The Unfinished Swan

Aspiring developers of walking simulators need to take note of The Unfinished Swan. Its first and most memorable mechanic is throwing paint around to reveal an otherwise pure white world, and it does what many in that genre fail to do despite the name: it makes walking engaging. To be clear, The Unfinished Swan is not itself a walking simulator. It just aims for many of the same goals. There are puzzles, but they’re all fairly easy, so the emphasis is on the environment and the experience. It was a wise choice, because the environment is a joy to explore and the experience is terrific. The narrative is that of a charming and mildly poignant children’s storybook – it won’t set the world on fire, but it opens the door for a variety of inventive mechanics, from directing the growth of climbable vines to constructing life-size blueprints. The only significant fault I have is the standard one for short, artsy indie games: missed potential. Particularly, having established that its mechanics can be used for puzzles, it’s disappointing that the game only does so a few times for each. Still, what’s present is more important than what’s not, and what’s present is a lovely, memorable journey.