What Remains of Edith Finch is the first "Walking Simulator" you'll want to play more than once.

"The Walking Simulator": A term with a tinge of negativity inherently, has become something of a buzzword in recent years. What once screamed boring to some has now become a genre that has some of the best story-telling in games. Between the release of Everybody's Gone to the Rapture in 2015, the rave-reviewed Gone Home in 2013, the upcoming Tacoma and even this week's Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice which has elements of a walking simulator, the genre has matured and is earning respect. The genre has matured to the point that game designers are able to use environmental storytelling at incredibly high levels to tell truly unique stories that only the medium of interactive entertainment can deliver.

The best representation of the level of craft this genre has reached is What Remains of Edith Finch, Giant Sparrow's follow up to the fantastic The Unfinished Swan (2012). Even if you've never been a fan of walking simulators or games that rely on environmental storytelling in a large way, don't skip this game. The designers are masters at keeping the player engaged in a way few others in the genre do, and that's through the continually changing gameplay.

In one moment you'll be swinging on an old swing hanging from a tree branch. Seconds later you'll be controlling a rogue kite in a wind storm. In a late game chapter (No Spoilers), the game does something brilliant to put the player right in the shoes of a character in such a unique way that I've never seen before. It is a very effective and troubling sequence and one of the best moments of the game.

The game is short (it can be completed in a little over two hours), and it is a harrowing tale of the terrible tragedies that have befallen one family in the Pacific Northwest. Upon its completion I felt compelled to start the story over and perhaps let it unfold slightly differently this time around. The game allows the chapters to be played in different sequences. I've never felt compelled to replay a walking simulator immediately in quite the same way, if at all, and I think it's because the game is so good at keeping the player on their toes with constantly changing gameplay while also telling a thoroughly engrossing story in a way that can only be done in video games. In short: What Remains of Edith Finch is truly one of the best uses of the medium to date.

What Remains of Edith Finch is currently available on PS4, Xbox One and PC.