REVIEW: The Unfinished Swan, How Art Can Make Life!

Intro

The Unfinished Swan is a game from developer Giant Sparrow and publisher Annapurna Interactive. Originally released on 16th October 2012. (Whoa. I never knew it was that old! I was fifteen when it came out!)

In The Unfinished Swan, you play Monroe, a young boy who wakes up in the middle of the night to find the swan in his mother’s painting has gone. Monroe decides to try finding the swan by following its golden footprints out a door that wasn’t there before.

Monroe follows the Swan and its footprints as he travels through a world of different art styles while discovering the truth of his family’s past.

What I Liked About The Unfinished Swan

First of all, the art styles used in the game were amazing! I loved them! Each style required different techniques to complete puzzles or get through the chapter successfully. My favourite styles are from Chapter One and Chapter Three. The way each art style was utilised and enhanced the narrative was amazing and improved the experience!

Second, and something I appreciated was how simple yet story-rich the game was. The Unfinished Swan is a gentle game, following a storybook-like story with simple puzzles. Maybe slightly challenging for a weak mind like mine! I got stuck on the vines at one point! Disregarding my slow mind, the story and puzzles worked well with each other.

What I Didn’t Like About The Unfinished Swan/Issues

I ran into only one issue: an environment glitch near the end of the final chapter. I fell into the water, missed part of the story, and couldn’t progress after a while. It wasn’t anything major. I had a feeling I had run into a problem once I fell in, and I was able to reload my save.

However, apart from my unintended swim, I had no other issues. I enjoyed the rest of the game and never encountered any more glitches. There was one part of the story I wish more could have been done with. It felt like it was added in either as an afterthought, to use a cool idea/design, or had been forgotten about.

What I Wanted More Of/From

I was rather upset there wasn’t more of the water monster. The monster seemed like such a key point to the overall story, yet, and there was next to no interaction between it and Monroe.

Shame, really, since the information you find out later is very interesting and explores more of what the monster is doing there.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the game is one I would play again on a rainy day. It’s a good game for someone who doesn’t like playing games heavy on technique or skills but still contains a strong and enjoyable story. And the fact it links to Giant Sparrow’s other game, What Remains of Edith Finch, is even better, as that game is equally as good, if not better.