The world built here is pure Disney-esque ‘pulled into another dimension’ – somewhere between the madness of Alice in Wonderland and the escapism of Inside Out. It works well combined with the themes the game is trying to tackle, making for a memorable adventure even without relate-able characters. In this way, The Unfinished Swan presents the kind of low-key storytelling that wouldn’t be out of place in something like Ico or Journey, except here a narrator provides some brief framing to what’s going on. There’s little to no character development in the game, with Munroe being largely mute and the only person we learn anything about being a rather bizarre king who rules the world you’ll explore. There are still plenty of sweet and touching moments along the way, but there were times I wished for the developers to stick to one idea or the other. This movement between light-hearted and heavy storytelling can be a little jarring at first and is especially problematic in the final section of the game where things get increasingly bizarre and difficult to follow, leading to a thoughtful but somewhat confusing conclusion. From here, things veer between being a cute fairytale and a surprisingly hard-hitting reflection on life and death. The Unfinished Swan chronicles the adventures of a boy named Munroe, who follows the titular swan into a storybook land inspired by his mother’s unfinished paintings.

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