Unpacking

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About This Game

Unpacking is a zen game about the familiar experience of pulling possessions out of boxes and fitting them into a new home. Part block-fitting puzzle, part home decoration, you are invited to create a satisfying living space while learning clues about the life you’re unpacking. Over the course of eight house moves, you are given a chance to experience a sense of intimacy with a character you never see and a story you’re never told.

A Little Bit Of A Guessing Game

One of the beauties of Unpacking is its minimal amounts of text, which means less reading and more doing. A result of this, however, is that there aren’t any labels for the items you pick up, so sometimes you’ll be confused by what this blob of pixels you just picked up really is.

This is where Unpacking becomes a slight guessing game. Oftentimes, you’ll recognize what exactly it is you picked up, after all, a computer from the ’90s is fairly hard to not recognize, but sometimes you won’t be able to tell. At these moments, just have the item in your hand and hover over different surfaces, and sometimes the change in angle or placement will be just enough to let you know what it is you’re holding.

It’s Both Meditative And Stressful

As you play through the game, you’ll definitely get into a rhythm as you get more familiar with the items that your character carries with them. Figurines go on the nearest shelf, books get sorted by height or type, and more patterns that you begin to set for yourself, which gives a very enjoyable feeling of zen and calm when you get into these habits.

However, as you get deeper into the game, you’ll have more and more items that you have to fit into your home, and sometimes you’ll realize that there really isn’t enough space for the sheer amount of figurines and sketchbooks that you have. Eventually, you’ll encounter some close calls and moments of stress where you struggle to figure out where exactly you’re going to fit this extra bottle of face wash, but it adds to the enjoyment for anyone who likes having a little challenge to the game.

Short And Sweet

With the added element of achievements in the form of stickers that give extra insight into the game’s storyline, you get to live the best of both worlds and enjoy the satisfaction of seeing your living space become yours while watching your character grow through the ’90s and into the 2010s.

At its core, Unpacked is a game that consists of eight house moves of varying sizes and time spent, totaling an average of four and a half hours of game time to play from start to finish. Chances are though, you’ll want to go back and play through at least one more save to finish your sticker collection and unlock all the achievements in the game.

Features

Unpack a home — from a single bedroom to an entire house
Meditative gameplay with no timers, meters or scores
Explore domestic environments with all their nooks and crannies while you stack plates, hang towels, and arrange bookshelves
Discover a character’s story through the items that come with her to each new home (and the items that get left behind)
Soundtrack by BAFTA award-winning composer and audio director Jeff van Dyck