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Unpacking (video game)

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Unpacking
Developer(s)Witch Beam
Publisher(s)Humble Bundle
Director(s)Wren Brier
Designer(s)Wren Brier
Tim Dawson
Composer(s)Jeff van Dyck
Platform(s)
ReleaseWindows, Switch, Xbox One
  • WW: November 2, 2021
PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
  • WW: May 10, 2022
Genre(s)Puzzle
Mode(s)Single-player

Unpacking is a puzzle video game developed by Witch Beam and published by Humble Bundle for Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. The game received positive reviews upon release and won several awards, including two BAFTA Game Awards and being named game of the year by Eurogamer.

Summary

The game is divided into stages named by the years in which they take place: 1997, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015, and 2018. The gameplay in each stage comprises unpacking a female character's possessions from boxes into a new dwelling, representing significant life events. The player is tasked with fitting each unpacked item into the living space, learning the protagonist's life story through her items and the places she lives.[1]

Unpacking has a hi-res pixel art style and the sound design includes over 14,000 foley effects, with multiple pick-up and placement sound effects unique to each item.[2] The game consists of eight stages[3] made up of a total of 35 rooms.[4]

Development

The Unpacking development team accepting Best Audio at the 22nd Game Developers Choice Awards

Unpacking was developed by Witch Beam, an independent game studio based in Brisbane, Australia. The studio was founded in 2013 and had previously released Assault Android Cactus, a twin-stick shooter, in 2015. The game was first conceptualized by game director Wren Brier when she moved in with her husband and studio founder Tim Dawson in early 2018. She found that unpacking unlabelled boxes, not knowing what is stored inside, an experience that can be translated into a video game. The two participated in the Stugan accelerator program in Sweden, and the game entered full production in early 2019. The team put an extensive amount of time developing Unpacking's accessibilty features. Unpacking is mostly a wordless experience, as the team wanted to ensure that children who may have language or comprehension barrier can still enjoy playing the game. While the game had little to no text, Unpacking's narrative is mainly told the objects players unpack from a box, because the team believed that one's possessions and items can inform the players the background and story of their owners.[5]

With the success of Assault Android Cactus, Witch Beam was able to gather more investment funds and met with potential investors. Audience response to the game's early promotion materials was also very positive. However, the scope of the game remained largely unchanged since the game's conception. The team ultimately signed with independent game publisher Humble Games, which allowed the team to retained creative control and ownership over the game's brand. While Witch Beam managed most of the game's social media channels, the team recruited Victoria Tran, the community director of Among Us, to help operate Unpacking's Discord channel and TikTok account.[5] The team initially expected development of the game to last around one and half year, though actual production of the game took significantly longer.[6] Unpacking was released for personal computers, Nintendo Switch and Xbox One on November 2, 2021.[7] Versions for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 is set to be released in 2022.[8] Physical versions of the game, which will be distributed by Limited Run Games, will also be released in early 2022.[9]

Reception

Critical reception

Unpacking received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic.[10][11][12][13] The game received positive reviews from Rock Paper Shotgun,[23] GameSpot,[1] Eurogamer,[24] Nintendo Life,[17] IGN,[16] Kotaku,[25] TouchArcade,[21] It sold over 100,000 copies across all platforms in its first ten days.[26] GamesRadar+ praised it for its innovative narrative,[27] and it was awarded a Can I Play That? award for its accessibility.[28] The game was nominated for Game of the Year at the Gayming Awards 2022 and won Best LGBTQ Indie Game and Authentic Representation.[29]

Unpacking was named one of the best video games of 2021 by multiple publications, including The New Yorker,[30] the Los Angeles Times,[31] Forbes,[32] the Financial Times,[33] CNET,[34] NME,[35] and Polygon.[36] Eurogamer selected Unpacking as their Game of the Year.[37]

Awards and accolades

Year Award Category Result Ref
2021 Australian Game Developer Awards Game of the Year Won [38]
Excellence in Accessibility Won
2022 25th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game Won [39]
Game Developers Choice Awards Best Audio Won [40][41]
Innovation Award Won
Best Narrative Nominated
Independent Games Festival Awards Seamus McNally Grand Prize Nominated [42][41]
Excellence in Narrative Nominated
Excellence in Design Nominated
Excellence in Audio Nominated
18th British Academy Games Awards Family Game Nominated [43]
Narrative Won
Original Property Nominated
EE Game of the Year Won
Gayming Awards 2022 Game of the Year Nominated [29]
Best LGBTQ Indie Game Won
Authentic Representation Award Won

References

  1. ^ a b c Petite, Steven (November 1, 2021). "Unpacking Review - The Things We Carry". GameSpot. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
  2. ^ Notis, Ari (November 4, 2021). "Hit Puzzle Game Unpacking Features 14,000 (!) Audio Files Replicating Ordinary Sounds". Kotaku. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  3. ^ Tran, Edmond (November 2, 2021). "Unpacking Review - A poignant reflection on the ups and downs of life". GamesHub. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  4. ^ Kerr, Chris (November 16, 2021). "Intimacy from the inanimate in house-moving puzzler Unpacking". Game Developer. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  5. ^ a b Button, Chris (November 2, 2021). "The making of Unpacking: From bullet-hell to domestic heaven". GamesHub. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  6. ^ Dealessandri, Marie (October 19, 2021). "How Unpacking kept a steady heartbeat after going viral years before launch". GameIndustry.biz. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  7. ^ Beckhelling, Imogen (November 2, 2021). "Have a chill time moving house in Unpacking, out now". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  8. ^ Stewart, Marcus (March 30, 2022). "Unpacking Moves To PlayStation Consoles This Spring". Game Informer. GameStop Corp. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  9. ^ Devore, Jordan (April 1, 2022). "Limited Run's Unpacking physical edition is up for pre-order on Switch, PS4, and PS5". Destructoid. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  10. ^ a b "Unpacking for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
  11. ^ a b "Unpacking for Switch Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
  12. ^ a b "Unpacking for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
  13. ^ a b "Unpacking for PlayStation 5 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  14. ^ Jones, Brandon (November 2, 2021). "Review: Unpacking". Easy Allies. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  15. ^ LeClair, Kyle (November 1, 2021). "Review: Unpacking". Hardcore Gamer. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  16. ^ a b LeBoeuf, Sarah (November 1, 2021). "Unpacking Review". IGN. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  17. ^ a b Ingram, Roland (November 10, 2021). "Unpacking Review (Switch eShop)". Nintendo Life. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
  18. ^ Ronaghan, Neal (November 1, 2021). "Unpacking (Switch) Review". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  19. ^ Banas, Graham (May 12, 2022). "Mini Review: Unpacking (PS5) - Making Chores Fun". Push Square. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  20. ^ Mejia, Ozzie (November 2, 2021). "Unpacking review: Does it spark joy?". Shacknews. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  21. ^ a b Stuart, Keith (November 9, 2021). "Unpacking review – moving house has never been so moving". The Guardian. Guardian Media group plc. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
  22. ^ Musgrave, Shaun (November 2, 2021). "SwitchArcade Round-Up: Reviews Featuring 'DUSK' and 'Dungeon Encounters', Plus the Latest Releases and Sales". TouchArcade. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  23. ^ Bell, Alice (November 9, 2021). "Unpacking review: the exact same joy as unwrapping a kinder egg and building the toy inside". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  24. ^ Hetfeld, Malindy (November 1, 2021). "Unpacking review - incredibly satisfying tidy-'em-up". Eurogamer. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  25. ^ Plunkett, Luke (November 4, 2021). "Unpacking: The Kotaku Review". Kotaku. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  26. ^ Kerr, Chris (December 14, 2021). "Unpacking topped 100k sales in 10 days". Game Developer. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  27. ^ Stuart, Keith (December 22, 2021). "7 innovative video game moments that pushed game design forward in 2021". GamesRadar+. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  28. ^ "Can I Play That? Accessibility Awards 2021 — The Winners". Can I Play That?. December 13, 2021. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  29. ^ a b "Gayming Awards 2022". Gayming Magazine. Gray Jones Media Ltd. April 28, 2022. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  30. ^ Parkin, Simon (December 12, 2021). "The Best Video Games of 2021". The New Yorker. Condé Nast. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  31. ^ Martens, Todd (December 14, 2021). "The 10 essential games of 2021 that helped us define who we are now". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  32. ^ Gardner, Matt (December 21, 2021). "The Top 10 Indie Games Of 2021 On Consoles And PC, Ranked". Forbes. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  33. ^ Faber, Tom (December 20, 2021). "Top 10 games of 2021". Financial Times. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  34. ^ Fillari, Alessandro (December 17, 2021). "CNET's 2021 Game of the Year awards". CNET. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  35. ^ "The 20 best games of 2021". NME. December 6, 2021. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  36. ^ "The 50 best video games of 2021". Polygon. December 10, 2021. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  37. ^ Robinson, Martin (December 30, 2021). "Eurogamer's game of the year is…". Eurogamer. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  38. ^ "2021 winners announced for the Australian Game Developer Awards". GCAP21 Raising the Bar. October 6, 2021. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  39. ^ "Congratulations to the 25th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards Finalists". Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. January 13, 2022. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
  40. ^ Hafford, Hayden (December 7, 2021). "The Game Awards 2021: Nominees, start times, and where to watch". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  41. ^ a b Dealessandri, Marie (March 24, 2022). "Inscryption wins big at GDC and IGF Awards". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  42. ^ Van Allen, Eric (January 11, 2022). "IGF 2022 nominees include Inscryption, Unpacking, and more". Destructoid. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  43. ^ Purslow, Matt (March 3, 2022). "BAFTA Games Awards 2022 Nominations Announced". IGN. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
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