Unpacking is a game about the familiar experience of moving. Though it looks innocent and cute at first glance, there’s a much deeper meaning as time goes on.
You follow the life of a girl moving to different places as she moves through different phases of her lifetime.
You begin by unpacking a childhood bedroom, and though all you do is unpack items and put them into their new home, you uncover small hints about her experiences, relationships, and achievements.
This relaxing puzzle game brings new meaning and sentimentality to possessions.
Though it may seem like they’re just items, you learn what she holds dear by what she chooses to carry throughout her life.
This is another game I played during quarantine. I had just moved out of my dorm and back home and had unpacked my own items.
It allowed me to look at the scary, upsetting state of the world from a different perspective. It allowed me to accept that this process was just the beginning of another period of time in my life.
Since then, every time I moved into school, especially during my study abroad semester in London, I saw it as the start of a new era in my life.
But enough about me, let’s discuss the different aspects of the game!
Easy to Learn: 4/5
It was incredibly self-explanatory. The only hiccup I had was at the end of each level there are specific places for certain types of items and you must figure it out to advance to the next level.
Replayability: 2/5
Once you complete it the first time, there’s really no reason to play it again unless you want to complete all the achievements.
The only reason it gets a 2 is that after a few years, I have begun playing again because I’ve forgotten most of the game and I wanted to revisit the cozy feeling I had the first time I played.
Story: 5/5
The story is subtle yet beautiful and incredibly meaningful. The story is shown through the different places the person moves to as well as the items they acquire and take with them.
Nothing is ever told to you directly, you must examine the items, how they change, how they’re treated, etc., and make assumptions yourself.
Or you could just play the game as it is. That’s the beauty of Unpacking. You can look into it as far as you like.
Art Style: 5/5
I personally am a very big fan of the art style. It’s simple, smooth, and detailed. It doesn’t need to be hyper-realistic in order for you to believe that you’re unpacking someone’s belongings.
I love the soft colors and how cute the items are. It really just hammers home the cozy theme and provides a calm, fun experience.
Soundtrack: 5/5
The soundtrack is cute and fun. It also changes to match the stages you play through. The audios match the phase of life you follow, which I find perfect.
The real reason I give the soundtrack a 5 is because of the sound effects. Though it probably isn’t technically part of the “soundtrack,” it deserves an honorable mention.
Each item that you place down has different sounds very specific to each item. When you place down a paper towel roll, it sounds exactly as it should, and incredibly different from putting down a mug.
Each item also has a variety of sounds as if you were placing it down differently. I’ve never seen so much care to sound effect detail than I have in this game and it’s something that truly blew me away.
Gameplay: 5/5
As someone who loves organizing things, this gameplay style was perfect for me. It may seem overwhelming to some, but there were so many items to put away which I loved.
There were plenty of rooms to go through as well, so it didn’t feel too short.
The gameplay is incredibly calming and very chill, there’s no time limit, so you can take it at your own speed.
There are also little achievements that you get when you put things in specific places that are like easter eggs. Every achievement felt like a treat.
Overall, this game was just a perfect little slice of home. It has so much hidden meaning to unpack (hehe) and gave new significance to the process of moving.