What Remains of Edith Finch: Review

It’s the end of the holiday season and indeed my holiday. I’ve been in Australia for the past month, away from the grey skies and rain off the British winter. But now I’m back from the shrimps on the barbeque and the dropbears of the billabong, and find myself staring up at the gargantuan pile of games I’m in need of playing.

And so, we shall begin to tackle said pile of shame to examine one of the indie titles I missed last year because Assassin's Creed: Origins is outside of my budget currently. Today, we’ll be looking at What Remains of Edith Finch, a story driven walking sim created by the folks at Giant Sparrow.

The game is about the tragic Finch family; Swedish immigrants to the US whose house seems to be cursed, resulting in the premature deaths of many family members. Edith, the youngest and only surviving member of the family, goes back to the family home to explore her childhood and learn about her deceased relatives through stories written by or about them.

These stories are wildly varied in both style and meaning. Some are abstract, some are more literal, but above all they all deal with the theme of loss and grief, leading to a deeply personal and moving overarching narrative. And these themes are not simply relegated to text, but to the environment of the game itself. There are little mementos belonging to those who died scattered around the house, and marks that they left on the house itself; one that sticks out particularly is a series of notches on the bedroom door of two twins, marking their height as they grew older. But only one passes a notch marked “aged 8”.

Giant Sparrow, 2017

A very evocative point is made about the way in which people chose to deal with their grief; Edith’s mother simply chooses to board up the bedrooms of dead family members and blocking off the painful memories. Edith’s Grandmother, however, encourages Edith to search the house for the numerous secret passageways in order to learn more about her relatives, not wanting the past to be forgotten.

Presentation of a narrative is also key to games like this, and Edith Finch delivers the story in truly beautiful way. Text appears whenever characters speak, but not in the same sense as subtitles. Subtitles are inherently disassociated from the background action, serving simply as a means to allow deaf players or viewers to enjoy the narrative. Edith Finch enhances its subtitles by making them a part of the game, with letters scattering as the player approaches them. Words become part of the puzzle in some sections, either through direct interaction or by lighting the environment. They will even map to different angles and walls within the environment. This interaction between user interface and the game world has the wonderful effect of fulfilling the old cliché of making the environment a character itself.

Giant Sparrow, 2017

Speaking of the environment; the game uses the well-established stylised realism art style with a first person camera that many indie titles and indeed many walking sims use. But Edith Finch makes the game unique by switching styles and camera perspectives between stories. There is a comic book styled story, and one shown in an isometric third person perspective in a minimalist environment, mimicking Monument Valley. These juxtapose the rest of the game to convey the personality of the Finch family members the story focuses on, making them interesting and, ultimately, allowing the player to empathise with them.

Gameplay wise, Edith Finch is somewhat limited, even by walking sim standards. The player has a button for interaction, the analogue sticks and a zoom button, and nothing else. There is no sprint button, but thankfully this is not the cardinal sin that it was in Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture. Why? Because unlike Rapture, Edith Finch has a compelling world and story, rather than skin deep beauty and poorly executed intrigue.

The way the game grants the player more agency with such a limited control scheme is also delightful. Using the interaction button is only the start of the process, with the players needing to use the analogue sticks to move the character’s hands around and complete tasks; pushing a door open, turning a musical box’s handle, or watching a flick book animation become quietly satisfying.

There are some things that are off with the game, however. Whilst fun, the interaction system is not intuitive and is very reliant on players understanding how walking sims work from the start. Objects that can be interacted with are highlighted, sure, but how the player should interact with them is not detailed and possibly could use some explanation. Walking can also be a rather clunky experience, and I routinely found that looking around an enclosed space would result in my character moving from one room to the next due to some arbitrary automation of movement.

At only a couple of hours long, What Remains of Edith Finch is a great one to pick up and play on a rainy afternoon when you have nothing to do, exactly like a good book. There's also a bit of replay value, with various little challenges about the house for the player to complete, if they find them. Overall, a delightful little game.