What Remains of Edith Finch

Don’t question it — just buy it. Buy it right now. It isn’t a shooter, and there are no puzzles and some will question if this even qualifies as a “game,” but What Remains of Edith Finch is an exemplar in video game narrative design. No other game I’ve ever played has provoked the same meditation on death, and ultimately life and the beauty of it all.

What Remains of Edith Finch reminded me why I love video games. For the past few months, I’ve been in a bit of a slump and haven’t enjoyed too many games. Nothing really clicked with me. What Remains of Edith Finch changed that. I love video games because they have the ability to tell stories no other medium can tell, at least not in the way What Remains of Edith Finch does. I could see this game as a book but I truly don’t believe it would carry the same emotional resonance that it would in that form. The stories are told in such unique ways, and even though this particular title falls into the genre of a “walking simulator”, it manages to be one of the best video games I’ve played in a very long time.

An emotional and narrative masterpiece full of elegant intensity, What Remains of Edith Finch also manages to brilliantly subvert genre tropes and expectations in order to deliver some of the most memorable character vignettes in recent video game history.

What Remains of Edith Finch may not be a very challenging game, but the story it tells is one which will undoubtedly resonate with players in ways they may not expect. If anything, it proves yet again that video games can be used to tell some truly immersive and thought-provoking stories, ones which stick with us long after we put down the controller.

What Remains of Edith Finch is a masterful piece of storytelling: gorgeous, skillfully told, uplifting in places, and devastating in others. Avoid seeing too many spoilers— seriously, I can't think of a game more in need of being unspoiled than this one—and play it.

The emotional confession of the family haunted by the curse gave rise to one of the most wonderful adventures of the game history. Its originality, atmosphere and specific gameplay made it into a real piece of art.

Poignant and powerful, What Remains of Edith Finch has set a new standard in storytelling. Don’t be put off by its brevity – these are two of the most enjoyable hours I have ever spent in front of my PC monitor.

What Remains of Edith Finch talks about death, but sounds like an incredible hymn to life and its meaningful journey. Giant Sparrow brings walking simulator to another level with an amazing story told through compelling gameplay solutions and an inspired environmental storytelling.

If you ever had even a slight interest in storytelling in any form, then What remains of Edith Finch is a little indie masterpiece that you shouldn't miss.

First-person, narrative-driven games generally follow a pattern. What Remains of Edith Finch plays with those established conventions to create a beautiful story that breaks your heart, while making you smile just as much. A triumph in the genre.

It could be the roundest narrative game of the year.

If you’re curious to see how far narrative-driven games have come in the past few years, What Remains of Edith Finch is an excellent starting point.

Though it only took me just under two hours to complete, the second the credits stopped rolling I immediately restarted What Remains of Edith Finch. Each of the vignettes is so distinct and surprising that I didn’t have enough time to absorb and dissect what I had just played before being whisked away to the next one. But after fully piecing together the threads of the family and sifting through the allegories of their final moments, I was left with a beautiful, heartbreaking mosaic that exudes life, even when mired in death.

What Remains of Edith Finch is a heartbreaking collection of short stories, still lingering long after the end of the game.

This is probably the most impressive, inventive story about a family curse. And one of the best interactive dramas I've played.

This is a beautiful storybook. Giant Sparrow shows how interaction can play a big part in storytelling.

Although What Remains of Edith Finch is a very short game (three to four hours), it offers a brilliantly intriguing story and an amazing gameplay specially tailored for every character. Beautiful and bittersweet.

Quotation forthcoming.

With just ten minutes to go I was convinced What Remains of Edith Finch was going to be one of the very best games I’ve played this year. And I’m still absolutely enamoured of its characters, setting, atmosphere, attention to detail, and the great bulk of its narrative. It stands proudly alongside narrative adventures like Gone Home, Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, Dear Esther, Firewatch, and The Vanishing of Ethan Carter....I just wish Giant Sparrow had conjured up a final act that matched the enormously gratifying mysteries of the rest of the experience.

Beautiful, bittersweet, artistic, frank and engaging game. Just a shame of the scope that does not allow to move from a captivating start into a completely satisfactory final. [Issue#275]

Leisurely exploration of the estate is interspersed with stories about the last days of different Finch family members – and these moments show that developers didn’t just proclaim their love for H.P. Lovecraft, Neil Gaiman and other masters of magical realism, they really know that stuff. Giant Sparrow draws you into the little girl’s dreamworld just as easily as it paints a picture of kingly ambitions of a factory worker. [Issue#221, p.81]