A Bird Story

 PC
User Score
7.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 165 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 75 out of 165
  2. Mixed: 70 out of 165
  3. Negative: 20 out of 165

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  1. jakeakatheone
    Dec 6, 2019
    7
    Short but sweet. It doesn't do much in terms of an invoking narrative compared to that of To The Moon. but just enough to be enjoyable
  2. Darkstar01
    Jun 13, 2015
    10
    This was more of a story than a game, it was like a little interactive storybook. I guess there is some control required for the game, but the game itself is mostly passive and the viewer (you) is just the audience.
  3. BasilZero
    Apr 11, 2015
    6
    Game: A Bird Story
    Genre: Point and Click Adventure
    Developer: Freedbird Games System: Steam (PC) Total Score: 62/100 Value Score: 6.2/10 • Story: 7/10 • Characters: 7/10 • GamePlay: 5/10 • Graphics: 7/10 • Sound: 7/10 • Music: 10/10 • Length: 2/10 • Replay Value: 2/10 • Player Value: 5/10 Pros +A deep emotional story told without words pretty well. +Music fits    Game: A Bird Story
    Genre: Point and Click Adventure
    Developer: Freedbird Games
    System: Steam (PC)
    Total Score: 62/100
    Value Score: 6.2/10

    • Story: 7/10
    • Characters: 7/10
    • GamePlay: 5/10
    • Graphics: 7/10
    • Sound: 7/10
    • Music: 10/10
    • Length: 2/10
    • Replay Value: 2/10
    • Player Value: 5/10

    Pros
    +A deep emotional story told without words pretty well.
    +Music fits the mood and theme
    +Some music tracks from "To The Moon" are included
    +Backgrounds are well made and created by the developers themselves
    +Ability to re-play certain scenes from intro menu

    Cons
    -Some slow down in the gameplay in some points - feels like it is a FPS drop but it is not.
    -No dialogue at all so this might turn some players off
    -Very short, only one hour of story content unlike To The Moon which was averaged at 4-5 hours
    -No replay value in terms of content    … Expand
  4. Aeryx
    Apr 19, 2015
    8
    Hardly using any dialogue, this game makes the hard way of connecting look easy. They really took their chances with this one and few games, like Shadow of the Colossus, make it through this path successful. I don't think it's better than To The Moon on any aspect, so you might feel short-changed if you expect it to be, but it's a great game. If you like PC games that are all story, heartHardly using any dialogue, this game makes the hard way of connecting look easy. They really took their chances with this one and few games, like Shadow of the Colossus, make it through this path successful. I don't think it's better than To The Moon on any aspect, so you might feel short-changed if you expect it to be, but it's a great game. If you like PC games that are all story, heart and introspection, then this is for you.… Expand
  5. Solm
    Jan 5, 2015
    10
    Kan Gao is a brilliant composer and an even better writer. He makes simple games fantastic emotions.

    You need to buy this game and support it. The music is fantastic also. It's short and sweet. Maybe not as good as To The moon but certainly worth your time.
  6. ritardedartkid
    Jan 9, 2015
    8
    A cute little story about an imaginative young boy and his bird. If you ever owned a pet as a child then this short hour long game will hit home. It made me smile and miss the good ol' days.
  7. MrSaberra
    Nov 23, 2014
    7
    It had it's moments, but being compared to To The Moon it's rather an averege game. Not as emotional, less fun, no plot. I took liking to music, I liked the fight with teachers, but I enjoyed it far less than To the Moon.
  8. Darby101
    Jan 7, 2015
    10
    This game is awesome different to anything I have ever been on please give it a go don't just reject it as there no dialogue. Truly wonderful story as far I'm concerned they should do a televised version of this instead of "The Snowman" every Christmas! So charming don't worry if you end up crying it is only natural! Kan Gao keep up the good work and keep making games. Excellent just buy it!
  9. aditya1101
    Oct 5, 2017
    4
    I love the other work by Freebird Games, and I can appreciate what they were going for with A Bird Story, but at the end of the day the pace of the game was just far too sluggish for me and I lost motivation to complete the game.
  10. The_Moon
    Mar 18, 2018
    3
    Soundtrack: 10/10
    Graphics: 8/10
    Story: 3/10 Gameplay: 1/10 The soundtrack for this game is exceptional, and really helps set the mood. The graphics are good but it is strange in that sometimes they look cartoon-like and other times it looks like normal pixel art. The story was practically non-existent. There was no dialogue between the characters, which made it difficult to figure    Soundtrack: 10/10
    Graphics: 8/10
    Story: 3/10
    Gameplay: 1/10

    The soundtrack for this game is exceptional, and really helps set the mood. The graphics are good but it is strange in that sometimes they look cartoon-like and other times it looks like normal pixel art. The story was practically non-existent. There was no dialogue between the characters, which made it difficult to figure out what was happening. The lack of dialogue did not help me connect with the main character in any way. Nothing really happened as far as I could tell. The gameplay, when there was some, was extremely boring. You had to walk around, maybe jump in some puddles or something. I honestly felt close to falling asleep towards the end of the game.

    Overall: 3.5/10    … Expand
  11. Gelaos
    Sep 18, 2018
    6
    It has it's moments but despite being only 4 hours long, it drags forever. Slow pace, almost no control except whether to go left or right. But good as a prequel for Finding paradise.
  12. MiaBlaiscote
    Apr 6, 2021
    8
    “A Bird Story” allow you to discover one story in Colin’s life, one important character in “Finding Paradise”. A 1-hour tale without dialogs. I thought it wouldn’t work as a game, since “To The Moon” had dialogs to move the story forward, and oh boy was I wrong! I left the game open to complete it in 1 shot. No regrets.
    * Now, I know it’s not a game for everyone, as the plot is very    “A Bird Story” allow you to discover one story in Colin’s life, one important character in “Finding Paradise”. A 1-hour tale without dialogs. I thought it wouldn’t work as a game, since “To The Moon” had dialogs to move the story forward, and oh boy was I wrong! I left the game open to complete it in 1 shot. No regrets.
    * Now, I know it’s not a game for everyone, as the plot is very simple unlike in “To The Moon” and “Finding Paradise”. But you might like it.    … Expand
  13. BertJ
    Nov 8, 2014
    9
    Beautiful Game. If you loved To the Moon you'll love this! Again, if you're familiar with freebird games you'll know that it isn't "Gameplay Based" and very story driven. If you aren't interested in games like that then this one isn't for you. I give it a 9 and not a 10 due to how short it is, i was expecting a whole other story because it took so long to make but it is only an hour (maybeBeautiful Game. If you loved To the Moon you'll love this! Again, if you're familiar with freebird games you'll know that it isn't "Gameplay Based" and very story driven. If you aren't interested in games like that then this one isn't for you. I give it a 9 and not a 10 due to how short it is, i was expecting a whole other story because it took so long to make but it is only an hour (maybe less) long.
    The soundtrack again is absolutely beautiful, i paid for both the game and OST on steam just because the music is absolutely perfect for this game.
    The story is told with no dialogues with surprisingly works very well and i personally have never experienced this in a story game before. There is maybe a future in games like this.
    Overall brilliant experience, great tear jerker, lots of feels. Buy this game AND To the Moon if you haven't already!    … Expand
  14. Vag
    Nov 7, 2014
    10
    A soulful story about a lonely boy and his best friend, the bird. Kan Gao definitely knows how to tell emotional stories. Can't wait for his next game Finding Paradise.
  15. kezzyhko
    Aug 24, 2020
    8
    ‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍
  16. Nergal
    Nov 9, 2014
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. To the moon was truly a masterpiece, with a very interesting plot. This one, on the other hand uses one of the most common story ever, involving the friendship between a bird and a lonely kid. I really hoped this would be as good as to the moon but unfortunately it's only a boring average story.… Expand
  17. Mobile
    May 24, 2018
    1
    ENG-RU
    A movie from Telltale Oh not that. Well, what it was, the story for 50 minutes, the lazy provision of control to the player, a couple of pokes on the space bar, the same on the arrows and ....it's like. I'd rather watch the background video in Finding paradise for 3-5 minutes than spend time on it.
    P. S. my story was not touched, but the backs fit fans to release anime DIY is    ENG-RU
    A movie from Telltale Oh not that. Well, what it was, the story for 50 minutes, the lazy provision of control to the player, a couple of pokes on the space bar, the same on the arrows and ....it's like. I'd rather watch the background video in Finding paradise for 3-5 minutes than spend time on it.
    P. S. my story was not touched, but the backs fit fans to release anime DIY is learn how to look.
    Кино от ̶T̶e̶l̶l̶t̶a̶l̶e̶ ой не то. Ну и что это было, история на 50 минут, ленивое предоставление управления игроку, пару тычков на пробел, столько же на стрелочки и ....все как бы. Я бы лучше в Finding paradise посмотрел ролик предыстория на 3-5 минут, чем тратить время на это.
    P.S. Меня история не тронула, а вот задники годные, любителям выпускать аниме поделки стоит поучится как должны выглядеть.    … Expand
  18. ovoon7
    Nov 8, 2014
    10
    Kan Gao is an excellent composer, and a great writer. He also can make a simplistic game very emotional.

    Support this game, buy a copy. It's only an hour, and it's not quite as good as To The Moon, but it's certainly worth your time.
  19. paksas
    Nov 7, 2014
    10
    A truly amazing game and a worthy successor to To The Moon.
    An adult game about childish friendship - pure and unconditional.

    ...and that music!

    10/10 - I sincerely recommend.
  20. Afghani
    Nov 12, 2014
    8
    Not as emotional, not as touching and not as complex as To the Moon, but it is still a beautiful, hearth-worming and intelligent story. If you enjoyed To the Moon you simply MUST play this game, even if it ends after only 60 minutes.
  21. fartheststar
    Aug 29, 2015
    5
    This is more like watching a narrative than playing a game. I tend to enjoy walking simulators (Dear Esther, Lifeless Planet) that let you explore a world and uncover a story as you go, but the extreme lack of interactivity from the player in A Bird Story made this game difficult to enjoy. I enjoyed To The Moon greatly, and that's what led me to this, but I mostly found myself justThis is more like watching a narrative than playing a game. I tend to enjoy walking simulators (Dear Esther, Lifeless Planet) that let you explore a world and uncover a story as you go, but the extreme lack of interactivity from the player in A Bird Story made this game difficult to enjoy. I enjoyed To The Moon greatly, and that's what led me to this, but I mostly found myself just watching this waiting for my "turn" to press an arrow key to move to the next automated sequence. It's not bad and evokes the warm fuzzies, but it simply didn't engage very much beyond empathizing w/ the lonely-kid-finding-a-friend theme. The shape of the story is apparent very early in the game, and while the game has its moments, I found myself more often waiting on the story to move to where I knew it was going - sometimes wishing the game would just hurry up. (Jumping in the rain puddles was probably the high point of the game that evoked a simple type of fun that made me smile - but even that amount of limited freedom to the player seemed constrained as I was looking for a big puddle to make a big satisfying splash, or a pond to do a cannonball, but had to settle for tiny little splats...)

    I guess I really can't recommend it, but if it sounds interesting you might give it a go. Playtime for me was about 1 hr 25 min. It's not bad, but it's nothing outstanding like it's predecessor. I think the overall passivity of the experience hurts A Bird Story.    … Expand
  22. ChoicestGames
    Feb 27, 2020
    7
    A short, heart-warming story about a lonely young boy that nurses a bird back to health. Despite the plot being somewhat predictable and the game feeling like an RPG Maker version of a walking simulator, I can still see A Bird Story appealing to many, especially with Kan Gao's beautiful soundtrack as an accompaniment.
  23. hwanin
    Sep 17, 2021
    9
    Like the title suggests, it's an interactive story, rather than a conventional game. You are witnessing a story and have no choices to make during the "play".
    It's a short one, really, but the story is heart-touching.
    The graphics are very simple, but cute and serve its purpose just fine. The controls are ridiculously simple, which makes the game suitable for everyone, independently of    Like the title suggests, it's an interactive story, rather than a conventional game. You are witnessing a story and have no choices to make during the "play".
    It's a short one, really, but the story is heart-touching.
    The graphics are very simple, but cute and serve its purpose just fine.
    The controls are ridiculously simple, which makes the game suitable for everyone, independently of the buyer's age.
    The sounds are utterly simple and I don't even remember the music score (but it surely had something also very simple! :) ).

    I would recommend it to any adventure game fan or anybody who is looking for a non-violent software, or not just -non-violent, but even cute theme. This was a good "investment" for me.    … Expand
  24. Steeldude
    May 1, 2017
    5
    + a nice story with an ending (that almost made me cry) - however, that's about the only positive
    - some fantasy moments in an otherwise realistic tale
    - story sometimes hard to understand
    - very short (1.5 hours)
    - no speaking
    - way too expensive for what it is
  25. kch3691
    Dec 31, 2017
    5
    Despite not having much in the way gameplay the controls are still awful. Only redeeming quality is 100% achievements in an hour.
  26. Daitya
    Jan 4, 2021
    10
    Este no es un juego principal de la saga de "To the moon" es más para adentrarnos en el segundo episodio del mismo. Específicamente conocer el pasado del protagonista del segundo juego. En este sentido el juego es esencial ya que creará una vinculación con este personaje que será notoria en "Finding paradise". Creando una experiencia maravillosa y muy emotiva.
  27. Tomicsavo
    Feb 19, 2021
    5
    I didn’t quite expect this.A touching story but this can be read in books Not recommended at full price.
  28. Lukita01
    Dec 12, 2020
    7
    A bird story com sua trilha sonora e ambientação são impecáveis assim como To the Moon, mas acho que algo que os fãs não esperavam era sua campanha curtíssima, logo quando o jogo estava me pegando e que eu estava amando jogar, me deparo com o fim do game, foi inesperado a campanha curta.
  29. Second-of-Relax
    Apr 6, 2021
    10
    A short story, without text but ... with a lot of feeling. You will not stop playing it until you finish it, and surely you will spend a while thinking about your pet or the pet that you had as a child.
  30. MissingNo000
    Feb 27, 2022
    7
    More than a game it is simply a story told where you do not have to do practically anything except move a few meters every now and then. As a ferryman game to the sequel to to the moon I must say that it is also enjoyable and, as we have been accustomed, tearful even if not too much given its duration of 1 hour

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
66

Mixed or average reviews - based on 18 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 18
  3. Negative: 2 out of 18
  1. CD-Action
    Feb 7, 2015
    50
    Visuals are A Bird Story’s biggest strength, and as far as the story goes... Well, I simply don’t know why someone decided it’s worth sharing with me. [01/2015, p.73]
  2. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Feb 2, 2015
    60
    Interactive story about friendship and adolescence, which will not fancy masses, but will be loved by empathetic individuals. [Issue#249]
  3. Games.cz
    Jan 9, 2015
    70
    Shorter game time, simplified story and a little less emotion - still, A Bird Story is the masterpiece of the narration and the form. But somehow it is something we had already seen in better shape before.
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