If what Unravel offers is indeed an experience of empathy (and that is debatable), this is a vision of empathy that is not about appropriating or instrumentalizing the feelings of others.It is also not about learning or becoming better people. This vision of empathy is about building precarious yet vital connections between points by following indirect paths constructed using one’s own body. It is about queer entanglements, a network of individuals connected by a series of knotted paths that is not straight and cannot be straightened. (Ruberg 67)

Another example of a primarily "Empathy-Based" game is Unravel, which unlike many of the other examples, is a game that was done correctly. It does not attempt to force the player into the shoes of a marginalized group, but it instead leaves the games meaning more up for interpretation. Ruberg also claims the game is about "queer entanglements," which she cites as a better method of referring to games based in empathy, without generalizing them. (67)
AJ, SO, JL, CL

In Gone Home, the player is not situated in a position where they are appropriating the identity and experiences of Sam. Instead, they view Sam's struggle from the outsider perspective of Kaitlin. Kaitlin explores the network of connections in her family, whether they relate to Sam's queerness or not, and the player by proxy understands the complex interpersonal relationships that caused the family schism. This parallels the web of "queer entanglements" that Ruberg cites as being present in Unraveled.

The image above demonstrates queer entanglement by representing a unique experience between Sam and Lonnie. Although many of the users who will end up witnessing this picture will not experience the same prejudices that Sam and Lonnie did, those users would still be able to relate to the feelings of hope and resilience. The purpose of this image is to show the lives and feelings of a prejudiced group to the primary audience that cannot directly relate.
However, in the game world, the purpose, context, and audience are entirely different. The note, which in game is written by Sam's girlfriend Lonnie, was only meant for Sam, and not a greater audience. The purpose of the note was for Lonnie to tell Sam how much she loved and cared about her. 


Although the term of "empathy" is often overused, there are certain cases where it does still apply