What Remains of Edith Finch |OT| Short Stories in a Tall Building

[GrrImAFridge]

👩‍💻 Developer: Giant Sparrow
📀 Publisher: Annapurna Interactive
🎮 Platforms: PC (Amazon, GOG, Steam); PlayStation 4 (PSN); Switch (eShop); Xbox One (XBL)
🏷️ Price: $19.99/€19.99/£14.99 or your regional equivalent* (standard edition); $23.98/€23.98/£18.22 or your regional equivalent (PC; Soundtrack Edition); $31.48/€29.23/£23.74 or your regional equivalent (PC; What Remains of Edith Finch & The Unfinished Swan Bundle)
📅 Release date: April 25th, 2017 (PC, PlayStation 4); July 19th, 2017 (Xbox One); July 4th, 2019 (Switch)

* Pricing on platforms/stores other than Steam may vary.

📖 About:

Winner of Best Game at the 2018 BAFTA Game Awards, as well as Best Narrative awards at the GDC 2018 Choice Awards, 2018 SXSW Gaming Awards, and The Game Awards 2017, What Remains of Edith Finch is a collection of strange tales about a family in Washington state.

As Edith, you'll explore the colossal Finch house, searching for stories as she explores her family history and tries to figure out why she's the last one in her family left alive. Each story you find lets you experience the life of a new family member on the day of their death, with stories ranging from the distant past to the present day.

The gameplay and tone of the stories are as varied as the Finches themselves. The only constants are that each is played from a first-person perspective and that each story ends with that family member's death.

Ultimately, it's a game about what it feels like to be humbled and astonished by the vast and unknowable world around us.

Created by Giant Sparrow, the team behind the first-person painting game The Unfinished Swan.

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📷 Screenshots:

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🎞️ Trailers:
Announcement
House Introduction
Stories
Launch
Announcement #2 (Xbox One)
Announcement #3 (Switch)

✍️ Reviews:
Metacritic - PC (89)
Metacritic - PlayStation 4 (88)
Metacritic - Switch (88)
Metacritic - Xbox One (92)
OpenCritic (88)

 

[LaneDS]

Having really loved The Unfinished Swan, I picked this up today through the Steam sale and completed it in an extended sitting. I think in terms of narrative this is a stronger game than Swan, but both are filled with real creative moments of wonder. Seeing as how there's no real discussion in here, I won't post any spoilers but the game really excelled at making me feel a wealth of things.

Totally recommended, and I hope more people get a chance to play it. Will be replaying Swan sometime soon (shame this isn't on PC) since it has been a few years now. Giant Sparrow are some of the most creative and talented devs out there, and I'm grateful they've given us two really special titles.

 

[LonestarZues]

I would also recommend this game to anyone on the fence. It's currently in my top 3 for GotY.

 

[Sir Charles]

Sorry to revive an older thread. Prepping for GOTY podcast spoilers and finally got to play this game. Spectacular. One thing I noticed that I can't find mention of online, story spoilers to follow:

Spoiler

I noticed that many of the family members have identical dark spots on their arms in their vignettes. I have medical training and have seen that associated with severe liver disease and some inherited diseases that lead to liver disease. Many of these diseases can lead to high ammonia or urea levels that can cause psychosis, early death and even heart failure (which can lead to death in childbirth). Has there been any conjecture that the curse could be one of these inherited diseases with variable ages of manifestation and the stories either represent many of the family member's psychotic breaks or even Edie making up or even being confused herself due to the disease (for which she takes meds she can't mix with alcohol)? I think this possibility adds depth to the story and could help explain almost all of the deaths.

Interested to hear if any others have seen this theory or have any thoughts!

 

[Melchiah]

Sorry to revive an older thread. Prepping for GOTY podcast spoilers and finally got to play this game. Spectacular. One thing I noticed that I can't find mention of online, story spoilers to follow:

Spoiler

I noticed that many of the family members have identical dark spots on their arms in their vignettes. I have medical training and have seen that associated with severe liver disease and some inherited diseases that lead to liver disease. Many of these diseases can lead to high ammonia or urea levels that can cause psychosis, early death and even heart failure (which can lead to death in childbirth). Has there been any conjecture that the curse could be one of these inherited diseases with variable ages of manifestation and the stories either represent many of the family member's psychotic breaks or even Edie making up or even being confused herself due to the disease (for which she takes meds she can't mix with alcohol)? I think this possibility adds depth to the story and could help explain almost all of the deaths.

Interested to hear if any others have seen this theory or have any thoughts!

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That's an interesting theory, which went completely past me.

 

[DecentDuck]

Must buy

 

[Inkwell]

I'm glad to see a thread for this game! Almost missed it since I never really look in the Hangouts sub-forum. It's very well done and easy to recommend. I really love the aesthetics and somewhat fantastical feel of everything.

Sorry to revive an older thread. Prepping for GOTY podcast spoilers and finally got to play this game. Spectacular. One thing I noticed that I can't find mention of online, story spoilers to follow:

Spoiler

I noticed that many of the family members have identical dark spots on their arms in their vignettes. I have medical training and have seen that associated with severe liver disease and some inherited diseases that lead to liver disease. Many of these diseases can lead to high ammonia or urea levels that can cause psychosis, early death and even heart failure (which can lead to death in childbirth). Has there been any conjecture that the curse could be one of these inherited diseases with variable ages of manifestation and the stories either represent many of the family member's psychotic breaks or even Edie making up or even being confused herself due to the disease (for which she takes meds she can't mix with alcohol)? I think this possibility adds depth to the story and could help explain almost all of the deaths.

Interested to hear if any others have seen this theory or have any thoughts!

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That's an interesting theory. I can't vouch for how accurate it is, but I like how it ties everything together. I have some of my own thoughts, though nothing mind blowing:

Spoiler

The game gave me 'Big Fish" vibes (the film, as I have no clue what the novel is like). If you've never seen it, the film is about the story of a man's life (Edward), told through the lens of tall tales, where real life is mixed with fantasy. Edward loves to tell stories. At the end of the film, Edward is about to die, and has his son make up his own tall tale about it.

The curse could be real, but I see most of the vignettes as tall tales themselves, trying to give meaning to these people's lives that were cut short. Maybe it's a coping mechanism for the family. I even see the general idea reflected in the home itself, as it looks like a typical house appended by fantastical elements like those towers, secret passage ways, and extravagant room designs.

 

[SavoyPrime]

Just finished this and I see why it is on several GotY lists. Really enjoyed it! Sad as hell tho.

 

[Darth Smurf X]

LTTP: Mini Review
So… I got this on sale yesterday (along with Last Day of June) and I 100%'d it last night. It was worth every penny.

As far as "walking simulators" go, this one is near the top of my list. I don't know if it beats Everybody's Gone to the Rapture, because I really got into that narrative, but it's real close. It definitely beats Gone Home. By a lot. It has a similar feel as Gone Home (one person exploring a house and unlocking a mystery), but the graphics and voice acting and the story and characters and everything beats it. Everything. At the end of Gone Home, I was like… "neat." At the end of Edith Finch, I was really moved—I couldn't stop thinking about what I had just played.

I love how they did all the mini-stories—each has it's own feel—some even have different graphics. And I love how the narration is done with the subtitles.

Other than being quite short, which isn't necessarily bad, cuz I got the do the entire story in one sitting, the only other negatives are:

• No platinum trophy
• And this isn't the game's fault, by mine… I don't remember which podcast I was listening to (Easy Allies, Kinda Funny, What's Good Games, etc), but someone spoiled a part. I wish I hadn't known that one of the characters
  Spoiler

  has direct ties to The Unfinished Swan.
  Had I come across that all on my own, the impact would have been way better. Still a cool moment, but not as cool as had I discovered that all on my own. Small gripe, but I felt I was robbed of a special moment.

Overall, I wish I had played this in 2017 so it could have been in my Top 10.

Spoiler

The game gave me 'Big Fish" vibes (the film, as I have no clue what the novel is like).

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YES! I had the same feeling last night.

 

[Tanooki]

Just finished this game, and I'm really impressed. My expectations, which were very high, were actually exceeded. It's such an imaginative title with a story that blossoms beautifully with each story. Despite the rather grim theme, the game was really whimsical, and I loved that contrast! That being said, as fun as every story was, when returning back to the house there was always a sudden realization that these stories are just embellished tales written by those trying to come to terms with death, which is sad. I really liked Lewis' story, it was almost too real compared to the others. Quite a powerful story overall.

As for the discussion regarding the reality of the stories:

Spoiler

I think the liver cancer theory is interesting, and could explain some things, like some of the characters knowing they are about to die soon. A lot of the stories could have been a result of sudden death, or could have been a capture of the "I just got the news that I'm dying" moment.

I personally think all the stories are true to some extent, and have just been creatively edited to make the deaths seem like everyone died doing what they loved and are happy. These stories felt like coping mechanisms for a family that is constantly finding themselves facing traumatic experiences.

 

[tobytobes]

Hey all - just played/binged all of Edith Finch last night in one big playthrough.

The gameplay was way more fun than I thought it would be, especially being a "walking simulator".

The story itself (and getting to play some of the mini side stories) was pretty awesome as well, and the way the controls interacted with certain moments in the scenes were fantastic too. It was always interesting to see what tied into what during the stories like

Spoiler

the baby being a frog/turning colors from drowning at the end of his scene.

Holy shit did the ending absolutely wreck me.

Spoiler

Last November (3-4 months ago?) I dealt with the loss of my grandmother due to cancer who made it to 92 (almost 93), even while going through chemo in her 90s.

The scene during the dinner 'fight' where they said goodbye to Edie for the last time was like a punch that I didn't REALLY see coming and immediately got me welling up with tears. The scene where they hold hands and say goodbye was basically what I did with my grandmother when we knew it was time, and damn did it destroy me.

I'm both happy and sad (even typing this) because I think having my own experiences being so 'raw' still added a ton to a game I probably wouldn't have given a shit about beforehand, or definitely didn't buy into the story as much as I did.

 

[AllThingsPurple]

So after completing rdr2 I wanted a small game to play and thought let's finally get around to playingthis game.

Wow. What a beautiful game. The writing was superb the "level" design was great how you revealed new paths in the flashbacks etc.

I don't know really what else to say other than this really was a special beautiful game.

Loved Barbara's story best but they were all so good.

 

[nihilence]

I had a decent time with this. There was no gut punch, maybe because I saw the ending a mile away. But the little stories were amusing, quirky and down right tragic.