This is a truly fascinating look at one particularly heavy family tree. The stories of the Finches both as individuals and as a family are fascinating. The game has you, as the latest in the family tree, exploring the family home. You're doing this to learn more about the family. As you play through, you find out about various family members but also the history of the family as a whole and their "curse" which is essentially the cycle of unfortunate deaths that befall them. That's what I got out of it anyway.
I don't know if they ever meant to imply there's a REAL curse but as members of this family die, other members are affected in various ways and some start to believe there must be a reason for there to have so many young deaths in the family though it's history. It's THAT itself that propagates a "curse" at all. Not like it can be helped when all the members in this family live in the same house through generations as a constant reminder of their history.
This is the more fascinating story telling aspect of this game. For nearly a century, the whole Finch family has lived in the same house. That on the surface isn't very strange but the unique characteristic of this house is that as the family gains new members, so to does it gain rooms. As the family grows, so does the house. Due to this, so many of the young ones who died early have their history frozen in time. Their rooms are never really used again and are kept just how they were even decades before. What's more is that the rooms are closed off at some point and they can only be observed through peepholes in the doors. So now there are these time capsule rooms that encapsulate the family history of young deaths and its made all the more enticing by having them be off limits. THIS is the curse. Without realizing it, they exacerbate their own interest in their family history and with all that going on on top of usual curiosity of ones history, who could blame you?
The house itself is also where things falter for me a bit though unfortunately. The house is, mostly, very well designed to be an exhibit of family members in this museum of their history. It does an excellent job of feeling like someone really lived in each room but, like a museum, it's all very nice to look at but you can't touch anything. There's NO interactivity really at all though the game. Anything you touch is strictly highlighted and not really missable and there to just push you forward. There's nothing to figure out for yourself and it feels like a huge missed opportunity ESPECIALLY when there's hidden passages built throughout the house. The way the game is built though, it's more like there are hidden paths because of the story needing a way forward rather than being a puzzle or secret you work out for yourself. Hidden paths lose their charm when they're perpetually your only way forward.
So yeah. The stories are very strong both individually and how they all connect. It's a drag that they couldn't have you engage with them in a way that suits how truly special they are and they whole game is linear despite following a branching family tree. Overall though I think it's a strong story in a walk around type game. I've seen it done better but I still think I'd recommend it. Short and sweet!
I don't know if they ever meant to imply there's a REAL curse but as members of this family die, other members are affected in various ways and some start to believe there must be a reason for there to have so many young deaths in the family though it's history. It's THAT itself that propagates a "curse" at all. Not like it can be helped when all the members in this family live in the same house through generations as a constant reminder of their history.
This is the more fascinating story telling aspect of this game. For nearly a century, the whole Finch family has lived in the same house. That on the surface isn't very strange but the unique characteristic of this house is that as the family gains new members, so to does it gain rooms. As the family grows, so does the house. Due to this, so many of the young ones who died early have their history frozen in time. Their rooms are never really used again and are kept just how they were even decades before. What's more is that the rooms are closed off at some point and they can only be observed through peepholes in the doors. So now there are these time capsule rooms that encapsulate the family history of young deaths and its made all the more enticing by having them be off limits. THIS is the curse. Without realizing it, they exacerbate their own interest in their family history and with all that going on on top of usual curiosity of ones history, who could blame you?
The house itself is also where things falter for me a bit though unfortunately. The house is, mostly, very well designed to be an exhibit of family members in this museum of their history. It does an excellent job of feeling like someone really lived in each room but, like a museum, it's all very nice to look at but you can't touch anything. There's NO interactivity really at all though the game. Anything you touch is strictly highlighted and not really missable and there to just push you forward. There's nothing to figure out for yourself and it feels like a huge missed opportunity ESPECIALLY when there's hidden passages built throughout the house. The way the game is built though, it's more like there are hidden paths because of the story needing a way forward rather than being a puzzle or secret you work out for yourself. Hidden paths lose their charm when they're perpetually your only way forward.
So yeah. The stories are very strong both individually and how they all connect. It's a drag that they couldn't have you engage with them in a way that suits how truly special they are and they whole game is linear despite following a branching family tree. Overall though I think it's a strong story in a walk around type game. I've seen it done better but I still think I'd recommend it. Short and sweet!