A Bird Story Reviews
The sentimental, dull, superficially interactive story isn't worth a few cute moments and some interesting surrealism.
And yet beneath the mis-steps and the schmaltz, and beneath the dictatorial heft of the soundtrack - gorgeous and emotive, but laid on a little too heavily throughout - there's still that fascinating glimpse of a boy making the best of a lonely childhood. A boy in search of escape - escape from the empty world he's been granted and, perhaps, from the predictable narrative that's been imposed on it.
A Bird Story uses nuanced visual language to tell a wonderful, heartfelt story about friendship and loneliness.
A Bird Story is a short but bittersweet tale that uses sparse interaction to great effect.
A heartwarming story told without words.
It's only £4, and I'm in no doubt that what felt to me like a cynical result didn't come from a cynical place. My guess is it came from too small an idea, too ambiguously delivered, created with a passion that doesn't reach the player.
A Bird Story is a fantastic and short pixel art visual novel that you need to experience.
A hugely disappointing follow-up for To The Moon, whose trite and overly sentimental story feels long at just 60 minutes.
The game portrays a story rather well, despite being a game developed in RPG Maker
More of an experience than a game.
After around one and a half hours the game is over. Nothing much changed for me in those final thirty minutes - finishing the game was almost like a chore. The scenes and the interactive aspects didn’t add much to the overall story, which was pretty much done by the hour mark.
In a nod to the post-credits gimmick of comic book blockbusters, A Bird Story reveals itself as foreplay for Gao's next game. This shameless preview raises the question of why anyone should take the game's human-animal bonding as anything more than a tease. Earlier in the game, the boy and the bird are launched into space for a close-up of the moon, a shoehorned reference to Gao's To the Moon. Despite its well-meaning qualities, A Bird Story doesn't have the maturity or confidence to inspire much more than crying and buying.
A Bird Story is not a particularly good game in the traditional sense, but it is essential for anyone who enjoyed To The Moon, or indeed is simply looking for a beautiful way to spend an hour of their time.
A Bird Story is a special game about loneliness, friendship, and how difficult it is to say goodbye to those we care about. It is not meant for those seeking action or complex gameplay, but rather for those who want to spend an hour experiencing a beautiful and delicate story.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review