The Last Birdling

About

The Last Birdling is a single player action game with a drama theme. It was developed by InvertMouse and was released on August 31, 2017. It received positive reviews from critics and overwhelmingly positive reviews from players.

In "The Last Birdling," players control Bimonia, one of the last of the bird-like Birdlings, who becomes friends with a human child named Tayo. As they grow up together, they must navigate the challenges of their forbidden friendship in a world on the brink of war. The game features dual perspectives, following both Bimonia and Tayo's journeys from childhood to adolescence, and explores themes of acceptance and understanding.

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Single-Player

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98%

Audience ScoreBased on 55 reviews

story28 positive mentions

gameplay3 negative mentions

The Last Birdling features a beautifully crafted story about the unlikely friendship between two girls from different species, exploring themes of empathy, prejudice, and the cost of understanding.
The game employs a dual narrative approach, allowing players to experience the evolving relationship between Tayo and Bimonia from both perspectives, which adds emotional depth and balance to the story.
Visually, the game is complemented by soft, painterly art and a fitting soundtrack that enhances the emotional impact of the narrative, creating a poignant atmosphere throughout the experience.

The story can be quite dark and heavy, dealing with themes of trauma and loss, which may not be suitable for all players and could be emotionally distressing.
Some players noted that the dialogue occasionally suffers from awkward phrasing and tonal inconsistencies, which can disrupt immersion in the narrative.
While the game offers multiple endings, the overall branching is limited, and many choices lead to similar outcomes, which may reduce replay value for some players.

story
93 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
67%
3%
"The Last Birdling" is a poignant visual novel that explores the themes of friendship, prejudice, and the complexities of growing up through the eyes of two young girls from opposing backgrounds. The dual narrative structure enhances emotional depth, allowing players to witness the evolution of their relationship amidst societal pressures and personal struggles. While the story begins with a sense of innocence, it gradually delves into darker themes, offering a bittersweet experience that resonates with players long after the game concludes.
- “The last birdling, developed and published by Invertmouse, is a heartfelt visual novel that tells a small, intimate story about friendship, prejudice, and the painful cost of understanding.”
- “It is a story about the innocence of childhood colliding with the cruelties of the world, told with the directness and emotional sincerity that define Invertmouse’s work.”
- “The story sometimes goes to dark places but never oversteps its bounds, leading to a touching experience.”
- “However, keep in mind that even though the story may start off cheery, each chapter will grow dismal.”
- “The seemingly innocent concept of a forbidden friendship between two young girls of different races escalates to a heavy story with a few dark twists, but also very emotional and heartwarming.”
music
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
63%
27%
10%
The music in the game is widely praised for its beautiful and atmospheric compositions, featuring delicate piano and string melodies that enhance the overall emotional experience. Many reviewers noted that the soundtrack effectively complements the artwork and narrative, creating a nostalgic and immersive ambiance. While some found the music minimalistic and tied to specific themes, it was generally regarded as a standout element that contributes significantly to the game's polished presentation.
- “The music, composed with delicate piano and string melodies, adds to the sense of melancholy and nostalgia that permeates the game.”
- “The music is exceptionally beautiful.”
- “The overall presentation, music and sound effects are also well done and contribute to some of the more powerful moments.”
- “The music is minimalistic and is composed of oriental style tracks using oriental instruments, in fitting with the setting, which is very effective in the majority of places, but I feel like the instrument choices prevent the game from fully realizing the potential of many of the sad scenes.”
- “I relaxed for 5 minutes listening to this music, long enough to realize that I would be okay.”
- “Just hearing the menu screen soundtrack after playing through brings back such strong feelings and memories of the game, as if I wish it would never leave me.”
emotional
27 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
"The Last Birdling" is a deeply emotional visual novel that explores themes of friendship, prejudice, and the complexities of childhood innocence amidst societal cruelty. Its heartfelt narrative, characterized by simple yet sincere writing and expressive art, evokes a strong emotional response, often leading players to tears. While the story may have some flaws, its poignant portrayal of an unlikely bond between two young girls from different backgrounds resonates powerfully, making it a memorable experience for fans of character-driven storytelling.
- “The last birdling, developed and published by Invertmouse, is a heartfelt visual novel that tells a small, intimate story about friendship, prejudice, and the painful cost of understanding.”
- “It's heart-wrenching and beautiful, and one of the most emotionally resonant pieces of media I've ever consumed.”
- “The seemingly innocent concept of a forbidden friendship between two young girls of different races escalates to a heavy story with a few dark twists, but is also very emotional and heartwarming.”
graphics
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
64%
15%
21%
The graphics of the game are highly praised for their quality and distinct anime art style, complemented by a fitting and relaxing soundtrack. Reviewers highlight the beautiful artwork and effective color schemes, noting that the visuals enhance the overall storytelling experience. The combination of excellent presentation and engaging character design contributes to a captivating atmosphere, making it a standout in the visual novel genre.
- “The graphics are nice and the soundtrack is chill and relaxing... I recommend it.”
- “I liked the art style as well, especially the color schemes.”
- “Wonderful artwork, nice music, and a tragic story about a forbidden friendship.”
- “In its core, this game is a blend of some of the stronger point-and-click games and visual novels here on Steam, mixed with an anime art style.”
- “Initially drawn in by the defined art style and promising concept, this visual novel proved to be so much more.”
- “The graphics and animations leave much to be desired, lacking the polish expected from modern titles.”
gameplay
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
60%
The gameplay of "The Last Birdling" is characterized as a traditional kinetic visual novel with limited interactivity, featuring a linear narrative with twenty-one choices that lead to five different endings based on player decisions. The game offers ample save slots and visual aids to help players track their progress and affection levels, facilitating exploration of all possible outcomes.
- “Mechanically, it's interesting too, with twenty-one choices through a linear path, and five endings that depend on the choices you make. The game is quite open, with the progress screen showing you which levels of affection will result in which endings.”
- “The game has plenty of save slots to allow different gameplay choices to be made during the game, with popup icons of a red/green feather and a portrait of Bimonia/Tayo to help players reach all five possible endings, where the number of red and green feathers required to reach each ending is shown.”
- “Mechanically, the last birdling is a traditional kinetic visual novel with minimal interactivity.”
- “Gameplay - it's a visual novel.”
- “The game has plenty of save slots to allow different gameplay choices to be made during the game, with popup icons of a red/green feather and a portrait of Bimonia/Tayo to help players reach all the 5 possible endings where the number of red and green feathers required to reach each ending will be shown.”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
Character development in the game is described as uneven, with clunky writing and erratic tone affecting the depth of the characters. While the expressive character designs and painterly art style enhance emotional nuance, the overall execution suffers from significant flaws in worldbuilding and internal logic.
- “The art has a soft, painterly quality that fits the tone of the story, and the character designs are expressive enough to carry emotional nuance even without animation.”
- “Production value wise, for the price of a movie theater ticket, you get to enjoy a beautiful tale supported by an awesome soundtrack and some nice character designs.”
- “The writing is clunky and erratic in tone, with many events feeling clumsily dark. The character development is uneven, and the worldbuilding and internal logic have holes you could drive a star destroyer through.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's replayability is primarily driven by the impact of different emotional choices rather than extensive branching narratives, as most of the story remains linear until the final chapters. Players may find value in exploring the consequences of their decisions, even though new plotlines are limited.
- “The branching is not extensive, and most of the narrative is linear until the final chapters, but the replay value lies in experiencing the consequences of different emotional choices rather than in discovering entirely new plotlines.”
- “Once you've completed the game, there isn't much incentive to go back. The lack of significant changes in subsequent playthroughs makes it feel repetitive.”
- “While the game offers multiple endings, the journey to reach them feels too similar, diminishing the overall replayability.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere is characterized by minimal yet evocative backgrounds that highlight the characters' isolation amidst natural settings like forests and mountains, complemented by a fitting and atmospheric musical score.
- “Backgrounds are minimal but atmospheric, often framing the girls’ meetings against forests, mountains, or the changing colors of the sky, emphasizing their isolation and the beauty of their world.”
- “The music was good and atmospheric.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is inconsistent, with dialogue sometimes overly expository and certain scenes feeling rushed, particularly towards the climax. Additionally, the abrupt tonal shifts between humor and serious moments can disrupt player immersion.

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90%Critics’ scoreBased on 2 critic reviews

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Frequently Asked Questions

The Last Birdling is a action game with drama theme.

The Last Birdling is available on PC, Mac OS, Windows and Linux.

The Last Birdling was released on August 31, 2017.

The Last Birdling was developed by InvertMouse.

The Last Birdling has received positive reviews from players and positive reviews from critics. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its gameplay.

The Last Birdling is a single player game.

Similar games include Cursed Sight, The Cat Lady, Journal, The Pirate's Fate, Heart of the Woods and others.

The Last Birdling

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