Sights & Sounds
- The graphics are quite good, or at least the narrow slice within the fully-rendered depth of field that contains the player characters is. Objects in the foreground and background are blurrier than their respective distances should dictate, so it can be a little hard to look at until your eyes adjust
- Beyond the partially fancy graphics, the most impressive part of the game is the yarn physics. Sure, it's a little floaty, but the realistic way that you can see gravity and tension modeled for the string connecting the two characters is really cool
- The music was fairly good. Lots of orchestral arrangements like you tend to see from these mega-publisher prestige arthouse entries. If I could make sense of any aspect of the story happening in the background, I might understand why the score is so emotionally charged
Story & Vibes
- Speaking of the story, I have no idea what's going on with the plot. Why do those adult ghosts hate those kid ghosts so badly? It honestly makes no sense when you're just playing as a couple of yarn people bouncing around and solving puzzles in the foreground
- I suspect the story is intentionally vague, but then why make it so dire and frantic? The first Unravel handled this much more effectively by portraying little heartfelt family vignettes in the background instead. The journey of the characters through the seasons reflected the aging and maturing of a family. It was thoughtful and poignant. The whole experience of Unravel Two, conversely, is incredibly discordant and awkward
- I like how the background ghosts' irrelevant plot sometimes affects the environment your puzzle solving. This intriguing blend of story and gameplay would have been dramatically more impactful if the narrative made even a crumb of sense
Playability & Replayability
- Impenetrable plot aside, the gameplay works well from a mechanical perspective. Swinging, jumping, and bouncing all feel natural outside of some slight floatiness
- Unfortunately, the puzzles feel like a step back from the first game in terms of complexity. If you're playing with a friend, you will absolutely blaze through this game without having to think too hard
- The platforming aspects of the game also fail to present many challenges, though more than the puzzles do, at least
- The gameplay isn't though devoid of rewards, thankfully, though really enjoying the game does require a second player. Absolutely nailing a puzzle that requires some platforming chops while in perfect sync with whichever friend/spouse/partner/sibling/pet you're playing with does feel pretty great
Overall Impressions & Performance
- After being left with a pretty good impression of the first game, Unravel Two was a little bit of a letdown
- I played the game with my wife, who enjoyed the game much more than I did. Maybe take some of my negativity with a grain of salt
- The game ran well, at least, though you'll have to deal with EA's launcher
Final Verdict
- 5.5/10. Very soft recommend. The game is a passably enjoyable multiplayer experience if you can ignore the pointless background story and forget that the first Unravel is a superior experience. I don't think I would recommend Unravel Two for the solo player since playing alone would obviate the game's major redeeming quality
- The graphics are quite good, or at least the narrow slice within the fully-rendered depth of field that contains the player characters is. Objects in the foreground and background are blurrier than their respective distances should dictate, so it can be a little hard to look at until your eyes adjust
- Beyond the partially fancy graphics, the most impressive part of the game is the yarn physics. Sure, it's a little floaty, but the realistic way that you can see gravity and tension modeled for the string connecting the two characters is really cool
- The music was fairly good. Lots of orchestral arrangements like you tend to see from these mega-publisher prestige arthouse entries. If I could make sense of any aspect of the story happening in the background, I might understand why the score is so emotionally charged
Story & Vibes
- Speaking of the story, I have no idea what's going on with the plot. Why do those adult ghosts hate those kid ghosts so badly? It honestly makes no sense when you're just playing as a couple of yarn people bouncing around and solving puzzles in the foreground
- I suspect the story is intentionally vague, but then why make it so dire and frantic? The first Unravel handled this much more effectively by portraying little heartfelt family vignettes in the background instead. The journey of the characters through the seasons reflected the aging and maturing of a family. It was thoughtful and poignant. The whole experience of Unravel Two, conversely, is incredibly discordant and awkward
- I like how the background ghosts' irrelevant plot sometimes affects the environment your puzzle solving. This intriguing blend of story and gameplay would have been dramatically more impactful if the narrative made even a crumb of sense
Playability & Replayability
- Impenetrable plot aside, the gameplay works well from a mechanical perspective. Swinging, jumping, and bouncing all feel natural outside of some slight floatiness
- Unfortunately, the puzzles feel like a step back from the first game in terms of complexity. If you're playing with a friend, you will absolutely blaze through this game without having to think too hard
- The platforming aspects of the game also fail to present many challenges, though more than the puzzles do, at least
- The gameplay isn't though devoid of rewards, thankfully, though really enjoying the game does require a second player. Absolutely nailing a puzzle that requires some platforming chops while in perfect sync with whichever friend/spouse/partner/sibling/pet you're playing with does feel pretty great
Overall Impressions & Performance
- After being left with a pretty good impression of the first game, Unravel Two was a little bit of a letdown
- I played the game with my wife, who enjoyed the game much more than I did. Maybe take some of my negativity with a grain of salt
- The game ran well, at least, though you'll have to deal with EA's launcher
Final Verdict
- 5.5/10. Very soft recommend. The game is a passably enjoyable multiplayer experience if you can ignore the pointless background story and forget that the first Unravel is a superior experience. I don't think I would recommend Unravel Two for the solo player since playing alone would obviate the game's major redeeming quality