The Unfinished Swan

 PlayStation 3
User Score
8.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 122 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 96 out of 122
  2. Mixed: 17 out of 122
  3. Negative: 9 out of 122

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  1. axleblaze
    Nov 6, 2012
    7
    A good but not great game. It has some very creative ideas but it doesn't do alot with them.The story has some charm but it doesn't really go anywhere. It can be very pretty sometimes and it it's very unique but it just seemed to be missing that extra something that would have made it great. It's also over before you know it without that much reason to go back. Not a bad game but I wouldA good but not great game. It has some very creative ideas but it doesn't do alot with them.The story has some charm but it doesn't really go anywhere. It can be very pretty sometimes and it it's very unique but it just seemed to be missing that extra something that would have made it great. It's also over before you know it without that much reason to go back. Not a bad game but I would have felt much better paying $10 or less for it.… Expand
  2. Rox22
    May 28, 2014
    5
    While I give Unfinished swan credit for being something refreshingly different, it also seems to rub that point in a bit too much. The game seems to be trying too hard to be artsy to the point that you are not sure if you should be playing with it or just looking at it..

    But, once the novelty wears off, the game does feel a bit barren and very basic. The art style is pretty, and the    While I give Unfinished swan credit for being something refreshingly different, it also seems to rub that point in a bit too much. The game seems to be trying too hard to be artsy to the point that you are not sure if you should be playing with it or just looking at it..

    But, once the novelty wears off, the game does feel a bit barren and very basic. The art style is pretty, and the story cute, kind of like a kids story book. But, like kid's storybook it gets a little dull after a while.

    Overall:
    Unfinished Swan is clearly a milestone in gaming opening up many future possibilities, but it is also just the beginning and requires a bit more substance to make it more than it is.    … Expand
  3. wesker2012
    Jan 12, 2013
    6
    A wonderfully executed concept. I really enjoyed it, but right when it started getting interested, it ended. Also, it seemed like they could have fleshed out the game more. It feels a bit empty. I would love to see more experiences like these if they were fully fleshed out. Bottom Line = Beautifully designed, charming, and simple, but too short and feels too empty.
  4. TheHollaway
    Apr 23, 2013
    7
    The Unfinished Swan is a storybook. It’s the story read to you by your mother that, upon hearing, brings you back to the simpler time of childhood. It cradles you and the surrounding world is revealed by painting it yourself. It’s a quick game and for that it’s been knocked, but any longer and the magic would be ruined. It’s a bedtime story that knows exactly how it should be told and whenThe Unfinished Swan is a storybook. It’s the story read to you by your mother that, upon hearing, brings you back to the simpler time of childhood. It cradles you and the surrounding world is revealed by painting it yourself. It’s a quick game and for that it’s been knocked, but any longer and the magic would be ruined. It’s a bedtime story that knows exactly how it should be told and when it should end.… Expand
  5. the_blueprint
    Dec 18, 2013
    5
    Fun at first but when the world start getting more color the fun is gone. The good thing about this game was to start in an empty white room devoid of color and finding your way in it. After that it's all downhill.
  6. kasparov5
    Oct 23, 2012
    5
    It is good but the graphics are lacking compared to modern fps games like Call of Duty. Puzzles are not really a nice thing in fps games, but this game did them ok.
  7. Glynnister
    Aug 2, 2013
    6
    The Backlog 2: The Unfinished Swan.

    Developed by indie team and Sony protégés’ Giant Sparrow, The Unfinished swan is a surreal, often beautiful but ultimately flat journey into the mind of a studio bound for greatness. Grown from a 2008 tech demo The Unfinished swan places the player in control of a young boy named Monroe who is on a quest to find an unfinished image of a swan as it    The Backlog 2: The Unfinished Swan.

    Developed by indie team and Sony protégés’ Giant Sparrow, The Unfinished swan is a surreal, often beautiful but ultimately flat journey into the mind of a studio bound for greatness.

    Grown from a 2008 tech demo The Unfinished swan places the player in control of a young boy named Monroe who is on a quest to find an unfinished image of a swan as it mysteriously vanishes from a painting. 
Monroe is thrust into the world of the painting leading him into an adventure across a kingdom uncompleted by a king at odds with his subjects. While entirely devoid of people the kingdom is rich with environments and mechanics to help Monroe find the secrets of this unfinished world, the world that ultimately stays strong as the only compelling part in the game.

    While some games struggle to keep momentum leading up to a crescendo ending, Giant Sparrows debut suffers from the opposite with the very opening being by far the most compelling. Dropping you into a completely blank world you are told nothing, the stunning sound design builds an environment around the empty space you inhabit. It is with that first splash of paint, revealing part of the space, that this game grabs you. I felt immediately amazed by the concept of a blank world revealed by the user throwing paint. The feeling of mystery and exploration is fantastic and the environments pop with stunning beauty as they are stricken with scattered explosions of black. I really felt the true beauty of this game when looking back from the top of a staircase, over the world I had unveiled. The splashes illuminating a world I didn't know existed gave a feeling of exploration and discovery that was wholly natural.

    Unfortunately this does not last forever, as the game progress’ the controls are more frequently taken away from you in a manner that I felt was jarring and took me completely away from the experience. The world begins to be pre-colored and you are asked to use water to encourage the growth of vines to climb in a manner that feels like you are working your way through a puzzle, not exploring a vast mysterious kingdom.
    Driven by the lackluster story, you move through a couple of differing environments, all with their own little nuances that fall flat making you feel nostalgic toward the once innocent exploration of the first level.
    With a disappointing ending and numerous immersion breaking moments the story becomes empty and meaningless with myself feeling like I didn't really care about Monroe by the end in the same way that I did for the little boy in Limbo or the robed figure in Journey, two games that excelled at dumping you into a world to find the story, instead of being pushed through it.

    The Unfinished Swan is definitely an attractive game with beautiful moments being offset by a middle riddled with a poor, Mirrors Edge looking city that isn't particularly pleasing to the eye. This coupled with frame rate issues when climbing vines or complex environments, and strange controls when interacting with climbable surfaces leads to a thoroughly disappointing game for a studio admittedly in its infancy. While a bit of a let down, The Unfinished Swan shows great potential for the studio and at this point I have to ask myself, with a 3 game deal similar to That Game Companys’ trilogy of Flow, Flower and Journey, if this is Giant Sparrows Flow, I cannot wait for their journey.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

50
#50 Best PS3 Game of 2012
66
#66 Most Discussed PS3 Game of 2012
77
#77 Most Shared PS3 Game of 2012

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 66 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 48 out of 66
  2. Mixed: 18 out of 66
  3. Negative: 0 out of 66
  1. Adventure Gamers
    Aug 23, 2013
    70
    The Unfinished Swan is a creative experiment that’s worth a play, even if some aspects feel incomplete.
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  2. Games.cz
    Dec 10, 2012
    70
    The Unfinished Swan is a beautifully crafted, unconventional, sophisticated and provocative game denying the gameplay stereotype by a constant surprising of a gamer. The game is resisting to deplete all of its interesting themes in quite possibly the most annoying way - it ends itself in the middle of the road, at the place where the gamer is willing to submit to it completely.
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  3. GameCritics
    Dec 4, 2012
    60
    The Unfinished Swan isn't without its charms, and there were moments in the abandoned city, with the vines overgrowing walls and bridges in all directions, that I almost loved it. However, in its very short runtime The Unfinished Swan introduces too many different ideas and doesn't sufficiently explore or refine any of them-not even the bad ones. That might suit the theme, but it makes for a game that feels frustratingly incomplete.
    Read full review
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