What Remains of Edith Finch is a first-person, narrative-focused walking simulator with an air of mystery. The story follows seventeen year old Edith Finch, who is the last surviving member of her family, as she returns to her family’s old home to uncover each member’s mysterious past – and untimely death. The game is deeply immersive, making it seem much longer than the 2 hours it took to play through the main story line. The delivery of the narrative is delicate, purposeful, and leaves out just enough information that the ambiguity is intriguing, instead of alienating.
The mechanics of walking simulators lends itself well to this game’s delivery, narrative impact, and player response. First, the game lets the player roam and wander freely, with several visual cues to help guide and push the narrative, which the player can choose to heed or ignore. I loved the fact that I could roam around the house, taking in the sights of a space that is so obviously and eerily well-lived-in – half-finished takeout, toppled stacks of books, family photos and magnets and such vibrant signs of life, yet so unnervingly empty, as if the people had simply vanished into thin air while in the midst of their daily routine. I would acknowledge the visual hints to go forward in the story, but delay acting upon them in favor of roaming the house, and I found this instrumental for the “discovery” type of fun.
Discovery and narrative went hand in hand for What Remains of Edith Finch. I found out more about each family member’s unique, yet unfortunate cause of death, and I found some of them so imaginative and absurd that I did not know whether to believe it or not. This uncertainty was thrilling for me to navigate, mind reeling with “what if’s” – what if Milton actually stepped through his magic paintings and disappeared? As I roamed, I truly felt like I was embodying Edith as she discovered her family’s stories for herself.
Each family member occupies an arc in this game. Each arc has different mechanics, music, and variety in visuals. For example, you play through Barbara Finch’s arc through the panels of a graphic novel and Milton Finch’s story is told through a simple flipbook. Lewis Finch’s story – my personal favorite – is an eerie mix of dreamlike imaginative worlds and its stark contrast with the dreariness of real-life, depicted by the gloomy ambience of the cannery. I had to take a breather after experiencing Lewis’s story, completely floored by the incredible storytelling. The monotonous action of chopping fish paralleled with the vibrant visuals of his dream-like imagination as it gradually took over the entire scene was such a neat physical manifestation of Lewis’s mental state.
The separateness of the arcs gives the developers the ability to make each arc extremely distinct – not only in terms of story but in terms of visuals, music, and delivery. The game architecture of going into different rooms also spatially compartmentalizes each story within the rooms, so the distinctness between them feels cohesive, rather than jarring. Each room contains vibrant artifact’s of the family member’s life, which supplements the mood of the story the player discovers about them.
I think I can go as far to say that What Remains of Edith Finch is probably one of the best games I have ever played. It’s such a compact game, filled with rich storytelling and compelling visual design, and the creativity in storytelling mechanics made the game such a cohesive, tight, and emotionally poignant experience.
It is certainly funny to see that you have similar thoughts as me when it came to the unique storytelling in each family member’s arc! It was nice to hear you point out how each separate room really contributed to the organization of the story, by literally visualizing how each family member’s life contributed to the larger house, and thus the larger legacy/curse of the Finch family.
Hi Izzy, I also had very similar thoughts regarding the medium of interactive fiction being really effective in telling the story of this game! Like you said, the player has full agency over the character to give the player the sense of embodying this person, while the game provides visual cues to guide the character to the next part of the story. I love how the game strikes a balance between player agency and adherence to the narrative.
I definitely agree with your point on how distinct each arc feels, and I’m curious if you also felt that the mechanics and the ‘ physical feel’ was also something that contributed to each portion feeling really unique. I personally felt like the differing control schemes and the differences in how each character moved, especially for Molly’s chapter, really helped ingrain each part into my memory and further immerse me into the game!
Hi Izzy, I agree with your point about how each story felt like its own arc. I thought this was helpful for pausing the game and continuing later with ease, since most of the stories weren’t too dependent of each other. I think it definitely also adds to the individualism of each character, even though they were from the same family and similar backgrounds.