Created: September 23, 2020

The Unfinished Swan

This could have a been a vaguely interesting, short conceptual demo. Instead, we got an exceptionally boring and pretentious high-budget console exclusive with a celebrity voice actor. I've waited so long for this to come to PC, because I loved Giant Sparrow's What Remains of Edith Finch, but this game is just objectively bad.

The game is very short, and yet within that limited time span nothing of interest happens. The levels are simple. The "puzzles" (I am being very generous calling them that) are at once trivial and tedious. The game is famous for its visual concepts, which are creative in themselves, but the minimalistic graphics do not do justice to the ideas. And that's it. There's nothing else to the game.

I often enjoy "walking simulators" even when there is no significant gameplay. However, here there are just ... concepts. Well, there is a story that tries very hard to be delightful, but is instead disjointed, nonsensical, and inconclusive. Terry Gilliam's excellent voice acting (used sparingly) is the only thing that keeps the thin narrative from being downright annoying.

Skip this.