What Remains of Mary Matthew Jones

[Tavish]

I see interesting narrative parallels (accidental, of course) between Blue Prince and What Remains of Edith Finch. Important note: I'm still playing BP and don't have a complete knowledge about the story (so, please, no spoilers about the late game lore); this post also includes spoilers about WRoEF, so proceed further only if you played this game too (I highly recommend to play it, even if it's a different genre). So, what I find similar between games:

1. Both main characters inherited the family house/castle. Simon's mother is absent from his life (but he has his dad which we know via letter in Mail Room), presumably either dead or went missing in the 1980s. Edith's parents died (she inherited the house from her mother). Both main characters had to explore the inherited building to discover the family secrets (Edith learns it in more linear way than Simon who has to collect bits of the history left in so many places all over the castle and the land on which it stands); it also should be noted that BP universe is way bigger than WRoEF universe which is contained in the intimated portrait of many generations of one family.

2. In both games main characters had to go through rooms to gather needed information about their family history. Both games feature secret passages; diaries of the people who in the past lived in the rooms (in BP it weren't only relatives, but also employees of Sinclair's family); elusive cats (in BP it was shown in one vision and there are signs of it the same way as in WRoEF where cat named Molly mentioned by Edith multiple times and we even see her in Lewis' dream sequence later on); a lot of paintings on the walls and a lot of books in the rooms - more than average family would have, that's for sure (lol); unexpected shelters and boats in eerie places; etc.

3. In both games secondary characters mysteriously disappeared (Milton Finch/Mary Matthew Jones), in both games you can see many things that remind us about their strong presence in the building's history. Both characters were creators: Milton was a painter, Mary was a writer. I find especially intriguing that (as WRoEF fans know) Milton Finch became the king in another universe which he entirely created for himself via magic brush (it was explored in another game made before Edith Finch - Unfinished Swan). In a way you can say that Milton opening the door and going into the world where he create the whole world is very similar to Sinclairs drafting rooms in their family castle and creating their own path. We even see Milton's mini-castle in WRoEF and see his portrait on the shrine with the crown on his head which immediately draw associations with Blue Prince story and Simon.

4. Both games (BP in a way, and I'm not entirely sure about it as I'm still playing it, so I don't know all the details) tell us the story of parental neglect towards the children. You have to play both games to understand what I mean by that, it's too big topic to explore in this post, imo.

5. In both games we don't see main characters from outside POV (only momentarily and in fragments - we can see Edith's lower body, but not her entirely; we can see Simon in a few cutscenes, but not him during actual gameplay) and don't see anyone else on the journey (in real time; obviously we see people in the flashbacks, but no one in person meet with our main characters). Both main characters are young people: Simon is 14 years old and Edith is 17 years old; both grew up in family's rich mythology (I also find amusing that Blue Prince has Cursed Mode while in WRoEF we learn about Finches believing that they're cursed by some unknown magic); both spend a bit of their childhood in the family house before returning to it as teenagers.

6. In both games we have to learn and rethink our attitide towards one of the key characters: in WRoEF it's Edith Finch (great grandmother of our main character also named Edith), in BP it's Mary Matthew Jones, Simon's mother, who wrote all these children stories and disappeared in the 1980s. Both Edith Sr and Mary Jones are united by their passion of crafting storytelling in a convenient way for expressing their views upon the ONLY readers they consider important (for Edith Sr it was the younger generation - Lewis, Milton and Edith Jr; for Mary it was her son Simon). Both Edith Sr and Mary Jones is simple characters on the first look, but the more we learn via progressing in the game, the more we feel and understand that there's a lot under the surface of their designated social roles. Both influenced the world around themselves more than it seemed in the beginning.

Overall there so many cool similarities between these two games while they still VERY distinctive from each other in lore nuances, game design and visual storytelling (WRoEF provides a variety of styles - from horror comics vibes to incredibly immersive mental illness representation, while Blue Prince mostly contained in the same style throughout the game [maybe there are changes in the late game, I can speak only for what I've played so far]). So in no way I'm saying that Blue Prince copied What Remains of Edith Finch, but I suspect that the devs might have been at least inspired by it? I also think that if Blue Prince would have emotional pull from Edith Finch (let be honest here: BP is immensely rational, methodic game where puzzles eclipse lore pieces by overwhelming numbers), then we would have a bangers of the game, maybe even a phenomenon in videogame industry. Separately both games have their advantages and disadvantages (Edith Finch is very emotional and short journey with walking simulator's plain gameplay [though, it is very creative game for walking sim]; Blue Prince's lore is secondary to complicated and at times grinding and tedious gameplay with various puzzles and not obvious solutions), but if they were combined, it would have been truly undeniable experience on all fronts.

What people who played both games think? I find these parallels quite interesting. Sorry for such loooong post, but I was just fascinated by the topic lol

[BuGGaTon]

My first thought when seeing the house was "oooh very Edith Finch". I think you'll always have similarities in stories while the stories can differ greatly. Edith Finch is really about a family who are abhorrently negligent and use the excuse of a curse to hand wave away their problems.

The plot of Blue Prince is wildly different when you start getting into the politics of it all. I think it wouldn't be crazy to think that parts of the narrative were inspired by Edith Finch but that's just art and game design. Tchaikovsky's music wouldn't be the same without his oriental influences. Rimworld wouldn't exist without Dwarf Fortress. Factorio wouldn't exist without Minecraft. None of those examples are better or worse, but they're all better than they would have been because of what comes before. Art and science, it's all standing on the back of billions of regular sized people that came before. ♥

[Garamoth]

Originally posted by BuGGaTon:

Edith Finch is really about a family who are abhorrently negligent and use the excuse of a curse to hand wave away their problems.

Hahahaha, that's the best interptetation of the plot of Edith Finch. 🤣