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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)
ReleasePC, 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] The game received positive reviews from Rock Paper Shotgun,[18] GameSpot,[1] Eurogamer,[19] Nintendo Life,[15] IGN,[14] Kotaku,[20] TouchArcade,[16] It sold over 100,000 copies across all platforms in its first ten days.[21] GamesRadar+ praised it for its innovative narrative,[22] and it was awarded a Can I Play That? award for its accessibility.[23] The game was nominated for Game of the Year at the Gayming Awards 2022 and won Best LGBTQ Indie Game and Authentic Representation.[24]

Unpacking was named one of the best video games of 2021 by multiple publications, including The New Yorker,[25] LA Times,[26] Forbes,[27] Financial Times,[28] CNET,[29] NME,[30] and Polygon.[31] Eurogamer selected Unpacking as their Game of the Year.[32]

Awards and accolades

Year Award Category Result Ref
2021 Australian Game Developer Awards Game of the Year Won [33]
Excellence in Accessibility Won
2022 25th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game Won [34]
Game Developers Choice Awards Best Audio Won [35][36]
Innovation Award Won
Best Narrative Nominated
Independent Games Festival Awards Seamus McNally Grand Prize Nominated [37][36]
Excellence in Narrative Nominated
Excellence in Design Nominated
Excellence in Audio Nominated
18th British Academy Games Awards Family Game Nominated [38]
Narrative Won
Original Property Nominated
EE Game of the Year Won
Gayming Awards 2022 Game of the Year Nominated [39]
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. ^ "Hit Puzzle Game Unpacking Features 14,000 (!) Audio Files Replicating Ordinary Sounds". Kotaku. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
  3. ^ "Unpacking Review - A poignant reflection on the ups and downs of life". GamesHub. 2021-11-01. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
  4. ^ "Intimacy from the inanimate in house-moving puzzler Unpacking". Game Developer. 2021-11-16. Retrieved 2021-12-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  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 (2021-11-02). "Have a chill time moving house in Unpacking, out now". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
  8. ^ Stewart, Marcus (March 30, 2022). "Unpacking Moves To PlayStation Consoles This Spring". Game Informer. 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 Switch Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
  11. ^ a b "Unpacking for PC Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
  12. ^ a b "Unpacking for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
  13. ^ "Unpacking for PlayStation 5 Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
  14. ^ a b LeBoeuf, Sarah (2021-11-01). "Unpacking Review". IGN. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
  15. ^ a b Ingram, Roland (2021-11-10). "Review: Unpacking - An Emotive Experience, Beautifully Packaged On Switch". Nintendo Life. Retrieved 2021-12-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  16. ^ a b Stuart, Keith (November 9, 2021). "Unpacking review – moving house has never been so moving". The Guardian. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
  17. ^ Musgrave, Shaun (2021-11-02). "SwitchArcade Round-Up: Reviews Featuring 'DUSK' and 'Dungeon Encounters', Plus the Latest Releases and Sales". TouchArcade. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
  18. ^ Review, Rock Paper Shotgun
  19. ^ Hetfeld, Malindy (2021-11-01). "Unpacking review - incredibly satisfying tidy-'em-up". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
  20. ^ Review, Kotaku
  21. ^ "Unpacking topped 100k sales in 10 days". Game Developer. 2021-12-14. Retrieved 2021-12-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  22. ^ Stuart, Keith (2021-12-22). "7 innovative video game moments that pushed game design forward in 2021". Games Radar+. Retrieved 2021-12-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  23. ^ "Can I Play That? Accessibility Awards 2021 — The Winners". Can I Play That?. 2021-12-13. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
  24. ^ "Gayming Awards 2022 - Gayming Magazine". gaymingmag.com. Retrieved 2022-03-07.
  25. ^ Simon, Parkin (2021-12-12). "The Best Video Games of 2021". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2021-12-23.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  26. ^ "The 10 essential games of 2021 that helped us define who we are now". Los Angeles Times. 2021-12-14. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
  27. ^ Gardner, Matt. "The Top 10 Indie Games Of 2021 On Consoles And PC, Ranked". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
  28. ^ Faber, Tom (2021-12-20). "Top 10 games of 2021". Financial Times. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
  29. ^ Fillari, Alessandro. "CNET's 2021 Game of the Year awards". CNET. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
  30. ^ "The 20 best games of 2021". NME. 2021-12-06. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
  31. ^ "The 50 best video games of 2021". Polygon. 2021-12-10. Retrieved 2021-12-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  32. ^ Robinson, Martin (December 30, 2021). "Eurogamer's game of the year is…". Eurogamer. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  33. ^ "2021 winners announced for the Australian Game Developer Awards". GCAP21 Raising the Bar. 2021-10-06. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
  34. ^ "Congratulations to the 25th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards Finalists". Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. 13 January 2022. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  35. ^ Hafford, Hayden (December 7, 2021). "The Game Awards 2021: Nominees, start times, and where to watch". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  36. ^ a b Dealessandri, Marie (March 24, 2022). "Inscryption wins big at GDC and IGF Awards". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  37. ^ Van Allen, Eric (January 11, 2022). "IGF 2022 nominees include Inscryption, Unpacking, and more". Destructoid. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  38. ^ Purslow, Matt (March 3, 2022). "BAFTA Games Awards 2022 Nominations Announced". IGN. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
  39. ^ "Gayming Awards 2022 - Gayming Magazine". gaymingmag.com. Retrieved 2022-04-30.
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