Unpacking review: A fantastic world of metaphorical and literal baggage

Title: Unpacking
Developer: Witch beam
Publishers: Humble Bundle
Platforms: Nintendo Switch (reviewed on), PC, Xbox
Release Date: November 1, 2021

I’ve been seeing a lot about Unpacking, a recent puzzle game developed by Witch Beam. The game takes you back to the mythical year of 1997 in which you step into the role of a young girl who got her own room for the first time ever. Her items are in boxes and it’s up to you to cut them open, take items out one at a time, and place them correctly around her room in a way that makes sense. You can’t just throw things on the floor or hide them in a closet, you have to put everything away.

What sounds like a chore is actually a strangely calming zen garden-like experience. You create a dedicated art space for your character. Place toys on the shelf, put her Game Boy somewhere she can reach it when she needs a break from homework and creating, and even neatly put the clothing away.

As someone that is heavily neurodivergent the aspect of completing a stage and having everything put away neatly was a massive dopamine boost. So that definitely helped. Here’s how the whole process looks sped up thanks to the game’s instant replay feature.

As you complete each stage, a picture of the room gets added to your scrapbook with a little note like “Finally got my own room!” It feels like the game isn’t heavy in story and that’s how the bastards at Witch Beam tricked me.

When you go to the next stage you move ahead in time in the protagonist’s life. Some things change. The Game Boy becomes a Game Boy Advance which becomes a DS. One of the books you put on the shelf eventually becomes a trilogy.

There was even a funny moment where part of the game unintentionally became a meme as younger players took to Twitter begging people to tell them what this was, as they had no idea what the device was or where they were supposed to put it. Yes, this is a Nintendo Gamecube and no, people didn’t seem to know what one is. And yes, it makes me feel a million years old.

As she visits more countries she brings home more souvenirs. But the things that will blindside you are the things that stays the same. As your character moves into a dorm and into an apartment and continues through life, some things will stay with you. Certain plushies, knick-knacks, a D&D figurine of your character’s noble bard. You find places for these things that have been with you throughout your life in new places as they follow you through time.

This isn’t a graphical cop-out though. Having the same things come with you causes you to build a story up for your character, creating impressive emotional triggers. For example, when your character moves into an apartment with her friends, you suddenly have to find places for your belongings in an area that already has other people’s stuff all over the place. The feeling of creating your own place feels more like you trying to not disturb someone else’s place.

There was even a part in which I felt like I was moving too much of my roommates’ stuff and was almost worried they’d get upset. I never met the roomies but they were very real in my head.

One of the biggest moments comes after you graduate college. Wherever you go, you take your framed diploma with you. I have one as well in real life to remind me of what I’m pushing for so I was very familiar with this and the energy that comes off one. So after proudly putting it up in my various homes, you encounter a stage in which your protagonist is dating a guy. You’re told nothing about him but as you unpack you start to hate him.

He’s got a martini mixer taking up a lot of real estate in your home. His wall decor is not movable, non-negotiable. You find yourself trying to put all your stuff into a place with a guy who has not given you any sort of accommodations. You cram things into a small spot in the closet. You jumble your stuff together in the small areas available on the shelf. You build this story up about him in your head — as did my wife when I was trying to find a place for my character’s Gamecube when we found he has an Xbox 360 plugged in.

“Oh god, he has an Xbox,” my wife said, immediately hating this dude. For me though, the most crushing part is when you take your diploma and find out the only place in the entire home you can put it is stuffed under the bed, burying your accomplishment. The feeling of realizing that was the only place for it broke me.

The level of detail and storytelling is honestly astounding if you’re willing to look closely at the pixel art. For example, I zoomed in on the photos she keeps putting on the fridge only to realize that they actually tell a story over time if you’re willing to zoom in.

Luckily the story turns around after that and you get to watch her journey as her life becomes more positive and she starts to fully take control to get what she wants out of life. The fact that Witch Beam somehow manages to tell this story with almost no dialogue and by simply making me unpack boxes for about six to eight hours is honestly impressive. If you’re looking for a gratifying puzzle that will cover you for a few hours, Unpacking has got you and then some.

Unpacking (Nintendo Switch) Score: 9.5

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.