Let's kick of my first day as a blogger with a game review.
Game: The Unfinished Swan
Developer: Giant Sparrow
Platform: Playstation 3
Price: € 12,99
Summary: This is the first game by Developer Giant Sparrow. Production started in 2008.
What’s the story about?
The game starts with an short introduction about the protagonist; a young boy named Monroe. We learn that his mother died and Monroe was send to an orphanage. The only thing he has from his mother is a painting she made, that of an unfinished swan. One night the swan comes alive, steps out of the painting, and walks through a magical door. Monroe follows the swan and enters a world that is completely white. This is where the game begins as you take control of our young hero.
Looks
The game starts off with a white screen. When you move the analog stick you can hear the sound of Monroe walking, but you don’t see where you’re going. At that point I started to push the R2 button and Monroe start to shoot black paint. It quickly becomes clear that you have to “paint” your way out of this mess. As you shoot more paint against the wall and on the floor, a path begins to unravel, it kinda reminded me of a Daffy Duck cartoon I once saw.
Everything seems to be black and white for a while but as you progress, footsteps of the Swan will show, pointing you in the right direction. Slowly other colours will start to show, such as coloured balloons (that you can shoot for extra content) and objects like ladders and water. In the later parts of the story the surroundings are more visual, for example; when you enter the kings palace you get overwhelmed by the beauty of the hand drawn buildings and stairs, the art style seems to be influenced by the work of M.C. Escher.
In the third chapter, the game gives you more colour and does some cool things with light effects. It’s a whole different approach as the first two chapters, but is what makes the game such an original and riveting piece of work. There are parts where you can enter painting that are little puzzles of their own and they look stunning. Sometimes I was a little disappointed that I have to leave these places behind.
Feel
Controlling the game is very easy. You use the analog sticks to move, the X button to jump and the R or L bumpers/triggers to shoot paint or water. The game is definitely not hard to get into. Puzzles are frequent but aren’t that difficult. The mechanics work although I wished there was an sprint option because walking can be a drag some times. You can use other objects in the game, like telescopes and fire hoses with the Square button, but those are more a novelty than a must. A good part of the game has you shooting vines with water to make them grow, in order to reach new places. The first time I did this I was amazed, but after some time I got tired of shooting, because that was all I seemed to do, was shooting vines. Luckily the other chapters changed it up with some cool building mechanics that took me a few tries, but once you get the hang of it, it will be a blast. Once you finished the game, new options will become available, like a sniper rifle and an option to clear the paint, these option give you a chance to play the game differently.
Enjoyment
I really enjoyed my time with this game, but finishing it within the two hour mark made me feel a bit disappointed. This game felt like a labour of love all the way through, an unique visual style, intuitive gameplay and a nice unfolding story with dreamy music that never overstays its welcome. At some points in the game I got emotional just because of the highly original concept, which is rare in games these days. I know that I will come back to this game from time to time and lengthen my enjoyment by finding all the balloons and unlocking some more cool gadgets. On a side note; It was wonderful that the voice of the king was done by Terry Gilliam. As a Monty Python fan I was pleasantly surprised to hear his voice. There are some more Easter eggs in there, but I won’t spoil them for you.
Final Verdict
The Unfinished Swan is a game for everyone who likes to have an original gaming experience. It’s not a hard game and though on the short side, there's a lot to explore here. It reminded me a bit of the first Portal game. That game also came with an unique concept and made it its own. Although The Unfinished Swan uses to many ideas in a short game, I really hope it becomes a success, so we can hope that within a year or two we’ll be playing The Unfinished Swan 2 as a 8 to 10 hour game.
Score: 8/10
Ps: Please give me feedback if you read the review. I'd love to hear what I did good and what I can do better the next time around. Thx
