

Still, this game is all story and doesn’t provide much in the way of discovery or exploration outside of superficial filler, although there is a scarp book journal of sorts for players to collect various details and objects of interest, this mostly functions as a summary of prior events and ideas for what to do next in the story. Occasionally there are also some action prompts, such as when building certain things. There are some occasional environmental puzzles, but they at most involve simply talking to the right person to move the story along. The decisions are hardly ever dramatic or altering as something out of Life is Strange, but the game does enough to make you think about how Whit deals with his relationships and choices.Īside from making choices, there are light gameplay elements here as players can explore simple areas and interact with various objects and people. Whit faces things that are obviously predestined, given how he is already married with kids in the prologue, but it can be interesting to see how the dynamics of his relationships and other details change based on the choices made. There are choices to be made by the player during the game, as Whit manages the expectations and interests of those closest to him, and so while choices are consequential to an extent where they change certain details, they don’t really impact its major direction in a hugely altering manner. The narrative is linear, and so it feels like you’re going through the motions of a pretty predictable timeline. The story told is a pretty ordinary family drama, as Whit navigates his various close relationships, and relives pivotal points of his life, everything from marriage to fatherhood. This can be fine for what it is, but from the pre-release and game description, players might find themselves disappointed after a few hours, only to realize that they signed up for Home and Away rather than Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. So rather than it being a story of intrigue and discovery, players are instead experiencing something almost entirely retrospective, as they relive key moments from the past in great narrative detail, learning all the ins and outs of Whit’s personal life and growth. Where the Heart Leads quite literally follows the life and times of Whit Anderson, and while early on it may seem like the game is going for some metaphysical hook in its narrative, instead, it has you jog down memory lane.
