What’s left of Edith Finch was a genre classic in 2017, but genre classics in one era don’t always hold up in the next. Reissues can sometimes point to this, as nicer visuals and a better frame rate can’t mask the dated gameplay. However, ports can sometimes confirm a game’s dominance, which is exactly the case for the recently announced and released What’s left of Edith Finch PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S upgrade. Even though these versions have improved tech, the interactive story is still unparalleled.
Giant Sparrow’s game is a walking simulator, but it goes way beyond that pejorative genre label. Players wander through an architecturally impossible house and live through the stories of the protagonist’s unfortunate ancestors, each taking players on a different journey relevant to that character. These mechanics change to suit the character, leading to different gameplay loops for each of them.
Even the stronger entries in the walking simulator genre struggle with interactivity, as they tend to focus on telling a story through exploration and dialogue rather than through the controller. What’s left of Edith Finch distinguished itself then and that difference is just as clear now. Inhabiting a starving child while dreaming of being multiple animals plays out as a dream sequence where the player hunts for food. The wildly inventive horror segment where players crawl through a house drums up the tension that makes sense for that character and pays tribute to penny dreadfuls, Stories from the Cryptand a specific horror movie franchise in a way that has to be heard to be believed.
RELATED: The Artful Escape Review: A Heartfelt Space Stranger That’s Light on Gameplay
This approach is more physically appealing than walking forward slowly – something invaluable in an interactive medium – but also helps to bond players with the characters themselves. What’s left of Edith Finch is built on admiring its cast and this direct and more layered interaction creates empathy through its input methods. The impeccably detailed and cluttered house offers the environmental stories that further flesh out the characters in ways typical of the genre, but this game goes way beyond that.
Living through these pivotal scenes through gameplay is well realized by each of these 10-minute vignettes, but there’s still one that stands out above all else: the canning series. In this beautifully constructed scene, players take the place of Lewis Finch, the protagonist’s brother, as he gets through his monotonous day job while sustaining an extended daydream.
Controlling Lewis’ real hand and little character in his videogame-like and ever-expanding daydream, it allows players to convincingly multitask and keep both parts high at the same time, just like Lewis did. It wonderfully gamifies what it’s like to daydream at work to the horrifying end. Closely linking the story and gameplay creates an engaging multitasking section that is the most successful and concise summary of What’s left of Edith Finch‘s genius, proving it’s still the best part of the game and a genius in the genre that makes extensive use of the medium it’s in.
The interactive parts only reinforce the strengths of great writing and world design, which also remain two of his greatest achievements. The well-crafted poetic prose that tells these stories often uses magical realism to elevate itself and add a bit of flavor, but that style doesn’t lose sight of the humanity essential to What’s left of Edith Finch‘s foundation. The game has to quickly get players to care about each character in such a short amount of time and while the aforementioned gameplay sections do quite a bit of heavy lifting, the performances, script and unique presentation of each still play a big part in getting players to take care of these cursed souls. Their grim and tragic ending isn’t cheap or undeserved, as the game has already done enough of the work; a remarkable achievement in vibrant yet effective storytelling that more games should take into account.
RELATED: Stray Review: An Adorable Cat in a Beautiful, Dystopian City
These smaller stories work on their own, but are better when taken as a whole. What’s left of Edith Finch uses these single strokes to paint a broader picture of suffering, the storytelling itself, and the optimism needed when dealing with fatalism. There are very few happy moments in this death-obsessed game of belly-bangs, but it uses that desperation so artfully to tell a story that is ultimately more hopeful than it looks. All of this culminates in a gripping ending that gracefully sums up the power of a well-paced story that commits to its themes and nails them every step of the way.
Smoother frame rate and higher resolution are undoubtedly better, and the sparse but effective use of DualSense’s adaptive triggers is a welcome addition, but those improvements aren’t ultimately the reason why. What’s left of Edith Finch holds up as an absolutely mesmerizing masterpiece on more capable hardware. The clever use of interactive storytelling still trumps everything else in the genre five years later, and those successes aren’t tied to technical achievements. The Finch family members may have all died prematurely and horribly, but this game has graciously lived on.
0 Comments