Unravel (2016)

Unravel is an indie side-scrolling platforming/puzzle game that was released by Swedish developer Coldwood Interactive under publisher EA Originals. In this game, you play as Yarny, a hand-sized figurine made of ravelled - you guessed it - yarn who has come to life to restore the memories of an older woman who is suffering from some sort of memory loss. The main mechanic in the game is Yarny's tendency to "unravel" himself as he progresses through sections of the level. Players need to manage their yarn economically in order to complete puzzles and platforming sections.

While the aesthetics of this game are all excellent, the game suffers from an (appropriately enough given the subject matter) forgettable and sometimes impenetrable narrative, and repetitive gameplay that fails to introduce new mechanics beyond the first level, which greatly detract from what seemed to be a promising indie. However, the game seems very appropriate for those wanting a short, casual experience perhaps with children or a significant other.

Gameplay

Players progress through 8 levels of through platforming aided by Yarny's ability to swing with his yarn grappling hooks, pull out of reach objects with yarn, construct yarn bridges, and push light objects to solve weight puzzles or to jump over obstacles. That constitutes the whole of Yarny's capabilities, and the designers do little to introduce new mechanics as the game goes on. These abilities do operate on a well-consteucted physics system that encourages trial and error thanks to speedy reset and generous checkpoints in the event of poor Yarny's demise, which won't be too frequent given the relatively forgiving difficult of the game. Though the hazards Yarny has to avoid do become more difficult as the game progresses, I think there was a lot more room for platforming/puzzling difficulty and imagination though given the cutesy aesthetics of the game, I understand this is probably meant for a more casual audience. Two standout levels were the barn level in which Yarny must stealthily and speedily avoid being preyed upon by crows, and the mining level which featured the most difficult platforming and puzzle sections. 5 collectibles are hidden in each level so there is some degree of replayability for those wishing to squeeze a few more hours out of their purchase.

Narrative

Unraveled, like many indie games has an abstract, poetic narrative. What clues we get regarding the story that must be pieced together from (sparse) diary entries and observation of the environment. The game is less concerned with explicit narrative than with evoking certain moods, especially nostalgia, innocence and its loss, and the ups and downs of a life well lived. While it all has the potential to be heartwarming, I believe one's reaction to the narrative will depend strongly on ones tastes and appetite for analysis. Personally, I found the narrative in each memory/level to be rather threadbare and I feel that with a little more effort the developers could have made it more engaging from a story-telling standpoint. One specific complaint I have is that after each level is finished, a diary entry is created in the game's level select area, adding abstract context to what that level was about. However if you forget to read it before starting the next level, you cannot access it again. Pretty lame.

Aesthetics

The hand-crafted, colorful, playful aesthetics of Unraveled are what attracted me to the game in the first place, and my goodness they did not disappoint. Yarny is one of the cutest video game protagonists out there and seems influenced by Kirby, and the unfortunately named Sackboy. The designers did an excellent job of conveying the emotions of joy, fear, and sadness for their voiceless protagonist while he is exploring the levels. Speaking of which each level features a highly detailed, high resolution environment on a miniature scale that was whose loving care clearly shows through in the final product. Each level also features its own music, none of whose tracks feel repetitive. The games music is really a true highlight and even if you never play the game I recommend at least checking the soundtrack out on spotify.

Score 3/5

A 3/5 game is a game you can enjoy but whose potential is not realized and whose flaws noticeably detract from the expeirence. It is in a word "average" or "forgettable". It may succeed in some areas but it likely offers no real innovations or fails to successfully execute new ideas. It is a game you can recommend to fans of the genre or series but are unlikely to recommend to a broad audience because competitors simply do it better.

This game is very nice to look at. The environments are beautiful and the very picturesque.

For the character design and mechanics, the way the character is composed of the yarn and the environments have those signature red strings at attach points is great.

That said, it's supremely boring and just isn't worth my time, once I've had my fill of the swinging/tying/scaling mechanics.

I'm sure there's someone that'll love this game, but it's just not me.

~David.

My rating is 4.5

The game is very simple (in a positive way) and at the same time fascinating. It was a pleasure for me to be able to play a game like this with such wonderful surrounding things, different environments, and great soundtracks. I couldn't stop watching things around the great red unravel. It really feels like the developers telling you something through the game.

Rating: 9.5/10

Full review here: http://wp.me/p55m9h-1eB

Your mileage may vary with Unravel, depending on what you expect from the game. If you want an innovative platformer, then you're not going to find it here. The puzzles are rather simplistic and most aren't difficult, unless you're an idiot like me, because I had a problem with some. This isn't The Witness by any means. However, it's probably going to be the prettiest game of the year due to bold art design, the music if fantastic, the story is emotional, and Yarny is awesome. Don't approach it like it's Mario (I use that because it's the most mainstream example of the genre, and because fuck you, Mario is STILL the best), come to it like it's Limbo. Limbo didn't have the most compelling gameplay either but it succeeded so admirably on every other level that it's incredible.

Unravel is probably to this year as Ori and the Blind Forest was to last year, though Ori is a conventionally "funner" game. I love both with all my heart. How many other platformers can I namedrop in this review? I want to be the guy who does that.

Commander Keen! Super Meat Boy! Ninja Gaiden!

Okay, I'm done.