The premise of a classic slasher movie, the exploration and puzzle mechanics of classic Resident Evil and Silent Hill games, and the ever-present of a threat of a killer on the lose, governed by dynamic AI that responds to what you do- Homebody is a game that survival horror enthusiasts have had their eye on, and with a premise like that, it’s easy to see why. The game recently became available on Steam following its launch earlier this month, but prior to that, we reached out to its developers at Game Grumps with a few of our questions about what players can expect from the game. You can read the full interview below.
"The game’s themes include topics of nostalgia and our relationship with the past, so it felt appropriate for the player and the game’s protagonist Emily to both experience the story in a way that felt retro."
Homebody uses quite a striking visual aesthetic. Can you talk about how you decided on this look for the game, and how you’ve ensured that it gels with the tone of the experience?
The game is inspired by classic horror games, including PlayStation classics like Clock Tower and Resident Evil and PC/DOS games like Alone in the Dark, games with amazing senses of place and of the relative powerlessness of the player. The game’s themes include topics of nostalgia and our relationship with the past, so it felt appropriate for the player and the game’s protagonist Emily to both experience the story in a way that felt retro. Plus I’m just a really big fan of dithering!
Homebody’s slasher premise is one that’s instantly appealing to horror enthusiasts, with its setting of a hotel haunted by a mysterious killer. How did the idea for this setting first come about? Are there any horror stories across media that you looked to for inspiration?
Horror stories are great at providing pulpy fun while also conveying serious metaphorical weight. A mysterious masked figure with a knife can mean a lot of different things depending on who they’re stabbing, when, and why! Reconnecting with estranged friends in a musty old rental home in the middle of nowhere felt perfect for the game’s themes related to anxiety and the past.
The slasher horror elements of the game were influenced a lot by classic giallo films like Suspiria and the campy slashers of the 70s and 80s like the Friday the 13th series. The game also has a more melancholy and surreal side that was inspired in large part by the films of David Lynch.
It seems like Emily’s relationships with her friends will be an important part of the story, alongside the central threat of the killer. How crucial will that aspect be to the game’s story?
Emily and her friends being trapped in this particular house, at this particular time, and in this particular time loop, is the crux of the game’s story. We really valued making the story dark and creepy but also bittersweet, sad, and often funny, and dialogue with Emily’s friends is a huge part of that. Players will have to discover exactly why on their own, but Emily’s relationship with her friends, and the way it has changed over time, is central to the game’s themes… and she’ll need their help if she wants to escape.
"Horror stories are great at providing pulpy fun while also conveying serious metaphorical weight. A mysterious masked figure with a knife can mean a lot of different things depending on who they’re stabbing, when, and why."
Will players be able to affect the outcome of the story through their dialogue choices?
The game doesn’t have major branching or multiple endings, but it is littered with optional interacts and dialogue topics that will deepen the player’s understanding of Emily, her friends, the owner of the house, and the nature of the time loop and the killer. Throughout the game, the player’s dialogue choices will affect the emotional states of the characters and investigating certain dialogue paths will unlock new ones later in the story in unexpected ways.
What should players expect from a mechanics perspective when it comes to trying to avoid the killer as they make their way through the hotel? Will Homebody feature dynamic encounters on this front? Will the killer have persistent stalker-like AI?
The killer has a dynamic AI system that meticulously stalks the halls of the house. At a certain point each loop, the killer appears and systematically hunts Emily and her friends, and it’s able to investigate interest sources such as sounds in the environment to track down the player. Players should be ready for some unexpected behaviors too, such as the killer hiding in wait to ambush the player in critical areas of the house.
What sort of stealth options will players have?
You can do simple things like breaking line-of-sight to throw the killer off your trail, or hide in closets to watch and wait as the killer (hopefully) moves on. The killer is also attracted to various sounds in the environment–including Emily’s footsteps, so running with the killer nearby is a guaranteed way to attract its attention.
"The game absolutely takes inspiration from Resident Evil, Silent Hill, and other survival horror classics in its puzzle design, with some staples players will recognize from those games."
What can you tell us about the game’s puzzles and how they’ve been designed? Does Homebody take inspiration from genre classics like Silent Hill and Resident Evil in this area?
The game absolutely takes inspiration from Resident Evil, Silent Hill, and other survival horror classics in its puzzle design, with some staples players will recognize from those games. The house was designed as an open-ended, non-linear puzzle box, with multiple puzzles to work on at any given time, similar to a more puzzle-focused adventure title like Myst or the horror classic D (which also indirectly inspired the game’s time loop element).
Will Homebody feature any combat elements?
None at all. Your only choices are to run and hide! We really wanted to chase that slasher-movie feeling of powerlessness and the killer as an unstoppable force.
Roughly how long will an average playthrough of Homebody be?
Completing the game’s puzzles and story should take players an average of around 8 hours, with more depending on the amount of time they spend investigating every corner of the house and engaging in conversation with Emily’s friends. And of course, their luck/skill at evading the killer.
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