A Bird Story
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From the creator of To the Moon and Finding Paradise: A simple, wordless 1-hour short about a boy who found an injured bird, told through a blur between reality and imagination. A Bird Story is an interactive pixel animation with the sole purpose of telling a simple story. It is a standalone narrative, with its own beginning and ending. A word of caution from the devs: This is an experimental and somewhat polarizing project, particularly for fans of To the Moon & Finding Paradise. As a guarantee with all games from Freebird, there is a 100% personal (confidential) refund policy with no questions asked; even if it just isn't your cup of tea.
Steam User 28
"It's never too late to have a happy childhood." ― Tom Robbins
Summary
A Bird Story is a disarming, wordless, wholesome, and very short game about a boy and a bird he finds. It succeeds in its limited runtime in achieving what other games dream of with 10 multiples of that. This is a game made with love, and it shows. Highly recommended.
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Stats
Time played so far: 3+ hours
Achievements unlocked: 1 / 1
Gameplay
You play as a nameless boy in a nameless city.
The controls are as simplistic as can be: They boil down to the cursor keys for movement and the space bar for action.
You move around and interact with your environment at few specific predefined points. These are shown with visual, and sometimes audio, cues to save you time.
Relive your innocent childhood!
Forget everything and anything except the wonder of the little things and find happiness in the purity of that.
Go on an adventure or several with your feathery friend!
Graphics and audio
Pixel graphics in their most basic form and they're still adorable!
The music is so disarming and light. It takes you on an audio journey, telling you the tale of this young boy and his new feathery friend with perfectly timed music notes and rhythms.
A healthy selection of tracks fitting for each scene.
Pros
Wholesome incarnate. I mean it. You need to play it to understand.
The sound design is made so well, it breathes more life into the game for you. When you move to a new part within the same level, within the same floor even, but one which has a different set of characters in the background, the ambient sound effects change. For example, you hear the children at school playing in the yard, so move a little further to the right out out of there and into the small forested area, and now you hear the quiet, only pierced by the happy, non-stop chirping of birds! Oh and the light-hearted music never skips a beat, literally! .
Masterful use of visual and audio cues. It's amazing how much a talented dev can achieve with so little. A Bird Story is a shining example of this.
Immersive from start to finish
Pleasant surprise within!
A scene comes out of nowhere and totally changes the mood...in a good way!
Visually, the game isn't linear by any means and that's part of its genius.
A checkpoint system is employed to save your progress automatically.
Cons
No Steam overlay enabled whatsoever.
So if you usually make use of any of the options it offers, you're out of luck while playing this cute game.
No screenshots can be taken, at least not the regular and easy way.
This point follows the former but its unavailability is quite important that it deserves a separate mention.
The game showcases the ESC button as usable but it almost never worked for me during cutscenes or even during normal gameplay. I'm unsure if I did something wrong or it simply doesn't work. It did work at the very end of the story - i.e. after the post-credits scene - when the game prompted me to hit ESC to exit.
Achievements
Total: 1
The single achievement is unlocked within the course of your playthrough when you complete the story.
I take my time playing my games, so you can most probably finish the game faster than my run of 3 hours.
+1 Perfect Game
Conclusion
Recommended!
Best time to buy is any time. The game is very affordable and I'd say a must-have for any gamer who enjoys heartwarming titles.
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Pro tip
Play A Bird Story right before Finding Paradise. Enjoy the double treat.
Steam User 12
A Bird Story is an interlude between To The Mood and Finding Paradise.
The story follows a young boy and his adventures alongside a bird he rescues in the forest. It’s a simple tale about loneliness and friendship.
A Bird Story is like a breathtaking sunset: short, beautiful, and leaving you wanting more.
This game is the perfect example of how a game doesn't have to be 100 hours long to tell a good story.
Pros:
-Pixel art and music
-Short story but meaningful
Cons:
- linear
My review score:
Story -9
Gameplay-6
Graphics -6
Music -10
Overall -7.75
Steam User 6
interesting short story (about 1 hour long) the story is told without conversation, just with gestures and symbols. accompanied by great music.
Steam User 2
There's not much more to say. 'A Bird Story' is a testament to the power of simple storytelling and a must-play for fans of narrative-driven games. I'm really excited for the sequel, 'Finding Paradise.'
Steam User 2
A short yet touching story-driven experience, very much worth getting if you enjoyed any of the Freebird games (maybe on discount though). I played this game after Finding Paradise, and would actually recommend playing it in that order -- the story feels a lot more meaningful after you've shed many a tear for its protagonist. The soundtrack is beautiful as always.
Steam User 2
A simple concept about a friendship between a boy and a bird, but told with such beauty and a calm atmosphere. It's short, but an experience well worth it.
Steam User 2
From the creators of To The Moon, a game I deeply enjoyed, comes another title with high expectations. The graphics retain their familiar charm, and the music remains a standout feature. While the story is very good, it doesn't quite match the emotional impact of the original. The writer still crafts a rollercoaster of emotions, though it feels slightly less powerful. Despite this, I still enjoyed the game a lot and am eager to play more from these creators.