Annapurna Interactive is to the video game industry what A24 is to movies: Every game released under their publishing umbrella has that indie, story-driven feel thanks to developers like Giant Sparrow, Mobius Digital, and BlueTwelve Studio. No Annapurna game is complete without at least three minor misty-eyed spells and one major, open-mouthed sobbing episode. It’s a little like a string of relationships: You get attached, get your heart broken, and then the cycle begins all over again. It’s an amazingly successful storytelling formula, really.
And all that beautiful storytelling began with 2017’s What Remains of Edith Finch. No matter how many AAA games are released, no matter how many new companies try to reinvent the wheel with complicated mechanics or hard-to-beat levels, I always come back to this beautiful indie game as a hallmark of the fact that, in the end, story trumps all.
Throughout the game, you play as the titular Edith as she traverses her childhood home — once the residence of generation upon generation of the Finch family. The house is absolutely massive. Imagine if you and every member of your extended family had your own room (and, in some cases, your own private bathroom) under one roof, plus enough space for a massive foyer, living room, and all the other home essentials.
Edith traces a circuitous route through each and every room in the house; several doors have been sealed off, are hidden, or are just altogether inaccessible in line with a walking sim’s tendency to focus on just one straightforward path for game progression. Each living space provides a little bit of insight into the Finch family as a whole — and, more importantly to the overarching story, how each member of the family met their mostly untimely demise.
Their passings range from the heart-wrenching to the humorous, each spiraling closer and closer to Edith herself and her true reason for visiting the family home after years away. She narrates the entire experience to you as you relive each family member’s life and death firsthand. Each tale is tinged with life lessons and parenting tips, from cautionary tales about walking on train tracks to the dangers of disciplining young children in the name of “tough love”.
The visuals are absolutely stunning. The stories pull you in, keeping you entranced in each family member’s life even though you know how each one will end (though perhaps not exactly where they’ll end). One person notably tries to sail his house across the ocean, and as you can imagine, that doesn’t go so well. The young family member, sent to bed without dinner, imagines she’s a sea monster — so ravenous she could devour a whole ferry full of people. Each story leaves you guessing: Just how reliable are these narrators? Can anyone truly know the details of a mysterious death beyond those who experienced it firsthand?
There are no complicated mechanics to speak of as you explore the house and its stories in first-person, but that doesn’t mean it’s uninteresting. Each segment of the game includes interactive moments that allow you to experience their lives firsthand: You can jump from tree branch to tree branch as a cat, create a bathtub tableau of toys that dance and delight, and even chop heads off of fish in a canning factory. Still, the true beauty of What Remains of Edith Finch lies in its simple message of love and family, and the importance of both even when you find yourself estranged.
No matter your personal record with your family, knowing your ancestors’ histories is an important part of moving forward in life. You can’t avoid your parents’ mistakes if you don’t know what they are or why they made them in the first place. You can’t change your children’s future if you don’t understand how your own past played out.
Part of growing up is realizing your parents are only human, doing the best, or sometimes far less, that they know how, and Edith learns this lesson as she explores the deaths of her father, mother, and brothers in preparation for both her life ahead and the death she knows will one day come for her.
What Remains of Edith Finch may lack the intense combat of Neon White or the puzzle-solving adventure elements of Stray, but it’s so much more than a walking sim: it’s an intense, gut-wrenching exploration of home, heart, the loss of both, and the rediscovery of their place in Edith’s life — and, by extension, yours. It’s impossible not to think of your own loved ones who have passed and the legacies they’ve left behind. It’s impossible not to consider those who are still alive, whether you’re close to them or not. It’s impossible not to remember the lessons they’ve taught you and still have to impart.
Annapurna Interactive has since released other family-centered games with captivating visuals, like 2022’s A Memoir Blue, or the upcoming fighting-game-meets-cooking-sim Thirsty Suitors, but to me, this will always be the original. What Remains of Edith Finch is a story of love and loss that is absolutely worth revisiting over and over again (and I think I’m just about due for a replay myself.)
