Retrieved from https://www.redbull.com/ca-en/what-remains-of-edith-finch-interview

Following a play through of What Remains of Edith Finch, which to my surprise was pretty gratifying to complete, I would say my favorite story/level had to be the one involving Barbara. While this game uses distinct visuals and gameplay mechanics throughout, Barbara’s level in particular stood out to me the most.

Her story was told, and quite literally played in a comic book which I found to be the most unique game mechanic in the game’s entirety. Edith is reading the comic book, so we are actually playing as Barbara in each panel while Edith reads through the pages. The graphics are changed to 1950’s-style comic art with bright colors on a Halloween night in the empty Finch house; and I absolutely loved it!

There is great tension throughout the level too, with talk of a serial killer on the loose via the radios, and it is implied and later revealed the killer is in the house with us. The comic was narrated by a pumpkin monster with a slightly comedic, over-the-top scary voice which added more tension and even a small pinch of humor. We also enter the locked basement for the first time and learned where the secret basement key is located which was satisfying to uncover.

Overall, the gameplay and visuals honestly left me awestruck. The creativity of playing through the comic panels gave me vibes of old horror movies and comics which I adored. For those reasons it was easily my favorite level in the game.

In addition to being my favorite, Barbara’s level employed the best game mechanics for telling her story. The decision to transfer the gameplay into a comic book setting matched beautifully with Barbara’s character and background. Barbara was a former child actor who was famous for her scream in horror movies. However, as she became a teenager, she lost her iconic scream and wanted recognition for it again. This search for the spotlight would result in her death.

Playing through the death of an actress looking for recognition in a comic book is subtly ironic since her final “performance” is permanently recognized not because she got praise for her acting ability at the end, but due to the way she died. This comic depicting the night Barbara was killed in an overly comic-stylized way fit the “1950’s horror movie teen girl” character and was the best at meshing together story/character and game mechanics.

At this point in the game, I understood there was something up with all the Finch children dying, so adding in an extra mysterious and tension-filled story of Barbara’s death on Halloween night was perfect placement in the game’s overarching narrative. Not to mention the level itself was structured flawlessly with amazing visuals, game mechanics, and story.