What Remains of Edith Finch

One of the most creative and original games I've played. Everyone should play this game! The fish part is brilliant!

There are countless people smarter and better spoken than me that haven't been able to truly capture the feeling this game gave me, and so I won't try. However, I still must write this review to prove that I played the game and hopefully make my friends try it out as well.

The concept of death is horrifying yet what makes life itself so beautiful, grief is something that is also everything, and family legacy is yada yada; What Remains of Edith Finch is not a game where you walk around an empty map and a story is thrown like slop on your plate for you to guzzle down like a mindless zombie. It is a 2-hour long experience to try learn about a family which makes you reflect on your own story and think what you want it to be, or can even really write it yourself at all? And is that even a bad thing? I'm not sure tbh

I really liked Lewis' section

I have replayed this game a million times, and it still never fails to surprise me how beautiful it is. Its sad, funny, emotional and well created. What remains of Edith Finch will forever hold a special place in my heart :,)

One of my all Time favorites.
Its a bitter sweet story about coming back 'home' after everyone else is already gone, off looking back at memories as well as discovering new things. You explore the childhood home of the protagonist, while slowly uncovering whats happened to her family, combining her memories as a child with her discoveries now as an adult, entering rooms she was never before allowed to. Its a combination of exploring the house and its collection of sometimes unusual rooms and Minigames unfolding more of the story.
What Remains of Edith Finch isnt an extraordinary long game, but it is packed full of emotions and loving details, that leaves you longing to explore more and more until you've discovered every secret not only about Edith, but the whole Finch-Family.

I've always loved this game and its lore in its entirety. Watching theory videos and playthroughs is fun and all, but actually getting to buy the game and run through the story myself at my own pace was heartwarming for me to be quite honest. I 1000% recommend this game if you are into short story games I suppose. Unlocking all the achievements, and the cool feature to go back and replay specific characters' story was a nice touch for me. I'll most likely revisit this game many times in the future and replay the story-line every time I get the craving.

The tears are falling of their own accord. Life is Strange-levels of emotion in this little game. The interactive games in different styles for each family member keep the stories fresh and fun. The music is subtle but works well with every scene. It's clever, it's witty, it's emotional, it's engaging, it's mysterious. I will be remembering this for a while. Thank you team.

I remember watching a playthrough of this back when it came out, but all I remembered from it was Gregory's story. I was pretty young and my niece was very little at the time, so it hit me the hardest and stuck with me ever since then. :')

Anyways, getting around to actually playing it all these years later was absolutely worth it. All of it hit me just as hard if not even harder with deeper understanding, and I love a game that can make me cry. It's a wonderful exploration of the pain of grief, the fragility of life and of a deeply ironic self-fulfilling prophecy. Short and not-so-sweet.

If you're looking to be sad and think on things for awhile, this'll do the trick; definitely worth picking up on a sale.

Edith Finch, I thought she is Bertrand Russell’s fourth wife.
Nope.
It’s a 2–3-hour long game that explains the death of 12 Finch family members, because of bad parenting, reckless decision making, and unfortunate tragic circumstances. Finch is a Norwegian American family that built its family cemetery first, even before their new house – only one within a generation gets to live.
According to the development team, they got a bunch of brilliant mini game ideas and was going to make it a scenario that is similar to The Canterbury Tales. Basically puzzled up those ideas together into a family tree, then mapped out the whole story.
That explains why there are tons of very creative ideas in this game. However, the whole emotion is sad and depressed. Can’t it be designed with a happy game setting like It Takes Two? Big rich families have mental health issues, and their kids die young. What a tragedy!
To name a couple of brilliant game-plays - Barbara’s story was told within comic book pages, and Lewis’ fantasy world amazed my multiple times regards to its storytelling and keyboard controls.
Soon or later, there will be another studio picking up one or two cool game ideas out of this game and make it into a new jolly happy game.

Hello! I'm not really one to play story games or slow paced adventures, but a friend recommended this to me and it was on sale so I bought it. At the time I really did not know what I was in for and I'm so grateful to have stumbled across this.
I found this game to be extremely touching and had my heart bleeding the whole time. The incredible tender and breathtaking storytelling of this game reduced me to tears and grins. It's strange how a game can change the way you look at life.
I would highly recommend you purchase this game, free up 2 hours (it took me 2 hours), and dive right in without any other knowledge.
Have a lovely day!

What a wonderful story! It's not as sad to make you cry, but when you finish it, you will be left with this empty feeling in your chest. 10/10 absolutely recommend if you want to buy it on a sale. You can finish the whole story in 2 hours.

Although it was sad, I loved the storytelling. The details especially within the house were amazing. Wish it lasted a little bit longer but overall I enjoyed it.

This game truly showed the aspects of how difficult it could be to live a normal life. We saw how people lost their life and how the family has been torn apart. My best friend watched me playing this game, while he talked with me. And we both were extremely close to break down in tears. It is such a great game, I really recommend it, but you gotta be ready for some extremely sad elements and have an tissue ready to catch some tears.. Great game <3.

I was shookt and a little spooked guys. I've been eyeing this game for a long time and I'm glad I decided to play it blind.

Story-wise I think this game is beautifully written...
In terms of gameplay it's more than just storytelling and exploration- the various mechanics and art style offered a very unique and creative experience imo

What a story, curious, sad, and full of so many emotions. I'm sure this experience will stay with me for a long time. And I loved the connection to The Unfinished Swan.

Outstanding game. Just amazing. Truly touching. A+

This game is the reason why "walking simulator" doesn't work as an insult. Yes, you mostly walk around, but it is such an imaginitive world and the story/stories that are being told really hit you.

Rating: 10/10.
I cried.
I'm not a professional critic or whatever, but this may genuinely be the most beautiful story I've ever experienced. The entire presentation is just wonderful.
I played this game on a very mediocre laptop, but it still ran well. While it may not have any *interesting* mechanics outside of the stories, it doesn't need to be. Every mechanic it needs is already there. All you have to do is walk ant interact.
It's the most impactful game I've ever played. The entire game can he described in one sentence. "You are a 17 teen year old revisiting your childhood after your mom passes away, and you're unraveling your family's secrets." It's not a bad thing that you can describe it in one sentence, it's quite a good thing. It's only a two hour game, but it's more impactful than any movie I've watched.
A reviewer said something along the lines of "why not just watch someone stream it?". It's so *you* can experience it. There is a difference between experiencing and watching a YouTuber play it.

SPOILERS:
||The most impactful stories to me are Lewis' and Walter's.||
||Lewis is the final death you get to experience. Lewis was a cannery worker. After stopping substance abuse, he realizes the mundaneness of his day to day life and his mind begins to wander. You play as both the real Lewis and the imagination. At the very end of his story, you go up to be crowned king by the prince/princess of your choosing. As you place your head down, you get beheaded. Lewis committed suicide. This is all described by his therapist to Lewis' mother in a note, and even she can understand why he did it.||
||Walter's was also very impactful for a kind of similar reason to Lewis'. After witnessing the death of his sister Barbara, he became a shut in, living under the house. As the years go by of him staying in the basement, he gets used to the train, thinking it's the physical manifestation of the family's curse. One day, the train stops coming. After a week, he decides he's going to leave the basement. He breaks down the wall and walks along the train track, and the train comes, killing him.||

If you're looking for a good story driven game or need a break from your competitive games, you should definitely give this title a shot.

The game does a brilliant job in taking you through a rollercoaster of emotions. I love that a lot of stories and the whole premise of the game is open to interpretations to a great degree.

Loved the visuals & creative way of storytelling.

---{ Graphics }---
☐ You forget what reality is
☑ Beautiful
☐ Good
☐ Decent
☐ Bad
☐ Don‘t look too long at it
☐ MS-DOS

---{ Gameplay }---
☐ Very good
☑ Good
☐ It's just gameplay
☐ Mehh
☐ Watch paint dry instead
☐ Just don't

---{ Audio }---
☐ Eargasm
☑ Very good
☐ Good
☐ Not too bad
☐ Bad
☐ I'm now deaf

---{ Audience }---
☐ Kids
☐ Teens
☑ Adults
☑ Grandma

---{ PC Requirements }---
☐ Check if you can run paint
☐ Potato
☑ Decent
☐ Fast
☐ Rich boi
☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer

---{ Game Size }---
☐ Floppy Disk
☑ Old Fashioned
☐ Workable
☐ Big
☐ Will eat 10% of your 1TB hard drive
☐ You will want an entire hard drive to hold it
☐ You will need to invest in a black hole to hold all the data

---{ Difficulty }---
☑ Just press 'W'
☐ Easy
☐ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☐ Significant brain usage
☐ Difficult
☐ Dark Souls

---{ Grind }---
☑ Nothing to grind
☐ Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks
☐ Isn't necessary to progress
☐ Average grind level
☐ Too much grind
☐ You'll need a second life for grinding

---{ Story }---
☐ No Story
☐ Some lore
☐ Average
☐ Good
☑ Lovely
☐ It'll replace your life

---{ Game Time }---
☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee
☑ Short
☐ Average
☐ Long
☐ To infinity and beyond

---{ Price }---
☐ It's free!
☑ Worth the price
☐ If it's on sale
☐ If u have some spare money left
☐ Not recommended
☐ You could also just burn your money

---{ Bugs }---
☑ Never heard of
☐ Minor bugs
☐ Can get annoying
☐ ARK: Survival Evolved
☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs

---{ ? / 10 }---
☐ 1
☐ 2
☐ 3
☐ 4
☐ 5
☐ 6
☐ 7
☐ 8
☑ 9
☐ 10

Sometimes bittersweet, sometimes creepy and always very sad... This game is not really "fun" because of that but quite beautiful and very well made. If you enjoy family stories and don't mind the sadness, give it a try!

Profound, enchanting journey through the story of a family.
The story as a whole may or may not reach you in a direct and sentimental way but each character segment is so well crafted and conceptually original that these alone make the game absolutely worth playing in my opinion. I feel like a special mention goes also to the design of the house you explore, the developers took great care in crafting a house that feels... frighteningly real.

I wish I had played this game sooner instead of letting it sit in my library for so many years.

My only complaint is that the scene setting clearly has some flaws, there is a bowl on the dining table and when I looked closely there were maggots inside, despite that the house has been abandoned for over a decade. It instantly broke the immersion for me.

I feel like this game has a lot more behind it then it seems at first, the story is deeply meaningful and touching. Even tho it's such a short game i think it will make you just sit and think for awhile.

Took me about 2 hours to complete the story without the achievements. It's a beautiful and very well realized piece of art. This is how every game should be, thinking about feelings and try to convey messages. Not trying to make numbers.

I highly recommend.

10/10

This is still one of my favorite games of all time. The Story telling of the characters really got me. Even after all these years this game still makes me emotional as hell. Love it.

I've heard many great things about What Remains of Edith Finch, which didn't disappoint me. The storytelling is done in unique ways and each story is interesting. My favorite story out of them all was Lewis. I recommend this game to anyone who wants a good story but be warned there are dark themes.

Wow, just wow.

After a long day, I picked this game up because it seemed like a short narrative that could be played through in one sitting, in around two hours. Well, joke's on me, because I now can't sleep because I keep thinking about what I just experienced.

I am just blown away.

The story itself is not revolutionary, nor the genre: I have played through a few similar games in the past. But everything is just fine-tuned to perfection. The narrative is fluid, the game design is impeccable, the game progresses in an intuitive manner, always bringing you to the next thread, making you think, and giving you just enough to make you want to keep going, to find out more.

It's a perfect example of why games are a unique media of art, as the storytelling is so powerful that could not be told as well in any other way. It speaks so much, but not only through the (beautiful) narrative. It tells you a lot more through the decor, the many details you can pick up on, the metaphors that you do not immediately realize to be there. It hits that perfect balance where it's intelligent without being unaccessible and it lets the player construct their own understanding with the cues they pick.

While you slowly plunge into the narrative, you get more and more involved, while also learning not to always take the story at face value. The game is inspired by One Hundred Years of Solitude and it shows. It's at times fantastical since it's always told through the characters' perspective. It makes for a very rich experience.

It's bound to leave you emotional, but not only because the story of the Finch family. It reminds you of the beauty and tragedy of life: everything is bound to end, and this brings pain, but yet we carry on and with each new generation, there is new hope. I also think that, for this reason, this game might touch you even more if you're a parent or have children in your life.

It's not only one of the best games I've ever played, but also one of the most enthralling stories I've ever experienced, rivaling the best books, I've read, movies I've watched or art I've seen. That said, it's not for everyone, but if you're into powerful, emotional narratives, and enjoy magical realism, this is an absolute must play.

I consider this game a statement to those who disregard the storytelling capabilities of this medium. It is a rare gem that ventures slightly off the beaten track to deliver a bittersweet and thought provoking narrative that you think about long after you're done with the game.
The music, the art, the narration, the game play and of course, the story combine to take the player over a immersive journey that you can expect from very few other forms of media.

Great game with some sad stories along the way. can we have some more please

Just saw this on my library, a while after last playing it and just thinking of the game makes me depressed. 10/10 2 hour adventure, just play it.

This is easily one of the best "walking simulators" ever made. It's also one of the darkest. Don't read up on the plot or anything--going into it blind is the best way to experience it--but keep in mind that, while it's not violent or scary, it does get very unsettling.

Well, this will be kinda short.

This game is more than anything, an experience. Not a very drawn out long one, but a short voyage through the life and death of a family. Its not a happy lollygaging or a happy ending thing. Its just a family trying to go on, some keep going, others... not so.

It made me think about life itself, and what we truly mean to each other. When finished the game, I was in tears, for both the beautiful story and for things I've gone through that still hurt today. Life is strange.

There is so much I would have changed... but, we cant do much about what is gone. There are things that never go back.


Rest in peace Sis and Nana, you may be gone, but you will always be with me. May we ever meet again.

------------------------------------
Thanks guys, be well and be safe.

for me ,the most impressive stories about finch family is lewis (i wish i dont spell it wrong).It reminds me something about you and me, and mostly it is about you .before i play this game , i ve heard an explain of delusion and fancy ,they say if someone went through a bad experience ,especially when it happened in childhood , the guy is easy to have magically huge imagination, it is a kind of protect, to imagine something warm and beautiful to escape from the reality .

Beautiful little interactive movie about a very unfortunate family. Super engaging, doesn't overstay its welcome. Highly recommended.

such excellence, such brilliance, one of the games of all time hands down.
story is fascinating, voice acting impeccable, art & design phenomenal also loved the clever credits such a witty idea.
whole experience all together is dashing & breathtaking loved every moment of it 20/10 bless them all the studio behind this epitome of a seamless game, story & film

Hardly a game, more a slightly interactive story, but very well done. Short and sweet.

loved the exploration, the story and the atmosphere.

When I finished my first playthrough, I thought, "Good game—maybe an 8/10." But now, months later, I can't express how fondly I look back on that experience. It's as if my tendency to suppress emotions allowed the game to quietly seep into my heart over time. 10/10.

I've searched my entire life for games that not only take me to another time and place but also leave me with profound thoughts for weeks and months after i've finished the game. This is and probably forever will be, the best game i've ever played in my 30+ years of gaming. This is pure art and a true labour of love.

This is such a bittersweet and a tragic story of the Finch. I really enjoyed playing it so much <3

Incredibly beautiful, vibrant, soulful. This game was deeply touching, and left me in tears after its brief 3 hour playthrough. This game explores the nature of human life and death, including at all ages, and I think that I'll be digesting this art for some time. I think that I've learned something, or some things, that are very important. I just don't exactly know what they are yet.

The story was superb and totally the best story game i had ever played

I like What Remains of Edith Finch. I don't love it. I also DEFINITELY don't think its worth twenty dollars. But despite that, it does plenty of things well, and for that reason it deserves respect.

The big thing you should understand going in is that this game is so tragic it loops back around to being ridiculous. It tries to one up itself at every turn by making everything sadder and sadder. I dislike this about the story; there is no time to really care about the characters, the mysterious family curse, or anything else because these elements are shafted in favor of the emotional appeal. In other words, there are only two or three hours of gameplay, and the developers used their time to hit you where it hurts instead of crafting a complete narrative. In my opinion, too many details are left out to justify the existence of the journal at all.

I can feel sad about these most tragic of deaths and I did. But did that make me come out of this game feeling like I learned something? No. Did I particularly care about any of the characters or the story beats? No, because they were never given any time to develop.

I acknowledge that there is a lot of emotion and love behind this game. I also acknowledge the fact that it looks incredible and has some amazing ideas. But I've also had plenty of time in my life to feel sadness and look at beautiful things, so why would I play a videogame specifically to experience that? Why, when I am not even the one in control? Edith is the main character, and it is her story. You get no say in how she acts, what she does, how she feels. You don't even get to learn anything that she doesn't know, which is a big problem! There is a key bit of information that just... isn't revealed towards the end of the game because Edith's mother drags her away at the last minute. I often found myself wanting to learn more about the Finch family as a whole, but I never got many chances to because I was forced to do something else.

Where this game does shine is in its interactive elements. Almost every cutscene you watch and every action you take is clever and progresses the story. It FEELS like you are in the story, even if it is still Edith's story. There are some very interesting ideas on display here. I was especially impressed with Gregory and Lewis' sections. They were also the most compelling and most tragic; Gregory's section is enough to bring you to tears. I think so because it preys on the fears of a very specific group of people and forces you to think a little bit about the consequences of your actions. It is also the most interesting section, gameplay-wise, besides Lewis'.

Overall, this game is somewhat lacking narratively because of its hyper-focus on death and tragedy. The stories, as individual entities, are told extremely well. This is especially because of the gameplay elements, But as a connected narrative I thought they needed work. I think they just needed to add more; too many things were left unsaid. They could have created more intrigue or more driving forces behind the story. What's up with the family curse, finally? What about the old house out in the ocean? What's up with Edie? ETC. The ending also felt very rushed, leaving something to be desired.

I would give this game a neutral if I could. I'd say its worth a try, but ONLY if its on sale and only if you're into this sort of thing. Don't go in expecting a perfect narrative; play this game if you want a short, well-told emotional experience.

This game is amazing, if you want a game that'll leave you wondering what the story is going through the story, this is the game for you. This game had me researching it after and wondering about the family members. Please buy this game while it is on sale or don't. It's genuinely a great game.

I went into this game knowing that it would likely make me emotional. What I didn't expect was such a wild connection to all the characters, which sent me into a depression spiral and eventually led to my life drastically changing as a whole. Over the course of about an hour, my whole life changed, not for the better, but also not for the worse. This game is important to me for that reason and, for that reason, I know that I'll never play it ever again. And in a way, that is what this game is about. About death, and the acceptance of death. About how some people don't get happy endings. It took every thought I kept hidden away and brought it to the surface. It made me want to stop hiding myself away and start actually living, so that I could look back on my time on this Earth and say, "Yeah, for the time I had, I didn't do so bad."

I recommend this game for that reason. So that someone like me, who might need that push, starts living their life how they want to live it.

What Remains of Edith Finch is a beautiful game. The storytelling is incredibly creative and the view is picturesque.

The game is quite dark, but explores the darkness in a very lighthearted manner.

Would absolutely recommend if you enjoy slow games that tell an intriguing story.

For context, I'm a grand-father nearing 60 with grown children (and grand-children) and I play video games. I shy away from games that are a first-person multi-player shooter titles, and prefer solo experiences at my own pace. I play all kinds of titles but lean towards those that are not "stressful" and that I can put down if I need to do something else.

I was suggested "What Remains of Edith Finch" by my daughter who very much enjoyed it and give it my highest rating.

I went in with no expectations and left completely spellbound and emotional at was probably the best story driven, first-person experience I have ever had behind a computer screen. I was so moved by the story that upon completion of the game (which was very early morning by the time I crawled into bed), I was anxious for my daughter to wake up the following morning so we could discuss various elements of the game and story.

The visuals were amazing and varied, the voice acting superb, and the game play was well designed and interesting. I have never played a first-person game of this type that was so richly detailed. Without spoiling, there is a room where you will find books on shelves. The book selection was not some skin that was generically textured across the wall. The selection of books were obviously hand selected by the incredible team that put this master piece together. Everything seems related to the story at some level.

The game felt (for me anyway) a bit overwhelming near the start as a bunch of points of information are revealed and I was worried that (without taking notes) I might forget or get confused by the story. Fortunately, the designers of the game gently bring you through this game and usher you from story element to story element in a way that reveals itself and gives so many "wow" moments.

The game is sort of "on rails" where your path through the game is somewhat linear but not in a way that is frustrating. You feel like you have plenty of freedom of movement, but at the same time you are not left often wondering "what should I do" or saying "I'm stuck".

I cannot say enough to praise this game!

I purchased "The Unfinished Swan" (made by the same team) immediately after completing this game and just completed it as well. Although creative, I would say that What Remains of Edith Finch is a story driven game, with some puzzle elements incorporated beautifully. The Unfinished Swan (to me) is a puzzle game, with some story driven elements. Although I enjoyed The Unfinished Swan, I loved What Remains of Edith Finch, and hope to see more opportunities to experience the range of emotions and surprises that I did in this title.

One of my son's would describe this as a "Cozy" game where you can relax and enjoy yourself without worrying that you are going to be getting upset at the game, or yelling at the computer.

If you do purchase this, I hope you experience what I did. This is my first review for any title on steam but I felt compelled to say something to promote the kind of art that computer gaming can produce and encourage more of the same.

Absolutely love this game, the story is so well done. The graphics are also pretty and overall absolutely worth the money. If I could play this game for the first time again I absolutely would. One of my favorite games.

Simple yet innovative, emotional, dark, short and definitely a walking simulator - if those kind of things sound fun to you and you've somehow never heard about this game, don't look up anything else and play it, it'll deliver.

A short game. I've owned it for ages but finally dedicated an afternoon to it. If you like story rich and character driven experiences, this is great. I'm still thinking about the details days later.

A nice short narrative game, with some crazy and aswell touching stories about the history of each family member from Edith. It's not kinda difficult to play it. It's easy to 100%.
But.. buy it on sale, because orginal price isn't that worth

I enjoy it, it's nicely done aswell.
It didn't left me behind with dry eyes.