A house on a cliff holds one family’s dead. What Remains of Edith Finch walks players through it room by room, and it turns out to be one of the best games of 2017.
Trailer, via PlayStation.
The Finch House
Edith Finch returns to her family’s home in Washington state to learn how each relative died. The house itself is strange, added onto over generations, with sealed-off bedrooms turned into shrines. Each door opens into a short story told through a different gameplay style.
Molly’s Room
The first vignette, starring a young girl named Molly, sets the tone. It shifts from a child’s hunger fantasy into something stranger and darker without warning. That tonal snap becomes the game’s signature move.
Lewis and the Cannery
The strongest segment splits the screen in two. On one side, a young man named Lewis works a fish-cannery line with his hands. On the other, his mind wanders into a daydream kingdom that grows more vivid as the job grows more mechanical. The two halves compete for attention until one quietly wins.
Not every vignette lands as hard.
Some segments feel slighter, more like sketches than stories. But even the weaker chapters run only minutes long, so nothing overstays its welcome.
A Family Comparison
| Character | Gameplay Style | Tone |
|---|---|---|
| Molly | exploration, transformation sequence | playful turning sinister |
| Lewis | split-screen, dual controls | mechanical vs. dreamlike |
| Barbara | comic-book panels, horror pastiche | pulpy, self-aware |
The Writing
Edith’s narration ties the house together, delivered as she reads a book assembled by her mother. The words appear in the world itself, painted on walls, folded into origami, printed on cereal boxes. It is a small trick, but it makes reading feel like part of the architecture.
Length and Pace
What Remains of Edith Finch runs short, playable in a single sitting. That brevity is a strength. The game never repeats an idea, never asks players to grind through a mechanic twice, and ends before any single vignette can wear thin.
Where It Falls Short
The controls in a few segments feel loose, and one or two stories resolve too quickly to leave much mark. The game also offers little challenge in the traditional sense; players who want obstacles or failure states won’t find them here.
What Remains of Edith Finch is not really about winning or losing. It is about walking through grief, one door at a time, and letting each room tell its own small story. Few games this short leave this much behind.
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