i am not usually a walking sim girlie, but What Remains of Edith Finch is a masterpiece that everyone should play. an exploration of family; of love and loss and grief; all through incredibly rich setpieces, environmental storytelling, and unique gameplay segments that simultaneously function as mechanisms for character work, giving the player insight into each respective member of the Finch family.

it's also one of those games that found me at the exact time i needed it, i think. the summer my Nan was dying of cancer, i spent a lot of time in my childhood home staying up late and playing video games. i can't even remember how i discovered What Remains of Edith Finch, just that i downloaded it late one night and played the entire thing in a single sitting because i couldn't bring myself to put it down. it had me crying at several points, and after the credits rolled i just sat there in the glow of my fairy lights, taking in the story that i had experienced over the previous handful of hours.