Fingerbones

The Good
Fingerbones follows the classic theme of social structures, rules, and traditional values breaking down as a result of an apocalyptic event, but does so in relation not to a larger group or the world in general, but to two people, a father with his daughter. This twist on a very common motif is an interesting idea that could have lead to a unique and powerful narrative experience.

The best thing about the game is the claustrophobic atmosphere of its dark enclosed rooms combined with the gradual escalation of disturbing sound effects. The whole experience doesn't last long enough for the atmosphere to really do its job, but it's still the closest Fingerbones gets to achieving its goals.

The Bad
When it comes to the narrative, the game fails to deliver what it promises. It tells its story in a very fragmented way, using the typical "scattered notes" trick - except here the notes, all written by the same character, are extremely short and ambiguous. To an extent it's probably supposed to be more realistic than finding several notes from an exposition-filled diary at random places, but first and foremost it's meant to make the player use their imagination to fill in the gaps.

And while it's absolutely not a bad strategy in itself, it becomes a trap. Szymański expects us to imagine the terrible, disgusting (or enticing, depending on how you look at it) things that could've happened without actually saying them out loud. But in the end, the strength of the story and its ending depends on whether we actually confront the events head on - and leaving things up to imagination just isn't enough.

The gameplay design isn't Fingerbones' strong point either. The "puzzles" are painfully simplistic and solving them requires constant - and very slow - backtracking. Sure, the game's location isn't big enough for the back-and-forth to become genuinely frustrating, but it highlights just how empty and superficial the game is.

The Bottom Line
Ultimately, Fingerbones is a lost gamble - it bets too much on narrative ambiguity and the player's imagination, sacrificing actual psychological depth and polished storytelling in the process. 3/10