Horror games are beautiful, at least when it’s actual horror and not the ordinary ‘jumpscare’ games like Five Nights at Freddy’s. Breeder Homegrown promises a short and entertaining horror story, of about 40 to 90 minutes, depending on how much exploration you’ll do. Well, we finished it in 30 minutes, and there wasn’t much horror going on. Let’s dive in.
Buddy.
An older man escapes his mental institution in which he’s been living for his entire life. Instead of running for the airport or a safe house, the older man, David, decides to revisit his childhood home. He’s not there to reminisce about his childhood; however, he’s there to find his Buddy. The simple name of ‘Buddy’ suggests something sinister as we wander around a decrepit house as David. Because that’s what Breeder Homegrown is a walking simulator. You shuffle from room to room, looking at the strange graffiti on the walls and the empty alcohol bottles scattered across the floor. When you walk into David’s old bedroom, you come across a toy robot. Other notable items in the house are the spaceship of his father and a bloodstain on the floor. You can probably guess that this is a link between all the troubling memories associated with them. All of which leads us to the pit in the back garden.
Breeder Homegrown – Walkin’
Like I stated before, the whole game is David walking back and forth between David’s Father (Pops) and his Stepmother. Once in a while, you’ll have to bring them an item to progress the story, and when you find that item, a very helpful jingle will play, letting you know you’ve found what you’re looking for. Next to walking, there’s also some talking. The dialogue options don’t matter, at least, if you don’t care for character backstory. Games like Dragon Age and Mass Effect put effort into narrative choices, Breeder, not so much. The game is mostly just waiting for you to select the dialogue branch it wants and will repeat itself over and over until you finally work it out.
Horror?
Breeder Homegrown is labeled as a horror game, but it’s more off-putting. The graphics looked a little wonky over time and did not feature any jumpscares or Resident Evil vibes. So, what’s horror-ish about this game? Well, the creature (Buddy) who David and his father seem to care for much. It’s almost like this Buddy appears to cover some much deeper connection I’m probably missing. And due to the setting the game is pushing itself into, it’s tough to navigate the world of Breeder. I walked into doorposts a lot, and spammed the buttons a lot, hoping to find the thing I needed to press, at random. This even resulted in skipping a part of the game, which launched me back into the David-child state; and caused my story to ‘crash,’ I could not venture forth.
Conclusion
Breeder Homegrown is an okay indie game on the Nintendo Switch. The story is weird and short and left me a little bit unsatisfied. It’s not scary, it’s concise and can be finished in under half-an-hour. If you are looking for a decent horror story, Outlast is a better fit, or even the Resident Evil remakes on the Nintendo Switch (if you are aiming for a higher price point).
