bittersweet chord
Zen puzzle game 'Unpacking' strikes a bittersweet chord as I leave my hometown behind
Witch Beam was right, playing "Unpacking" is a Zen experience. Its soundtrack, a synthy mix of acoustic guitar and lofi beats by BAFTA award-winning composer Jeff van Dyck, sets the mood while you sort through the boxes at your own pace with no timers or scores to worry about. Between considering each item's worth and whether to keep it, carefully packing everything away to (hopefully) make the trip in one piece, wondering what you'll find in the next box, and inevitably lingering on the nostalgia one thing or the other kicks up, it's hard to do mindlessly. That duality -- the simple satisfaction of mechanically putting everything in its place alongside the more ambiguous emotions stirred up in the process -- is why "Unpacking's" story still feels compelling with minimal dialogue and exposition.