T/W BEFORE YOU BUY: This game emphatically and unforgivingly covers themes of suicide, murder, depression, and loss of family. I wish this game had pointed this out before the story began, but that's just my own (controversial(?)) opinion.

Quick disclaimer: I'm going to censor some of this review as it contains very minor spoilers like character names and general themes of their stories. I'm doing this because I feel the best way to experience this game is as I did, completely blind. Each story was a new surprise and I'm grateful I began the story the way I did. However, if you've already played or don't want to enter this game completely blind, feel free to hover over my spoiler tags. Again, they're very minor spoilers.

Overall, this game is much like a playable choose-your-own-order movie, with many fascinating and incredible plot points being entirely skipped if the player doesn't focus on their environment. The map in this game is structured with a sort of simple-complexity to it. Each section has been designed to make you feel like you've overcome a challenge or an obstacle when in reality you've merely walked along the linear road to progress the story as the developers have intended. With design like this, the game is very immersive. I found myself crying at two points of the story. At Lewis' flashback, I cried due to how much I saw myself in their shoes, relating to their suicidal depression and feeling of hopelessness. Another was the fantastic ending, which choked me up and made me want to hug my parents.

Playing through the game's story one time will roughly elapse to a time of 2 hours, with some small points feeling a bit tedious and slow. However, these low points are completely overshadowed by the gorgeous atmosphere and gripping story. The voice actors (even the child) never fail to deliver gripping and fresh dialogue (which is quite rare in the indie game sphere). Again, this story had me in tears towards its resolving moments. In my experience, not many games, movies, or stories can reach so deeply into the head and heart to grapple such an emotional response in only two hours. I am also incredibly ADHD, especially when it comes to video games (considering I have all this other technology around me constantly competing for my limited attention). Despite that, this game had me fully intrigued for its entire running time. Which even some of my favorite titles fail to do.

As far as the controls go, walking, which takes center stage during this game, is relatively smooth and polished. However, in certain dream or flashback sequences, like Molly's owl, shark, and monster stages, I found myself spamming controls and feeling constricted with my movement. Alongside, having to interact with the environment using WASD wasn't ideal nor too well executed, with directions of buttons spontaneously switching without my knowledge, creating some unintentional flow-disturbing awkwardness.

Lastly, I want to talk about the environment. Edith Finch's house is beautifully constructed, blending gorgeous pastels with a dark and dead environment, giving off a feeling of lost happiness and a buried past. Some architecture and design reminded me of the opening montage of Pixar's Up; not just aesthetically, but emotionally as well. One section has you playing inside a mid-20th century comic, employing the same, or at least very similar rough and unique graphics found in games like Borderlands and The Walking Dead, creating a very memorable split from the game's typical graphics. After closing this game, I'd realized that I had reflexively lined up and taken over 100 screenshots of desks, rooms, nature, and individual subjects in this game. I plan to pick out the best and use them as randomized wallpapers for my desktop for quite a while. If anything, that shows just how beautiful and gripping Finch's environment comes to be.

If I had to compact this work of art into a 1-10 number rating, I'd give What Remains of Edith Finch a 7.5/10, with 5 being average. I bought this game on sale ($10, from the original $20 price), and I feel like I've spent my money on a good product, and I am happy to support the studio that made this game so they can pursue future pieces of art.

T/W BEFORE YOU BUY: This game emphatically and unforgivingly covers themes of suicide, murder, depression, and loss of family. I wish this game had pointed this out before the story began, but that's just my own (controversial(?)) opinion. [i]Quick disclaimer: I'm going to censor some of this review as it contains very minor spoilers like character names and general themes of their stories. I'm doing this because I feel the best way to experience this game is as I did, completely blind. Each story was a new surprise and I'm grateful I began the story the way I did. However, if you've already played or don't want to enter this game completely blind, feel free to hover over my spoiler tags. Again, they're very minor spoilers.[/i] Overall, this game is much like a playable choose-your-own-order movie, with many fascinating and incredible plot points being entirely skipped if the player doesn't focus on their environment. The map in this game is structured with a sort of simple-complexity to it. Each section has been designed to make you feel like you've overcome a challenge or an obstacle when in reality you've merely walked along the linear road to progress the story as the developers have intended. With design like this, the game is very immersive. I found myself crying at two points of the story. At [spoiler]Lewis'[/spoiler] flashback, I cried due to how much I saw myself in their shoes, relating to their [spoiler]suicidal depression and feeling of hopelessness[/spoiler]. Another was [spoiler]the fantastic ending[/spoiler], which choked me up and made me want to hug my parents. Playing through the game's story one time will roughly elapse to a time of 2 hours, with some small points feeling a bit tedious and slow. However, these low points are completely overshadowed by the gorgeous atmosphere and gripping story. The voice actors (even the child) never fail to deliver gripping and fresh dialogue (which is quite rare in the indie game sphere). Again, this story had me in tears towards its resolving moments. In my experience, not many games, movies, or stories can reach so deeply into the head and heart to grapple such an emotional response in only two hours. I am also incredibly ADHD, especially when it comes to video games (considering I have all this other technology around me constantly competing for my limited attention). Despite that, this game had me fully intrigued for its entire running time. Which even some of my favorite titles fail to do. As far as the controls go, walking, which takes center stage during this game, is relatively smooth and polished. However, in certain dream or flashback sequences, like [spoiler]Molly's owl, shark, and monster[/spoiler] stages, I found myself spamming controls and feeling constricted with my movement. Alongside, having to interact with the environment using WASD wasn't ideal nor too well executed, with directions of buttons spontaneously switching without my knowledge, creating some unintentional flow-disturbing awkwardness. Lastly, I want to talk about the environment. Edith Finch's house is beautifully constructed, blending gorgeous pastels with a dark and dead environment, giving off a feeling of lost happiness and a buried past. Some architecture and design reminded me of the opening montage of Pixar's Up; not just aesthetically, but emotionally as well. One section [spoiler]has you [b]playing[/b] inside a mid-20th century comic, employing the same, or at least very similar rough and unique graphics found in games like Borderlands and The Walking Dead, creating a very memorable split from the game's typical graphics[/spoiler]. After closing this game, I'd realized that I had reflexively lined up and taken over 100 screenshots of desks, rooms, nature, and individual subjects in this game. I plan to pick out the best and use them as randomized wallpapers for my desktop for quite a while. If anything, that shows just how beautiful and gripping Finch's environment comes to be. If I had to compact this work of art into a 1-10 number rating, I'd give What Remains of Edith Finch a [b]7.5/10[/b], with 5 being average. I bought this game on sale ($10, from the original $20 price), and I feel like I've spent my money on a good product, and I am happy to support the studio that made this game so they can pursue future pieces of art.