The Unfinished Swan (2012)

Very charming and lovingly made, but as a whole comes off a bit too short and monotone to really make me love it. That being said, I feel the shortness ends up balancing the lack of more to do in the game itself, so it kind of works out? But prevents this from really being something special.

Still I think I end up rating this a bit higher than I normally would for that opening scene and level. Genuinely something special to find yourself in a completely white world, with no knowledge of what to do, and then throwing that first paint ball that adds depth, direction, and content to everything around you. So cool. I think the additional levels tried to do something more with this concept but often missed the mark. Having to water a bunch of vines while relaxing at first, ended up feeling kind of tedious. Having to run around in the dark from light source to light source, felt a bit counter to the game's original mechanics.

Still the whole thing ends up coming off as this really sweet children's story book, with a nice message and concept, that left me feeling warm and happy by the end.

It's hard to rate something that I wish were longer, but know if it were I would enjoy it less due to how little the gameplay could realistically be stretched. But I think as a whole I came out happy with this experience and will remember it fondly.

The Unfinished Swan is a charming and creative little first person puzzler with an artsy storybook narrative about a King, his family and his Kingdom. It takes place in a fairytale world, mostly set in a white, canvas-like void where you paint-splash your way forward - revealing the environment around you, and a few other cool concepts along the way. It's a serene and quiet experience with nice music and wonderful visuals and I remember enjoying it a lot despite being short.

[3.5] / [5]

The mechanics at the beginning of the game were very interesting. Later, the new mechanics become a bit too gamey, although still enjoyable. It would've been better without the balloon-hunting.

The story was a bit inscrutable for me.

PS: I see many reviews and status updates that talk about getting motion sickness. I can concur. In my 20+ years of playing first person games, I had never experience dizziness from a game. This was the first time.

This is a charming game: pace well done, creative in it´s stages and mechanics, very beautiful to look at. It tells a very nice story about a king, his estranded wife and their son.

The beginning is boring as hell, as you have to shoot paint balls on empty white spaces for them to reveal the geometry of the place you are. Shoot too much, and the white screen becomes black and you cannot see shit.

Then, the pace and mechanics pick up when you visit a citadel and you can see the whole beautiful stage from afar.

The game is very well made, with impeccable sound and music as well as animation. It was an overall pleasurable trip, albeit short.

It is an FPS devoid of violence, with is commendable. It also had a nice touch at the end: the credits are imbued in the last stage.

But the big problem is that, although I did want to see through the end, there was no memorable moment I can recall. It´s been like 2-3 weeks since I finished it and it is already fading from my memory. I like unusual games, but the price those types of games pay is that, since nobody ever tried something similar, the experience may boil down to something irritating, unplayable or downright forgettable and I am sorry to say that this game did not stick with me.

Still, for the quality and the love it was put into it, I give 4/5.