Home Free

Home Free is a survival-oriented action adventure game with RPG elements, whose heroes are homeless dogs looking for their place in the big city. Inspired by a PlayStation 2 game titled Dog's Life, the title was developed by independent American developer, Kevin Cancienne, and its original version was presented in September 2014 at a cyclical New York competition for developers called No Quarter. The final version of Home Free, funded by a 5-day campaign on Kickstarter, was released on PC and PS4.

Story

As the production belongs to the category of so-called sandboxes, Home Free does not have a clear story layer. The story of the game is created primarily by the players, who through their actions and decisions influence the fate of the dog they control.

Mechanics

When starting the game, we can choose one of several available breeds of dogs and modify a number of external features of our charges. Then we find ourselves on the streets of a randomly generated metropolis. The further fate of the dog depends only on our actions. Home Free places a great deal of emphasis on survival, so it is the player's primary responsibility to constantly search for food and drink and to provide the dog with a peaceful and safe haven where it can rest and regenerate its strength. It is important because a whole lot of dangers await us during the game, such as people who don't tolerate animals, as well as other aggressive dogs wandering through the streets of the city. The game features also numerous RPG elements typical for the genre. As we play, we gradually learn new dog skills to help us survive in the urban jungle.

Kevin Cancienne's production offers complete freedom of gameplay. It is up to the player to decide how their charges will satisfy their basic needs. A very important element is a sense of observation and dog instinct, enabling us to assess which of the restaurants in the vicinity throw away the best leftovers or where to find the safest place to rest in the city's parks. Depending on our preference, we can focus on begging for food among people walking along the streets, searching for food on our own or attacking other dogs in order to gain access to their terrain and sources of food.

Game modes

Home Free offers two basic gameplay variants. In addition to the basic single player option, there is also a local multiplayer mode (called Dog Park), where four dogs, controlled by four live players, can compete simultaneously.

Technical aspects

Home Free features relatively simple, vector 3D graphics, which can be compared to, for example, games from the Shelter series that deal with similar topics. The gameplay is enhanced by a professional soundtrack prepared by Mark Robinson - a Washingtonian musician representing the indie rock current.