Unravel is puzzle platforming game released in 2016 where you play as Yarny, a little creature made out of red yarn. The game play allows the player to interact with the world though the use of yarn to solve puzzles and find things in the environment. The game begins with an older woman picking up a basket of yarn and a ball of red yarn falling out, and then we see Yarny.
In the opening area of the game there are pictures that Yarny uses to visit and interact with the environments that were important to the owner of the home. In these environments there are glimpses of important memories which start out happy at the ocean and in the mountains but as the game continues darker memories emerge. At the end of each level, Yarny finds a badge that is put on the cover of a photo album which is then filled with photos of the memories that the player encounters in each level.
The game is beautifully designed with each level using new environments and challenges to the new puzzles. The story of Unravel is told completely though visuals and music as there is no dialogue used nor is there much written information in the levels. It’s a very fun game to play with the first level as the main tutorial and then needing to learn what each levels puzzles need from trial and error. The only thing that I had a problem with is sometimes the game is not clear which area is the next which can effect how the puzzles work and these can be more convoluted than need be. Also there are several sections that must be timed exactly right such as running from animals, falling rocks, and water sections that don’t have any check points in them. So if you mess up near the end you have to do the whole puzzle all over and for me most of them required multiple tries which got very frustrating at times. I do really like this game but the frustration that I felt does make me question if I will ever play the sequel that was released in 2018.
Overall, Unravel is a fun but challenging puzzle game that is beautifully designed and one that I feel many people will enjoy.