Your House Review
Explore a mansion that’s a puzzle box hiding secrets from the past in Your House.
Your House. Credit: Patrones & Escondites
Your House is an interactive novella from Patrones & Escondites. It’s not quite a Choose Your Own Adventure, but possibly something better. The story follows Debbie, who has just turned 18 and is having a rough time at boarding school. She receives a postcard and a key; with nothing to lose, she runs away to the address on the postcard and uses the key to enter a mansion full of secrets and puzzles.
The game is like a book, with each “room” as a page with prose and some bolded words that will reveal new text or take you to another page. Unlike a Choose Your Own Adventure, the story is linear; perhaps a more apt way to describe the game would be to imagine if a classic text-based adventure like Zork was presented as a book.
Your House. Credit: Patrones & Escondites
Some pages have clever layouts or gimmicks. For example, when you crawl down a tunnel, the page scrolls sideways and narrows as you proceed. If a room is dark, the page might be black and only reveal its white text when you’re holding a flashlight, which you then move around the page to “see.” Night vision goggles reveal pink text or clues you couldn't see before. These were some of my favorite bits of the game.
I could have done without the timing-based gameplay. Though rare, it was nearly always frustrating. Clicking on a word that flashes in random places to time a throw, or following a moving word to represent an action that I won’t spoil; things like these felt out of place compared to the rest of the gameplay. Failing one of these simply causes you to need to try again, but it was still grating.
Most pages also have a picture, which you can click to expand the scene to full screen. These images have interactive elements you must use to solve puzzles or discover clues. Most puzzles can be solved with careful observation of details in the game; most involve solving combinations on locks of different sorts that open up the path to new areas or clues. I only grew frustrated with two or three of the puzzles.
The art evokes a specific time when the game takes place, making the “book” feel like it hails from then, too. The style is striking, reminiscent of pulpy, old comics; it uses black outlines, hatching, halftone patterns, and a small palette of solid colors. Limited animation successfully makes the game feel like it was printed on a page. Aside from the style, the images in the art itself are high-impact when they need to be and mysterious by equal measure the rest of the time. I love the style and am happy to see another game use it after Phoenix Springs.
Your House. Credit: Patrones & Escondites
As an aside, I also loved the game’s references to other media—movies, novels, etc. I don’t think I’ve ever played a game that directly refers to Irma Vep and Les Vampires.
I was totally engrossed, unable to put the game down until I completed it in a single 3-hour session. Your House is a prequel to the developer’s previous game, Unmemory, which I will now have to play. I played the game on Steam Deck, but it’s also available for iOS and Android. It’s perfectly suited to be played on a mobile touchscreen, which would make it feel even more like a book. Whatever platform you choose, if you like puzzles and short stories, this game is for you.
Your House will be available tomorrow, March 27, 2025, on PC (Steam), the iOS App Store, and Google Play.
Overall Score: 8/10
Played on: Steam Deck
