instance, you’ll have to find an identical child’s drawing to unlock the path to a required puzzle, piece together memory holograms, and face less inspired obstacles, such as sliding a keycard through a wall opening to move more easily through the SCP facility.
The camera also has a key role, you use it to open dimensions from another world and solve certain mysteries. However, the game has a short stealth segment that was disappointing. It lasts for about 20 minutes, during which you need to avoid cameras moving along predetermined paths. You can crouch and pass right by guards who won’t notice you even from 10 meters away, which further undermines the feeling of tension in these parts of the game.
It’s well known that Croatian studios often turn to puzzles to encourage players to think. While they are fundamentally very well conceived, Go Home Annie feels somewhat scattered due to the variety of elements it tries to incorporate. The story would have had a greater impact if it had progressed gradually, instead of suddenly bombarding the player with information about the main protagonist.
Annie as a character is well-developed, but the rest of the narrative feels abrupt, for example, entering the house suddenly opens the possibility of dimension shifting, or the transition from a warm room to a water-filled space where you are floating.
Overall, Go Home Annie isn’t a bad title and has many positive aspects. The puzzles are particularly impressive and often provide a satisfying sense of accomplishment, opening the path towards the end of the game. However, due to the constant changes and mixing of the story, it’s difficult to maintain continuity and a deeper connection with the narrative. If you decide to play it, you probably won’t regret it, but don’t expect a classic horror experience; the game is more oriented towards mystery and puzzle-solving than generating tension and fear.
Review copy provided by the publisher
