2022 Games of the Year: Unpacking

 

Unpacking is an interesting one to add to the list.  It made me consider the question "what games make it on this list at all?".  I thought about this for a long time and ultimately landed on an answer.  I'm going to add any game that I played long enough to get a true feel for and that I think is interesting.  Unpacking fits that bill.

One thing to know about me if you only read the blog and don't listen to the podcast is that I have a tendency to try a lot of games to sample them.  I end up sampling a lot of games for only 10-30 minutes before bouncing off and mentally classifying them as "I get it, but I'm not interested".  Those games will not get included in this running list.

With all that out of the way... Unpacking is really interesting.  It's a game told through the act of moving into new locations.  Most people have moved multiple times in their lives so the act of moving is relatable.  This entire story is told through unpacking belongings as our main character grows over time.

The first time you unpack is when she is a kid moving into her own room in a new house.  By the time the game wraps up, you've seen her unpack at college, in co-living situations, in and out of relationships, and landing somewhere that feels like a good fit.

My family and I played a lot of this game together because it was so compelling even just as a bystander.  That also led to some fun fights about where you should store a yoga mat or where the main character would put her shoes.

This is an interesting and compelling indie game that you can play through if you have a couple hours.  In the end, I'm guessing it won't hang in the top ten.  But, luckily for Unpacking, I played it early in the year so it slots into the number 2 spot as a starting place.

Here's what our running ranking looks like now:

1. FFXIV Endwalker
2. Unpacking

Good luck staying up there Unpacking, you'll need it.  We have a lot of the year left to go.