The Unfinished Swan is a game about exploring the unknown. The player is a young boy chasing after a swan who has wandered off into a surreal, unfinished kingdom. The game begins in a completely white space where players can throw paint to splatter their surroundings and reveal the world around them.
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In 2024, this game does not have the same impact that it might have during 2012, when there was really nothing quite like on the PS3. Over the last decade, it's no longer a novelty to play with the conventions of video games, color, 3D geometry, etc... and yet this game still feels unique with much of its approach. I finished this game with mixed feelings, because while it is very imaginative and had a lot of clever ideas (including a particularly strong ending), it doesn't feel cohesive. The pacing spends too long with some ideas and fails to really explore some others.
The game opens in a white maze, and as you toss ink you eventually start creating the outlines of a world, which can look striking at different angles. Your sense of place is a mystery so you want to solve that mystery. However, there is not a mystery to be solved. The story is literal and straightforward and the area you walk around in does not really contain much of interest. The collectable balloons are nice but are contextually weird. The areas don't encourage exploration, in fact I think the idea of the first area is to be a bit aimless.
The next area is the longest of the game, and you can see everything laid out in front of you. The puzzles are not really there to challenge you, and after a while it started feeling tedious to me to follow the prescribed path around the zone. There are flashes of things being interesting, such as when you first get access to the weeds, but the third area is where things really fell off for me. They went in another new direction by having a dark area and turned into a survival game. It was not really what I expected or wanted out of this particular game. Then in the final part of the level unlock the new mechanic, to create platforms. It felt exciting until you discover that you're basically just building the same staircases everywhere and it's all over soon.
The final chapter surprised me with how suddenly everything ended, but I do think they made some good creative choices in telling the story from the King's perspective. It's just a shame that I was not invested in the story at all by that point. It's written as a children's story, and so there's not a lot to grasp onto there.
I want to make a pun about this game feeling unfinished or sloppy/messy like the ink blots of this game, but I do respect it more than that. Overall, I'm glad I played this, and maybe I'll enjoy it more on a future playthrough but the execution left a bit to be desired.
The game opens in a white maze, and as you toss ink you eventually start creating the outlines of a world, which can look striking at different angles. Your sense of place is a mystery so you want to solve that mystery. However, there is not a mystery to be solved. The story is literal and straightforward and the area you walk around in does not really contain much of interest. The collectable balloons are nice but are contextually weird. The areas don't encourage exploration, in fact I think the idea of the first area is to be a bit aimless.
The next area is the longest of the game, and you can see everything laid out in front of you. The puzzles are not really there to challenge you, and after a while it started feeling tedious to me to follow the prescribed path around the zone. There are flashes of things being interesting, such as when you first get access to the weeds, but the third area is where things really fell off for me. They went in another new direction by having a dark area and turned into a survival game. It was not really what I expected or wanted out of this particular game. Then in the final part of the level unlock the new mechanic, to create platforms. It felt exciting until you discover that you're basically just building the same staircases everywhere and it's all over soon.
The final chapter surprised me with how suddenly everything ended, but I do think they made some good creative choices in telling the story from the King's perspective. It's just a shame that I was not invested in the story at all by that point. It's written as a children's story, and so there's not a lot to grasp onto there.
I want to make a pun about this game feeling unfinished or sloppy/messy like the ink blots of this game, but I do respect it more than that. Overall, I'm glad I played this, and maybe I'll enjoy it more on a future playthrough but the execution left a bit to be desired.
The Unfinished Swan is pure magic. It starts with a blank white world, and you paint to discover the hidden storybook world within. The puzzles are creative, the story is surprisingly emotional, and the whole experience feels like a beautiful art project. It's a little on the short side, and the controls can be wonky at times, but if you want something truly unique and heartwarming, The Unfinished Swan is a must-play.
Interesante concepto, pero muy mal aplicado a nivel de gameplay.
Jogo MUITO BONITO, da facilmente uns ÓTIMOS WALLPAPERS, além da mecânica diferenciada da bolinha. A história é bem simples, mas muito visual e funciona muito bem para o propósito do jogo e o tempo pra você zerar, mesmo sendo curto, é o certo pra aproveitar da mecânica e não enjoar dela
A quaint little fairy tale with some clever ideas.
Pleins de bonnes idées sympathiques. Un jeu ni trop long ni trop court pour ce qu'il propose et certains succès sont amusants à débloquer.