This critically acclaimed FPS exploration game is by Giant Sparrow. The indie team is from Santa Monica in California. What Remains of Edith Finch is an unusual title, mixing immersive storytelling with novels and childhood joys.
The game is a classic example of the way gaming can uniquely approach storytelling. It’s also an important demonstration of how beautiful and intellectually stimulating video games can be. Thus, behold its glory!
Curious Tales Aplenty in What Remains of Edith Finch
Launching in 2017, you can now buy this on all consoles and PC. It’s also available on smartphone.
The game presents itself as a short story collection. These are about a cursed family that lives in Washington, as told from the point of view of 17-year-old Edith Finch. She returns to her old family home and explores its dusty secrets, which includes reading through the childhood books of her siblings.
What the game does is magically transports you into those books.
Thus! Remember back to your childhood. Remember what it was like reading the stories and feeling fully immersed into those worlds. What Remains of Edith Finch does that—transports the player into the books where you suddenly become a cat, shark, or part of a comic strip fiction.
It’s clever stuff and very absorbing, with a beautiful art style and score.
It’s very inventive in its narrative structure. But we should note, as with other games like this (think of the artistic sweeps of Behind the Frame), it’s more of an interactive novel than anything else.
Which is fine if you like that type of thing, although we’ve seen some gamers on Steam grumble about that element. There’s no “traditional” run and jump type gameplay here. That and usual grumbling about the game being “short”, a consistent complaint we keep seeing that makes no sense. It’s an indie game. What do you expect?
Anyway, it’s a game of quiet contemplation and appreciation of the story. Which includes exploration of Edith’s younger brother dying when he was young.
On the whole, it’s got a sedate pace. It’s a game that celebrates the joys of reading, which for us is a first in gaming—we can’t think of any other title that’s so clearly flagged up a love of books.
Maybe with fantasy novel game The Plucky Squire, but What Remains of Edith Finch’s approach is charming and unique. Very calming and impressive at its peaks.
As we’ve flagged over the years, indie games are capable of offering amazing music. American composer Jeff Russo was responsible for the work here.
He’s mainly done work for films and TV, with the latter creating scores for Fargo, Snowfall, and Legion.
It’s a melancholic, quiet affair (on the whole) and complements the Finch world perfectly.
But, yes, it’s not a title you go in for lots of intense gameplay action. It’s a game you can sit and watch, really, such as presented below and flagged up as a “full movie”.
You can sit and watch it over 90 minutes as you would a film.
Whilst not all gamers will appreciate what this title offers, for us it’s a quiet and almost meditative experience. One about basking in memories as you relive what it was like to enjoy reading as a young one.
Over a brief 90 minutes dev Giant Sparrow delivers a very charming and engaging story. One many players have reported finding emotionally charged.
For us, it’s another demonstration of video games as art.
Anyone who critiques the industry should sit and observe this one in action. Then decide after if games are “for kids” or are just about explosions and violence. Gaming has much more than that to offer.
