No Longer Home Critic Reviews

No Longer Home is an authentic and often unsettling story about the process of moving out and moving on. Of course, every player will take something different away from their experience playing, but it is an experience that I highly recommend. With beautiful designs, excellent characters, and a great soundtrack, No Longer Home is well worth picking up.

No Longer Home tackles the issues it presents in a natural, unobtrusive way that allows the player space to muse on them themselves. Even if you’re not sure you can directly relate to the situation that Ao and Bo find themselves in, this title comes highly recommended. It will absolutely remind you of experiences in your past, and it just might help make the stresses of the future seem a little less daunting.

The game was made by a modest team over the course of four years, grappling with the thousands of miles between the two lead developers in the UK and in Japan. There are a small number of quibbles I have, like the fact that it is sometimes difficult to know who is speaking out of the expanded cast of characters and that it'd be great to have a switch that lets the dialogue flow between the two so I can focus on the shifting settings. However, I recognise that it's a deeply personal project and one that has been shared with the world. For those in need of hunkering down while a silent storm rages on every side, I recommend No Longer Home.

A love letter to the transient state, No Longer Home exists to frame a very specific experience that has haunted many people in the course of their lives. This slow-paced shoegaze tale isn't for everyone, but if you love going on a nostalgia trip every once in a while, this game might help you reminisce those long-lost days.

A deeply personal two-hour meditation on saying goodbye that invites you to channel your lived experiences and walk alongside its characters. It’s a little sparse on the details, but No Longer Home still gives players plenty to chew on.

In terms of would I recommend the game… that’s not easy to answer. Given the length of “play time”I would certainly start by suggesting waiting for a sale. If you are after a lot of interaction then I’d say avoid it. If you quite like choose your own adventures or indie theatre performances then this might just be up your alley. If you feel non binary or just overwhelmed at what life has in store for you while studying or after completing study… this might be the familiar voice you want to hear. It’s far more an experience than a game so if that’s your thing then give it a try, if not then look elsewhere.

No Longer Home is able to give the player all that he wants to give. It delivers exactly what is expected of a short and personal story. I would have liked to play the story of Ao and Bo a little longer.

No Longer Home is a short, sad story about coming to terms with growing up and saying goodbye to college life, friends, and the family we create along the way. Although Ao and Bo must leave their uni flat and the happy memories they’ve created within those four walls behind, they’ll cherish every precious moment spent together. If you’re looking to experience the pain of parting while taking solace in the fact that home is truly where the heart is, No Longer Home will scratch that melancholy itch.

While the details and relationships are sharply observed, everything around them is a little fuzzy. But then so is the moment it's trying to reflect.

No Longer Home is not your typical game, being both vague, concrete and altogether dreamlike in its portrayal of what it means to grow up.

Personally, I can honestly attest to being drawn in by the charm of the simple narrative while watching two characters struggle to find their way around gender fluidity. At the heart of it, these two are trying to find direction in their lives and I felt that I could relate. If one likes narrative titles with a clear purpose and interesting look, No Longer Home recieves my personal recommendation.

Overall, it was hard to care for Ao and Bo’s story. The dialog was a slog. The character’s perspectives often changed too fast. And while going over their dilemmas, again and again, I found myself not wanting to play anymore. I’d rather just go out for a beer and talk to them in person and let them know life is going to be okay. High school and college are but footnotes in hopefully a long healthy story of yourself. In the end, if you find yourself at this particular time in life, it might be worth experiencing their story. But if you’re past it, you may not find much here to resonate with.

No Longer Home is evidently a heartfelt video game narration created with love by a duo that shared an important part of life. Unfortunately, its derivative nature and the briefness of the narration are the proponents of a missed empathic experience that could have hit harder than it does.

And yet, painful as some aspects of No Longer Home are, there’s a poignant comfort to it as well. Ao and Bo may be bidding farewell to their apartment and to living together, but they’ll still be in each other’s lives. I may be leaving the Bay Area soon, saying goodbye to my favorite coffee stands and parks and movie theaters, and I won’t be able to meet those dear friends of mine for drinks at my favorite bars soon, either. But it’s okay. There’s something else No Longer Home understands about those rare, special connections in our lives. Those people who truly know us and see us? We carry their love with us when we go.