Unbox

72%
Game Brain Score Based on 223 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • graphics
Unbox Game Cover
Unbox took me back to a time when games were about fun.
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Unbox is a comedy 3D platformer where you play as a self-delivering cardboard box. As the newest creation of the Global Postal Service, you must race against time, solve puzzles, and cause mayhem to prove your worth and save the company from bankruptcy. The game features stunning visuals, good music, and both single-player and local multi-player modes with split-screen for up to 2 players.

  • PC
  • Play​station 4
  • Windows
  • Play​Station
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

72%
Audience ScoreBased on 223 reviews
story9 positive mentions
grinding5 negative mentions
  • Unbox: Newbie's Adventure is a charming and fun platformer that captures the essence of classic 3D collectathons, reminiscent of games like Banjo-Kazooie and Super Mario 64.
  • The game features intuitive controls and a unique unboxing mechanic that allows for creative movement and exploration across its vibrant worlds.
  • Multiplayer modes add an extra layer of enjoyment, making it a great game for casual play with friends.
  • The game is plagued by numerous bugs, including crashes and glitches that can disrupt gameplay, particularly during specific actions like sledding.
  • The story mode lacks depth and can feel repetitive, with many missions being straightforward and not particularly engaging.
  • Camera controls and character movement can be frustrating, leading to imprecise jumps and awkward navigation, which detracts from the overall experience.
  • story71 mentions

    The story in the game is generally considered weak, with many reviewers noting that it loses momentum after the first act and features bland dialogue and a lack of engaging plot. While some players appreciate the humor and charm, they feel the missions are repetitive and lack a clear purpose, making the overall narrative feel disjointed. Despite its shortcomings, the game offers enjoyable gameplay mechanics and exploration, which can somewhat compensate for the underwhelming story.

    • “The story is also funny and leaves you with a smile in the end.”
    • “Also about the story, it's really well done and there's some honestly surprising twists and hilarious jokes!”
    • “The challenges themselves sometimes got a little repetitive, but like many of the games this is clearly an homage to, it's the world, level design, story, and dialogue that kept me playing.”
    • “The actual main story plummets after act 1 of the story mode, but nobody's really here for that.”
    • “Lastly, while the plot initially seems charming, it quickly becomes stale with very plain dialogue and a pretty bland plot for the majority of the game.”
    • “One, the story itself can't really figure out its main purpose, so they really just drop you in and say 'have fun' with no real reason why you need to do these missions.”
  • gameplay56 mentions

    The gameplay of "Unbox" is characterized by intuitive controls and a unique unboxing mechanic that enhances movement and exploration, making it accessible and enjoyable for players of various skill levels. While the game features a nostalgic collectathon style reminiscent of classic 3D platformers, some players find the challenges too easy and the core gameplay lacking depth. Overall, it offers a charming and visually appealing experience with a mix of fun mechanics and engaging level design, though it may not satisfy those seeking a more challenging platforming experience.

    • “The controls are intuitive and the gameplay is challenging but not impossible, making it accessible to players of all skill levels.”
    • “The unboxing mechanic adds a lot of potential for verticality and freedom of movement, and I feel like the level design incorporated it quite seamlessly.”
    • “With lots of collectibles, fun physics, great level design, and some unique mechanics, Unbox is a must-have for fans of the genre.”
    • “Gameplay basically revolves around doing a series of pointless minigames or collecting hundreds of useless little collectibles.”
    • “The driving mechanic is bad.”
    • “The gameplay stays the same from the first to the third island.”
  • graphics23 mentions

    The graphics of the game are generally praised for their vibrant, colorful art style and appealing visuals, reminiscent of classic 90s 3D platformers. While many players appreciate the stunning visuals and immersive worlds, some note issues like detail popping and a mix of high-quality and plain textures. Overall, the graphics contribute positively to the game's charm, supported by good performance across various hardware settings.

    • “Unbox has stunning visuals and big immersive worlds, putting me in mind of choice stages from Super Mario Sunshine, and the sea rig which serves as a hub world always makes me think of de Blob.”
    • “A fun 3D platformer with good music, tons of collectibles, and amazing visuals to boot.”
    • “With surprisingly great controls, high mobility, very shiny graphics, and delightful music, Unbox coalesces all of its strengths into an experience that simultaneously feels grand and innocent.”
    • “Longer play sessions of this game give me nausea; that's why I don't recommend it. There is some fun in the game though - big world to explore, funny dialogues, graphics are good except for awful detail popping.”
    • “The graphics are a mixed bunch with a combination of some great water textures and rock textures combined with some very plain ones mixed in, which works for the most part but at times can seem a little strange.”
    • “The graphics are bright and cheerful, the humor is ridiculously cringeworthy, but the controls are kinda sloppy.”
  • music19 mentions

    The music in the game is generally praised for its relaxing and fitting nature, enhancing the overall experience with beautiful soundtracks that complement the visuals. However, some players note that the music can become monotonous and repetitive, particularly in certain levels, which detracts from the enjoyment. Despite these criticisms, the soundtrack evokes nostalgia and adds to the game's charming personality.

    • “A fun 3D platformer with good music, tons of collectibles, and amazing visuals to boot.”
    • “The soundtrack is beautiful and the controls and gameplay are very relaxing, what I'd call 'my favorite kind of platformer'.”
    • “With surprisingly great controls, high mobility, very shiny graphics, and delightful music, Unbox coalesces all of its strengths into an experience that simultaneously feels grand and innocent.”
    • “The audio is good for the most part, although the music can become repetitive but serves its purpose.”
    • “A small complaint if I had one was about the music in the game (at least on the 1st main level) almost driving me insane.”
    • “It's not bad or anything, you just hear it looping over and over and over and over again, and it gets kinda old after a while.. or at least the first world's music does.”
  • humor13 mentions

    The game is praised for its vibrant art style and a strong sense of humor that appeals to all ages, featuring quirky characters and funny dialogues that evoke genuine laughter. Players appreciate the clever writing and surprising twists in the story, although some find the humor to be cringeworthy at times. Overall, the game successfully combines fun gameplay with a lighthearted, cartoonish atmosphere, making it a delightful experience for fans of humorous platformers.

    • “The game has a great sense of humor and a vibrant art style, which makes it very appealing to all ages.”
    • “What's funny is that there is a dedicated 'reset' feature, as if the devs knew the physics in the game were so bad that it is guaranteed you will constantly end up getting yourself stuck.”
    • “That goofy sense of humor, that hilarious cartoon approach to characters that made us feel like we'd jumped into a Saturday morning cartoon.”
  • grinding5 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be largely tedious, with easy combat and simple enemy encounters that lack challenge. While exploring and collecting items can be enjoyable, the overall experience is marred by repetitive tasks and lengthy traversal, making it feel more like a chore than an engaging activity.

    • “If you want fun, exciting combat, go elsewhere because there is auto-aim, the firing controls are poor, the missiles you shoot are homing, and the enemies are a cakewalk to avoid. The bosses are very easy as you can respawn infinitely and not lose progress; it's just long and tedious.”
    • “It literally took me nearly 15 minutes just to go through the tedious and frustrating process of jumping a total of maybe 6 times to get to the different platforms.”
    • “Combat is super easy, movement is sometimes really easy and sometimes tedious as hell.”
  • stability5 mentions

    Overall, the game's stability is generally praised, with users reporting a smooth and bug-free experience, excellent optimization, and no significant issues. However, there are some minor glitches noted, particularly with a specific puzzle that can cause the game to freeze, which may be expected given the developer's inexperience.

    • “The game runs great and I have had no issues at all.”
    • “Bug-free experience, excellent optimization, good looking, a lot to do, and a cheap price.”
    • “By going into the box, the only 'puzzle' stamp is located in your game, which freezes permanently (alt+f4).”
    • “Some glitches, but I expected these since it's this developer's first game.”
    • “You're not going to find any kind of platformers here or even a competitor to Banjo-Kazooie or Super Mario 64; I would actually put this game next to Goat Simulator, minus the glitches.”
  • atmosphere4 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is consistently praised for its charm and beauty, featuring engaging characters and a nostalgic feel that enhances the overall experience. Reviewers highlight the lovely presentation and solid gameplay, contributing to a captivating and immersive environment.

    • “It has a nice atmosphere, charming characters, and solid gameplay.”
    • “It creates a lovely atmosphere.”
    • “Very nice presentation and atmosphere.”
  • optimization3 mentions

    The game is well-optimized, performing smoothly even on older hardware, such as a Core 2 Quad with 8GB of RAM and a GTX 750 Ti. Players report an uncapped framerate, achieving around 100fps at 1080p on higher-end systems without noticeable dips or stuttering, which is beneficial for speedruns and racing modes.

    • “Well optimized considering I'm on an old Core 2 Quad with 8GB of RAM and a 750 Ti.”
    • “This will affect your performance in speedruns and racing mode.”
    • “It has an uncapped framerate, and on my 970 rig with all settings maxed, I was getting around 100 fps at 1080p, and there were no noticeable major dips or stuttering.”
  • replayability3 mentions

    The game offers some replayability through its local multiplayer mode, enhancing the fun factor; however, many players feel that once certain objectives are completed, such as collecting a gold tape, the incentive to replay diminishes significantly. Overall, it received a mixed rating of 3.5/5 for replayability.

    • “The game also includes a local multiplayer mode that adds a new level of fun and replayability.”
    • “Not only that, but there's no replay value.”
    • “Replayability: 3.5 / 5. As soon as I got one gold tape, it was over for me.”
  • character development1 mentions

    Reviews indicate that "Unbox" suffers from a lack of compelling character development, suggesting that the game's central concept does not effectively contribute to or enhance the characters, ultimately detracting from the overall experience.

Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

68% average critic score

Buy Unbox

Play time

16hMedian play time
16hAverage play time
16-30hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 4 analyzed playthroughs

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