Fingerbones

Fingerbones, a first-person, psychological horror that seems to be all over the place at first. But then again, what game of this sort made sense right from the start.

From the first seconds of gameplay, you are left in total darkness regarding the contents. Consider yourself an amnesic character. You wake up in a room, some kind of office, and you slowly start to piece things together by finding notes that are scattered all around.

Fingerbones is built to be a silent narrative; the only voice is that which resides in your head whenever you read a note. Soon enough you find out that you are a fairly clever guy who enjoys scientific lecture, one who views society very different. It seems that the main character almost despises emotions and later on into the story, you discover that that’s a severe understatement.

Every note is strategically placed in each of the several rooms, and at times, they confuse you about the direction in which the story will go. Each time the path resets, it gets stranger and stranger until it becomes unsettling.

I don’t want to be the one to ruin the plot for you but I will say that the game’s story centers around what could happen to a family in the event of a near apocalyptic event, such as a global nuclear strike, or worse, a zombie outbreak. That’s not something new but what makes the story darker and better is the fact that the main character is an intellectual who loses his touch with humanity and rational thinking.

Now, remember what Rorschach said when he was in prison (Watchmen reference): “I’m not trapped in here with you, you’re trapped in here with me”. The monster is the one you least expect it to be. More so, at some point in the game you get confused about who you are. Are you are the father or the daughter?

The game is a short one, but it does leave a mark. It takes about twenty minutes to complete but if you’re the cerebral type, its end will leave you with some serious thoughts for a few hours. That is if you want to reflect on something that’s seriously messed up from the get-go.