What Remains of Edith Finch, a game developed by Giant Sparrow and published by Annapurna Interactive and can be found on various consoles as well as PC. The premise of the game is that of an exploratory narrative but is often reduced to being a “walking simulator” given that the main mechanic for interaction with the world is by the simple act of moving.
Put simply: walking tells the Finch family story by forcing the player into an enacted and embedded narrative setting where their only task is to explore and watch as the story first-hand — given that the perspective is from that of first-person. There are branching flashbacks and storylines which are explored and started through various interactions and dialogues such as the one below, where the book transports you directly into reliving the events of another character:
This is one of the major upsides to the narrative structure of What Remains of Edith Finch because it lends itself to a “show, don’t tell” mechanic which makes the central point being narrative exploration more fresh. Walking also isn’t limited to just that of the human form. As we see below, different narrative experiences change how you interpret the characters such as taking the envisioning of a snake and making it literal.
Walking also serves as a pacemaker in this regard as it causes you to reflect: Why am I being represented this way? What prior experiences and settings led me to this point? How might this impact the overarching and future storyline? Since you control your movement, it is up to you to decide when you are ready to proceed in the story! This is a lot more agency than some people give “walking simulators” credit for as a lot of modern narratives push you to proceed in the story.
I haven’t played many games in this sub-genre so it’s a bit harder for me to draw comparisons to other games that are alike — which highlights the novelty of the game and genre if you really consider it. The closest game I can consider are “cozy” games like Stardew where progression happens at your own rate. That being said many of these games do have minor stressors to push you along.
Another interesting aspect What Remains of Edith Finch makes me think about is how game developers utilize space. You become much more aware of the space around you and how it is used due to the limited actions you can take. Besides making any new mechanics down the line much more impactful, this heightened appreciation and pensiveness regarding space is crucial to the narrative itself. Walking and reliving through each individual space is a key part of enhancing the actual embedded experience the game is trying to portray since the player gets to piece things together themselves.
From this we come to the realization that walking is a key mechanic which serves not only to define the genre, but also the type of narrative and the space in which it takes place. These key points are what guides and tells the story to player, and thus are direct outcomes from this simple, yet powerful action.
