The Silent Swan is almost exhaustingly slow, but interesting?
It has a demo in the Steam Next Fest and I think I want more?
It does, at the very least, have pleasingly giant buildings rising from fog.
The Silent Swan is set around two cities within a vast wall.
It’s a mighty impressive look, and and absolutely the reason I tried the demo.
Our fella is returning home after 17 years on the trail of his missing wife.
Something happened, and the cities now stand empty, forbidden, forgotten, fabled.
You walk slowly, you jump lowly, and the distances are farly.
Even the ‘quike’ four-wheeled bicycles you’re free to ride around some places are slow.
As a fan of walking simulators, I do find that freedom quite satisfying.
The only ‘puzzle’ in the demo is finding fuses to fix a lift.
At one point I missed an item I needed, and had to turn back, then return.
And while returning, I made a mistake.
This misguided moment of exploration took several whole minutes while I muttered about how ridiculous this was.
Also the floaty camera movement is weird.
And the aggressive level-of-detail pop-in is unfortunate in a game that’s so much about slowly approaching giant things.
And yet, I kept playing.
I want to reach actual cities, not just the outskirts available in the demo.
I like that objectives are quietly contained within letters we find, with no quest list or makers.
And with the demo ending at unlocking airships, maybe travel will get friendlier in the full game?
(I ache for supernatural powers of leaping and gliding.)
To explore these empty buildings!
Gaze down from these balconies!
Run these empty woods!
What a fascinating nightmare.
Download The Silent Swan’s demofrom Steam.
It’s made by Studio Circenses and published by Gammera Nest.
