Physics-based puzzle platform video game Unravel has made its way to the shelves on Feb. 9 this year and gamers rushed to try it out.
The game follows the adventures of a small creature made of yarn, aptly named Yarny. As Yarny moves, the twine that it is made of unravels, creates lines of yarn that gamers have to use for solving puzzles and progress in the game. Unravel is available on PC, Sony PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Xbox One.
Here is a review roundup of Unravel.
"Unravel is an endlessly surprising game in so many ways that it's tough to pinpoint exactly what makes it all work so well. It feels like the game equivalent to your favorite art house movie, where it speaks a message that is both universal, and yet completely personal to you. Even beyond the artistic, the game functions well on a technical level, delivering both great graphics and fantastic music, while also hitting on some great gameplay. Trial and error deaths get in the way, and some puzzles might frustrate, but overall Unravel is a triumphant experience from start to finish," says Kyle Hanson of Attack Of The Fan Boy.
"Exploring themes like love, environment, family and loss, Unravel has the potential to be an emotional undertaking for the player. It's an experience that was quite intense for this particular reviewer. It is a wondrously constructed game born of love and culminating as an incredibly, beautifully bittersweet, emotional adventure. Filled with heart from its opening to the cessation of the credits, it will wow you, make you smile and make you cry. Gamer or not, you need to play Unravel," says Luke George of Hardcore Gamer.
"Despite the puzzle repetition, the changing environments and story kept me engaged with the adventure. Each level fills in the elderly woman's photo album with images from her past along with light exposition of her (and Yarny's) emotional journey. The narrative has some ambiguity, conveying themes of love, loss, and coming to peace with the past - both through the expanding photo book and through the tone of the levels you visit," says Jeff Marchiafava of Game Informer.
"Unravel took me on a surprisingly thoughtful and reflective journey, which encouraged me to appreciate the small and the insignificant with every step. As a puzzler it has charm due to Yarny's engaging skills, but as a platforming experience it's less remarkable," says Daniel Krupa of IGN.
"The audio design is just as impressive. Unravel features no spoken words or narration, with developer Coldwood Interactive instead hinging much of the narrative on the soundtrack. The gamble has paid off tremendously. The aching sorrow of violins and panpipes, along with the inspirited Celtic folk music, swells and stirs along with you," says Rob Crossley of GameSpot.
"Unravel is about the ups and downs of life, a game that crams a lifetime's worth of memories into a short puzzle game, one that manages to — for the most part — nicely balance moments of quiet and moments of intense concentration. It can be overwrought at times, but, like Yarny, it tries very hard. You can't help but appreciate the effort," says Andrew Webster of The Verge.
Check out Unravel's official story trailer.
