What Remains of Edith Finch

2023-08-06
I think I was expecting an underwhelming walking simulator when I booted What Remains of Edith Finch up but I was slapped in the face with the immediacy with which it pulls you in with its visual style and music. I mean the mood of the whole thing is amazing as you creep around this house slowly unraveling the history of the family. And the way in which they jump between wholly different control schemes and gameplay as you go through the different family member's flashbacks is phenomenal. The sequence where you play as a bunch of different creatures in the girl's flashback caught me totally by surprise not just because it's an incredibly weird and creative thing to do in a game but also because mechanically they actually handled really well too.

On top of this you have a really emotionally gripping story with some phenomenal gut punches (yes, the legendary bath tub, the train).

It's a trip and a real interesting form of the medium (one of them there "Games As Art" thangs) and everyone should check it out.