All Game Items
Overview
"What Remains of Edith Finch" is a purely narrative exploration game with no traditional RPG items like weapons, armor, consumables, or currencies. Instead, all "items" are environmental objects, family heirlooms, photographs, letters, and interactive storytelling devices that you discover as you explore the Finch house. These items serve to reveal the tragic history of the Finch family, advance the story, and contribute to the game’s rich atmosphere. Below is a comprehensive guide to every major discoverable item, grouped logically by category. Each entry explains what the item is, where to find it, how it contributes to the narrative, and any notable connections to other items or family stories.
Key Story Items
These are the crucial narrative objects that drive the plot forward. They are not optional and must be interacted with to complete the game.
Edith's Journal
- What It Is: Edith Finch’s personal diary, which serves as the framing device for the entire game. The player reads Edith’s written entries and sees her sketches as she explores the house.
- How to Obtain: The journal is with you from the start; you read entries automatically as you progress. New entries appear after discovering key areas or family stories.
- When Useful: The journal provides context before each family member’s vignette. It is essential for understanding the timeline and Edith's motivations.
- Connections: Each journal entry references the room you are about to enter and the family member whose story you will experience.
- What It Is: A physical key left in the mailbox for Edith. It unlocks the front door of the Finch house.
- How to Obtain: Found in the mailbox at the beginning of the game (outside the house).
- When Useful: Used immediately to enter the house. Without it, you cannot start the main exploration.
- Connections: Symbolizes Edith’s return to her ancestral home and sets the tone of mystery.
- What It Is: A handheld flashlight you use to illuminate dark areas of the house, especially the basement and sealed rooms.
- How to Obtain: Automatically equipped after entering the house. You always have it.
- When Useful: Required in nearly every room, as many are dimly lit. Also used to highlight interactive objects.
- Upgrades: None. The flashlight never runs out of battery.
- What It Is: A Polaroid instant camera that Edith uses to take photos of important locations and items. These images appear in her journal.
- How to Obtain: Found early in the game on a table in the living room. You pick it up during exploration.
- When Useful: You can take photos at any time by pressing the designated button (e.g., R2 on PlayStation). Photos are automatically added to your journal. No gameplay effect, but they enhance immersion and provide mementos.
- Connections: Some achievements relate to taking specific photos.
- What It Is: A small booklet on a pedestal in the main hall. It lists all deceased Finch family members with brief notes.
- How to Obtain: Found at the beginning of your exploration in the foyer.
- When Useful: Serves as a reference for who lived in each room. You can revisit it to track your progress.
- Connections: The booklet’s layout mirrors the house’s geography: each person’s name corresponds to a sealed door.
- What They Are: Scattered photographs of the Finch family at various stages of their lives. Some are framed, some are loose.
- How to Obtain: Found in almost every room, including hidden corners, drawers, and under objects. There are exactly 20 photographs to collect.
- When Useful: Viewing a photograph triggers a memory or a voiceover line from Edith, revealing more about the person in the picture. Collecting all 20 unlocks the "Twenty Minutes" trophy/achievement.
- Connections: Each photo is tied to a specific family member. For example, the photo of Dawn (Edith’s mother) in her younger days is in her bedroom.
- What They Are: Handwritten letters from various family members to one another. They contain intimate details, confessions, and explanations for some of the family’s eccentricities.
- How to Obtain: Found inside desks, on nightstands, in shoeboxes, and pinned to walls. 15 letters exist in total.
- When Useful: Reading a letter adds to the journal and provides emotional depth. Collecting all 15 unlocks the "Collecting Letters" trophy.
- Connections: Many letters are between two family members (e.g., Molly writing to her mother, or Odin’s letter to Edith’s great-grandmother).
- What They Are: Pencil sketches made by Edith as a child or by other family members. Some are framed, others tucked away.
- How to Obtain: These are relatively harder to spot; look in closets, behind furniture, and in the children’s bedrooms. 10 drawings total.
- When Useful: They offer a glimpse into the artistic side of the family and sometimes foreshadow events. Collecting all 10 unlocks the "Drawn Together" trophy.
- Connections: A drawing of a whale in Gregory’s nursery, for example, ties into his story.
- What They Are: Small personal objects like a lock of hair, a baby tooth, a seashell, a toy soldier, a pressed flower, a compass, a locket, a keychain, and a musical jewelry box. Each is a memento from a specific family member’s life.
- How to Obtain: Found in the bedroom or belongings of each family member. Nine keepsakes exist, one per major deceased relative (excluding Edith and her unborn child).
- When Useful: Examining a keepsake triggers a brief memory or voiceover, often linking to the vignette you experienced. Collecting all 9 unlocks the "Keepsakes" trophy.
- Connections: The keepsakes are placed near the sealed doors or inside the rooms. For example, the toy soldier is in Walter’s room, referencing his time as a child playing war.
- What They Are: Small notes taped to the sealed doors that Edith’s mother, Dawn, placed to warn Edith not to open them. Each note gives a brief reason (e.g., “Mold,” “Unsafe,” “Pipes Burst”).
- How to Obtain: Read them as you approach each locked room. They are not missable; you must read them to progress.
- When Useful: They are the game’s way of building mystery. By the end, you realize they were lies to protect Edith from the family’s dark history.
- Connections: The notes directly contradict the true stories you later uncover inside each room.
- What It Is: A small cardboard box containing pretend survival tools (empty cans, string, a whistle). Found on Molly’s bed.
- How to Obtain: In Molly’s room (upstairs, first door on the left). You must interact with it to trigger her flashback.
- When Useful: Starts Molly’s vignette—a surreal sequence where you experience her starvation-induced hallucinations.
- Connections: The kit symbolizes Molly’s vivid imagination and her love of adventure stories.
- What It Is: A framed poster of Barbara as a scream queen in a horror movie, and a comic book titled “Bats in the Belfry.”
- How to Obtain: In Barbara’s room (upstairs, second door on the left). Interact with the poster or the comic to start her vignette.
- When Useful: Begins Barbara’s segment, a campy horror comic sequence where you play as her during a home invasion.
- Connections: The comic book art style matches the vignette’s presentation.
- What It Is: A damaged swing set in the backyard, visible through the window of Calvin’s room. You interact with it remotely.
- How to Obtain: In Calvin’s room (upstairs, third door on the left). Look out the window and click on the swing to start his story.
- When Useful: Triggers a vignette where you control Calvin on a swing, building momentum until he swings off into the ocean.
- Connections: The swing is a direct link to his fatal obsession with amplitude.
- What It Is: A hunting rifle mounted on a wall in Sam’s den (downstairs, next to the dining room).
- How to Obtain: In Sam’s room. Interact with the rifle to start his vignette.
- When Useful: Launches a sequence where you play as Sam on a hunting trip that ends in tragic irony.
- Connections: The rifle is both a tool for his passion and the instrument of his demise.
- What It Is: An elaborate model train set in the basement rec room, built by Walter.
- How to Obtain: In the basement, after descending the stairs from the kitchen. The train set is in the middle of the room.
- When Useful: Begins Walter’s vignette, a repetitive fantasy sequence where he rides a train through a tunnel, symbolizing his agoraphobia.
- Connections: The train set is a metaphor for Walter’s own life underground after a traumatic event.
- What It Is: A yellow rubber duck floating in a bathtub in the nursery (upstairs, small room converted from a closet).
- How to Obtain: In the nursery. Interact with the duck.
- When Useful: Starts Gregory’s vignette, a short, heartbreaking segment where you control him as an infant in a bathtub.
- Connections: The duck is the only toy he interacts with; its cheerful bobbing contrasts with the tragedy.
- What It Is: A kite tangled in a tree outside, seen from Gus’s room (downstairs, next to the kitchen).
- How to Obtain: In Gus’s room, look out the window and click on the kite.
- When Useful: Initiates Gus’s vignette, where you fly a kite in a hurricane.
- Connections: The kite represents Gus’s desire for freedom and his rebellious nature.
- What It Is: A fish-processing knife in the cannery where Lewis worked. The vignette is accessed from his room, which has a model of the cannery.
- How to Obtain: In Lewis’s room (attic). Interact with the model cannery.
- When Useful: Starts Lewis’s vignette, a powerful sequence alternating between his mundane job and his fantasy kingdom.
- Connections: The knife is both a mundane tool and a symbol of his mental divide.
- What It Is: A large, leather-bound album that Edith finds in her grandmother’s room (the top-floor bedroom).
- How to Obtain: In Edie’s room. Interact with the album on the bed.
- When Useful: Triggers the final vignette—a montage of Edie’s life and the curse’s origin.
- Connections: The album contains images of all the Finch ancestors, tying the entire story together.
- What It Is: The house itself is a maze of rooms, secret passages, and sealed doors. Many objects (furniture, toys, books) are placed to tell a story.
- How to Obtain: Always present.
- When Useful: Every piece of furniture, every book on a shelf, every toy on the floor adds to your understanding of who lived there. For instance, Molly’s room has a stack of adventure novels; Barbara’s room has horror movie paraphernalia.
- What It Is: A large, hand-embroidered tapestry in the main hall showing the family tree with dates of death.
- How to Obtain: Always visible in the foyer.
- When Useful: Provides a visual overview of the family line and shows the “curse” pattern—many died young.
- Connections: The tapestry is mentioned in Edie’s vignette; she obsessively kept it updated.
- What It Is: A network of underground corridors connecting parts of the house, filled with stored items.
- How to Obtain: Accessible after finding the key to the basement door in the kitchen.
- When Useful: Contains Walter’s train set (key item) and extra letters/photos. It also leads to the backyard.
- Connections: The tunnels were built by Edie’s husband, Odin, and later used by Walter when he lived in hiding.
- What It Is: A static-filled television that, when turned on, shows snippets of a documentary about the Finch curse.
- How to Obtain: In the living room, next to the fireplace. Interact with the TV.
- When Useful: Adds a layer of media commentary about the family. The documentary content changes as you progress.
- Connections: It reflects how outsiders view the Finches.
- There are no weapons, armor, consumables, currencies, or materials in the traditional sense. All items serve narrative purposes only.
- The game has no inventory management; items are examined in place and notes/photos are automatically recorded in Edith’s journal.
- Some items (like the flashlight and camera) are permanently in your possession but never need upgrading or replenishing.
- The only “collectibles” are photographs, letters, drawings, and keepsakes; each group has a corresponding achievement/trophy.
- To see all items, you must explore thoroughly—look behind curtains, open drawers, and examine every corner of the house. The game does not mark them on a map.
- The interactive objects (toys, tools, etc.) that trigger vignettes are mandatory; the collectibles are entirely optional but greatly enrich story understanding.
The House Key
Flashlight
Camera (Edith's Polaroid)
The Finch Family Tree Booklet
Collectibles
These are optional items that flesh out the backstory and often unlock achievements or trophies.
Photographs (20 total)
Letters (15 total)
Drawings (10 total)
Keepsakes (9 total)
Sealed Door Notes (8 total)
Interactive Objects (Story Vignettes)
These are the items that trigger the playable memories of each deceased family member. They are essentially the “level” items.
Molly’s Explorer Kit
Barbara’s Movie Poster / Comic Book
Calvin’s Swing Set
Sam’s Hunting Rifle
Walter’s Toy Train Set
Gregory’s Rubber Duck
Gus’s Kite
Lewis’s Fish-Cutting Knife
Edie’s Old Photograph Album
Environmental Storytelling Items
These are non-interactive but important objects that enrich the atmosphere and provide context. They are not collectibles but are worth noting.