Home Sweet Home Episode 2, the followup to 2017’s indie horror cult hit Home Sweet Home, is set to debut on the 25th of September, and the developer, Yggdrazil Group, just dropped a new trailer which should catch the eyes of fans of the Outlast or Silent Hill games.
Games of this sort have to do quite a bit to stand out against today’s utter deluge of low-budget indie spook-em-up titles. There are far too many to list, but any Steam user will doubtlessly have come across at least a handful of them simply by virtue of being on the platform for any amount of time. Home Sweet Home Episode 2 differentiates itself by focusing heavily on Thai folk stories and lore; territory which isn’t often explored or consumed by Western audiences.
The new gameplay trailer, which was released on the 11th, hints that the sequel has a much tighter theme in terms of art direction. While much of the first title was spent walking down empty corridors, Episode 2 showcases much more open environments and a decidedly Eastern feel. The player is seen interacting with objects and religious artifacts reminiscent of Buddhism, and the protagonist is stalked by some sort of ghostly presence which looks like the girl from Ju-On: The Grudge wearing a headdress. On the whole, the presentation gives off a very Siren-esque vibe, and fans of that long-dead series may want to check out this title.
The first Home Sweet Home game was fairly popular for the niche genre which it occupied, though sales were almost certainly bolstered by PewDiePie, who gave the game a shot back when it first released. A subsequent VR port proved that interest in the game hadn’t died out, and Episode 2 seems primed to make waves, at least in certain circles.
One other interesting thing to note about the trailer is that, unlike the first game, Home Sweet Home actually features some form of combat. While the trailer doesn’t feature any firearms or any definite combat mechanics, the player characters seems to be throwing what look like firecrackers at enemies, which, though not exactly Resident Evil 7 levels of engaging, is a definite step in the right direction.
Conceptually, the game looks promising, but it must be said that the build shown in Yggdrazil Group’s trailer is a little lackluster. It could be YouTube’s decimating method of processing uploads, but the game’s framerate certainly seemed to be low, particularly during a sequence towards the end in which the player is being chased by a horde of zombie-like beings. What’s more, like the first game, Home Sweet Home Episode 2 maintains a stock Unity horror game look. While that’s not a knock against the developers, it may negatively impact some of the visuals in certain areas.
Still, Home Sweet Home Episode 2 appears to be the sort of passion-driven experience which we don’t often see in the realm of gaming these days. It may be a budget title, but Yggdrazil Group’s upcoming release definitely has a compelling vibe to it, and, as of right now, it seems well worth a playthrough—particularly if it releases with VR support.