WHAT REMAINS OF EDITH FINCH
I Finch we’re alone now…
Walking sims are all the rage at the moment, and if the likes of The Vanishing Of Ethan Carter and Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture are anything to go by, those with long names are especially important. What Remains Of Edith Finch has a suitably elongated moniker, but there’s more to it than that. A lot more. Playing for the most part as the titular Edith Finch, you’re tasked with exploring her old family home, abandoned suddenly one night for reasons not initially explained. Edith’s mum gave her a key before she passed away and told her to return to the house to find out what happened to the rest of the Finches, a family plagued with a horrible history of nasty, tragic demises.
As you explore the house – finding what the key unlocks for starters and working from there – you begin to learn about each member of the Finch family, and ultimately discover each of their fates. The thing is, as macabre as this sounds, it’s one of the most heartbreaking yet beautiful games you’ll ever play.
HOME ATONE
Although Edith is the only person in the house, each of her late relations comes to life through the home itself, its intricately decorated series of bedrooms painting a detailed picture of each of their personalities before you ultimately find the book (or poem, or letter, or comic) that reveals what happened to them.
It leaves you with a constant feeling of helplessness, a nagging feeling that life is too short. You warm to each of these characters, but you know doing so is dangerous because you’re minutes away from losing them. It’s essentially a series of shattering discoveries.
The thing is, though, the story of each character is presented in such an incredible way, you’ll keep playing. Every family member’s flashback is depicted through a completely different and brilliantly inventive method, adding new game mechanics that have you throwing a shark down a hill one minute and controlling a little frog in a bath the next (oh God, the bit with the frog, it’s so devastating).
This game made me cry. I’m so glad I played it.
VERDICT
It may have little in the way of a challenge and takes around two hours to beat, but this is a masterpiece in storytelling and a game that will punch your feels in their feels. Chris Scullion