My husband actually brought this game to my attention, and even though the price was a little bit more than I initially wanted to pay ($22.79 CAD) I decided to splurge and pick it up – and I’m really glad I did. This little pixel game is about exactly what you think, you unpack objects and place them around some rooms. It also tells a story, you start off by decorating a child’s room (your room), then you’re decorating a college age house, and then a room with roommates, and then you seem to move in with your partner. Without spoiling the story, I will say it was unexpected and relaxing.
The higher ‘level’ you go the more ‘stuff’ you have to place. There’s little details like at first you can’t move objects that don’t belong to you, but eventually you can organize and move other non-boxed items around. Eventually you’ll find it difficult to find a space for your belongings, and the ‘goal’ is to place things where they ‘belong’ so to move on to the next phase you can’t just shove all the underwear under the bed, they will glow red until you put them where they should go (within some pretty large boundaries).
There’s something therapeutic about opening up these boxes, rummaging through the packing paper, taking out a precious object, and finding the exact place for said object to go. As someone who has moved more than 20 times (I’ve moved all of my life growing up as a military brat, and now that my husband is RCMP we continue to move) this game is an old comfort to me, though I can certainly see how it might not be for everyone.
I’m only a few hours in, and I’ve been taking my time placing these objects. I see that it has very positive reviews on steam, and I tend to agree – minus the price that (IMO) is a bit high. Still, there’s far more customization and options than I initially thought, and it is incredibly relaxing. The negative reviews on steam mention that it is the high cost of the game that coloured their opinions, and they mention that you’re paying $20 for about 3 hours of game play. Again, I agree, but I also know that I have no issue paying $20 to go to a 3 hour movie, so that value isn’t exactly abnormal especially in this age of high stress. Maybe it will go on sale from time to time in which case, I highly suggest giving it a look.
Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!
I dread unpacking. I still haven’t unpacked.from my move to Connecticut. I think this game would make me feel anxious.
However — hey, Glitch! I remember that game! Team went on to develop Slack but I still think this was their better project :-)