What Remains of Edith Finch

10 out of 10.

What Remains of Edith Finch is staggeringly ambitious - a sprawling narrative featuring over a dozen characters and as many different gameplay mechanics, beautifully presented and squeezed into an interactive fiction experience lasting just a couple of hours. Whether or not the player ultimately thinks the story succeeds, there's no denying that it represents another big push forward for a genre where some of the most innovative storytelling experiences in gaming are currently being made. Although presenting itself as a walking simulator with strong reminders of Gone Home or Ethan Carter (there are early visual cues of a lonely house set in a forested Pacific north-west landscape) Edith Finch soon reveals itself to have incredible depth all of its own. The house is not only full of artifacts but also living testimonies of the game's characters – interactive sections revolving around the circumstances of their deaths. Each of these stories comes complete with its own gameplay mechanic; some of which are truly wonderous. Molly and Lewis' vignettes, in particular, are extraordinary. And they’re powerful, too. I found Gregory's vignette so challenging that I wanted to stop playing just to avoid the inevitability of what was happening. Does the whole experience hold together as well as individual vignettes? For me, not quite. There's a problem at the core of the story: Edith's own vignette is a crushing disappointment. Without spoiling: it relies on a tired storytelling cliché which undermines the narrative's attempt to paint ideas of death, memory and storytelling in new colours. Ultimately, Gone Home and Firewatch present more satisfying total narratives because their gameplay is completely melded to their story. But even though the whole is not as satisfying as its individual parts, Edith Finch is still a stunning achievement. Like Tacoma, it’s interactive fiction which is truly focused on making the actions of the player feel important and consequential.

The only game that rivals the use of gameplay to tell a deep gut wrentching character story, is Celeste. Finch is the game that every walking simulator wishes it could be, by actually having gameplay that tells the narrative. It is hauntingly beautiful while fun to play

I don't like Walking Simulators at all, but I admit this one stands out. We control Edith Finch, a 17 years old teen which is the sole survivor of her family, so she visits her family's old house to understand what happened there. Edith finds diary entries about her deceased family members, and in those moments we relive their final moments playing their perspective. Everytime they end, Edith makes a drawing of the relative, showing the progress of hte game. From Edith herself, controlling her is the typical walking simulator: she only walks, progression is entirely linear, though some stories can be accessed out of order or even skipped (I accidentally did that with Odin's), interaction works with specific objects... but where the game shines is controlling the family members' story. While the controls work the same they work more like minigames and are very creative: like controlling animals, playing with animal toys, a kite, taking photos... they make the experience more compelling to play (Lewis' streches out too long though). The graphics are not impressive but the art direction is fantastic, with beautiful outdoor enviroments and very detailed ans intricated decoration inside the house. Something interesting is the lines from the characters are mostly suspended text appears on As for the narrative, the reception can very from player to player. While many felt sympathetical and very emotional, I personally felt mostly pity at them, since their demises', unlike the game's suggestion (never proved) of a curse to the family, was more like a combination of misfortune, stupidity, obsession, carelessness and hazard. The ending itself was weak with a lackluster final mesage and a few loose ends, but it could have been worse. The game can be easily finished in less than 3 hours and to replay is only worth if some story was missed or some feels compelling to replay. this is worth getting in a deal with over 50% of discount.

I have always enjoyed games with good art, a good story, and something to accomplish. This game has all 3 in spades, and adds a fourth I really wasn't aware I wanted until I played this--emotional depth. You'll read a lot of reviews here that say the above but none of them really captured what I got out of the game. By the end of the story, I was nearly in tears. I felt a tremendous sense of loss as I got to know all these quirky, interesting people and their passions that they wear so plainly on their sleeves, only to watch them meet their demise. And some of them do not have easy answers--in some cases, you never find out exactly what happened. And then it all ties together at the end in an amazing way. I can't describe it without spoiling it but it's so clever you won't believe it. Within 10 minutes, I knew I was into something special. After I finished I adjourned to my back patio to contemplate what I'd just been through, and stayed there for an hour, quietly. It might have been the most peaceful hour of my life. I spent the next few days haunted by it. My thoughts turned to it at odd times, as things during my normal day would trigger a reminder. Eventually I played it again so I could revisit those experiences, and it was even better. I've owned it a month and I've completed it a total of 4 times. It's not a huge time commitment--you'll get through it in 3 hours or so the first time. It gets faster on the repeats. This is a walking simulator to a degree, but don't let that discourage you. This is a walk worth taking. If Dear Esther exemplifies the walking simulator, Edith Finch breaks the mold. In the end, this game is a treasure. Play it, and then play it again.