Home is Where One Starts... on Steam - User reviews, Price & Information
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Home is Where One Starts... is a short, first-person exploration game in the same vein as Dear Esther or Gone Home. It’s a story about childhood, hope, and the miracle of memory. You play as a little girl from a broken home somewhere in the American South.
Home is Where One Starts... is a adventure, indie and walking simulator game
developed and published by David Wehle.
Released on May 12th 2015 is available in English on Windows, MacOS and Linux.
It has received 680 reviews of which 526 were positive and 154 were negative resulting in a rating of 7.4 out of 10. 😊
The game is currently priced at 2.99€ on Steam, but you can find it for less on Gamivo.
The Steam community has classified Home is Where One Starts... into these genres:
Media & Screenshots
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System requirements
These are the minimum specifications needed to play the game. For the best experience, we recommend that you verify them.
Windows
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS *: Windows Vista+, 64-bit only
- Processor: Intel i3 or equivalent
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Graphics: DX 9.0c video card with 256 MB VRAM and shader model 3.0 support
- DirectX: Version 9.0c
- Storage: 600 MB available space
MacOS
- OS: Mac OSX 10.7
- Processor: Intel i5 1.8 GHz
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Graphics: Intel HD 5000
- Storage: 600 MB available space
Linux
- OS: Ubuntu (14.04+ tested), Manjaro, Arch Linux, etc. (64-bit only)
- Processor: Intel i5 1.8 GHz or AMD equivalent
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Graphics: Any recent NVIDIA or AMD card (NVIDIA proprietary 352+ drivers tested)
- Storage: 600 MB available space
- Additional Notes: Beta version - please visit discussion forum for more info
User reviews & Ratings
Explore reviews from Steam users sharing their experiences and what they love about the game.
Home is where one starts is it's a beautiful and short walking simulator. I truly didn't expect this to be such a sad and lonely story. So short yet so full of emotion. The ending was very fulfilling. I liked this game.
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I enjoyed every minute of this game. I was happy to see so many trees (I really love trees 🥹) which made my exploration more memorable. I was walking to get a closer look at the colorful falling leaves when I realized I couldn't go any further. This made me a bit sad. Anyway, it's still a great short game. Buy it, install it, play it.
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Home is Where One Starts..., developed and published by David Wehle, is a short, introspective first-person narrative experience that transforms a simple walk through a rural landscape into a meditation on memory, loss, and growing up. It belongs to the quiet, contemplative tradition of walking simulators, where the focus lies not in solving puzzles or overcoming obstacles but in absorbing the world and piecing together a story from fragments of thought and imagery. The game begins in a modest trailer home surrounded by overgrown fields and the soft hum of a summer afternoon. There is no immediate goal or objective given, only an unspoken invitation to explore. As you move through the world, guided by a reflective voice-over, the story unfolds like a poem—personal, melancholic, and profoundly human. The narrative centers on a young girl recalling moments from her childhood in an impoverished rural setting. Her voice, gentle and wistful, narrates memories of waiting for her father, watching headlights on an empty road, and finding solace in small, forgotten corners of her world. The story feels deeply personal, not through dramatic events but through quiet introspection. Every object and environment—the rusting mailbox, the barn’s creaking doors, the tall grass swaying under the sun—becomes part of a larger emotional tapestry. The world feels abandoned yet full of meaning, as if every detail holds a whisper of something remembered. This approach to storytelling relies less on exposition and more on atmosphere and suggestion, allowing players to feel rather than simply understand. Visually, the game captures the beauty of simplicity. The setting is a rural countryside bathed in warm, almost dreamlike light. The textures are minimal yet evocative, giving the impression of a memory rendered in soft focus rather than a physical place. The visual tone reinforces the narrative’s themes—beauty and sadness coexist in equal measure. The sound design complements this perfectly, with the chirping of crickets, the rustle of wind through trees, and the distant drone of passing cars forming a soundscape that feels alive yet detached, like a recollection half-remembered. The subdued piano score underscores this reflective atmosphere without overpowering it, gently guiding the player through an emotional rhythm that feels organic and unforced. Gameplay in Home is Where One Starts... is intentionally sparse. You move slowly through the environment, examining objects and triggering snippets of narration that reveal pieces of the story. There are no puzzles, no threats, and no fail states—just the act of walking and observing. This simplicity might disappoint those expecting traditional gameplay, but it perfectly serves the game’s thematic purpose. The slow pace encourages reflection and attentiveness, inviting players to engage not through action but through empathy. The design mirrors the nature of memory itself: fragmented, nonlinear, and filled with pauses for contemplation. What at first feels like an ordinary space gradually takes on a haunting familiarity, as if you are walking through someone else’s recollection of home. The story’s brevity and ambiguity are both its strength and its limitation. The experience typically lasts under thirty minutes, yet in that short time it manages to evoke a sense of longing and nostalgia that lingers afterward. The narrative never spells everything out; it leaves gaps that players must fill with their own imagination. The lack of concrete answers about the protagonist’s life—her family, her struggles, her eventual future—turns the story into something universal. It’s less about one girl’s journey and more about the universal experience of looking back on childhood with both affection and ache. This open-endedness is what gives the game its emotional resonance, though it also means that players seeking a definitive conclusion may feel unsatisfied when the credits roll. Home is Where One Starts... thrives on its restraint. It doesn’t attempt to dazzle with visuals or mechanics; instead, it captures the quiet moments that define human experience—the stillness of waiting, the loneliness of forgotten places, and the fragile beauty of remembering where you began. The game’s title encapsulates its essence: the idea that “home” is not simply a location but a point of origin for one’s emotional and spiritual journey. Even as the player walks away from the trailer and into the open fields, the sense of home persists, not as a place to return to but as something carried within. For those who appreciate games as a form of reflection rather than competition, Home is Where One Starts... stands as a poignant reminder that even the smallest stories can hold profound meaning. It is a quiet, heartfelt meditation on memory, and though it lasts only a short while, its sense of warmth and melancholy lingers long after the screen fades to black. Rating: 7/10
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Beautifull story, i really enjoy playing. This game is short but story is intense, you are feeling lost at first but then you find your way.
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A beautiful exploration of memories from a troubled childhood with little happy moments. You just walk around to trigger memories and find objects. It often wasn't very visible which objects could be picked up and I used a guide for the last one. Not a big tearjerker, not very deep. Tho you can read things between the lines and into stuff you find. Good voice acting. Decent game for the price imo. (It's very short, I was just idling to get all the trading cards) More cozy and combat-free recommendations? > [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/45583336/]Treefrog wants to chill <
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Frequently Asked Questions
Home is Where One Starts... is currently priced at 2.99€ on Steam.
Home is Where One Starts... is currently not on sale. You can purchase it for 2.99€ on Steam.
Home is Where One Starts... received 526 positive votes out of a total of 680 achieving a rating of 7.35.
😊
Home is Where One Starts... was developed and published by David Wehle.
Home is Where One Starts... is playable and fully supported on Windows.
Home is Where One Starts... is playable and fully supported on MacOS.
Home is Where One Starts... is playable and fully supported on Linux.
Home is Where One Starts... is a single-player game.
Home is Where One Starts... does not currently offer any DLC.
Home is Where One Starts... does not support mods via Steam Workshop.
Home is Where One Starts... does not support Steam Remote Play.
Home is Where One Starts... is enabled for Steam Family Sharing. This means you can share the game with authorized users from your Steam Library, allowing them to play it on their own accounts. For more details on how the feature works, you can read the original Steam Family Sharing announcement or visit the Steam Family Sharing user guide and FAQ page.
You can find solutions or submit a support ticket by visiting the Steam Support page for Home is Where One Starts....
Data sources
The information presented on this page is sourced from reliable APIs to ensure accuracy and relevance. We utilize the Steam API to gather data on game details, including titles, descriptions, prices, and user reviews. This allows us to provide you with the most up-to-date information directly from the Steam platform.
Additionally, we incorporate data from the SteamSpy API, which offers insights into game sales and player statistics. This helps us present a comprehensive view of each game's popularity and performance within the gaming community.
Last Updates| Steam data | 24 January 2026 19:24 |
|---|---|
| SteamSpy data | 27 January 2026 21:39 |
| Steam price | 28 January 2026 20:48 |
| Steam reviews | 28 January 2026 03:58 |
If you'd like to dive deeper into the details about Home is Where One Starts..., we invite you to check out a few dedicated websites that offer extensive information and insights. These platforms provide valuable data, analysis, and user-generated reports to enhance your understanding of the game and its performance.
- SteamDB - A comprehensive database of everything on Steam about Home is Where One Starts...
- SteamCharts - Analysis of Home is Where One Starts... concurrent players on Steam
- ProtonDB - Crowdsourced reports on Linux and Steam Deck Home is Where One Starts... compatibility
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Developer
David Wehle
Publisher
David Wehle
Release
12 May 2015
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