Giant Sparrow is an indie studio known for developing The Unfinished Swan and What Remains of Edith Finch, two of the most popular walking simulators ever made. While both of these games have been quite successful, many players do not know the connection that they have with one another.
One of the characters in What Remains of Edith Finch, Milton Finch, is also the King in The Unfinished Swan. With What Remains of Edith Finch essentially being a prequel to The Unfinished Swan, these two games tell Milton's life story when put together, a plot worthy of being a game all on its own.
Milton Went Missing In What Remains Of Edith Finch
What Remains of Edith Finch tells the story of how a lot of members of the Finch family passed away. The family was believed to be cursed to die in strange ways, often before adulthood. Players control the titular Edith throughout the majority of the game as she recalls the events of each of her relatives' deaths. In the beginning of the game, players will come across a missing poster of Milton, though his story isn't discovered until the end of the game. When players arrive at Milton's childhood room, it is revealed that he was an artist who had created a flip book. As players flip through it, they see Milton receiving a magical paintbrush that he uses to paint a door that he walks into, before closing it behind him.
While some players may have thought that Milton died after his disappearance, it was revealed at the end of the game that Edith Finch passed away in childbirth, meaning that Milton was, in fact, the relative in his generation that would live on. The reason why nobody had found him was because he really did end up inside his own artwork. The flip book was not only a story that he made up, but also how he had gone missing in the first place.
Milton Became A King In The Unfinished Swan
The Unfinished Swan, Giant Sparrow's previous Annapurna Interactive encounter, is about a boy named Monroe who would end up inside the world that Milton, known as the King in this game, painted. Monroe's mother was a painter as well, but never finished any of her work. Her favorite painting was of a swan without its neck, which Monroe kept after she had passed away. After the swan escapes from its canvas, Monroe goes on a journey that would lead him to Milton.
Throughout the years, the King painted a lot and found it hard to accept that his creations would last forever. However, at the end of The Unfinished Swan, he had a dream about Milton that helped him understand that his work was completed. The King decided to give his paintbrush to Monroe, who became Milton's successor, finishing his mother's swan at the end of the game.
Due to a line that the King said when giving Monroe the paintbrush, "I hope it makes you happy, and that someday they will say, he is a better man than his father," many players also believe that Milton is Monroe's father. Whether this theory is true or not, Milton was a very interesting character in both What Remains of Edith Finch and The Unfinished Swan, whose story can only be completely understood by playing both walking simulators. His role adds a lot of depth to both titles and proves why Giant Sparrow is such a great developer when it comes to storytelling. With the studio currently working on a third game, perhaps the King's story isn't over yet.
What Remains of Edith Finch is available on Mobile, PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
