Image Credits: Giant Sparrow via Wikipedia
If there’s one thing in life we try not to think about, it’s death. Even though it’s inevitable, just thinking about that light at the end of the tunnel is never a good thought. These thoughts can make the good turn bad, and the bad turn even worse. It can happen at any moment, allowing stress and fear to overtake your mind. Your mind enters a downward spiral of dark thoughts, leaving you to ask yourself: “Is it even worth doing something if you know it’s going to end?” In What Remains of Edith Finch, you begin to see just how stupid that question is.
You play as Edith Finch, the last remaining Finch who has just been bequeathed the key to the old Finch family house. A house that has been abandoned for nearly 7 years, ever since Edith left when she was younger. Now is the chance to explore the house you never really knew, and find the secrets Edith’s mother was too afraid to tell you.
While this plot is ominous, it is far from the only story being told here. This is a game that demands patience, as questions begin to pile on top of each other. What happened the night Edith left? Who is Edith writing to? Why did her mom keep this a secret from her? Is the Finch family curse actually real?
This curse, which has plagued the Finch family for centuries, is where the foundation of this game lies. This “family curse” exists over multiple generations and constrains nearly everyone in the Finch family tree to unique and often early deaths. While each death is different, the curse allows very few Finches to live past a young age. This normally leaves only one Finch child remaining so that they may have kids, and the same fate to fall on them until all but one remains, and the cycle continues.
As you explore the house as Edith you enter all the bedrooms you couldn’t before, and learn not only who her past family members were, but you also get to witness their untimely death. You get to enter the eyes of these late Finches and see what led to their fates. This tragic and depressing cycle of gameplay forces you to relive numerous deaths of not only adults, but children too.
This pattern, or “curse,” locks the Finch family into a life of death, echoing the many families that are locked in a cycle of poverty and heavy misfortune. You see it everywhere where children are unfortunately born into families where they can’t be properly taken care of, and live lives of fear and uncertainty. You see echoes of real-world problems like this all over What Remains of Edith Finch, and that’s because of an absolutely beautiful and engaging story.
In this nearly three-hour game contains one of the most polished and well-thought-out stories ever made in gaming history. It not only continuously throws new ideas at you, but keeps them contained in a house that is so interesting to dive deeper and deeper into. While not every character is completely fleshed out, you learn all you need to know from just the few minutes of gameplay you get from each Finch. You have no idea what exists around each corner, or what lies behind the new memory of death you are forced to live.
It’s not as if this game is just a depressing cry-fest though; there are numerous points in this game that are way more fun than you expect. Even though they exist in such a world of death, you can’t help but enjoy each memory you get to live and smile through the pain. While there are certainly tears to be shed, the game never feels boring or overly sad.
While the story is certainly enough to keep you hooked from start to finish, the gameplay isn’t always as engaging. Besides each memory you enter, the majority of the gameplay is just walking around the house from room to room. Now while there is narration that keeps you engaged, there are many who could find this portion of the game to be boring.
That being said, each of the memories brings a new gameplay mechanic and sometimes a new art design to the table. While not all of these new gameplay mechanics are very in-depth or boundary pushing, it’s the story behind them that excites this new gameplay. In a game that so heavily emphasizes story and characters though, it makes sense how gameplay is forced to take a backseat.
While there certainly are points in this game where an interesting story doesn’t always meet creative gameplay, it’s shocking how many times it does. That doesn’t mean the other memories have bad gameplay, just nothing too exciting. Throughout my numerous playthroughs of What Remains of Edith Finch though, it honestly never negatively affected my experience. The narrative is so strong and captivating, that new and unique gameplay is just a bonus. It was certainly surprising to me to see story put above gameplay in a video game, but when it works this well, there is no reason not to love it.
After one playthrough, you’ll find that each memory is just a cog for an ending that absolutely floors you and makes you think about much more than just the plot, but your own life. You begin to see where you take things for granted, and how you can start to live life to the fullest. This isn’t one of those indie games that leaves your mind when you finish, this sticks with you for a long time.
What Remains of Edith Finch is a game that you might only play once every few years, but every time you do it’s just as emotional as the last. With a story that emphasizes emotional depth and real-world issues, and simple gameplay to go along with it, you find yourself playing a game you will never forget.
In a story so focused on death, it is impossible not to see all the life and beauty that exists all around it.
10/10
Samuel J. Beadle is a second-year English major. SB1033446@wcupa.edu