Unpacking

 Switch
User Score
7.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 29 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 29
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 29
  3. Negative: 5 out of 29

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  1. dotDylan
    Nov 25, 2021
    10
    Unpacking is a beautiful, relaxing zen puzzle game with some fascinating environmental storytelling. It's my favourite thing I've played in a long time. I beat it in a few sittings but I've come to really appreciate a compressed, curated experience.
  2. Ametist21
    Feb 7, 2022
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I related a lot to the character. From her love for drawing, climbing and videogames to the exploring of her sexuality. I enjoyed it immensely!… Expand
  3. steelreviews
    Jun 17, 2022
    10
    Un juego relajante, donde puedes olvidarte de todo y solo pensar en colocar cosa, que en principio, puede parecer un mecánica sencilla, pero más divertida de lo que parece. Esto mezclado con unos gráficos pixelados muy trabajados, una banda sonora que ameniza y una historia que tendrás que tendrás que descubrir por ti mismo, eso es Unpacking.
  4. tensioly
    Jun 6, 2023
    8
    Unpacking es un juego muy original y único en lo que propone. Basado en realizar mudanzas y como el propio nombre indica, desempaquetar cajas y poner cada cosa en su lugar en la casa, parece que su premisa puede ser poco atractiva o incluso puede que aburrida, pero esta experiencia puede tornarse en una idea muy interesante. Esto se debe a varios motivos: la historia, narrada a través deUnpacking es un juego muy original y único en lo que propone. Basado en realizar mudanzas y como el propio nombre indica, desempaquetar cajas y poner cada cosa en su lugar en la casa, parece que su premisa puede ser poco atractiva o incluso puede que aburrida, pero esta experiencia puede tornarse en una idea muy interesante. Esto se debe a varios motivos: la historia, narrada a través de los objetos que se mantienen entre cada mudanza y qué va haciendo la persona que controlamos conforme pasa el tiempo y habita nuevas casas, nos mantiene atentos e intrigados acerca de lo que está haciendo a lo largo de su vida y los distintos caminos que va tomando al crecer; las animaciones, al colocar cada objeto o utensilio se observa un gran mimo por parte de los desarrolladores por el detalle de los sonidos de cada cosa al tocar los muebles o cada parte de la casa en la que la hayas puesto; o la atención dedicada al detalle en todos los rincones de la casa, lo que hace la experiencia más inmersiva y completa. Lo que más me ha sorprendido del juego es la relajación y reducción de estrés que provoca jugarlo gracias a esta jugabilidad tan tranquila y una música que acompaña bastante bien, sin ser lo que más destaca. El pixelart utilizado me gusta bastante a excepción de algunos detalles que me han causado algún problema para distinguir los objetos. A este punto negativo se le añade los controles de Switch, inadecuados para esta jugabilidad diseñada para jugar en PC. Unpacking me ha dejado buenas sensaciones y lo recomiendo sobre todo para la gente que se necesite desestresar de la vida diaria y para quienes busquen un rato para relajarse. 8,1/10
    (06/2022)    … Expand
  5. NindieSpotlight
    Dec 16, 2021
    9
    Usually when you think of casual games puzzles and the like are usually what comes to mind, or perhaps something akin to a visual novel. With Unpacking it’s clear there are other avenues to tap though, at least when the game is laser-focused on a very specific objective… in this case something as simple as unpacking some boxes and carefully organizing their contents. These activity-basedUsually when you think of casual games puzzles and the like are usually what comes to mind, or perhaps something akin to a visual novel. With Unpacking it’s clear there are other avenues to tap though, at least when the game is laser-focused on a very specific objective… in this case something as simple as unpacking some boxes and carefully organizing their contents. These activity-based games tied to tasks most people abhor doing in the real world are a bit of a mystery. What makes it so satisfying to organize and perfect a virtual world while more often than not the mess you’re sitting within playing it remains untouched? I don’t think this game has the answers to that conundrum but there’s no mistaking the sense of satisfaction in devising the perfect drawer for putting your socks in, perhaps taking the extra step to also organize them by type or color as you go… just to make them perfect. As you progress through the game the scale of your effort continues to grow to multiple rooms as your character’s life progresses to new stages. That’s where the other magic in the title lies, the reflection on how we grow and change, and to see what special items continue to endure while so many others prove to be disposable. The result is absolutely wonderful if you’re looking to calm your mind and simply take joy in a productive task.

    https://www.nindiespotlight.com/2021/11/mini-reviews-november-4th-edition.html    … Expand
  6. puzleswithd1ce
    Feb 16, 2023
    10
    beautiful, relaxing and calm game that everyone should play. the way the story plays out is brilliantly clear and although moving house can be incredibly stressful, this game isn't. a wonderfully relaxing experience.

    10/10
    brilliant game
  7. pepcorn
    Jun 13, 2023
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I started out really loving the game. The starter bedroom is cute and cosy, and I felt I had so much in common with this little tomboy. My room looked a lot like that, growing up.

    The placing of all the belongings was relaxing and fun. There's a lot of attention to detail with the sounds items make. The art is beautiful. The music is soothing.

    I wondered how people could score this game any less than a ten. I thought to myself, maybe it's just too niche and not sufficiently targeted towards them. But it's definitely targeted towards me! I was thinking to myself that this would become one of my all-time favourite titles.

    I think the game peaked when our girl moves in with a guy, and everything about the apartment is suffocatingly sleek, and she disappears almost entirely. There's no room to hang her diploma. She can't make art anywhere. She's erasing herself to be with him.

    And the whole time I'm thinking: "Huh. I wonder why she chose this guy. She seemed so queer to me? Maybe I misinterpreted. Maybe I'm just projecting!"

    She read as bisexual to me, but still. Bisexual women don't usually end up in the apartment of the straightest man alive. Not long-term, anyways.

    And then the game came through and it felt really cathartic and special! I loved the more overt story, and also the smaller details. The childhood pig being displayed prominently again, the tear in his belly being repaired, him being a part of her art again, her receiving awards for her work, her journey with chronic pain.

    Sadly, this where the game started dropping off for me. I think it would've been nice if the game had ended on her final partner moving in with her, their belongings being combined. Or on packing everything up into boxes for once, and leaving their future unknown. Maybe seeing the book deal, and leaving it at that.

    Because by the time we reached the final home, it felt tedious. I didn't want to organise yet another kitchen and living room, especially since the rooms are less satisfying and less pretty than the ones in the previous place. The kitchen not having any space saving storage solutions (eg. a magnetised strip for cooking utensils) started really driving me up the wall. She has lived in half a dozen tiny kitchens, why can she still not figure out how to get to IKEA? :( I wanted some fresh air in the place, some actual tidiness. But it just kept getting more fractured and chaotic. Why couldn't we organise a garden or something? Why has she never once moved a jar of pickles with her? Let me see the inside of that fridge! Organising the fridge is one of the best parts. Let's go do our first shop and put it all away.

    I started loathing seeing certain items again, because why did she get rid of so many cute things but kept holding on to some truly tacky stuff. Not good-tacky, bad-tacky. It made me wish we could discard certain items for her. We spend so much time with her but we can't look out for her. Let the ugly tchotchke go, sis!!

    I wondered about her partner. Our protagonist has her own room for her work. What does her partner do? What does she care about, besides working out and fashion and plants? Why do I have to organise a hallway instead of being offered a fresh new discovery. Imagine if we discovered the girlfriend was the one making that rad Sailor Moon costume!

    At this point, the game also adds in the feature of the moving boxes blocking drawers and shelves, doubling the amount of painstaking work.

    I guess if there had to be a final place, I just wanted it to feel more different somehow. More satisfying, more synergy. A place for everything and everything out of sight. Less rooms. I get that she's moving up in the world and has more rooms now, but I don't want to put one roll of toilet paper in the half-bath. Maybe offer me an even bigger challenge, with all the boxes starting outside. Or getting all the boxes in the too-small moving truck.

    Or we jump forward into the future a little more, and we end on decorating another little kid's room that reminds us a lot of mom's, but markably different. Baby rooms have zero identity, because babies have zero identity. I also didn't like that mom put her childhood stuffed animal there. I get it, but let the baby have their own new animal and their own fascination.

    It would've been a ten if the final level hadn't felt like a repetitive chore. I did love the majority of the game! But I think ending on a tedious note that just kept going and going, making me struggle to find a good place for ugly knick-knacks and DVDs in the streaming age, dampened my enthusiasm by quite a lot.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

18
#18 Best Switch Game of 2021
76
#76 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2021

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
86

Generally favorable reviews - based on 9 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 9
  3. Negative: 0 out of 9
  1. IGN Japan
    Mar 9, 2022
    80
    Whenever the protagonist of Unpacking moves to a new home, it is the player's task to open cardboard boxes and decide where her belongings should be placed. While this can be a tedious experience when you’re just putting socks into a drawer, whenever an item that conveys something about her life comes out of the box, Unpacking becomes a unique storytelling experience.
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  2. Nintendo Life
    Nov 10, 2021
    90
    Unpacking manages to do several things very well, all at the same time. It’s a touching story told through interaction, it provides the creative play space of a great dollhouse game, and it deftly applies established game design ideas from completely different genres. Its only real shortcoming is the repetition that is a necessary byproduct of landing its message. Effort has gone into making the controls satisfying on Switch, and the visual and sound design are delightful throughout, making Unpacking, like any sane person’s cutlery, absolutely top-drawer.
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  3. App Trigger
    Nov 10, 2021
    95
    I started Unpacking mostly expecting an interesting puzzle game about item placement and ended up with a story and protagonist I cared about. The art is beautiful, the world detailed, and the ambient sound of simple things, like a refrigerator running, put you in the world. Beyond minor woes, Unpacking does everything you’d want in a puzzle game and then some.
    Read full review
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