The Unfinished Swan

68%
Game Brain Score Based on 1,700 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • graphics
The Unfinished Swan Game Cover
The Unfinished Swan is a fairy tale told beautifully through the cooperative effort of the game's graphics, sound, and intuitive gameplay. Polished beyond belief, its hard to believe that this Picasso is going for a PSN price.
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"The Unfinished Swan" is a serene puzzle adventure game where players follow a swan into a mysterious, incomplete world. Using paint to reveal the environment, players solve puzzles and uncover the story of a king who abandoned his kingdom. The game blinds players with a blank canvas, only to slowly reveal a world of wonder and intrigue.

  • iPad
  • iPhone
  • Mac OS
  • PC
  • Phone
  • Play​station 4
  • Steam Deck
  • Windows
  • Mobile Platform
  • Play​Station
  • Play​station 3
  • Play​station Vita
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

68%
Audience ScoreBased on 1,700 reviews
story316 positive mentions
grinding36 negative mentions
  • The Unfinished Swan features a unique and innovative gameplay mechanic where players use paint to reveal their surroundings, creating a captivating experience.
  • The game's art style is beautiful and enchanting, evoking a sense of wonder and nostalgia throughout the journey.
  • The narrative, while simple, is charming and resonates with themes of loss, creativity, and the unfinished nature of life.
  • The game is very short, typically taking only 2-3 hours to complete, which may not justify the full price for some players.
  • Some players experience motion sickness due to the game's visual style and mechanics, making it difficult for them to enjoy the experience.
  • The puzzles can be overly simplistic and may not provide enough challenge for players looking for a more engaging gameplay experience.
  • story833 mentions

    The story of "The Unfinished Swan" is often described as simple yet charming, resembling a children's storybook that explores themes of creativity, loss, and the unfinished nature of art. While some players appreciate its whimsical narrative and engaging mechanics, others find it lacking depth and emotional impact, especially when compared to the developers' previous work, "What Remains of Edith Finch." Overall, the game offers a unique storytelling experience, though opinions vary on its execution and overall significance.

    • “The story is simple, yet the mechanics of throwing paintballs to reveal or conceal things make the experience of playing this game unforgettable.”
    • “The story is a sweet meditation on, frankly, pretty relatable things: an absent parent, a feeling of inheriting the family shame, a sense of 'great men' who keep trying to start things and never finish them.”
    • “The unfinished swan has a storybook-like quality to it that feels both grounded and fanciful, a quality reinforced by the various unique ways it offers to interact with its world.”
    • “The story is also barebones and clunkily told, so you really wouldn't be missing much had you put down the game after the first chapter.”
    • “The unfinished swan's plot is predictable and nonsensical and the payoff isn't worth sitting through the rather short runtime.”
    • “Failed to make an emotional connection with the story so the narrative felt flat and pointless.”
  • gameplay612 mentions

    The gameplay of "The Unfinished Swan" is characterized by its unique paint-splashing mechanic, which allows players to reveal a blank world as they progress through the story. While the initial mechanics are engaging and innovative, many players feel that the gameplay becomes repetitive and less interesting as new mechanics are introduced, leading to a somewhat disjointed experience. Overall, the game offers a charming, albeit short, journey that blends artistic exploration with simple puzzles, appealing to those who appreciate narrative-driven gameplay.

    • “The gameplay is varied but remains cohesive throughout.”
    • “The unfinished swan is a captivating blend of art, philosophy, and unique mechanics that creates an experience like no other.”
    • “The gameplay is straightforward and enjoyable, starting with puzzles that evolve into more complex mechanics, like creating your own platforms in mid-air, surviving dark areas filled with dangers, and even escaping a flood.”
    • “Gameplay is often halted to deliver story instead of having a flow between the two, and the story is often just text on a wall…”
    • “I'm on chapter 3 and I feel though the core concept is cool and the art is okay, I felt the gameplay is really, really boring.”
    • “The gameplay is pedestrian -- it is more of a walking simulator than the puzzle game I was expecting from the information on the Steam page.”
  • graphics179 mentions

    The game's graphics are often described as beautiful and charming, featuring a unique art style that enhances its narrative and gameplay. While some players appreciate the minimalist and dreamlike visuals, others find them lacking in depth and variety, leading to mixed feelings about their overall impact. Overall, the aesthetics are generally praised, though opinions vary on their effectiveness in supporting the game's story and mechanics.

    • “The visuals have a timeless quality to them.”
    • “This game has a beautiful art style and some very creative gameplay mechanics.”
    • “The artwork and style of the game is just incredible.”
    • “Pure white graphics put me into actual shock; pitch black graphics had me squinting like I'm 70 years old.”
    • “Graphics are just annoying at some point after the novelty wears off.”
    • “The visuals are not compelling (bordering on ugly); the puzzle mechanics are limited in range (and trivial); the story is uninteresting (and very short).”
  • music108 mentions

    The music in the game is widely praised for its beauty and ability to enhance the overall experience, with many players describing it as relaxing, charming, and memorable. The soundtrack effectively complements the game's aesthetics and storytelling, creating an immersive atmosphere that resonates with players long after they finish. While some noted a minimal presence of music at times, the overall consensus is that the sound design significantly contributes to the game's artistic appeal.

    • “The music is gorgeous and utilized flawlessly.”
    • “It has a nice style, a charming story, and an incredible soundtrack that mixes baroque with electronic (really wish they'd put the soundtrack up for sale somewhere).”
    • “The soundtrack has been stuck in my head for years and I'm not exaggerating.”
    • “Music - well, hardly any lol.”
    • “The soundtrack is fairly minimal and I played with my headphones off for most of the game.”
    • “Closing music at the end of the game was missing :'(”
  • emotional68 mentions

    The emotional aspect of the game elicits mixed responses from players; while some find the story heartwarming and charming, evoking feelings of nostalgia and excitement, others feel it lacks depth and emotional resonance, resulting in a flat narrative experience. The unique art style and creative mechanics are praised, but some players also report feelings of nausea and boredom, suggesting that the emotional impact may vary significantly among individuals. Overall, the game is seen as a wholesome experience, though it may not deliver the emotional weight expected by all players.

    • “The story itself is also so cute and heartwarming, but also has a deeper meaning.”
    • “I adore the storytelling component, it made me feel like I was taking part in a fairytale, which was so exciting.”
    • “Pairing a heartwarming story with breathtaking art is such a great idea and with this one it was implemented close to perfectly.”
  • grinding36 mentions

    The reviews consistently highlight the grinding aspect of "The Unfinished Swan" as tedious and repetitive, with players often feeling that the core mechanics, such as the paint-throwing and vine-growing, become monotonous over time. Many found the gameplay lacking in challenge and variety, leading to frustration, especially during lengthy sections that require excessive clicking or aimless exploration. While some moments are appreciated, the overall experience is marred by a sense of tedium that detracts from the game's potential enjoyment.

    • “For 85% of the game you are doing the exact same thing and it gets pretty tedious.”
    • “Unfortunately, there is almost no 'game' here, and the limited mechanics of painting become very tedious in the vines chapter, which takes up a large chunk of a very short play time.”
    • “The novelty of splatting paint wore off after about 30 seconds, and after that it was incredibly tedious.”
  • atmosphere34 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its captivating, fairytale-like quality, featuring dreamy settings and beautiful art that create a soothing and explorative experience. While the initial chapters are particularly enchanting, some players note a shift in tone that disrupts the relaxing vibe as the game progresses. Overall, it is described as a creatively atmospheric adventure that balances gameplay with a deep, human story.

    • “It is a lovely fairytale with brilliant gameplay and a captivating atmosphere.”
    • “Surprisingly creative game with a very soothing atmosphere.”
    • “It's an atmospheric, (mostly) relaxing 3-hour game with a unique central mechanic that gets played with, tied together by a pleasant children's story about the impermanence of art.”
    • “The first two chapters are great, but after that it gets weird and the whole atmosphere is not relaxing anymore and you just want to finish it.”
    • “The atmosphere is more cute than liminal but that's okay.”
    • “Artsy and cute with a fairytale atmosphere.”
  • replayability16 mentions

    Overall, the game's replayability is mixed; while some players appreciate the optional collectibles and unlockable features that encourage revisiting, others feel the short length and limited gameplay mechanics diminish its long-term value. Many suggest that the game could benefit from additional content to justify its price, but it still offers enough fun for a first playthrough and some incentive to return.

    • “Good fun if you like puzzles with some replayability due to going back and finding all the balloons.”
    • “The collectables add to replayability.”
    • “The optional unlockable toys and features create a ton of replay value!”
    • “It seems like half the game design went into replayability, which makes no sense for a short story game.”
    • “Because of almost no replayability, aside from achievements, the game needs about twice the amount of content than current to warrant a 15 dollar price tag.”
    • “Worth a first playthrough, though I'd recommend a sale seeing as the game length isn't particularly meaty nor the gameplay replayable.”
  • stability10 mentions

    The game's stability is notably poor, with frequent glitches, crashes, and softlocks that disrupt gameplay and force players to replay levels without checkpoints. Users report a frustrating experience due to slow pacing and various bugs, which detract from the overall enjoyment of the unique mechanics.

    • “It is two hours of 'fun' stretched out to four via slow pacing, glitches, and softlocks that force you to replay entire levels (of which there are four, with no checkpoints unless you unlock them).”
    • “The game seems to be a little buggy sometimes; it loved to crash if I skipped a cutscene while redoing chapters for achievements.”
    • “I ran into several visual glitches/game glitches that I didn't encounter in the PS3 version.”
  • humor10 mentions

    The humor in the game is characterized by its quirky and original concepts, such as amusing interactions with the environment, like dangling from bridges and the unexpected consequences of shooting a sparkly balloon. Players appreciate the clever use of visual themes and find the game's comedic elements to be both entertaining and unique. Overall, the humor adds a lighthearted touch that enhances the gaming experience.

    • “Funny and very original concept.”
    • “It's funny this game plays with visual themes of light and dark because it sits squarely in the shadow of What Remains of Edith Finch.”
    • “Funny trivia: [spoiler] if you shoot the sparkly balloon in the forest with the sniper rifle, while it's on the ground or on water, it explodes, leaving you in darkness.”
  • optimization6 mentions

    The game suffers from significant performance issues, particularly in Chapter 1 and certain levels, which detracts from the overall experience. While some users speculate that the optimization choices may be intentional to maintain the narrative's slow pace, the resulting lag and performance drops are a major concern.

    • “Maybe it's made for performance, maybe not to break the slow pace of the narrative, but I needed to run.”
    • “I had terrible performance issues in chapter 1.”
    • “My other main issue was the performance in some levels.”
    • “Maybe it's made for performance, maybe not to break the slow pace of narrative, but I needed to run.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

73% average critic score

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Play time

3hMedian play time
3hAverage play time
3hMain story
4hCompletionist
2-4hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 8 analyzed playthroughs

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