The Unfinished Swan Review

Posted By Yousif A. about 7 months ago

The Unfinished Swan Review

The Unfinished Swan to Grace PSN Oct. 23rd, Early Access for PSN Plus, 10.0 out of 10 based on 1 rating

Let’s get it out in the open right away. This game is going to once again open the can of worms that is the question “Are video games art?” The Unfinished Swan is one of those indie games that people will use to answer the question and start this argument all over again. I knew this the second I put my name down for reviewing the title, and while I used to be one of the people who would wade into this quagmire of interpretation and definition head first, these days I take a back seat and take a reasoned approach.

With The Unfinished Swan now finished, I can calmly say, I think people are asking the wrong question.

The Unfinished Swan is a first-person puzzle title is which the player has to explore the world through tools provided to them. While each chapter approaches this concept differently, the basic premise is always that the world is undefined and only through using objects and paints to reveal the boundaries of a location can you gain perspective.

Trust me, this is not the easiest game to describe without using visual aid.

Take the first chapter for example, which is the one that has been used in trailers the most. You actually start the game in a completely white environment, no shading, no textures, simply white. By depressing a shoulder button, you fire a blob of black paint. This paint then stains the environment, and after a few choice shots, you can discover that you are in a small room with a corridor.

At first it is really quite hard to “get” the point of the chapter. After a minute or so of this paint throwing shooter, it’s very easy to lose your enthusiasm for the adventure. Sure, you can uncover a couple of benches, realize you walked past a house and now stand at a rivers edge, but for me, it still wasn’t doing anything for me. I appreciated the concept, just not the entertainment value.

It was only when I reached the other side of the river and looked back that it struck me just how magnificent the painted environment was. Through liberal use of black paint I could now look back upon the once white canvas of the world and clearly see it defined not only through my paint, but through the areas I hadn’t painted.

Oh my god, this bit! This bit was so good. I can’t put into words how good this bit is.

It struck me at this point that entertainment in this game was derived from appreciation of how clever this game actually was and how by using the most simple tools, they had created a game that was unique. It sounds pretentious to create entertainment by pointing out how smart you are, and quite frankly, it is, but that doesn’t stop it being enjoyable.

Unfortunately for The Unfinished Swan, the idea of painting your environment ends with the first chapter. As you progress in the game, the world slowly takes on more definition, adding shading, colors and other visual effects, making the painting element redundant. So, in each chapter the way of exploring changes. The second chapter has you using water blobs instead of paint to grow vines wherever your H2O lands, creating a similar effect as the paint, as the greenery slowly winds its way round the edges of the world. Ironically, its what is left white that becomes apparent, not what the vines cover, allowing you to realize your surroundings through points of reference. These vines also act as a was of traversing walls, creating a semi puzzle element, but, like the rest of the game, it is never challenging.

The third part has you running from light source to light source in a pitch black world. This is neither interesting or fun. Thankfully, the chapter gives way to a new, but very quickly forgotten, exploration method. In the second half of the third chapter you can create blocks from choosing two points and literally drawing a six sided object. It feels almost Quantum Conundrum in its approach, but is far less complicated, and by proxy, less enjoyable. To be honest, the whole third chapter feels under-baked and could have done with more time in the oven.

There is a fourth chapter, but it is so short it is hardly worth mentioning outside of the story, with no new concept or interesting experience to be had. The last chapter is just a round-up, which is completely unnecessary as The Unfinished Swan will more than likely be finished in a single sitting. 3 hours would be the maximum time I would put on completion and if you explore, you can find all the secrets and get 100% of the trophies in this time scale too.

Its like Portal surfaces met the shaders from Mirrors edge in the world of Journey!

The story is nothing to write home about, but leads the game along nicely. You play Monroe, a boy who recently lost his artistic mother and has entered this world of impossibility through one of her paintings. The tale of Munroe is told through a narrator who speaks as if they were reading a bedtime story. Both as the end and start of chapters, this motherly voice explains the joys and woes that befall our tragic orphan. Additionally, letters are hidden within every level that, when struck with paint or water, reveal a story page further divulging the lore of the surreal world in which Munroe finds himself.

Ultimately, the story, the environment, and the strange goings-on within this fairy tale world all link together in the final chapter, tying everything up nicely. It’s a nice complete package that I am sure many will find deeper meaning too.

The real issue with The Unfinished Swan is that all the concepts for discovering the world around you are thrown away far too quickly. Even the switch to white paint on black backgrounds that can be seen in many a trailer for the game is never used. Admittedly the prototype level these trailers were taken from is unlockable when all balloons that are scattered around the game have been discovered. However, the prototype is just that and never tries to do anything beyond the initial concept.

I just got the feeling from The Unfinished Swan that there was more they could have done. The journey of visual discovery is so refreshing to play that I felt extremely underwhelmed when it never tried to do anything more than the bare minimum. It’s like playing Journey (which is referenced in this title) and discovering that the end of your quest is just over the first few dunes. Sure, those dunes were awesome, but you can’t help but feel like the developer could have done more.

I have no doubt that love and effort was put into The Unfinished Swan and the modesty required to create such a world and then blank it out for many to never truly discover is to be applauded. However, in its application The Unfinished Swan is just that: unfinished. It explores the idea of perception and does so brilliantly and undoubtedly in an artistic way, but as a game, it fails to entertain.

The question that should be asked of The Unfinished Swan regardless of its quality is not “Are video games art?”, but “Can video games be art?” When a game sets out to do what The Unfinished Swan has, I think the answer is yes. It would just appear that the question that follows should be “Does it suffer as a game for doing so?” and unfortunately, in this case, the answer is also in the affirmative.

This game was provided by the publisher for review purposes on PS3. The game was played for roughly 3 hours and was completed. The game only contains a single player mode. All hidden collectibles  achievements and bonus content was completed in this time frame.

The Unfinished Swan Review

By Yousif A.

The Unfinished Swan is a unique concept in which the world around you can only be discovered through manipulation of tools. Playing as the young Munroe, you must paint, grow and build your way to the end of your adventure. With such an artistic style does The Unfinished Swan create a masterpiece or a...not so good piece of art...?