Is What Remains of Edith Finch worth the sale price?

[TheMickeyMoose]

I know the game is on the short side but would you say it's worth the sale price or wait for a deeper sale?

[xabungle]

I enjoyed it thoroughly for that price. I am sure it will eventually go even cheaper. 2 hours of gameplay but very intriguing gameplay.

[everett]

I was a bit weird about the price, but I've got to admit as short as it is it was still far better than most of the games I've paid similar amounts for. It's definitely short, but they pack a hell of a lot into it - and it's a longer experience if you take a close look at all of the detail work.

[Buck]

It's "worth" whatever price you feel like it is. Buy the game on Steam and try it, refund if you don't like it.

[Arcadia]

The price is the same as a movie ticket.It's very similar to a nice movie.,I think.

[Psyringe]

Originally posted by Dumpy4Life:

I know the game is on the short side but would you say it's worth the sale price or wait for a deeper sale?

I bought the game, and ended up being pretty disappointed, so personally I'd say no, I'd wait for a bigger discount. But your mileage may vary, of course.

It's a 2-3 hour long, purely narrative game - no action apart from having to target things and click, no puzzles apart from having to find the things to click on, no room for exploration as everything is completely linear. Which would be fine if the stories were good, but they are actually very simplistic, most of them can be summarized in a sentence or or two. They also all revolve around the same topic, so they get boring quickly because you already know the ending, you just have to perform whatever actions the game expects from you so that you can get there.

What keeps the game afloat, is its very imaginative visual way of storytelling. Text appears in the world and is often animated in a playfully creative way. In one chapter you are reading through the story of a cheap comic book, and the panels turn into windows through which you then play the story in a first person perspective. If you like to peek into other people's imagination, then Edith Finch can provide some truly amazing moments that few other games can match.

This would almost have turned my experience into a positive one; however, unfortunately all this imagination does not connect to anything and often remains meaningless in the bigger context. It exists solely for its own sake. And admittedly this may have been the entire point of the experience - it's a game that cherishes imagination, so perhaps it's trying to tell us that imagination is a great thing by itself. But the lack of an actual meaning beyond that, made the game feel empty to me.

But as I said, your mileage may vary. It's definitely not a bad game either and perhaps my expectations were just too high due to its extremely positive reception so far. Hence I'm focusing on the things that didn't work for me, so that you can decide whether these might be important for your enjoyment.

[KripTed]

I was disappointed with the game as well. I'd say wait until it is literally 5$.

[EbonHawk]

Originally posted by Psyringe:

Originally posted by Dumpy4Life:

I know the game is on the short side but would you say it's worth the sale price or wait for a deeper sale?

I bought the game, and ended up being pretty disappointed, so personally I'd say no, I'd wait for a bigger discount. But your mileage may vary, of course.

It's a 2-3 hour long, purely narrative game - no action apart from having to target things and click, no puzzles apart from having to find the things to click on, no room for exploration as everything is completely linear. Which would be fine if the stories were good, but they are actually very simplistic, most of them can be summarized in a sentence or or two. They also all revolve around the same topic, so they get boring quickly because you already know the ending, you just have to perform whatever actions the game expects from you so that you can get there.

What keeps the game afloat, is its very imaginative visual way of storytelling. Text appears in the world and is often animated in a playfully creative way. In one chapter you are reading through the story of a cheap comic book, and the panels turn into windows through which you then play the story in a first person perspective. If you like to peek into other people's imagination, then Edith Finch can provide some truly amazing moments that few other games can match.

This would almost have turned my experience into a positive one; however, unfortunately all this imagination does not connect to anything and often remains meaningless in the bigger context. It exists solely for its own sake. And admittedly this may have been the entire point of the experience - it's a game that cherishes imagination, so perhaps it's trying to tell us that imagination is a great thing by itself. But the lack of an actual meaning beyond that, made the game feel empty to me.

But as I said, your mileage may vary. It's definitely not a bad game either and perhaps my expectations were just too high due to its extremely positive reception so far. Hence I'm focusing on the things that didn't work for me, so that you can decide whether these might be important for your enjoyment.

That is one of the better negative reviews of the game I've seen. Well done.

However, I thought the game was worth the full price since I missed out on the sale recently, so I paid the full $20 pricetag. I was blown away. This was one of the best interactive narrative fictions I've played; others call them "walking simulators", which I think is a huge disservice to the genre. It's another form of storytelling, and I get immense satisfaction from playing them, especially this one.

I have an active imagination, and to see something this well crafted and visually expansive (the interactive panel comic book, the transitions into the minds and imaginations of the characters, getting to kill rabbits on the fly as an owl, the cat pouncing through the tree for the bird, the "monster" sequence, were all exquisite) I was drawn in and enjoyed every minute of the journey.

[thebaconson]

As I said in my somewhat brief review, how much do you pay to go out to see a movie these days?

[Saint.Million]

Originally posted by thebaconson:

As I said in my somewhat brief review, how much do you pay to go out to see a movie these days?

That's not a great analogy though, since the price of a movie includes money going to the people who made the movie and money going to the actual cinema. The theatre house you are sitting in would have cost millions to build/maintain (and that's on top of the movies production/distribution costs), so if anything the movies price is more justifiable than the game. Even in spite of steams 'cut'.

Whereas with a steam game, you are not using somebody elses expensive building/equipment to view it. You're using your own.

If anything the problem is that Steam take something like 30% iirc? Which I personally consider to be too much for a service that is simply distributing digital copies at minimal cost to themselves.

I don't mean to cause an argument, but I just don't think comparing the cost of a steam game to the cost of a cinema movie is at all fair, since they are both very different mediums with very different production/distribution costs involved.

[thebaconson]

Originally posted by D.Rich:

Originally posted by thebaconson:

As I said in my somewhat brief review, how much do you pay to go out to see a movie these days?

That's not a great analogy though, since the price of a movie includes money going to the people who made the movie and money going to the actual cinema. The theatre house you are sitting in would have cost millions to build/maintain (and that's on top of the movies production/distribution costs), so if anything the movies price is more justifiable than the game. Even in spite of steams 'cut'.

Whereas with a steam game, you are not using somebody elses expensive building/equipment to view it. You're using your own.

If anything the problem is that Steam take something like 30% iirc? Which I personally consider to be too much for a service that is simply distributing digital copies at minimal cost to themselves.

I don't mean to cause an argument, but I just don't think comparing the cost of a steam game to the cost of a cinema movie is at all fair, since they are both very different mediums with very different production/distribution costs involved.

The topic was value for money, time vs benefit ($20 for 2 hours entertainment) you have over analysed my statement to the point you are talking about something else. You are not causing any argument as you are talking about topics no one else was and are essentially talking to yourself.

[certified嘴臭战士]

I think it's totally worth the price. Edith Finch features a storytelling mode and a kind of art atmosphere, through very ernest work by the developers. As for the price of a movie ticket and a game copy, I personally take it that, on my perspective, if I enjoyed equal feedback from a movie and a game with the same price, then I'd say it's the same. Since Edith Finch is the same price with a movie ticket we would usually go to see, I'd say it's equivalent. Plus, the Finch story could not be lengthened much more, 'cause it'll injure the story's effects.

[HY3N4]

I would take a 2 hour long game thats truly a unique experience over a huge, bland, AAA sandbox game with a lot of filler material just to ramp up the hours you play them anyday. But thats just my opinion.

[everett]

After playing a number of the best-rated games of its type, in hindsight I think this one was the best of them all. It was certainly the most memorable, months after playing it. If you like story-heavy walking games, it's easily worth its standard price.

[mysticfall]

I'd say it depends on what you are searching for. If you are one of those players who mostly values 'gameplay' - like things to shoot, puzzles to solve, achievements to get, and so on - you might get disappointed even if you purchase this game at the sale.

However, if you are such a gamer that appreciates artistic side of video games - like innovative direction, strong narrative, vivid imaginations, and so on - you wouldn't regret even if it was twice of its price.

[bwsflash80]

Nope, it should really be under $7. It's an imaginitive story, but insanely short. I have a hard time recommending someone pay over $5 for 2-3hrs.