66 Macworld • February 2022MAC GAMING
keyboard to perform simple actions
that move events forward.
At one point you see Florence and
Krish on a date, and have to assemble
speech bubbles out of little pieces like
a jigsaw puzzle. At first, it seems like
a pointless piece of padding, but as
each speech bubble slots into place
they move closer together, and you
get a quiet sense of satisfaction as
they have their first kiss. Then, later
in the game, there’s a similar scene
where the speech bubbles draw the
couple into their first argument.
It’s that ‘slow burn’ effect that
gradually draws you in – aided by
the soothing soundtrack, which
is available on Apple Music and
Spotify – and then makes the more
dramatic moments in their life
together feel so powerful.The Mac version could, perhaps,
be a little more intuitive – using
a mouse and keyboard isn’t as
straightforward as tapping on the
screen of an iPhone or iPad – but
Florence works well on a laptop,
and it’s ideal if you want to put your
feet up and de-stress at the end of
a long day.- Gone Home
Price: £10.99 from fave.co/3rY61BV
Gone Home is a casual game in
almost every sense of the word. There
are no puzzles to solve, there are no
enemies to fight – you simply explore,
and experience. (The game even bills
itself as an ‘interactive exploration
simulator’.) However, the core
themes at the heart of this game are
anything but casual, for Gone Home
tells the greatest
video-game love
story we have
ever found.
It is 1995.
After a year
abroad, you
arrive home,
expecting a
family welcome,
but the house
is empty. Where - did everyone