EDIT: Spoilers are now open! Discuss mechanics, story, theories, secrets, or whatever else you want. Share your opinions!

MESSAGE BEFORE EDITS:

Welcome to the Unsanctioned Unofficial Game Pass Game Club. Our 12 game is Bugsnax. The target completion date is July 11, 2022.

We ask that until that date you use the forum software to mark any spoilers, either story based or mechanical, in the discussion below. Ideally the bulk of the discussion will occur after July 25, but if you want to comment before then you are welcome to so long as the spoilers are marked. We ask that if you leave a comment before that date you also come back to the thread after it to read other people’s comments and respond to them, though of course we cannot force you to do so.

All are welcome to participate regardless of whether you have stated a preference to or not and there is absolutely no commitment. You do not have to finish the game to participate but please let us know if you have not.

You can find out more about the Unsanctioned Unofficial Game Pass Game Club or suggest future games for it here.

What is Unpacking?

Unpacking is a narrative puzzle game that tells the story of a life through the player unpacking the protagonist's belongings after a series of moves and placing the objects in their new homes.

How long is Unpacking?

How long to beat lists it as 3.5 hours long

Most of what I want to say about this game firmly lies in spoiler city, but I do want to call out what’s been universally praised: the sound design. There’s an incredible amount of care given to what each object sounds like on any surface, and for that alone I’m going to remember Unpacking decades from now.

Also, the achievements are funny little things. It felt like very specific ideas I had for putting things in certain spots popped cheevos unexpectedly. I like any game that mixes up how you might 100% it, and I’ve kept it on my console with the idea of hunting for the ones I’m missing from time to time.

Spoilers are now open. Share your opinions about the game and any thoughts/theories you have about the story or interesting touches you noticed!

My main spoilery take is that I expected there to be another act after the final level of the game. In hindsight, the three acts are childhood/adolescence, young adulthood (culminating with that red flag relationship), and early middle age. I wanted to see what they’d discussed on the Bombcast, where the final level of the game would be dealing with the belongings of a deceased relative (your protagonist). This is likely a personal preference but I thought it would be really interesting for a lot of reasons. It would have ranked higher on my personal list with that continuation.

Ultimately, I think the dev team avoided moving past the final level for a couple main reasons. First, it’s a bummer third act, and they clearly wanted a triumphant ending (which I think they pulled off, when my expectations are more properly managed). Second, nostalgia for items being moved around was an enormous factor throughout the timeline. Once they hit the current year, it’s a much tougher design and writing challenge (one that’s not worth as much payoff as the effort it would require). If they’ve said anything explicitly about why they chose the timeline they did, I’d be happy to hear it.

I liked the game, and I think it works well as a pretty contained experience. I finished it on one sitting, and I don't think it would work for more than that.

On another note, I had to disable the puzzle element a couple times, because the game wouldn't allow me to use certain objects. It was a pity, since it yanked me out of the experience, but I am grateful they had the option and didn't impede progress.

i really enjoyed the game when i played it at windows release. the story of growth other time and the characters personal journey was really a sight to behold due to the way it was told by piecing together different items in each move. as a person who has frankly moved too many times in life ( i haven't lived anywhere more than 3 years since i was 11...i turn 32 next week) it was a game that honestly just struck me really hard. there were also a number of small moments that made me think back to some of my own moves and i would be lieing if i said that the game didn't make me tear up at points. ( something rare that seems to be happening increasingly in my older years here with alot of these indie games) .... needless to say i thought the game was great ( my #5 last yr) and i was really happy for the character in the end to find a place of belonging

Absolutely loved this game. I played through it once myself on release and then watched my partner play through it and a friend of ours over the last couple of weeks.

The audio cues are incredible and watching everyone react to the various moves was so fun. We all talked shit about the boyfriend you move in with who didn't make any space for you. We all got teary eyed putting together our kid's room. And fully understood the idea of having to move back into your parent's house for a "reset" in your life.

It's hard for me to pinpoint why it worked so well though. It was just a good, chill time that made me feel things despite there being no words, dialogue or reoccuring characters.

Like @styx971 said, it just had me thinking about all the moves I've had to make in my life and how far I've been able to come while also made me look forward to what hasn't happened yet.

I finally finished this and I thought it was mostly fine. The art is great and some of the puzzle elements are good. The "story" such as it was at least managed to communicate its themes well. The sound design was good with very satisfying clicks when you put stuff down. On the other hand I thought some of the items were very unclear and found it super frustrating when the game would give you a negative reaction for what looked like wrapping paper but was actually a poster, or what could have been toothpaste but was instead diaper cream. I really wish you had just been able to toggle on a name for each item. I understand that was part of the puzzle design but I thought it was a bad puzzle design. Not that this game was super immersive but there's something very frustrating about knowing that a specific tube of paste did not go in the bathroom but not knowing what the heck it actually was.

I also really really hated the ending song, which surprised me because I thought most of the music was good. But that ending song was treacly and amateurish and it soured me a bit on what I otherwise thought was a decent game.

Unlike other people in this thread I could not do more than one house per session (which is part of why it took me so long.) I found the game pleasant enough and I enjoyed it, but once I finished a house the thought of having to do that all over again immediately was a big no thanks from me. However coming back a few days or weeks later I was in the mood to do another level, and the game worked well for me that way.