Intro
What Remains of Edith Finch is another game from developer Giant Sparrow and publisher Annapurna Interactive. Released on the 25th of April 2017, What Remains of Edith Finch shares the same universe as The Unfinished Swan!
The story-rich walking game follows Edith Finch as she returns to her abandoned family home in the middle of nowhere. Edith walks through her family home, revisiting the memories locked inside the walls of her member’s bedroom. She discovers her family’s past that her mother kept from her; to protect her from the family’s “curse”.
What I Liked
What Remains Of Edith Finch is an easy, nicely paced game that focuses more on building a story than action, adventure and jumpscares. On top of that, it is a beautiful game.
The art style creates an excellent atmosphere for each family member’s cute yet dark stories. Combining the art style with the unique puzzles and way of playing allows you to immerse yourself into Edith’s retelling of the stories fully. The game utilises ways of playing that bring the player deeper into what is happening in the game. Like interacting with the subtitles, doing two different actions at once and controlling elements of the scene that would not normally be playable in most games. Edith’s soft voice tells the story of that member’s life.
Even though each family member’s story is told through Edith’s voice, you can feel how each person was different. The longer you play, the more you can feel how each member affected the others. And ultimately, how it’s all affected Edith and how much she has grown since she was last at the house.
Along with all this, the game itself isn’t that long. My steam time is 2.4 hours, but that is because I wandered a lot more and returned to get all the achievements I missed. In my very first play-through back in 2018 (on my PS4), I think I played for about an hour roughly. So, it’s a lot packed into a small game, but not overwhelming like it’s too much to handle or take in. It’s packed with the right amount of time, story and concepts. Very much like The Unfinished Swan!
What I Didn’t Like
Honestly, I can’t think of anything I didn’t like about the game. What Remains of Edith Finch has the right amount of story and immersive content that keeps the player engrossed in the game for its duration. And deals with 11 family member stories during that time.
I’ve excluded Ingeborg Finch, Sven Finch, Kay and Sanjay Kumar from the family members. Their stories aren’t experienced as part of the family tree. However, you still hear about them throughout the game, and I think you see Kay a little during one of the family’s stories.
But there wasn’t anything I disliked about the game. It was really good all around!
Conclusion
Ultimately, What Remains of Edith Finch is a fantastic game for people. There is only one part of the game I found difficult on my first playthrough, but I quickly worked it out. The game is so rich with stories that falling in love with it is incredibly easy if you fall for stories as quickly as I do!
I would recommend this game to pretty much anyone and everyone! It tugs on the heartstrings and keeps you interested in each member’s story and how they all weave together. And with an ending that explains What Remains of Edith Finch.
Information & Rating
Rating: 7/7
Total Steam Play Time: 2.4 hours
(EXTRA INFO: I have played this game multiple times on my PS4 around 2018 and 2019. I have had a more extended playtime than what Steam accounts for.)
Name: What Remains Of Edith Finch
Publisher: Annapurna Interactive
Developer: Giant Sparrow
