This review contains spoilers for My Hero Academia Season 4, episode 18, “School Festival,” aka episode 81 overall. To refresh your memory of where we left off, check out our review of MHA Season 4, episode 17.
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Back in Season 2, My Hero Academia confidently proved it had the chops to inject new life and excitement into the tired shonen tradition of the ‘tournament arc’. The UA Sports Festival turned out to be one of the show’s highlights, and was, arguably, the arc that allowed My Hero Academia to flex its muscles and show that it is one of the best shonen anime to ever grace our screens. And now, as we enter the final stretch of Season 4, we are treated to a whole new, vibrant, and fun-filled arc: the School Festival.
This episode is split into three acts: the first is the announcement and planning of the School Festival, the second is a sweet extended scene between Midoriya, Mirio, and Eri. The third is a villain-related final act that’s too good to spoil here. Every one of these acts is tonally perfect, full of color and vibrancy, and feels custom-designed to cheer fans up. This is the kind of episode to be re-watched on a rainy Sunday afternoon, so bursting at the seams is it with cheery melodies, optimistic and enthusiastic characters, and excitement for things to come. Everything is on the up; the whole episode is about the clouds clearing and the sun coming out.
After an impactful and emotionally draining arc that ended with the most explosive conclusion we’ve seen so far in My Hero Academia, followed by two episodes that were marred with issues of theme, tone, and pacing (amongst other issues), it feels so good to have an episode not only deliver on hype, humor, and happiness, but to also do so by nailing every aspect of its execution, from its animation to its writing and voice acting.
The music of this episode is especially outstanding, with experimental blends of guitar-led rock riffs and choir-infused classical pieces. One particular track late in the episode begins with a jaunty acoustic strum, is injected with a groovy bass line, and suddenly a flood of synths and strings enter the fray to make for one of the sweetest melodies ever heard in the show’s history. All of this stellar music doesn’t just add to the bright fun factor of the episode, but also provides some gravity to the surprising emotional range on display here.
In the most exciting moments, as members of Class 1-A throw out their ideas for the School Festival, and in the most uplifting and inspiring, like when Kyoka is encouraged to talk about and be proud of her passion for music, the accompanying tracks are always outstanding. In an episode so centered around song and dance, it only makes sense to have the music be as good as it can be, but it really is phenomenal here, and does a lot to elevate the already electric atmosphere of the episode to new heights.
Beyond the music and the emphasis on jolly festivities, “School Festival” still manages to give us some excellent character-focused moments filled with insight, growth, and introspection, with Eri and Kyoka taking center stage. In the first act Class 1-A are given the good news by a grumpy Aizawa that they’ll be hosting the School Festival; following this comes a machine-gunning of hilarious one-liners and pitch-perfect banter, with Mineta getting satisfyingly strung up as the punchline. But the character focus comes in the form of Kyoka’s relationship with her passion for music which she convinces herself has no place at school or in the hero business. It’s touching and humanizing, made even better by a few choice moments shared between her and Kaminari that prove to be suitably brief but sweetly touching.
Having more face time with Eri is hugely appreciated as well. So much of her character until now has been defined by her relationship with Overhaul, and the impact of that relationship is both seen and felt here. The way in which the show implies her PTSD is affecting and brutal, and yet she has also been rounded out and provided solid dimension that we’re only going to see grow from here.
The winners of this year’s The Anime Awards, which are presented by Crunchyroll and held at its headquarters in San Francisco, have been revealed and Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba won Anime of the Year.
Demon Slayer also won Best Boy for Tanjiro Kamado and Best Fight Scene for the battle of Tanjiro & Nezuko vs Rui. Mob Psycho 100 II, which IGN awarded Best Anime Series of 2019 and Best Animation of 2019, won Best Animation and Best Opening Sequence.
KAGUYA SAMA: LOVE IS WAR won three categories – Best Ending Sequence, Best Couple, and Best Comedy. Other anime who won multiple awards included The Rising of Shield Hero and The Promised Neverland.
See the full list of winners at the Fourth Annual Crunchyroll Anime Awards below:
Anime of the Year – Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba
Best Animation – Mob Psycho 100 II
Best Opening Sequence – Mob Psycho 100 II, ♪ 99.9 – MOB CHOIR feat. sajou no hana
Best Ending Sequence – KAGUYA-SAMA: LOVE IS WAR, ♪ Chikatto Chika Chikaa♡ – Konomi Kohara
Best Boy – Tanjiro Kamado, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba
Best Girl – Raphtalia, The Rising of the Shield Hero
Best Score – Mocky, Carole & Tuesday
Best VA Performance (JP) – Yuichi Nakamura voices Bruno Bucciarati in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind
Best VA Performance (EN) – Billy Kametz voices Naofumi in The Rising of the Shield Hero
Best Director – Tetsuro Araki, Chief Director and Masashi Koizuka, Director – Attack on Titan Season 3
Best Best Character Design – Satoshi Iwataki, Original Character Design by Hiroyuki Asada, Dororo
Best Protagonist – Senku, Dr. STONE
Best Antagonist – Isabella, The Promised Neverland
Best Fight Scene – Tanjiro & Nezuko vs. Rui, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba
Best Couple – Kaguya Shinomiya & Miyuki Shirogane, KAGUYA-SAMA: LOVE IS WAR
Best Drama – Vinland Saga, WIT STUDIO
Best Fantasy – The Promised Neverland, CloverWorks
Best Comedy – KAGUYA-SAMA: LOVE IS WAR, A-1 Pictures
Additionally, George Wada, president of Wit Studio, was celebrated as the Industry Icon of this year’s Anime Awards. Wada oversees such series as Attack on Titan, The Ancient Magus’ Bride, and Vinland Saga.
The results for this year’s Anime Awards were based on over 11 million votes cast by fans from around the world. This is a huge increase over 2019’s 5 million votes. The top five countries that voted this year were the United States, Brazil, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and Canada.
Alongside all the award announcements, Crunchyroll revealed that four new titles would be coming to its platform, including The 8th Son? Are You Kidding Me? (April 2020), My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! (April 2020), The Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Season 2 (Fall 2020), and So I’m a Spider, So What? (2020).
Crunchyroll has now announced all the winners of the Anime Awards 2020. This year’s show saw 19 awards given out and, much like last year, it was a pretty even spread of winners across all the categories.
Both Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba and Kaguya-Sama: Love is War tied for the most awards–both won three categories each. Demon Slayer came out on top in the spot that matters most though, winning Anime of the Year. The Shonen series also won Best Boy (Tanjiro Kamado) and Best Fight Scene (Tanjiro & Nezuko vs. Rui). Love is War, on the other hand, went home with Best Ending Sequence (“♪ Chikatto Chika Chikaa♡” performed by Konomi Kohara), Best Couple (Kaguya Shinomiya & Miyuki Shirogane), and Best Comedy.
Though a vast majority of the categories went to shows that you can watch on Crunchyroll, a few exclusives from other streaming services managed to secure awards as well. Netflix’s Carole & Tuesday won Best Score (composed by Mocky), for example. Amazon Prime Video’s Dororo won Best Character Design, and the streaming service’s acclaimed historical fiction series Vinland Saga won Best Drama.
The winners for each category are listed below. We also have an article on the full list of nominees for each category if you need a quick refresher on what the competition looked like.
Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2020 Winners
Anime of the Year: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba
Best Animation: Mob Psycho 100 II
Best Opening Sequence: Mob Psycho 100 II, ♪ 99.9 – MOB CHOIR feat. sajou no hana
Best Ending Sequence: Kaguya-Sama: Love is War, ♪ Chikatto Chika Chikaa♡ – Konomi Kohara
Best Boy: Tanjiro Kamado, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba
Best Girl: Raphtalia, The Rising of the Shield Hero
Best Score: Mocky, Carole & Tuesday
Best VA Performance (JP): Yuichi Nakamura (Bruno Bucciarati, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind)
Best VA Performance (EN): Billy Kametz (Naofumi, The Rising of the Shield Hero)
Best Director: Tetsuro Araki, Chief Director and Masashi Koizuka, Director – Attack on Titan Season 3
Best Character Design: Satoshi Iwataki, Original Character Design by Hiroyuki Asada, Dororo
Best Protagonist: Senku, Dr. Stone
Best Antagonist: Isabella, The Promised Neverland
Best Fight Scene: Tanjiro & Nezuko vs. Rui, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba
Best Couple: Kaguya Shinomiya & Miyuki Shirogane, Kaguya-Sama: Love is War
Best Drama: Vinland Saga, WIT Studio
Best Fantasy: The Promised Neverland, CloverWorks
Best Comedy: Kaguya-Sama: Love is War, A-1 Pictures
Industry Icon: George Wada, WIT Studio
During the Anime Awards, Crunchyroll also announced four anime coming to the service in 2020. One is simply a continuation of an existing series–That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime is returning for a second season this fall. The other three, however, are brand-new. In April 2020, both My Next Life As a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom and The 8th Son-Are You Kidding Me will debut. So I’m a Spider, So What is also coming to Crunchyroll in 2020, though a release window has not been announced.
If you happened to find love this past Valentine’s Day, consider looking at our list of the best romance anime. Or, if the thought of love is leaving you bittersweet, consider burying those feelings by binging through our favorite Winter 2020 anime.
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Only released a few days ago on PlayStation 4, players are already hard at work designing their own creations in Media Molecule’s Dreams. One of the most impressive creations so far is a complete 3D recreation of Stardew Valley’s Pelican Town.
Creator Tooshi, a YouTuber who produces a ton of Stardew Valley videos, shared the remake on Twitter, taking viewers on a quick tour of Pelican Town which features some of Stardew Valley’s most recognizable locations like Jojomart and Stardrop Saloon. Check out the trailer he created at the top of the page.
The Dreams recreation is almost identical to that of Stardew Valley and even allows players to visit various NPC homes — although you can’t go inside. If you’d like to check out the creation for yourself, it can be downloaded for free on the Dreams website. Here’s a birds-eye view of Pelican Town.
Tooshi detailed the process of his Stardew Valley Dreams creation on YouTube for those interested. You can also find tons of other Stardew creations on his YouTube channel.
Dreams has been home to tons of different fan creations over the past few months, including Mario, Sonic, and Pokemon creations. Dreams’ early access came to an end in December and released on PS4 earlier this month. Some creators have even created “demakes” of modern games reimagined as PS1 classics, such as this PS1 demake of The Last of Us Part 2 by YouTuber Bearly Regal.
Ubisoft has announced Operation Void Edge, the first season of Rainbow Six Siege Year 5. As is tradition, the season adds DLC in the form of two new Operators – Iana and Oryx – a map rework, and a few tweaks to keep the game balanced.
Unlike Siege’s previous operation, which introduced new Operators designed to be fresh alternatives to pre-existing roles, Operation Void Edge’s characters bring wholly new gameplay elements to Rainbow Six. In short: controllable decoy scout holograms and the ability to leap through walls and hatches.
First up is Iana, who is perhaps Siege’s most sci-fi attacker yet. A Dutch operator who previously worked as part of the European space project, her gadget, the Gemini Replicator, creates a controllable holographic copy of herself. Essentially a walking version of Alibi’s Prisma, when activated you effectively (for lack of a better term) leap out of Iana’s body and into the hologram.
Controlling the Gemini Replicator is identical to using a regular Operator, although the hologram cannot shoot, melee, deploy secondary gadgets, climb ladders, or use rappel ropes. It does produce footsteps and noise, though, and so can be used to convince an enemy that an attacker is moving towards their position. Essentially, the Gemini Replicator is a drone that looks like a human, which puts an interesting spin on intelligence gathering.
Unlike an Alibi Prisma hologram, the Gemini Replicator can only be used for a short period of time, and there is a cooldown between uses, which is longer if an enemy destroys the device. Shooting the hologram anywhere in its ‘body mass’ will destroy it, and Mute’s Signal Disruptor will also prevent it from working.
With a 2 speed and 2 armor rating, Iana is a medium-balanced operator. She’s equipped with the popular G36C, previously only used by Ash, and the ARX200 that was first introduced as part of Nomad’s loadout. In her secondary slots is a 9mm MK1, and the option of either smoke or frag grenades.
On defense is Oryx, a Jordanian defender who, like Caviera, has no gadget. Instead he has an ability, Remah Dash, that allows him to charge over short distances and even – at the cost of 10 health points – run through breakable walls. Yup, he’s basically the Kool-Aid Man. The dash can also be used to knock down opponents, which seems especially useful against shield operators like Montagne and Blitz.
As you can imagine, he’s a relatively speedy defender (2 speed, 2 armor), and that athleticism also allows him a second unique passive ability: he can jump up through broken hatches. This is invaluable for quick rotation between split level bomb sites, and makes him perhaps Siege’s most effective roamer.
Oryx’s loadout consists of the MP5LI and the SPAS-12 shotgun, and the Bailiff 410 and USPc40 pistols, plus a choice of barbed wire or bulletproof camera. By having shotgun options on both his primary and secondary, it means Oryx can always have a way to blow through hatches and make a quick rotation. Meanwhile, Remah Dash means he’s effectively a human Impact Grenade when it comes to removing walls between sites.
As with all Siege operations, Void Edge comes with a map component. It’s another rework, this time to Oregon. The cultist base location has been a firm favourite in the Siege community since launch, and has essentially been untouched due to how well designed it is. But Void Edge makes a few small but important alterations, with the biggest of them being the removal of the Tower bomb site. It has been relocated to Meeting Hall and Kitchen, which will hopefully make it a more viable site for both attackers and defenders.
Other changes have made many areas more open, as well as creating better rotation routes. A new freezer room has been added to the basement with a set of stairs up to the first floor, meaning attackers now have a third entry point into a site that has typically been kinder to defenders. The map now features a few more breakable walls than previously, which certainly feels at least partly done in order to introduce Oryx in an environment perfectly designed for his toolset.
Tweaks and balance changes are an important part of every Siege season, and Void Edge makes some major changes to both Twitch and Lesion. Twitch’s drones now have 3 barbs in a magazine, down from 5, although they will recharge over time, akin to Echo’s Yokai drone. The barbs now only do one point of damage instead of 10, focusing their use on gadget destruction rather than damaging players.
Lesion’s Gu Mines now do not deal damage when triggered, but each ‘sting’ they inflict while a needle is stuck in an enemy player will do two extra damage. Downed operators who crawl over Gu Mines will not trigger them, meaning that Lesion should cause less cheap kills. The icons that indicate Gu Mines on the HUD have been entirely removed unless Lesion is in direct line of sight of them, meaning it’s now harder to tell which mines have been triggered. Overall, the focus seems on making Lesion more of Operator designed to slow attackers, rather than gather accurate situational intelligence based on which mines are triggered.
Year 4 struggled to offer many Operator options that felt truly viable; Nokk and Warden seemed to have become obscure within weeks of launch, while Amaru and Goyo still don’t quite seem to have hit their stride. Year 5 seems to be kicking off with a much better start, though.
Iana’s hologram is a simple, effective gadget that combines the best of the traditional drone with some fun decoy tactics. However, it’s Oryx that’s certainly the star of Void Edge. His destructive dash is the lure, but it’s his hatch-leaping ability that will hopefully see him become a firm favourite for roamers. It may be similar to Amaru’s grapple in many ways, but it’s an ability that will simply be more valuable to mobile defenders.
Matt Purslow is IGN’s UK News and Entertainment Writer, and a little upset at what Ubisoft has done to Lesion, even though it’s clearly the right move. You can follow him on Twitter.
While doing press for High Fidelity, Kravitz spoke to Variety about co-starring with Pattinson and their time training together.
“I’ve never worked with him before,” she said, “but we’ve been together for the last few weeks. I had to camera test with him and now we’ve been training together and rehearsing together and he’s just a delightful person and such a wonderful, thoughtful actor.”
“I think he’s perfect for the role,” Kravitz added, “and it’s going to be such an adventure. I’m excited to have him as my partner in crime and to be there to support each other, because it’s intense. It’s going to be a long shoot and there’s a lot of pressure, and I know he has my back and I have his.”
With Pattinson’s costume partially unveiled, we ranked all the movie batsuits – from Adam West’s camp classic to Michael Keaton’s gothic greatness to Ben Affleck’s Superman-smashing armor.
Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.
Tom Holland and Chris Pratt are going on their next marvelous adventure in Pixar and Disney’s new animated movie Onward. IGN will bring you into the adventure by being Disney’s exclusive live stream partner from the red carpet premiere in Hollywood on February 18th!
In addition to interviews with Holland and Pratt, IGN’s hosts Max Scoville and Sydnee Goodman will also be speaking with the incredible voice cast, including Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Octavia Spencer, to the creative team behind the movie, like director Dan Scanlon and executive producer Pete Docter.
And, to top it all off, if you tune into the livestream you’ll get an early look at the new Pixar movie in the form of an exclusive clip!
Here are the important details you need to know:
For more about Onward, be sure to watch the trailer for Pixar’s latest below:
Set in a suburban fantasy world, Disney and Pixar’s Onward introduces two teenage elf brothers (voices of Chris Pratt and Tom Holland) who embark on an extraordinary quest to discover if there is still a little magic left out there. A new trailer and poster are now available, and new character posters were recently revealed, introducing cast members Mel Rodriguez, who voices Officer Colt Bronco; Lena Waithe, who lends her voice to Officer Specter; and Ali Wong, the voice of Officer Gore.
Directed by Dan Scanlon and produced by Kori Rae, Onward opens in U.S. theaters on March 6, 2020.
Be sure to drop in your questions for the cast and creators in the comments section below for a chance for them to be asked live!
It was late one evening as Meredith Myers was lying in bed relaxing when her sister, Jenna, walked in with an expression of shock on her face. Jenna had been taking an evening stroll in Animal Crossing: New Leaf, walking past fruit trees and over wooden bridges that connect the different parts of her town. Lolly, a friendly cat who had just moved into town, locked eyes with her and ran over.
“I didn’t realize the mechanics of the game would do this–it showed my sister the letter after Lolly had moved from my town to hers,” Meredith told GameSpot. “Lolly showed her the letter she had written to me in my town.”
The letter her sister showed her was from their other sister, Kylie, who had passed away from cancer four years earlier.
Scenarios like this, where an NPC villager moves from one person’s town to another, is normal in New Leaf, and the newcomers always bring mementos like letters with them. Meredith didn’t expect Lolly to turn up with such an impactful memory, though.
Meredith and her sisters had loved Animal Crossing while growing up, but she wasn’t playing in her own town after her sister passed away–she was making sure Kylie’s town was weed-free and full of happy villagers instead. “I picked up her 3DS to finish Link Between Worlds for her,” Meredith said. “I did that pretty quickly and then I found Animal Crossing and it became a thing. I couldn’t take care of her anymore, but I could take care of her village. That’s something.”
Meredith kept Kylieland, as her sister named it, well-stocked with yellow flowers (Kylie’s favorite) and kept sending her villager’s similarly sweet letters like the one Lolly had brought back. The Myers had always bonded over video games and Animal Crossing was something they all loved and played regularly when they were younger.
“We didn’t start playing [Animal Crossing] again until she got sick, because she was bored in the hospital and didn’t have anything to do,” Meredith said. “I didn’t know how much time, care, and dedication she had put into it until she had passed and I found her 3DS and thought I’d take a look. It was like having this connection to her, with this whole world she had created, these friendships she had with the other characters. It was neat to hang onto her in that way. I took over her town and played for years since.”
“There was probably a 10-year gap [between when she last played] until I took her 3DS and started taking care of her New Leaf town,” she added. Meredith has been able to keep a special connection to Kylie through their shared love of Animal Crossing, one she can revisit every day. It’s a place she can help grow and change, where Meredith can go and continue all the bug-catching, house-expanding, fossil-collecting Kylie started all those years ago.
“It was like having this connection to her, with this whole world she had created, these friendships she had with the other characters.”
Animal Crossing, according to Katsuya Eguchi, one of its creators, is an experience that lets families play together even if they weren’t playing at the same time.
“I’d always get home really late. And my family plays games, and would sometimes be playing when I got home. And I thought to myself–they’re playing games, and I’m playing games, but we’re not really doing it together,” he said in an interview with Gamasutra. “It’d be nice to have a play experience where even though we’re not playing at the same time, we’re still sharing things together. So this was something that the kids could play after school, and I could play when I got home at night, and I could kind of be part of what they were doing while I wasn’t around.”
Eguchi didn’t know that his game design philosophy would stretch into the afterlife. In the Myers family’s case, it’s a perfect example of how video games can help people grieve after losing a loved one.
“If not stronger, it’s a more active connection to her sister,” Portland Institute for Loss and Transition Director Robert A. Neimeyer, Ph.D., said in an interview with GameSpot. “A connection that confronts her with ongoing challenges. It’s almost a virtual expression of how we grieve in general.”
Meredith’s connection to her sister is a powerful example of the continuing bonds theory, the idea that a normal, healthy and important part of grief is maintaining a connection with those loved ones who have passed away.
The theory isn’t as clear-cut as it seems, though. As different people grieve in different ways, some are able to maintain this bond and continue living in a healthy way, while others may struggle with daily reminders of their loss.
“Grieving still happens differently, some people can still detach due to their past experiences,” Neimeyer said. “Both continuing bonds and breaking bonds can be considered healthy ways to cope.”
Sharing The Race
Michael was 6 years old when his father died, and afterward, he couldn’t bring himself to touch the original Xbox they had shared. He had to wait 10 years to build up the courage to boot the old console up to play one of his favorite games: RalliSport Challenge.
“Once I did, I noticed something,” Michael, who goes by the online tag 00WARTHERAPY00, wrote in a Youtube comment in 2014. “I started meddling around and found a ghost, literally…you know, when a timed race happens, the fastest lap so far gets recorded as a ghost driver? Yep, you guessed it, his ghost still rolls around the track.”
He had found a digital copy of his father flying around that dirt track more than 10 years after his death. It gave Michael an odd comfort, even though he missed his old man. “I played and played and played until I was almost able to beat the ghost,” he wrote. “Until one day I got ahead of it, I surpassed it, and I stopped right in front of the finish line, just to ensure I wouldn’t delete it.”
“Bliss,” he wrote.
Michael’s interaction with his father’s ghost racer is another impactful example of the continuing bonds theory at work, except it illustrates how maintaining a virtual connection after a loved one has passed can be dangerous.
“Continuing bonds theory, you don’t just move on and forget about [loved ones who’ve died]. You have to figure out a new way to maintain that connection with them,” Sienna College professor of Social Work Carla J. Sofka, Ph.D. told GameSpot. “Before technology, [mourners would] go to the gravesite and have conversations with them.”
“What happens if that technology goes away? How likely is the game a permanent thing?”
The problem comes with the concept of secondary loss, the idea that a primary loss, the death of a loved one, can lead to secondary losses like losing your job or home due to circumstances caused by the first loss. “What happens if that technology goes away? How likely is the game a permanent thing?” Sofka asked. “The concept of second loss, which would be the grief that someone experiences if that virtual reality disappears, then that person is going to grieve all over again. It’s a blessing, but what happens if it’s discontinued?”
Debra Bassett, a Ph.D. candidate in the Sociology Department of the University of Warwick, studies the new phenomenon of second loss, which is the idea that these digital remnants of our loved ones can themselves be lost and is a different concept from secondary loss. “This fear of second loss is a new phenomenon for those grieving in our digital society,” she wrote in an article on Fast Company. “While images of the dead stowed away in boxes of photos in attics may well fade or perish over time, they don’t form part of people’s everyday lives in such a socially active way as digital memories do.”
For example, if Michael crosses that finish line before the ghost racer left behind by his father, the ghost time disappears, overwritten by Michael’s new best time in the race. That remnant of his parent would disappear and Michael could experience the pain of losing him all over again. The same can be said about Kylieland in Animal Crossing. It’s a blessing that can potentially lead to more pain down the road.
Visiting An Altar
Susan Rivers was finishing up a course she was teaching high schoolers about identity and mental health last year. She used playthroughs of What Remains of Edith Finch, a game about a family who believed they were cursed, to talk about how we view the people closest to us.
What Remains of Edith Finch is a game about death, one in which you explore the lives of lost family members through individual vignettes. Each one is presented with a different shrine, a collection of items left behind by that person.
“It helps them think about the people around them, how they view them. One of the interesting things about Edith Finch is, you can dig into a slice of the artifacts these people left behind in the shrines of each level,” Rivers said in an interview with GameSpot. “It gives people a different perspective about who people are.”
Rivers is the executive director of iThrive, a non-profit organization with operating in Atlanta, Boston, and New York that explores the intersection of games, mental health, and education. The organization uses different forms of interactive media to create a curriculum that teaches students about mental health, depression, grief, and other related topics.
“Grief naturally comes up with Edith Finch,” she said. “What do we remember about the individuals and what they leave behind?”
What Rivers didn’t expect was to go through her own experience of grief during one of the first times she taught her curriculum. Her mother died, pushing her to use some of the same ideas she taught in how she grieved the loss of someone she was incredibly close to. “The notion of curating our own space to reflect our identity. I didn’t really think deeply about that concept until we did our work with Edith Finch. The final project is to create a museum of me,” Rivers said. “I was curating the things from my mother’s life.”
“What do we remember about the individuals and what they leave behind?”
Playing through What Remains of Edith Finch helped give Rivers the idea to focus on her mother’s letters, which were much like the letters that told the story of each individual vignette in the game.
“One of the things I connected to is the traditions we held and repeated,” she said. “Since she passed away, I’ve started to collect her letters, even thank-you notes she sent to others.”
While Rivers’s experience didn’t contain an in-game memory of her mother, What Remains of Edith Finch’s family home perfectly represents the idea of an altar–a collection of items gathered in one space, a table or a box, for mourners to visit and grieve. Creating physical altars are a century-old practice, used in holidays such as Día de Muertos to honor the dead.
Video games are becoming a prominent platform for digital memories and experiences, where players can create an altar, either on purpose or by accident.
“There is a potential for a digital altar to be infused with life, it’s dynamic,” Joanne Cacciatore, Arizona State University Director of the Graduate Certificate in Trauma and Bereavement, explained in an interview with GameSpot. “Altars are a living ritual, they’re a way in which we ritualize our dead by creating a physical space, a tangible connection, an artifact that connects us to them.”
Neimeyer regularly works with people who are close to the ends of their lives to gather items and construct legacy projects to help bring them peace. “In this, people share their stories in a way that can be captured and passed on to their survivors,” he said. “[Kylie] did that herself–left her a little world where she would always be there.”
Kylieland and the RalliSport Challenge ghost racer are both altars; places for Michael and Meredith to rekindle relationships with lost loved ones, and places to maintain a connection that wasn’t lost, but transformed. Altars can be beautiful in how they preserve a part of someone’s life, and painful in how second loss can bring grief all over again. Video games, whether they be life simulators in which you send letters to quirky animals or dirt road racers where you compete against lap time, can create serendipitous memories that help us grieve.
For Meredith, Kylie’s Animal Crossing town is a perfect way to keep her memory alive by continuing what she started.
“I know she wanted to expand her house, so I’m going to pay off her debt,” Meredith said. “I can build off what she started. That’s part of the beauty of Animal Crossing.”
