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Come Home review
A practical, player-focused walkthrough and insights for Come Home
Come Home is a narrative-driven adult-targeted game that blends dating-sim mechanics with quest-driven storylines, character relationship management, and multiple endings, making it both engaging and replayable. In this guide I cover core systems, character progression, scene unlocking, choice consequences, and practical strategies I used while playing to reach specific outcomes. Whether you want to complete all scene routes, earn achievements, or understand the best ways to balance quests and affection, this article walks you through the steps clearly and personally.
Understanding Core Mechanics in Come Home
Let’s be real: diving into Come Home can feel overwhelming at first. 😅 You’re tossed into a new town with a mysterious past, a job to manage, and a cast of intriguing characters who all seem to want a piece of your time. How do you find your missing father, build meaningful connections, and see the stories you want without missing out? Don’t worry—I’ve been there, restarting my first save file three times before it clicked. This guide will break down the core systems you need to master, from raising affection to managing your calendar, so you can steer your story with confidence.
How affection and scenes work in Come Home
At the heart of your journey in Come Home are the connections you build. Think of each character as having an invisible affection meter that fills up based on your interactions. This isn’t just for show; it’s the literal key to unlocking deeper story layers. Raising affection is your primary tool for Come Home scenes unlock, allowing you to witness special moments that flesh out the characters and the world.
So, how do you fill that meter? It’s a blend of consistent effort and smart choices:
* Conversation: Every chat matters. Choosing supportive, empathetic, or character-specific dialogue options usually grants more points. I learned this the hard way by being sarcastic to Alex one too many times and hitting a wall in our story!
* Dates & Hangouts: When a character invites you somewhere, GO. These are major affection boosts. Success often hinges on picking the right responses during the event itself.
* Mini-Games: Some activities, like helping Sam with a repair or playing a video game with Jordan, include a light skill check. Doing well significantly boosts your standing.
* Time Spent: Simply being around them at certain locations (like the local café or park) and choosing to interact gives small, steady increases.
Scenes unlock in tiers, often gated by both affection level (hearts) and quest progression. You might have enough hearts with Maya, but if you haven’t progressed her personal quest to “The Old Lighthouse” chapter, her next special scene won’t trigger. The game does a great job of weaving character stories into the main narrative.
To give you a quick reference, here’s a breakdown of how the tiers typically work:
| Affection Tier (Hearts) | Typical Rewards | Scene Unlock Prerequisites |
|---|---|---|
| 1-2 Hearts (Acquaintance) | Basic background talks, unlocks general location hangouts. | Often requires initial story meeting and a few positive chats. |
| 3-4 Hearts (Friend) | Personal quests begin, deeper conversations, first “special” scene. | May require completing a minor task for them or advancing the main story to a specific day. |
| 5-6 Hearts (Close Friend) | Key character scenes, date options, major story insights. | Almost always requires progress in their personal quest arc. Time-sensitive. |
| 7+ Hearts (Deep Bond) | Final character scenes, profound influence on endings. | Requires completing their personal quest line and making pivotal supportive choices. |
My biggest piece of advice for any Come Home affection guide? Focus on one, maybe two, characters per playthrough if you want to see their full story. It’s tempting to try and be everyone’s best friend, but you’ll likely end up with medium affection across the board and miss the best scenes. 🎯
Daily routine, time management and activity choices
This is where many players, including my past self, stumble. Come Home uses a daily calendar system where every action consumes precious time blocks (Morning, Afternoon, Evening). Your job, the main quest, side quests, and building affection all compete for these slots. Mastering your schedule is the true secret to success.
Here’s the typical daily structure:
* Days of the Week: Certain events only happen on specific days. The art market is Saturday morning. Kai works at the animal shelter on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Make a mental note or keep a small journal!
* Available Locations: The map opens up as the story progresses. Early on, you’re limited to a few spots, but later you’ll have to prioritize.
* Time-of-Day Checks: Some events or character appearances are only available in the morning or at night. Missing that evening window to meet someone at the bar means waiting another in-game week.
My personal Come Home time management nightmare happened in Week 2. I was so focused on grinding my job stats for money that I missed two consecutive date windows with River. By the time I checked my phone, the opportunity had passed, and I was locked out of a beautiful stargazing scene that required that specific trigger. 💔
Pro Tip: Always prioritize time-sensitive events! Main quest markers, character invitations, and seasonal events should jump to the top of your daily to-do list. Low-value activities like “Watch TV at Home” can be a total time sink with little reward.
Let’s talk about Come Home quest progression. Quests are neatly categorized:
* Main Quest (Find Your Father): Drives the core narrative forward. Progress is often gated by completing a certain number of days or reaching key story beats.
* Character-Specific Arcs: Each main character has a multi-part quest line. Progressing these is essential for unlocking their high-affection scenes and influencing the endings.
* Side Quests (Town Events): These often reward you with items, money, or lore. They can sometimes unlock new locations or provide minor affection boosts with multiple characters.
The magic—and the challenge—is how these systems interact. Advancing the main quest might open up a new area where you can find an item for a character’s side quest, which in turn grants a big affection boost and unlocks a scene that gives you a clue for the main story. It’s a wonderfully interconnected web.
Moral choices, branching paths and endings
Every so often, Come Home will stop you in your tracks and present a major decision. These moral choice nodes are the forks in your road, directly shaping your relationships and the game’s conclusion. There’s rarely a simple “good” or “bad” choice; instead, you’re often deciding between loyalty, truth, ambition, or compassion.
These choices appear during pivotal moments in both the main story and character arcs. A classic example: you discover a painful secret about a character’s past. Do you confront them publicly for the truth, share the information with someone else out of concern, or keep it private and let them tell you in their own time? Each path alters how that character—and sometimes their friends—view you.
The cumulative weight of these decisions determines your Come Home choices endings. The game doesn’t have one “true” ending but a spectrum of conclusions that reflect the bonds you’ve forged and the ethical stance you’ve taken. Did you prioritize uncovering the town’s secrets at all costs, or did you focus on healing and rebuilding personal connections? The final scenes will mirror this.
Always save before a major choice! I cannot stress this enough. Create a new save file when you see a clear decision point. It lets you experience the consequences without the agony of replaying weeks of in-game time.
Here are common consequences tied to your choices:
* NPC Relationship Shifts: A choice that pleases one character might disappoint or alienate another. You can’t please everyone, and that’s by design.
* Quest Path Divergence: Some choices will open up entirely new quest lines while permanently closing others.
* Ending Influence: Key choices, usually 3-4 major ones, are flagged by the game. Your combination of flags dictates the final epilogue you receive.
If you’re aiming for 100% completion or a specific outcome, the community is your best friend. Some achievements are notoriously tricky, requiring very precise sequences of events. Don’t be afraid to look up non-spoilery guides for those. As for the game’s optional premium content, it’s fantastic for extra scenes and lore, but it’s not necessary to enjoy the core story and endings. Only dive into that if you’ve fallen in love with the world and want more.
Come Home is built for replayability. My first run was a messy, heartfelt attempt where I stumbled into an ending focused on forgiveness. My second was a focused, determined pursuit of truth with Alex, leading to a much darker, more revealing conclusion. The joy is in seeing how different Come Home quest progression and affection paths weave together into a completely unique story. So save often, talk to everyone, and don’t be afraid to follow your heart—each path leads you home, just a different version of it. 🏡
Come Home rewards careful planning, patient relationship building, and repeated playthroughs to uncover all scenes and endings. By understanding affection systems, scheduling key interactions, and using targeted save strategies you can reliably unlock character routes and achievements. Use the walkthroughs and checklists above to structure each session, and experiment on a separate save before committing to major choice nodes. If you enjoyed this guide, try one focused playthrough using the checklist that felt most appealing, then replay with a new goal—each run reveals new story beats and scenes.