The first time I moved out of my childhood home, I brought with me some necessities to get me started. With a few bags and pieces of luggage on hand, I figured the things I owned would accumulate over time – and accumulate it did. After a few months, I found myself collecting so much that I needed packing boxes when I moved again. Once I got married, the items doubled so there was a need to let go of certain items, but there are just some things that hold history and value that we can’t let go of.
The indie game, Unpacking, touches on that sentimentality. Developed by indie game studio, Witch Beam, this simple 2D pixel point-and-click puzzle game lets players experience life’s milestones one box at a time. For this review, I’m using my Nintendo Switch Lite, so let’s get into it.
Unboxing life
Unpacking explores a character’s life via the things they carry with them as they move from one home to another. There are a total of eight levels explored, each representing some aspect of a person’s life. The game doesn’t explain much of the mechanics apart from the visuals which is to unpack the boxes. While the level of difficulty could easily be measured with the number of rooms the character gains, that doesn’t mean anything apart from the purchasing power one would have. In my opinion, the level of difficulty lies in the way one would compartmentalize the items as the character grows.
The levels in Unpacking become harder as players become more aware of items in each space. From the first stage of being almost empty, the stages become more packed with stuff from different characters. The player would need to make a way to fit their own life in the rooms they inhabit. In some cases, they even need to reallocate items to different areas.
One difficult thing that I found while playing Unpacking is its inability to tell me what item I’m currently holding. While most things are recognizable, its pixelated art makes certain things difficult to recognize. Since the setting is most likely Western, sometimes it alienates those of us living on the Eastern side. As an example, a magnetic whiteboard isn’t something that most Eastern households have. In fact, it took me a long while to get what it was before I realized that I needed to stick it on the refrigerator.
Apart from unpacking the character’s memories, the player also gets to interact with the items. And it’s not just with the items unboxed. Players can open or close doors as they relocate certain items. They can also do things like flush toilets or change an item’s structure. Sometimes, this kind of change gets rewarded with a sticker.
Rediscovering memories
Initially, the player doesn’t know who the character they are playing is. However, from the first level of 1997, one could surmise that the character is in their early teens. It’s an easy task to unpack items in one room. However, once the first level of Unpacking is done, the player would be met with a new challenge wherein they have to shift from one room to another.
Even though the boxes have designated places where each item would go, there are rogue items in those boxes that simply don’t fit in the room. Thankfully, if there’s something that’s misplaced in Unpacking, the game will let you know by blinking a red light on the room and item. However, that signal doesn’t tell you more than that. You’ll need to solve that one on your own and try to fit the items as logically as possible. A bath towel for the restroom could be misplaced in a packing box – something that’s not an unfamiliar sight if you’ve experienced moving from one home to another.
That’s probably where the charm of Unpacking comes from. There are a lot of accumulated things over the past years that need to be reallocated, but that also signifies how important they are. One thing I would say without spoilers is that there are certain things deemed important in previous levels that get shelved on the next level. And that, I think, shows a certain growth that needs to be had.
Another thing that Unpacking emulates well is the difficulty in trying to fit in your life with another person, especially when moving in together. Take for example the first time the character moves in with a partner. By the time the player gets to this stage, they learn to move the things of the character’s partner to make room for their stuff to fit in.
Settling in
Eventually, the game ends in 2018 with a whopping 10 rooms to unbox and redecorate. If you’ve ever moved into another home, it might be a recap of what you went through in real life. It could be relaxing at some level, and the 8-bit music does tend to be helpful. More than that, it’s a reflection of the inevitable changes we have to face in life. And all those changes are just waiting for an unboxing. Unpacking has been released in 2021 and is available on all consoles, as well as Steam, iOS, and Android.
YouTube: Unpacking Launch Trailer
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Photo credits: The images used are owned by Witch Beam and have been provided for press usage.
