What Remains of Edith Finch

I guess there are not many games out there (if it is a game... i come to that in a moment) that leave you with a desire to sit on the porch and look into the evening sun, with a mug coffee in hand. This one does. I don't want to spoil the experience, so, no content discussion from me. Just some short pointers- take it slow, there is an awful lot of content to look at and set the mood. Some puzzles are a little bit on the moon logic side, or more precise, are somewhat not intuitive in regard of what is expected to happen as a result. Overall playing time was for me around 3 hours, and exactly this is what costs it the 5th star. I would have liked a bit more content. The content that is there is fantastic however. Don't expect adrenaline rushes, it's more of an story told by solving mild puzzles and exploration. tl:dr + graphis and sound + story + no crashes or whatnot during playtime - a little bit on the short side Would buy again.

A full playthrough takes about as long as a movie, and you can play it like one. Cuddle up with someone special, and this game on your laptop, and enjoy. This game evoked so many emotions in me, and actually brought me to tears.

I loved this game and played it for about three hours before the entire experience was irreparably ruined. The scenery is gorgeously rendered; the story is engaging; the pace is just right; the lack of real puzzles didn't bother me in the least. I was having a great time until I found myself in a bathtub, forced to endure an endless serenade of "Waltz of the Flowers" and forced to make a stupid frog hop to EXACTLY the right position to get things moving. I play adventure games for cerebral enjoyment because I am an uncoordinated clod; I HATE shoot-em-ups and platformers because I stink at them. I played the stupid frog scene twice, two bouts of 15 to 20 minutes apiece, because I really wanted to continue playing. I finally gave up with real regret; I'll never experience the rest and I am extremely disappointed in this game and its developers.

This game feels more alive than any action-packed game, it has nicer drawn graphics than a AAA game and more creative game mechanics than a one person indie game experiment. You won't shoot things. You won't change a kingdom, go to space or even solve murder. You will follow a story as it unfolds, to be hit right in the feels, multiple times, and cry with the families members as you get to know what defines them. There is mostly inner monologue, snippets of memories as told by witnesses, insights by people who knew some of the family members, all located in the house you are revisiting. In this game you navigate a maze of sorts, crammed full of little things, each telling of a life themselves, but your path and what you can do is never far off or hard to see - everythings just has a certain flow to it. I can heartily recommend this game if you like feeling things or have ever played and liked a game where you did not make things go boom. It is not a game for everyone. It is not long, it is not hard, and you won't feel clever, fast or strong for having played it. It is an experience to see things from different perspectives, lovingly arranged.

A beautiful story told economically and steeeped in a a near-perfect mixture of sorrow and wonder. The mechanics of the game serve that narrative exceptionally well without detracting from it or prolonging the experience past the point when it would no longer be effective. This is not the type of game where the gameplay itself is the focus--the well-told story is the star of the show.