Can't believe this made it on to GOG! I bought and played this on Steam, but bought again here for the DRM-free copy. This game figuratively blew my mind wide open. It's so creative, so engrossing and engaging... around every corner and story, it was constantly surprising me with things I've never seen done in a video game before. This game is just so well done, it belongs in every gamer's library. The stories will stick with you long after the credits roll. Thank you GOG for bringing this here!
What Remains of Edith Finch is of the same breed as Everybody's Gone to Rapture or Vanishing of Ethan Carter - a walking simulator with intriguing story. Fortunately the game did not repeat most common mistakes of other titles from this genre, the pacing although relatively slow, is steady and does it's job of keeping player engaged well. Story itself is quite interesting, leaving some open questions for you to answer yourself. That said many reviewers criticize this title for it's ending and I must agree that I have also expected something more revealing. Along with original narration comes good graphics and world design - in fact, sheer number of details placed in the game's world encourage to replay it, because only after you know the story, you are gonna be able to appreaciate all the little details placed literally at every corner.
When it comes to gameplay, What Remains of Edith Finch does an interesting thing with incorporating a series of minigames, each quite original and in itself engaging. However those minigames are a bit inconsistent in length, some of them are relatively long and decidedly better than other, way shorter and less polished ones. All in all though, when compared to other similar titles, What Remains of Edith Finch does a good job of being something more than just a 'hold down the forward movement button' game.
To sum up, What Remains of Edith Finch is a very good walking simulator and narrative game. However, as with all titles in this genre, it's not for everyone. The pacing is relatively slow and it feels more like reading a novel than playing a game. Also it's a bit short - I've finished the game in 2 hours. So if you're a fan of that type of video games, this is one of the best narrative title out there. Do remember though that even if you decide to do a second playthrough, you're gonna be done with the game in about 4 hours. It will leave you though with some thougths about life and death, so there's that.
In stark contrast to other games in the "walking simulator" genre, What Remains of Edith Finch manages to captivate the player with not only amazing storytelling, but mechanics that lend themselves to the delivery of the narrative, all while engaging the player.
The game starts out slowly, but quickly becomes interesting once you begin to explore the Finch house, and at no point during my playthrough was I close to being bored. The visuals are stunning, the sound design is gorgeous, and I often found myself impressed with the way the story was delivered throughout the game.
I cannot recommend this game enough. Please play it. I promise it's worth it.
anemoia - n. nostalgia for a time you’ve never known.
You will experience this peculiar emotion throughout the whole game. From the first time I layed eyes on the Finch House I knew this was going to be a unique experience. Wandering the empty corridors I longed for the time when life and laughter filled the abruptly abandoned building. The narrator who is also the protagonist does a great job of telling the story of a family, haunted by misfortune, yet refusing to be defeated. Alongside the 17 year old titular character you explore the family home and through notes, documents and journals get fleeing glimpses into the life of her family. Since she left as a little child and her (dead) mother never told her much, this is mostly as new to her as it is to the player. You will feel and share her regret about that. At least I did.
I have had this wishlisted on Gog for ages, still do, waiting on a good sale but I did receive it for free on twitch. Game started out not too promising as I couldnt get the opening scene to work properly, there was quite of bit of jagged movement which caused immediate nausea as well. I fiddled with settings for a bit but couldnt get the book to open and the game froze. I gave up for months, then idly thought to give it another try.
boy am I glad. I still had to fiddle with settings, mainly adjusting graphics to reduce the laggy movement of the camera while maintaining the best graphical quality my pc could handle. Got it to work and the story took off. Its very immersive storytelling, movement is for the most part fluid, you dont really have to be accurate with the mouse pointing, the game guides you on the right path. There are tricky bits to figure out how to advance the story, usually by interacting with the environment in some ways, occasionally very obscurely.
The 'chapters' are each unique stories, each with their own art and tone. They ranged from normal environments to flights of fancy, spectacular at times. Throughout all is the voice over narrator which was well done. The music was perfect, melancholy and immersive.
I was left with wonder at the end of the game, not too often has that happened to me. The game is reminiscent of The Vanishing of Ethan Carter. The story is such that you will want more, I know I do.
Will get it on gog for my permanent library
