GAME CLEAR No. 60 -- Unpacking

Unpacking (2021, Multiplatform)

Developer: Witch Beam
Publisher: Humble Games
Clear Date: 11/8/2021
Clear Platform: Xbox Series X via Game Pass

This is a game that I only played because of a perfect combination of its release date and me getting another Game Pass free trial. I have no real interest in Microsoft’s subscription service because I’m a physical collector first, but I certainly will not turn down a couple free months when presented with an opportunity.

Anyway, this game came out shortly after (or maybe before?) I activated that trial, and I saw some reviews praising it as a novel, cute, and short game, so it seemed like a great game to download on a whim (one of ostensible main perks of Game Pass).

And I’m here to say it is indeed a novel, cute, and short game!

Unpacking is precisely what its title implies: a game about unpacking boxes into a dwelling. Over the course of several years, you’re presented with a bunch of boxes to unpack and possesions to place into cute little pixel-art rooms. The gameplay is strictly click-and-drag. Once all the boxes are emptied and gone, the game evaluates whether you’ve put all the objects into a valid place before allowing you to proceed, giving it a bit of a puzzle aspect (you can disable this requirement as an accessibility option if you so choose). That’s it! Once you’re done, the game takes a snapshot of the job you did and puts it in a photo album before moving on to a later year (and home) in the protagonist’s life. Once you unpack the last home, the credits roll.

All told, doing that took me a hand-countable number of hours. I was never bored and rarely frustrated, so I guess that’s as good of an endorsement as you can give a game’s gameplay!

But where Unpacking really shines is in its storytelling. There are no visible characters and no dialogue, but it’s clear that you’re following the moves of a single person. Simply by being exposed to their belongings and the places they live, you can connect some dots draw a number of conclusions about how their life is going. It’s a cute story with ups and downs, and I really enjoyed this novel way of presenting a character’s life. It’s worth noting that the music generally matches the current state of affairs well too, which really helps the experience.

In short, I highly recommend this game. It was a low-stress, surprise highlight of 2021 for me, and it’s a quick beat. Frankly, the only thing I feel a little weird about is that I played it for free instead of purchasing it and supporting its independent developer Witch Beam. I guess I can always rectify that if I so choose!