The Unfinished Swan
Review

The Unfinished Swan (2012) invites you to explore a world by splashing paint on it. The tactile experience leads you into a fairy tale about an unfinished painting that leads a child back to his parent. It stands out for the unusual revealing of a world you can't see, by what the paint hits.

The character we play is the boy, Monroe. His exploration is driven by a desire to recover his deceased mother. She was a painter who is known to have never finished a painting, having created over 300 incomplete works. Monroe is told by his orphanage that he is only allowed to keep one of her paintings, so he chooses her favourite, a painting of a swan missing its neck.

One night, Monroe wakes up to find the swan has escaped its painting, and he chases it until he finds himself in the mysterious painted world. With the help of his mother's magical silver paintbrush, Monroe begins to explore the painted world as he chases the swan. There he finds a king and a kingdom that becomes an allegory about dealing with loss and what comes next.

Along with the unusual interaction, the black, white and primary colours of the game give it an otherworldly feel. Throwing paint to see what is in front of you has been compared to the experience of being partially sighted and feeling your way through the world. You can control the game with a normal PlayStation controller, or the motion-sensitive PlayStation Move controllers

Our examiner, Andy Robertson, first checked The Unfinished Swan 3 years ago. It was re-examined by Jo Robertson and updated 3 weeks ago.