The Unfinished Swan Review

There are few instances in the heavily socialized medium of video games where someone can find themselves surprised. Publishers feel the need to choreograph the announcement of their new big game. Forums, Twitter, and specialized publications devour and regurgitate any and all information on the next big thing. Spoilers end up being the least of a players concerns as long segments of the game are shown at televised media events and an ever growing list of bullet point features are injected like a hypodermic needle into the media who find themselves chomping at the bit for the few extra page views an exclusive may provide them. Players find themselves plugging their ears and cautiously browsing forums as to have a fresh and surprising experience  As a connoisseur of any and all information in the entertainment industry I especially find it difficult to truly be surprised by a piece of content as I know every detail of the project before it even begins production. Which is why The Unfinished Swan a downloadable title available only on PSN took me by surprise and gave me an experience I had not had since the then unknown Portal.

In The Unfinished Swan, players explore a world that at least at the outset seemingly exists in a portrait. With only globs of black paint to help you traverse the world. But to say the game goes to some pretty trippy places is in an understatement. Perspectives are shifted, reality is bent, and holding it all together is a tender story told like a classic bedtime story. The Unfinished Swan was unjustly promoted as a Playstation Move game, a fact that would later make people including myself that it was only playable with the useless Sony peripheral. So I take this chance to clarify for all to hear, this game doesn't, I repeat DOES NOT, require a Move controller. The Unfinished Swan genuinely surprised me and took hold even in the midst of playing through an entirely different game, once I entered the painterly world with many secrets I couldn't stop playing until I had finished and at roughly 3-4 hours its a tight memorable experience. Sony has done a wonderful job embracing indie games on their online marketplace even more so when they games seem incredibly unique from Flower to Journey and even the whacked out Tokyo Jungle. The Unfinished Swan now stands among the handful of truly outstanding downloadable game of this generation. 

(5 out of 5)