I’ve been having a great low-key time with Unpacking in between bigger triple-A games. Move into a new house, unpack the living room and the bathroom, go back to playing the next triple-A game.
I’m kind of amazed that the things I’m unpacking are so distinct in some cases. Like in 2002 I’m clearly unpacking a GameCube, and Gamecube games in their cases. Later in 2006 or so, I’m clearly unpacking an Xbox 360, and I still have the Gamecube.
Anyway, I think it’s worth checking out.
Oh, and a tip: when you find a little Koala bear that drives you crazy because you can’t find out why you can’t just place it on a shelf, it’s because the koala bear is a magnet! So put it on a metal surface.
I loved this game. I always cycle between two or three games - a AAA title for me, a casual game for lunch at work, and a co-op game to play with my wife. I played Unpacking when it came out, and had such a blast with it. The audio in particular is astoundingly well done; I put so many things in the wrong spots solely to hear all of the different sounds when you put stuff down.
There are also so many little secrets buried in the game, so many ways to arrange. You end up with a story you’ve told yourself about the life of this person via their stuff, but if you compare notes with a friend who’s played, your story may be very different. I love that it’s so open to interpretation.
Yeah, this is totally an in-betweener kind of game. I very much enjoy taking a little breather between some massive battle between alien races or demonic invasion to try out one of these smaller indie games. Game Pass is great for this kind of stuff.
I like that there’s a little through story around all the moves, the advancement of the main character that is just there if you want it, or can totally ignore if you just want to unpack stuff. I remember at one point I opened a box full of clothes to pack away and was surprised to discover a bunch of bras. Oh! I’m a woman! Good to know.
Yeah, like whenever I’m unpacking the guitar, I always put in on a prominent shelf, along with her guitar notes and books so she can easily reach it and practice. I don’t want to put it on a high shelf somewhere where it will be out of sight, out of mind.
I’ve been following this developer on twitter for at least a year, initially drawn to the meticulous pixel art, and I’m really looking forward to trying this out, so I’m glad to hear more positive impressions! I just haven’t gotten to it yet, having just wrapped up Link’s Awakening this weekend, with Guardians of the Galaxy up next in my queue (both Black Friday purchases).
Incidentally, this game is on PC Game Pass, for those who have that subscription.
I’d been looking forward to this game ever since its demo was initially in the Steam Next Fest. I played through it recently and it was everything I was hoping it would be. It was very much a chill, relaxing game that spoke to the enjoyment I get from arranging things, hehe.
But moreover, I was really impressed with how well the game told its story. It absolutely has a narrative that you follow from start to finish, and given that all you’re doing in the game is taking things out of boxes and putting them away, it’s amazing how well you are able to understand the story being told.
The game was quite short - I think I finished it in like three evenings. But I really enjoyed it, and highly recommend it.
I love how certain things you just can’t find room for, and so you just shove them under a table, or a bed, and it works! Just like real life unpacking.
I don’t know if this counts as a spoiler, or if it’s even possible to spoil this game, but - I knew when I was unpacking the main character’s stuff at the home of her boyfriend that the relationship was never going to work out. There was no space on the wall to hang her diploma!
It was really well done, both me and my partner became absolutely sure the guy was a douche and it wasn’t going to work out through the process of unpacking.
But after finishing the game I unlocked 10 achievements worth 150 GS. Apparently there’s 14 more secret achievements worth the rest of the 850 GS.
What?
Is there a secret game mode I haven’t unlocked or something? Or is it just all secret achievements like the one I found during play, like putting up an old poster on the wall instead of sticking it in a drawer?
It’s the latter and if you care about achievements just read a guide for them, they don’t add anything to the game and using your existing save you’ll be able to go through them all in like 10 minutes.
I should say they do add stuff to the game in that if you run into one on accident by doing something you think would be fun then it’s delightful for the game to pop up and recognize that, but they don’t change the game one bit.
It could have been fun to have a branching narrative depending on decoration choices.
eg: at varsity put up posters of unicorns and put crayons on the desk leads to a arty colourful house down the line or putting up the periodic table of elements and stuffing the crayons in a drawer at the back of the closet leads to a penthouse flat or something.
Looking up a couple of the hidden achievements, it looks like you can not only rotate items by right-clicking on them, which I knew, but you can right-click on a lot of items in the game to interact with the item too.
I wish I’d known that when I played through the game.
Yep, I missed that too. Also didn’t realize you can put some discs in the Gamecube when it’s next to the TV and the games’ splash screens will appear on the tv!
