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dkirschner's What Remains of Edith Finch (PC)
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| [November 11, 2019 08:50:32 AM]
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If I could insert a little emoji with hearts for eyes here, I would. What Remains of Edith Finch is a fascinating exploration of a family's history, misfortunes, and quirky (possibly cursed) house. You play as the titular Edith Finch, who has returned to her family's home to do some combination of uncovering truths and getting some closure. All of her family is dead and/or gone. Most of them died tragically. You'll explore the house, finding secret passageways, poking around dead peoples' preserved bedrooms, and reading very sad, shocking, and surreal diary entries, letters, and other "remains." You'll also wonder how one family can have the same copy of so many of the same books in their house, especially cookbooks (my favorite: A Viking's Belly).
I played this with my girlfriend (the first game we've ever completed together?!). She likes story-driven games and classic JRPGs, so I've set some aside to play together, or to at least play in her company. I've been playing Earthbound on and off at her house for half a year, and just wishlisted Chrono Trigger. I never owned an SNES as a kid, OKAY?! This was better than the last game I tried to play with her, Pony Island, which had way more puzzles and demanded more precision than I remembered. She thought the story was neat at least. Anyway, we were both enthralled by the vignettes in the Finch home, understanding the family tree, and piecing together what happened to each of the characters! The family tree is difficult to wrap your head around at first and it took us half the game to get a good grasp of who was married to who, of what the "leaves" were, and so on. Paying attention to who Edith is talking about when she calls someone "grandpa," for example, will really help.
Some of the vignettes were really creative, such as the "Tales from the Crypt" comic inspired home invasion murder of Barbara. Others let you play with toys (the bathtub scene, the kite scene). These vignettes often begin innocently enough, then take a dark turn. Eventually, as you realize what is about to happen, they can become very distressing. My favorite vignettes in order were:
- (King) Lewis. Good lord, the twist on this one...
- Molly. This is the first you encounter, and although the controls for the cat were a pain, the monster totally makes up for it. Very surreal.
- Gregory. Bath time. Play with a toy frog.
- Calvin. The dread from knowing what's going to happen here was awful. And who hasn't wanted to swing all the way around?! Very relatable death.
I didn't dislike any vignettes, though Gus's (punk rock 13-year-old) was silly and a little confusing. The game did leave me with questions:
1. Is the Finch house really cursed? Or is the family cursed? If either is true, then WHY is it cursed? This will require some deep thought about the story and characters...
2. Where is Milton?! I think he died crawling through secret passageways in the house...
3. Can we visit Edie in the old folks' home? Is she still alive there?
4. Assuming Edie and Milton are dead, then Kay is the only person alive (maybe). What happened to her after the divorce?
5. Did Edith's kid make the same journey through the house as she did, reading her diary along the way?
I would LOVE another game just like this. Also, I need to acquire a PS4 and play The Unfinished Swan, these devs' first game.
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dkirschner's What Remains of Edith Finch (PC)
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Current Status: Finished playing
GameLog started on: Sunday 10 November, 2019
GameLog closed on: Sunday 10 November, 2019 |
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