Unpacking

“That’s the whole meaning of life, isn’t it, trying to find a place for your stuff.” – George Carlin (Comic Relief in 1986) I recently unpacked some moving boxes and found items that triggered memories of my youth – some great, some good, and some bittersweet. It’s amazing how an object could capture a moment in life, and tell people who you are/were just by the virtue of you having and keeping it. Witch Beam took the emotionality we have of our keepsakes, along with the mundane task of unpacking boxes, and made a relaxing game that actually tells a surprising, moving story. It would have been enough for ‘Unpacking’ to be a simple game of unpacking boxes and placing items in locations of your choosing (but no messes or inappropriate places though!). It’s strange that while unpacking and organizing can be tedious in real life, it’s relaxing in this game. There’s no one to rush or critique you on your process – you do it at your own pace and leisure. The game’s story spans 21 years, with each of 8 chapters capturing a milestone moment in the main character’s life. What happened in between chapters are implied by what and where you unpack. Every item, every default placement of existing objects, and every room in which you unpack serve to tell a mostly-wordless story. Even what the character decided to keep, throw away, and upgrade say a lot about her development. It’s wonderful storytelling. Although the digital objects I unpacked were not “mine”, I’ve come to form emotional attachments to them as the game progressed. There’s a surprising development about half-way through that was so subtly and well done that I applaud the deftness with which the developers executed it. ‘Unpacking’ delivered more than what I expected when I bought it. Aside from unpacking experiences that were far more soothing than what I’ve had in real life, I was treated to a nice story that was cleverly told. Don’t let this game pass you by – it’s a gem that’s worth unboxing for enjoyment.

"Unpacking" is a simple yet fulfilling experience. Your goal is to simply unpack stuff after a move and locate it in its proper place around the house. There's no time limit, puzzles to solve or anything else. It's a relaxing experience, and one everyone who's ever had to move to a new house will relate to. The only real challenge in the game comes from having to figure out where to put all this stuff, since you need to figure out the proper placement of the items before you can advance to your next stage. Sometimes the game is very lenient (a poster can be laid out in most walls in any position you want) and sometimes more specific (certain hygiene products can only be put in a certain drawer). A few times the location of these items might depend on your character's emotional state. There is, after all, a subtle but emotional storyline developing as you progress, and you can piece it together as you move along, noticing what items you're keeping, which ones you're replacing and which ones you have an emotional connection to. This is all good because, again, it's not supposed to be a challenging experience, but a relaxing one, although it can be a bit frustrating trying to figure out where to put some items. Sometimes items that look very similar can't be put in the same place and some items are just very hard to figure out what they are. There's this kitchen item that showed up in every stage that I have yet to understand what it is, for instance, and I always have trouble locating. That aside, it's a recommendable experience. Some people say it's too short, but I think it ends right before it loses its charm. Though maybe it is too pricey for what it offers. The only replayability it has is achievement hunting, I'm afraid, but I certainly don't regret my time with it and I wish more games tried this different sort of approach.

Game is done well. And that's why I hate it. There are no more irritating things in life than putting things somewhere people thing they should be. Unpacking is irritating by itself, but finding right places??!!! Why, why chess can't be on the table and the diary in the drawer? Why the ball should lie on the floor? I don't understand and that's why I won't go further than 1st level.

Beautifully drawn and scored game. Satisfying to not only arrange things out of the way on shelves, but to decorate according to color, or my interpretation of where things should go. Following the story of the 'Narrator's' life through their possessions and surroundings is a neat little concept. Some minor annoyances over not being able to put things in a corner of a shelf due to the static viewing perspective. Little to no replayability as a puzzle game, this is a one time through experience.

I was expecting a cozy fridget type game with plucky sounds and the satisfaction of fitting things in just so, and that is what this is! All of that! However, there is a story revealed in such a subtle way that it will creep up on you with eventual realizations of our unseen character. I don't want to say any more and spoil anything, but let's just say -go into it blind and let it happen to you. I wish I could play this for the first time again. I would buy more of this in a series or dlc in a heartbeat.