I have to say, the sheer number of pixel art assets in this game, the quality of them, the support for rotations and pinning... they did such a great job with it. I can't even begin to imagine the amount of work that must have gone into this. Amazing attention to detail. Some of the best pixel art I have ever seen.

This game really is Exhibit A that having a good premise makes all the difference for an indie title. The core conceit here is novel and relatable, creating all kinds of interesting possibilities for emergent narratives. I was struck by how the journey through adulthood, as told through living spaces, created a natural narrative and level progression. The whole idea feels very pure, very Miyamoto-esque, in how it translates the mundane experiences of everyday life into gameplay.

My only problem with Unpacking is that the gameplay loop doesn't evolve from level to level. It scales linearly, giving you more rooms and more packages to open, but never really mixes things up or introduces any challenge besides handling a few misplaced items. Despite taking only three hours and change for me to complete, it still managed to get extremely tedious towards the end.

On the whole, though, a very enjoyable and different experience. Good for zoning out to while listening to a podcast. Three and a half stars.