"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."

The game itself is short but full of life. It takes place in a beautiful forest that is full of secrets to find. As you search these abandoned woods, the narrator unravels the story of her childhood and what all these things mean to her. Home Is Where One Starts is considered a walking simulator with little to no conventional gameplay but a gorgeous setting and a great story to be told. If you are interested in buying the game, feel free to look at my review here!

The game includes 8 achievements which are listed here:

1. Apathy - Stand Still At The Beginning
2. Bliss - Climb The Hay Bale
3. Sown By The Mountain - Look At The Stencil
4. Dakota - Find The Dog
5. Best Intentions - Find The Flask
6. Now Fly - Unlock The Shed
7. The Sun Will Rise - All Narrations Heard
8. Sentamentalist - All Interactive Items

"A routine can blind weary"

Apathy is arguably the easiest achievement to get in the game but possibly one of the best. The achievement is attained right at the beginning of the game by standing perfectly still for 3 minutes. (You can look around while doing this, but you must not move with the keyboard. If you do move, you must restart the game)


The result of doing this is not only the Achievement but a hidden ending where the game never really starts. The narration that follows is both beautiful and sad. (The game will close after this ending)

"Conquer an old obstacle near the pond"



The Bliss achievement is completed by climbing on top of one the hay bales. (Walk straight from where you start, they are found next to the pond). At first this seems ridiculous as you cant actually jump or climb in the game. You need to click on a specific bale to automatically climb on the bale.




The bale can be seen in the green circle. You must click on the side that the arrow is pointing at. (The side facing away from the starting point)







The bale can be identified by the small flower in the bottom right hand corner, as seen in the green circle here.

"Study the stencil"

Sown By The Mountain is achieved by looking at the painting in the abandoned shed for a short amount of time.






The Shed can be found if you look directly right of where you start. You should be able to see an old chimley (Red circle). The shed is slightly further on (Green circle).






The stencil is on the wall. Just aim your mouse at it and hold still for about 30 seconds to get the achievement.

"Find your friend"

The Dakota achievement is gained by finding the next door neighbours dog. A box of dog biscuits that begins the narration can be found behind the shed with the stencil. If you look through the back window of the shed, you can see the location of the dog biscuits by following the fence. (See below)




The dog biscuits are found in a small clearing, on the floor. Finding them will cause a small narration to begin about the neighbours dog. The achievement will be gained soon after.







A dog can actually be seen for a few seconds, off into the distance of the wood. You may need to squint to see him but he is circled in this picture

"Find the object you hid from your father"

"Good Intentions" is earned by finding your fathers flask. It is probably one of the more annoying achievements to get as finding the location can be quite annoying. My personal way of finding the flask is by starting at the trailer door and looking in the direction of the swing set. Walk straight towards the swings, passing a pumpkin patch and you will find the flask deep in the woods.


(The cabin can be seen in the green circle above)

"Finish the game"

The Now Fly achievement is completed by finishing the game (Who would have guessed?).

The ending to the game can be unlocked once you have explored the major locations and found enough of the items in the game. Once this is completed, the Narrator will tell you she felt brave and knows of a key in her father's bedroom. (This narration must play before you will be able to open the drawer.)

Go to the trailer that's found near the start of the game. As you go through the door, go to the right and into the master bedroom. The set of drawers containing the key is in the right back corner, opposite the bed (Top left drawer). When opened, you will see a key, pick it up by clicking it. (There will be no indication you have the key other than it disappearing from the drawer).





Once you have the key, go out the trailer and head right. You will see a small locked shed a few meters away. Go to the shed and click the lock, which should now open.





Once you are in the shed, click the pink bike in the corner. This will allow you to ride the bike and trigger the ending. Now all the invisible walls that have held you back will vanish and you are free to ride off into the sunset. Soon after doing so, the game will end and the achievement will trigger.

"Find all voice overs in one sitting"

The Sun Will Rise achievement is fairly easy if you already know the layout of the map. It requires you to unlock all the narrations in a single playthrough of the game. The only narration that is not needed is the hidden ending from the Apathy achievement. I highly recommend doing this and Sentimentalist at the same time.

Here are the locations of the narrations:

1. The start of the game

2. Entering the Trailer

3. Entering your room

4. The Pond

5. The Abandoned Shed

6. The Dog Biscuits

7. The Tin Fort

8. The Grave Path

9. The Grave Path

10. The Flask

11. Opening the shed and finishing the game.

"Pick up all examinable objects in one sitting"

The Sentimentalist is the hardest in the game but unlocks a slightly different ending. It is achieved by interacting with all of the items possible throughout the game. (Please note: YOU MUST PICK UP THE ITEMS)

Here is a list of items and their rough locations:

1. Elephant Backpack (Behind you at the start)



2. Mailbox (Next to you at the start)

3. Letter (In the Mailbox)

4. Baseball bat (Near the Hay Bales)

5. Hay Bale (See Bliss Achievement)

6. Fishing Pole (Next to the pond)

7. Spray Can (In the abandoned shed)

8. Dog Biscuits (See Dakota achievement)

9. Football (Behind the graveyard)

10. Novel (By a tree, on the path to the graveyard)

11. Glass Slipper (Near the pumpkin patch)

12. Flask (See Good Intentions achievement)

13. Duck (In bathtub, behind where you start)

14. Music Box (In storage room, middle shelf)

15. Electronics book (In your room)

16. Wooden Rabbit (In your room)

17. Bible (In your room)

18. Knife (In your dads room)

19. Book (In your dads room)

20. Key (See Now Fly achievement)

21. Pink Bike (See Now Fly achievement)

So there it is, a complete guide to this cool little game! If you did everything right you should get a gorgeous ending where you ride off into a field of flowers.

Thank you for your time, I hope you completed everything okay! If you find any mistakes or errors in the guide please let me know so I can fix them as soon as possible. If you like this guide, please feel free to check out my gaming reviews here!

A Special thanks to David Wehle for creating such a nice game! Please check out his other game too!

Have a great day!

Ebola