Edema. Ready to open the third door? There’s a lot of work ahead of us, but if we methodically get through it all and make sure it’s all in place, we’ll be fine. It’s weird how many can be in a box, isn’t it?
One more box! That’s right, it is Unlock!
Alice Bee: Most people who play Unpacking really enjoy it and think, you know, it’s a cute, fun game about unpacking every time you move house. Until they gain a little bit. It’s a bit with a diploma. You will know it when you see it. And you’ll go, “Ohhhh. Oh no. Oh nooooo. “And chances are you’ll recognize a moment like that in your own life.
Unpacking is great for a couple of reasons. One is that unpacking in real life is a bit worse, but unpacking (verb) in Unpacking (noun) is a great game. Each box is a rustling paper cave filled with small precious items. Plates can stick together as you stack them in the kitchen. Souvenir models are rarely collected during foreign trips. The jewel-toned T-shirts and pajamas can hang in your closet or fold up perfectly to tuck under a pillow.
In each level, you have to unpack one life – the same life, as it grows and mature, and collect new possessions, but get rid of the others – and put everything away. Place towels and shampoo in the bathroom and clothes in the closet, and cleaning products under the kitchen sink. That’s the puzzle-y part of it, I suppose, ‘because you can’t unpack the next step until you get the previous step almost right.
But then there’s the other side of things. That’s how you know who you’re unpacking. You see their favorite cup with the years. Changes in their fashion style. These kitchen utensils are accumulated by them over time. You take them through the ups and downs – bad relationships, flat share of fun, back to living with their parents, getting their own place. You are there for it all, deciding which cabinet will be the one if we keep the drinking cups.
I think when people talk about environmental storytelling, they shouldn’t argue about whether or not grafitti should say, “I HATE DIRECTORS!” or, “Who ARE REAL ?!” Instead, they should think about Unpacking. They should think about what it means on a level when you open the box and pull out a certain photo that you recognized earlier. That one moment is an emotional punch, but takes up a tiny fraction of the game. Or what it feels like to have to push some glassware together to make room for your favorite books. What it feels like to see your old childhood bedroom lifted up by a handcrafted table. The joy when you first move into a place that has an entire room for your office.
Katharine: There’s no bigger villain in the games in 2021 than Unpacking’s first boyfriend. Just move your shoes over, damn it!
