Many indie games, especially those being made by a small handful of developers if not a single person, often get criticized for their length. This happens because, to consumers, the length of the game doesn’t always justify the price point, especially when they cost upward of $15 or $20. While the majority of the recent indie game Unpacking has been widely positive, a few folks have complained that the game isn’t worth the price.
This once again brings up the ongoing debate of whether or not indie games are “too expensive.” Obviously, this blanket term can’t possibly apply to every single game made by independent developers, but it does raise an interesting question: what makes the game worth it? Here, some players are too focused on quantifying Unpacking’s worth through its hours and are missing the overall takeaway of the game and what it has to offer.
Unpacking’s Simple Yet Elegant Premise
Unpacking is a pixel art game about just that: unpacking the contents boxes into various homes and rooms, and choosing where and how to organize it all while also being confined in small yet significant ways. Items do have more or less proper places in Unpacking, but it’s part of how the game tells its short but meaningful story.
Starting in the year 1997, players are actually a character and each chapter is a window into her life, moving from a child’s bedroom to a college dorm room, and a shared apartment followed by a somber breakup. In this way, the term “unpacking” is a double entendre. Players learn about each stage of the character’s life as she unpacks her belongings, and the pensive activity is meant to be as relaxing as it is cathartic.
And that just about sums up the game. It’s not “exciting” in the way one might think of when they imagine traditional or mainstream gaming, but the indie scene is changing the scope of what’s considered “fun.” Just as some gamers find beating Orphan of Kos in Bloodborne rewarding, others find emptying out cardboard boxes into their perfectly aligned spots to be rewarding, especially when they finally arrive at the end of the narrator’s story.
Unpacking’s Negative Steam Reviews
According to the developers and Unpacking’s Steam page, all of the game’s handful of negative reviews are from users who felt that the game was too short to justify its price. While money spending is a real concern to have, a game’s quality shouldn’t be measured by its length. It’s sad that nearly all of these Steam reviews don’t complain about the overall quality of the game yet still give it a thumbs down.
There are ways to get around paying this price for Unpacking if the cost compared to play hours is a big concern, however. Xbox Game Pass, which is also available for PC, is currently being offered for $1 for three months, which is not only a sweet deal in general but it means these Steam reviewers could have gotten access to Unpacking for a single buck at launch and wouldn’t have to worry about breaking the bank. Unfortunately, though, not everyone does research about games they’re interested in, such as looking up reviews or their lengths on HowLongToBeat.
It’s worth saying that Unpacking’s meditative and simplistic gameplay isn’t for everyone. Not all gamers enjoy picking weeds from Animal Crossing: New Horizons islands or aligning perfect nine-by-nine crop plots in Stardew Valley. But for those who think they might enjoy a mundane chore yet satisfying activity, Unpacking should be analyzed by what those types of games have to offer players and not how many hours it takes to get that experience.
Unpacking is out now for PC, Switch, and Xbox One.
