In the movie "Coco", one of my favorite phrases is "forgetting, is the greatest death", so I believe that "as long as you remember, you will exist", and this is exactly what I felt the most after playing "Memories of Eddie Finch".
I hope that all people can face death head-on; I hope that all will be remembered.
There is a book called "One Hundred Years of Solitude", and "Memories of Eddie Finch" is the game version of "One Hundred Years of Solitude", and I believe that every player who has played it will feel the same way.
Brief introduction
"What Remains of Edith Finch" is a series of eerie stories about a family in Washington state. Edith, who takes the role of the player, enters the Finch family's mansion to investigate the family history and try to figure out why she is the last living member of the family. In the process, one story after another is revealed. These stories span from the distant past to the present, and each story ends with the death of a family member, which is quite like watching "Death is Coming". What remains unchanged in the game is the first-person perspective, and both experience the brief journey of the deceased on the eve of death from the perspective of the deceased. The important thing is that the game shows the player in an artistic way how psychedelic and bizarre the process is, with a very magical realism flavor.
Niche walking simulator game
As a medium, games are essentially conveying information, but their expression is ever-changing. In Memory of Eddie Finch, players can no longer run, crouch, jump, and the slow pace of the game makes the game destined to be unacceptable to mainstream players who expect high-intensity information and content.
As a narrative exploration game based on story, players control "Eddie Finch" on foot, without any shortcuts, which forces them to focus on beautiful piano music, rich narration, and beautiful scenery. Walking simulators such as "Memories of Eddie Finch" actually subtract from the game, which reduces the game's playability, but also "forces" the player to understand the meaning of the game, which is at least successful in this game.
About death, about absurdity
The whole process of the game is more than two hours, just like a movie. If you deliberately go to Speedrun, you can even get a refund after clearing the customs.
The last living person in the Finch family, Eddie Fincher, naturally obtained the inheritance of the ancestral home after the death of her mother, and she returned to the old house alone with her pregnancy to find out the cause of death of the family members hidden in the villa.
At the beginning of the story, we learn that the heroine Eddie Finch's mother died not long ago, and as the last surviving member of the Finch family, Eddie naturally received the inheritance of the family property - a century-old mansion. She decided to return to the former home, which was both terrifying and nostalgic, to rediscover and reminisce about the past lives of her family members, and to uncover the secrets and truths of the "curse" that has stood above this unfortunate family and affected generations with the story of the loss of one life after another.
Strictly speaking, the "death stories" of each family member in the game are basically independent of each other, and we just re-witness their occurrence one by one through the eyes of Eddie Finci, and connect these independent events together in the form of a family tree, so as to feel the unfortunate cycle of the death curse of the Finch family. However, after experiencing each story, we can't help but find a hidden connection in these stories that don't seem to have much causal connection: a kind of communication and display of the spirit and disposition of the family lineage. Here I will summarize the life circumstances and causes of death of each family member separately, so that readers can get a glimpse of one or two: (Note!) Spoilers are included here. While dry text descriptions are far less expressive than in-game interactions, if you want to have the best emotional immersion while playing, skip this section for now and continue reading for the review that follows. ）
Great-grandmother's eldest daughter: Molly (1937-1947) 10 years old
Features: Always feeling very hungry, grudging with mother (eating mother bird, mother rabbit), love fantasy (cat→ owl→ shark → snake, limbs are getting shorter and shorter, may suggest that Molly gnaws his hands and feet)
Cause of death: Eating something bad or being bitten to death by a snake (the diary may have been Molly's dangerous instincts)
One of the twin sons of his great-grandmother: Calvin (1950-1961) was 11 years old
Characteristics: Stubborn, eager to fly, freedom
Cause of death: Stimulated by Barbar's death, he decided to realize his dream. Under the action of the wind and the disbelief of his grandfather, he stubbornly and non-stop swinging, and finally flew to the sea to gain "freedom"
Great-grandmother's father: Odin (1880-1937) 57 years old
Features: The curse of the superstitious family
Cause of death: Died in waves while relocating to his new home
Second daughter of great-grandmother: Barbara (1944-1960) 16 years old
Features: Became a child star because of his screaming characteristics, and when he grew up, his star path was dim and eager to return to the stage
Cause of death: Due to his father's hand injury, his parents rushed to the hospital, stayed at home to take care of his younger brother Walter, encountered the iron hook killer and fled to the local area to commit crimes, but after knocking down the iron hook killer, he was killed and eaten by a cannibal mob wearing a Halloween costume (she fantasized about being eaten by fans); Boyfriend disappeared (presumably also eaten)
Great-grandmother's third son: Walter (1952-2005) 53 years old
Features: Became timid due to the death of her sister Barbara and feared cause of death: Monster hallucinations caused by the death of her sister Barbara, locked in the basement by her mother, and relied on the vibration caused by the train passing on time at 12:00, and then due to the delay of the train and other reasons, she did not feel the train vibration at 12:00 for a week and decided to break the room with a hammer, face the monster that allegedly killed Barbara, and was hit and killed by the train
One of the twin sons of his great-grandmother, grandfather: Sam (1950-1983) 33 years old
Features: Served in the army; Nervousness in the control phase; Loves hunting and encourages her daughter to try new things
Cause of death: While hunting with her family, the elk shot by daughter Dawn in her first hunt did not die, and was pushed down the mountain by antlers while taking photos with the loot
Great-grandmother's grandson: Gregory (1976-1977) 1 year old
Cause of death: Kay released the water outlet and blocked it when he folded back for the second time, fantasized about turning into a toy frog during bathing, turned on the bathtub faucet while playing, and drowned
Great-grandmother's grandson: Gus (1969-1982) 13 years old
Characteristics: Stubborn, love to be alone
Cause of death: Flying a kite alone at a wedding because he did not want to accept his stepmother, and was crushed to death by a tent blown over by the wind
Great-grandfather: Sven (1915-1964) 49 years old
Features: Love to do woodworking
Cause of death: Collapsed and died while building the dragon-shaped ladder
Former grandmother: Kay
Features: Love pink
Reason for divorce: Gregory was taking a shower and called his grandfather (the couple may have been at odds at this time) resulting in a drowning accident, and finally the two agreed to divorce
Father: Sanjay (date of birth and death unknown)
Cause of death: Tragic death while rescuing the wounded in an earthquake (reported in newspapers)
Second brother: Milton (1992-?) ）
Characteristics: Love painting, because the protagonist has Milton's paintings everywhere he goes, and probably Milton knows the experiences of all family members
Reason for disappearance: Unknown (Milton drew a door to enter and did not come out again)
Big brother: Lewis (1988-2010) 22 years old
Features: love fantasy, desire for sailing travel; Considered by a psychiatrist to have a mental illness
Causes of illness: monotony of the real world, inaction of oneself
Causes of death: Losing oneself in the satisfaction of fantasies, true and false, and aggravated by the psychiatrist's negligence in the treatment method, and finally death by a guillotine cut off the head in a cannery
Great-grandmother: Edie (1917-2010) 93 years old
Features: Superstitious family curse, once fantasized about returning to the old house
Cause of death: It is speculated that the protagonist and his mother died at their last meal on the night they left the old house, drinking alcohol and taking drugs
Mother: Dawn (1968-2016) 48 years old
Features: I heard the tragic stories of almost all the members of the family, the growing faith in Christianity after the death of her husband, the disappearance and death of her two sons caused her to seal the door of the room of the deceased member of the family, and the collapse took the remaining daughter to move
Cause of death: Shortly after moving, he died of illness
Protagonist: Edith (1999-2017) 18 years old
Features: Pregnant at the age of 17, like to enter the house through the dog door when I was a child, rebellious
Cause of death: obstructed labour
Eddie Finci explored the causes of death of 15 family members, that is, 15 short stories, each of whom died at an extremely magical cause, but the logic seemed so normal. I would like to tell the story of Lewis in particular.
He was an Indian, a cannery worker. He had many books on his desk, but one book stood out, The Red King's Dream, which became the source of Lewis's fantasies.
The story begins with a letter he sends to Dawn, the cover of which consists of two human heads made up of two question marks, suggesting that Lewis questions about his real life and has a dual personality.
Lewis approaches the fantasy world as he puts the fish into the gate. As he became more fascinated by the fantasy world, he became more and more disgusted with the real world, he became more skilled at cutting fish, his mother became more and more worried about him, and Lewis forgot to leave work and forget to rest.
In the fantasy world he became king,
I think
This is for someone who has never been successful in the real world.
is irresistible.
But when he arrived at the palace gate and found that he could only enter through the small door on the side, his illusions were instantly shattered and he returned to the cannery. The surroundings are no longer beautiful music, but the noise of the cold operation of the machine. Lewis seemed to see himself doing repetitive work, and he couldn't stand himself anymore. Suddenly there was a bright light ahead, he came to the palace again, the queen was waiting to crown him, and Lewis was finally crowned king...
Life and death
Regarding the discussion of life and death, ancient and modern Chinese and foreign literati have used various artistic or literary forms to conduct in-depth discussions.
For example, Confucius in the East, in the special context of social transformation, put forward the concept of life and death with humanistic feelings.
"Unknown life, know death."
Zhuangzi "takes death and life as the article", denies the boundary between life and death, and even regards death as the ultimate realization of human freedom and happiness.
In the West, ancient Greek philosophers also discussed life and death on a philosophical level, and Socrates introduced the concept of the soul:
"We think of death as the separation of soul and body; To be in a dead state is to exist alone without the soul, and the soul to exist alone without the body. ”
In Plato's work Phaedo, the concept of "love of wisdom" appears many times. Ancient Greek philosophers generally believed that the ultimate pursuit of life is knowledge and wisdom, and only wisdom can be taken away by the soul at the time of death. These embody the rational way of thinking in the ancient Western philosophical tradition.
The view of life and death expressed in the death story of the thirteen characters in the game
Many friends may find that the narrative of the game is actually not perfect, until the end, there are many holes that have not been filled, I personally believe that this is not a mistake in the production of the game, but a lack of beauty deliberately created by the producer like "Venus with a broken arm", although some stories are confusing and difficult to understand, those things that are marginal and secondary in the game, but the main thrust of the story is very clear, and does not prevent us from experiencing what the producer wants to tell us in the end.
Molly eats bad things and dies,
Odin was killed by waves while moving to a new house
When Sven builds the dragon-shaped slide, the slide collapses and dies
Calvin kept swinging, and finally flew to the sea,
Barbara is known for her screams, and the story is vague and the cause of death is unknown
Walter lived in the basement for a long time and ended up getting hit and killed by a train
Sam was being pushed off a cliff by his antlers while taking the photo
Edie dies the night the protagonist and mother leave the old house
Gus was flying a kite by the sea and was crushed to death by a tent overturned by the wind
Gregory, drowned in the bath,
Dawn died after moving away
Lewis fantasies ended up dying after being guillotined in a cannery
The protagonist, Eddie Finch, died in childbirth.
About Milton's mysterious nature in the game, love to draw, and disappearance, but we can be sure that he knows the truth.
The whole story seems bizarre, absurd, weird, and unclear, but in the end I feel sadness and desolation from the bottom of my heart.
It does not seriously and solemnly talk to the player about the concept of life and death, but only shows the point that you still have life, which is a great luck.
At the end of the story, Edith did not find a way to break the curse, and she herself did not escape the "curse", as for Eddie's children, we have no way of knowing whether they will eventually be affected by the curse, or whether the curse really exists.
Even if curses take the lives of family members and take away happy and beautiful lives, death cannot stop the feelings between each other. This emotion is love, love can travel through the obstacles of time and space and life, reach every place in the world, even death can not stop the continuation of love. Curses are not terrible, the important thing is that we cherish our lives now and cherish our hard-won emotions, which is what the game tells us.
In this game, the player will experience multiple deaths, each time with a strong sense of substitution, and those deaths are like an absurd poem, they are woven together to tell us "death is a cool night." ”
For a long time I felt that life was long and boring, to be honest, this should not be the state of mind that a young person should have, in the face of the helplessness of reality and disappointment in myself, I seem to only think about death...
After playing the game, I understood the meaning of Thomas's poem: "Don't walk gently into that good night." ”
My mother had a younger brother, and I don't have any memories of that uncle, but I overheard my mother and grandmother talking about how I used to like to let my uncle hold me... Later, my uncle walked into that good night, because it was no longer known, and I didn't ask, for fear of evoking the memories of my mother and grandparents.
Lin Youjia sang in "Early Opening Sunset": "Anyway, I am more familiar with the darkness than you." The song is sung in the tone of a father who does not want his daughter, and the whole song is full of sad atmosphere.
More than once I almost had that early sunset, like my uncle, like my aunt, I almost continued the curse of our family: one of the two children will always commit suicide.
After reading Thomas's poems, and after reading the reflections of other literary philosophers on death, I suddenly became enlightened.
Death is indeed not a big event, it is very small on the scale of time and space, but it is different for yourself and your family, death means farewell, the years after that