Unpacking

"Unpacking" is not what I expected. I thought it was going to be a 'cozy' puzzle game where you move into a room, arranging your belongs to suit your tastes. And, well, I guess it is that, mostly. What I didn't expect was that it would also tell a subtle tale through its mechanics. Because in "Unpacking", you aren't unpacking YOUR belongings. You're doing the moving for a faceless and nameless protagonist and, in doing so, learning about her likes and life. You pick up quickly that she enjoyed art as a child and she played tabletop role-playing games in college. You can tell her first serious relationship isn't going to end well when her partner gives her practically no room for her belongings. You realize she's made it as an illustrator of a children's book when you unpack a half-dozen copies of the same volume. The game doesn't tell you any of this directly; it only hints at it through what belongings she keeps and discards through her various moves. It's actually rather touching (if a bit voyeuristic). It's not much of an actual game, though. There's a slight bit of puzzling to it; there's only limited space where you can put all the items, and certain items are only allowed in certain rooms (roach poison, for instance, has to be put in the kitchen). You're still given a lot of leeway, however, and it's never really difficult (the only part that caused me any hardship was figuring out where to put the protagonist's diploma in her 'first relationship' move; there was no available wallspace to hang the thing. The answer was to hide it under the bed. Like I said, that relationship wasn't going to last). It's also not a very long game; I finished it in around two or three hours. You can add some longevity to the gameplay by finding the item combinations that unlock the various achievements, but even then I can't imagine it'd give you more than a couple hours extra. Personally, I would have preferred --and was expecting-- something a bit more sandboxed and puzzley; an opportunity to make these rooms more 'mine'. Still, even if it wasn't quite the game I wanted, neither can I say I was disappointed with the experience. It was clever, it was sweet and it didn't overstay its welcome. It was an unexpected surprise and while I can't imagine I'll ever play it again, neither am I sorry I spent the few hours I did with the game. It was a nice change of pace from my usual.

I am really glad I got this on sale because I would've been pretty disappointed having only played 2.5 hours if I'd spent $19.99 on this game. It's amusing and satisfying enough but way too short. Instead of trying to cram a storyline in, more variety in the objects and places would've been better, especially with how short the game is. Maybe I'm missing something here.

great game but way to expensive for the amount of gameplay. Needs more levels. Bit of a rip off to be honest.

3/10, I did not like this game at all and couldn't bring myself to finish it for multiple reasons. I walked in thinking that it would be a calming organization sim in which you would be able to choose where you want to put things. Instead, it acts like a puzzle game, in which you are given a ton of items and very limited space to put them, a trait only exacerbated by the fact that there are perfectly reasonable places for items that are just completely invalid for some reason. I know that there is an option to enable "put things wherever," but for some reason it's under accessibility, which seems like a not-so-subtle nudge by the devs to make you feel incompetent for not following their rules. The original, unaltered version of the game feels less like a game of choice and aesthetic freedom and more like a "guess where the game wants you to put this doll" simulator. I also feel like the choice to make the items sort of "reveal" the personality of the character that, I guess, you are playing as(?), was a somewhat bad decision. Part of the draw of the concept of a game built around organization is that in organization you can express yourself, a bit like art. In forcing the items to be very specific to the character you are organizing for it takes away some of the creative potential of the game in my opinion. Overall a good premise with subpar execution and a lot of iffy design choices. I wouldn't buy unless you like somewhat unintuitive puzzles and would relate a lot to the character you are organizing for.

Joguei esse jogo anos atrás, na época eu estava me descobrindo LGBT e vivia com a parte homofobica da minha família, esse jogo foi muito bom pro meu mental ver um casal LGBT feliz. Amo muito esse jogo e sempre guardarei na memoria, um dia terei uma arte desse jogo tatuado em mim. Obrigado por terem feito esse jogo.

Unpacking is fun, relaxing, and satisfying, with a sweet story about one person’s life through what they keep, carry, and leave behind. It’s heartwarming, but it’s way too short for the price.

Я ожидала, что буду часик-другой распаковывать вещи в спокойной игре, а в итоге схватила экзистенциальный ужас в начале, прошла путь к возрождению, и в конце рыдала как тварь от эмоций и пришла к выводу, что это самое трогательное во что я играла за последние пару лет

Si tienes así un día medio tonto...que quieres perder el tiempo, lo recomiendo. Yo he tardado 5hrs en sacarme el 100% porque soy demasiado perfeccionista, pero en realidad, si coges y lo haces rápido, en menos de 3-4hrs lo tienes, no está mal si no tienes nada mejor que hacer con tu vida. Le doy un 7,5 a este juego.