What Remains of Edith Finch is a difficult game to peg down, its not quite a horror game, not quite an adventure game, and it’s certainly not quite like anything I’ve played before.
What Remains of Edith Finch centers around the titular character as she tours the eclectic Finch family home after receiving the estate in her mother’s will. The Finch family claim to fame is that they are the most cursed family in America, as each member of the family has succumbed to various tragedies, death, and heartbreak. As you go room from room Edith recollects each death and you get a glimpse into what happened to the rooms occupants. The Finch family home is a character in itself, with sprawling secret tunnels, crawlspaces and a seemingly impossible construction.
The gameplay in this was super imaginative and really blew me away. Each story unfolds in a different way, and the gameplay reflects this. Some stories play out like an interactive comic, others like a camera point and shoot, and a top down RPG. Some tragedies are over the top and almost comical, where some are heartbreaking and all too believable. I played through this game in one sitting because I simply couldn’t put it down. I was riveted from start to finish and needed to know what happened to these people. Despite knowing each story would end in an untimely death I was still heartsick and sad at the end of every story because after spending time looking through these people’s lives and listening to Edith talk so lovingly about them all, it was a strange bittersweet feeling to see how they died. Because each character tells the own story of their death its really up to the player to decide if the events actually unfolded the way it was portrayed, or if there is another explanation for the tragedy.
I don’t have many complaints about this game, really the only one being is that the controls seemed a bit touchy and made it easy to miss some smaller items you could interact with. Each story had its own set of controls but it was smooth to transition from one story to the next. The score was just as lovingly crafted as the rest of the game and reflected the emotions of each scene perfectly. The voice acting was spectacular, which is really important for a game where you’re really just listening to a lot of the story being explained it could really make or break it. If you were a fan of games like Gone Home, Dear Esther or Life is Strange I really recommend this game. It’s a perfect blend of storytelling and gameplay and you will be thinking about the Finch family long after the game is over.
What Remains of Edith Finch is available on PS4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows
-Rigby (@rigbot)