Ever since buying “Garry’s Mod” at age seven, I’ve never played on anything quite like a “Homigrad” server. Then again, I would consider it one of the most memorable experiences you can have in this game. “Homigrad” is violent, chaotic, and fun because it exudes what “Garry’s Mod” is all about: random shenanigans.
“Homigrad” isn’t just one, but many game modes. However, it wouldn’t be “Homigrad” without the “Homicide” game mode.
The best way to describe “Homicide” is that it’s a combination of “Trouble in Terrorist Town” and “Murder” where there are killers among you, but innocents can be equally lethal. Eventually, weapons like axes and pistols will spawn, which simultaneously spawns distrust among everyone once they’re in innocent players’ hands. Who’s really protecting themselves, and who’s a lunatic?
However, “Homigrad” servers aim to crank up the craziness dial until it breaks. Your experience will depend on which server you join due to each server having custom content, but the core chaos remains the same.
Your camera and movements are intentionally janky as if you were wearing a GoPro camera. This surprisingly works, even though it may take some getting used to, and I wouldn’t recommend it to those who get motion sickness. It feels realistic, especially when your character turns into a ragdoll and crawls across the ground or hangs from a window.
When things get nasty, they get as ugly as a LiveLeak video, especially when dead innocent players can get revived as armed policemen. “Homigrad” is exceptionally gory—sometimes for no reason—and that’s what distinguishes it from other game modes. For example, if you shoot someone in the foot with a crossbow, their body will explode and splatter all over the walls. It makes no sense, but it wouldn’t be “Homigrad” if it did.
There’s also a mechanic where you can be knocked to the ground and sometimes knocked unconscious if you haven’t been killed. It adds to the realism, forcing you to “check” if anyone you knock down is truly dead by kicking, socking, whacking, or shooting them. Additionally, you can also rummage through the inventory of anyone on the ground.
I was able to get my hands on heavier artillery than I would have in a regular “Homicide” server, but there might be some other things you can snatch off the ground. Sometimes, you might pick up a boot and then eat it. Other times, you might find a bag of weed, consume it, and then catch on fire and get blurred vision.
Some of the additional game modes in “Homigrad” servers are ones like “The Hidden” that forces everyone to fight one invisible and dangerous enemy; “Brawl,” which forces players dressed like pickles to fight others dressed as hot dogs; or “Medieval” mode, where you’ll have to stay by a knight to have a better chance of survival.
The only takeaway is that you’re never explicitly shown the controls. However, at least you’re briefly instructed on how each game mode works when the rounds begin.
The other half of what makes “Homigrad” fun is the community that plays on it. After all, “Garry’s Mod” is a community-driven game, but this is it at its wildest.
I’ve seen it all: I watched someone jump face-first into a wall for no reason, I’ve watched the cops shoot up a building just to kill a player on top of it, and I’ve watched someone accidentally blow up a train car of players because he couldn’t move fast enough with a live explosive. Players are unpredictable, and it wouldn’t be “Homigrad” if everyone wasn’t different.
Then, there’s the voice chat. When you’re alive, it’s proximity-based, but in spectate mode, you’ll hear everyone at a normal volume. What stays the same, though, is how crowded and toxic it can be. That’s the one quality of “Trouble in Terrorist Town” that I definitely didn’t want to re-experience, but you could also say the same for plenty of other servers and game modes on “Garry’s Mod.”
Although, if there’s one suggestion I would make, it would be to age-restrict who can use their mic. Within my first 20 minutes, I had to listen to a child scream a dozen times that he wanted to go to “gm_shambles” annoyingly close to his microphone. “Garry’s Mod” might not have an official ESRB rating, but it’s moments like this where I wish it did.
“Homigrad” servers might not be as populous (around 70 players near the time of publishing) as those for the most played game mode, “DarkRP” (with upwards of 2,000 players), but it’s definitely one of the best round-based experiences. Nobody will have the same experience, and that’s what makes it fun. It’s weird, it’s bloody disgusting, but it’s an awesome cult classic.
RATING (out of 5 based on experience)
based