Unbox: Newbie's Adventure

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Unbox: Newbie's Adventure is a single player and multiplayer platformer game. It was developed by Prospect Games and was released on September 5, 2016. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and positive reviews from players.

The ultimate postal service has arrived - self-delivering cardboard boxes! Unbox – Newbie’s is a unique physics-platformer. Enjoy an epic single player adventure or grab up to four friends for local multiplayer races, battles and challenges! The Global Postal Service is nearing bankruptcy! To save themselves, they have created self-delivering boxes. Play as the GPS’ latest cardboard creation, New…

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84%

Audience ScoreBased on 459 reviews

gameplay51 positive mentions

stability7 negative mentions

Charming and nostalgic 3D collectathon platformer with vibrant worlds and fun exploration.
Unique box rolling and unboxing mechanics add freshness to classic platforming gameplay.
Generous checkpoints, forgiving difficulty, and a wide variety of collectibles and minigames.

Controls and physics can feel clunky and frustrating due to the box movement.
Repetitive missions, tedious secret hunting, and some poor level design affecting pacing.
Bugs and technical issues such as crashes, long loading times, and camera problems.

gameplay
152 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
34%
63%
3%
Unbox offers a charming and nostalgic 3D platforming experience centered around its unique "unbox" mechanic, allowing up to six mid-air jumps that add verticality and exploration depth. While the gameplay is generally accessible, fun, and polished with vibrant worlds and collectibles, some find the rolling box controls clunky and the gameplay repetitive, with certain mechanics like driving feeling unnecessary. Overall, it successfully blends classic platformer elements with fresh ideas, making it a delightful choice for casual and family-friendly play despite some minor limitations.
- “The game evokes a strong sense of nostalgia for fans of classic platformers while adding modern gameplay elements that keep it accessible and engaging.”
- “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.”
- “An excellent platformer with responsive controls, simple yet robust mechanics, charming world and character design, and rewarding collectibles.”
- “Another common critique is that the gameplay can become repetitive over time, as the objectives and level design sometimes lack enough variation to maintain long-term interest.”
- “The controls feel sloppy (in addition to the "boxy" movement) and the unboxing mechanic seems as if it's a leftover from alpha-testing where you got stuck all the time.”
- “One of the worst offenders is a racing minigame in which the player is tasked with just getting from point A to point B in a certain time frame, sometimes these races include cars as well which just seems like a clunky and unnecessary addition to the game, and the game would've been significantly better without the inclusion of this mechanic.”
story
142 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
77%
6%
The story in this 3D platformer is generally simple, charming, and lighthearted, centered on a sentient cardboard box delivering packages with playful humor and postal-themed jokes. While it features a few engaging moments and delightful characters suited for a younger audience, many reviewers found the narrative shallow, repetitive, and lacking depth, with missions often feeling disconnected from the plot and overly reliant on collectables. Overall, the story serves more as a framework for exploration and gameplay rather than being a strong or memorable narrative element.
- “The premise is delightfully unique — you play as Newbie, a sentient cardboard box on a mission to deliver packages across a variety of colorful environments.”
- “The writing and the story revolve around this concept as well and it contains many jokes about deliveries and other postal references with meta humor.”
- “The whole world is well-built, the story is simple but cute (perfect even for little kids), and the characters, jokes, references are delightful.”
- “The quest in each level is nothing exciting, a little boring, and they also make you do the same ones on every island, with the only thing changing being the dialogue.”
- “The characters are bland, the story is bland, the music is... okay, it's all just... bland.”
- “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.”
graphics
62 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
45%
5%
Unbox features bright, colorful, and charming graphics with a playful, cartoonish art style that evokes classic 90s 3D platformers and is well-suited for all ages. While visuals are generally praised for their beauty, polish, and smooth performance, some users note occasional texture inconsistencies, detail popping, and minor glitches that can impact immersion. Overall, the graphics contribute significantly to the game's whimsical tone and appeal, making it a visually delightful indie platformer experience.
- “Visually, Unbox stands out with its bright, cartoonish art style that perfectly complements its playful and lighthearted tone.”
- “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.”
- “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 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.”
- “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 awful detail popping.”
- “A cute and competent platformer a lot like Ty: Tasmanian Tiger or A Dog's Life, the graphics kinda look like poop with lots of geometry LOD pop-in (performance is very good though), but it's a lot of fun, very fast with bouncy goodness!”
music
58 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
63%
16%
The game's music is generally cheerful, upbeat, and fitting for the tropical, whimsical atmosphere, often drawing comparisons to classic Nintendo and Mario Sunshine-style soundtracks. However, many reviewers note that the music can be repetitive and short, which may lead to listener fatigue over extended play, sometimes prompting players to turn it off or play their own tunes. Despite its limitations, the soundtrack is well-composed, enjoyable, and enhances the game's relaxing, inviting vibe.
- “The world feels alive and inviting, enhanced further by a cheerful soundtrack that matches the game’s upbeat energy and reinforces its whimsical atmosphere.”
- “Matt Griffin, who would later show his insane talent on The Impossible Lair, does a lot of the music here and it's fantastic.”
- “The music in this game is a real joy to listen to, particularly on the first world.”
- “The main hub song and the first level's song are miditastic and sound kind of bad, the second level and third level have solid tunes that didn't get on my nerves after an hour or two of exploring though so I'd say they're alright.”
- “Your kids will love the graphics and the music will probably make you crazy after an hour or two, but meh. Turn off the music, open Spotify, search for 'relax and unwind', press play, enjoy!”
- “Both the hub world and the first main level you go to have very similar, very repetitive Caribbean-themed music with two-chord backing tracks, and I never want to hear another steel drum in my life.”
humor
35 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game features a quirky, playful humor centered on its unique box-shaped protagonist and postal-themed jokes, delivering a lighthearted, cheerful tone with funny dialogue and charming characters. While some find the humor clever and genuinely funny, others note it leans toward cringeworthy or mismatched tones for its audience. Overall, the humor is a major highlight that complements the vibrant visuals and whimsical atmosphere, making the experience enjoyable and amusing for fans of quirky platformers.
- “For those looking for a relaxing and cheerful adventure with a dose of humor, Unbox delivers exactly that.”
- “The writing and the story revolve around this concept as well and it contain many jokes about deliveries and other postal references with meta humor.”
- “The game has a great sense of humor and a vibrant art style, which makes it very appealing to all ages.”
atmosphere
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
70%
30%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for being lively, charming, and whimsical, with a cheerful soundtrack and well-developed characters that enhance immersion. The vibrant world design and engaging soundtrack create an inviting and energetic experience, though some note its silly tone. Overall, the combination of visuals, music, and gameplay consistently fosters a captivating and pleasant ambiance.
- “The world feels alive and inviting, enhanced further by a cheerful soundtrack that matches the game’s upbeat energy and reinforces its whimsical atmosphere.”
- “For a 2D game, I was surprisingly immersed into the Wuppo world due to the OST, character development, humorous story, and atmospheric worlds, which motivated me to make progress.”
- “The atmosphere is great, the characters are all charming with unique personalities, and the levels are well-thought-out and never feel empty, with the 'unboxing' mechanic making the game stand out.”
stability
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
70%
The game generally offers a stable experience with good optimization and minimal bugs, although some users report occasional glitches that can lead to game-breaking situations requiring a restart. Despite minor issues, stability is largely solid, contributing to smooth gameplay and visual appeal.
- “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.”
- “This game proves it is far from obsolete; it runs great, is visually appealing, and has a good concept.”
- “I have to say that the game has surprisingly good graphics, despite some glitches here and there, some of those lead to gamebreaking bugs where you have to restart since you become stuck under or inside the scenario.”
- “By going into the box the only "puzzle" stamp is located in your game freezes permanently (alt+ f4).”
- “Some glitches but I expected these since it's this dev's first game, I think.”
grinding
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
10%
90%
Grinding in this game is generally seen as tedious, frustrating, and overly time-consuming, with many players finding the gameplay and controls unpleasant during these sections. While the collectathon aspect offers some enjoyment for dedicated collectors, the excessive number of collectibles and poor hint system contribute to a slow, repetitive experience that may only appeal to masochistic achievement hunters.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “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.”
- “It can get quite tedious, though, because the world is very large and there are many things to collect.”
optimization
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
24%
38%
The game is well-optimized, delivering smooth performance even on older hardware and maintaining high frame rates with maxed settings on mid-range rigs. While there is minor screen tearing at the display borders and some geometry pop-in, these issues do not significantly impact overall gameplay.
- “Performance is very good, providing a fast and smooth experience even with some graphics LOD pop-in.”
- “The story is sweet, the graphics are unusually great, and the performance is wonderful.”
- “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.”
- “The only negative side to this title is performance.”
- “There's a slight screen tearing around the outermost pixel of the screen's border, but it seems more like a display issue than a performance problem.”
replayability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game offers moderate replayability, mainly driven by collecting hidden items and its local multiplayer mode, though some players may lose interest quickly after initial completion. Its balanced difficulty and engaging gameplay provide enough appeal for repeated play, but replay value largely depends on the player's motivation to explore and collect.
- “The game also includes a local multiplayer mode that adds a new level of fun and replayability.”
- “The replay value of the game is here, in collecting everything.”
- “Unbox is a very fun game suitable for a lot of people of many ages. It has an expansive and colorful environment and quality gameplay to boot. While not too difficult, it's also not too easy and definitely has replay value.”
- “Not only that but there's no replay value.”
- “Although I didn't manage to find all the hidden logs and gold tape scattered across the levels, I don't feel an urge to continue playing to hunt them down unfortunately, so replayability is based on whether you want to do that.”
- “Replayability: 3.5 / 5, as soon as I got one gold tape it was over for me.”
character development
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
75%
Character development is praised for its expressive, charming designs and engaging animations that enhance immersion, especially in 2D titles. However, some 3D games suffer from shallow characters, lackluster stories, and unmemorable voice work, which diminish player connection and overall engagement.
- “The character designs are equally delightful, with newbie and other boxes sporting expressive animations that give them personality beyond their simple cardboard origins.”
- “For a 2D game, I was surprisingly immersed into the Wuppo world due to the OST, character development, humorous story, and atmospheric worlds, which motivated me to make progress.”
- “An excellent platformer with responsive controls, simple yet robust mechanics, charming world and character design, and rewarding collectables.”
- “I didn't feel engaged with the 3D world and its characters in Unbox; for example, a forgettable, mellow OST that works counter-productively, I couldn't care less about any of the shallow characters and their unintelligible and sometimes annoying voices, and the story is lackluster.”
- “For a 2D game, I was surprisingly immersed into the Wuppo world due to the OST, character development, humorous story, and atmospheric worlds, so I was motivated and felt to make progress, unlike in Unbox.”
- “The characters in Unbox felt shallow, and their voices were unintelligible and sometimes annoying, which detracted from the overall experience.”
emotional
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game evokes a wholesome and family-friendly emotional experience, making it enjoyable for players of all ages, including young children. Its design balances challenge and accessibility, fostering excitement without frustration. Overall, it delivers heartfelt, shared moments while maintaining engaging gameplay.
- “Wholesome yet exciting, I thoroughly enjoyed playing this with my 4-year-old daughter.”
- “Family friendly and wholesome :d”
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game features a straightforward monetization model with no DLC or microtransactions, offering a single purchase for a complete and enjoyable single-player experience that can be replayed once or twice.
- “No DLC, no microtransactions, you pay one price, you get a fun game, you can play through it once or twice, and it stands on its own as a great single-player experience.”

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66%Critics’ scoreBased on 12 critic reviews

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14h Median play time

12h Average play time

5-16h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 9 analyzed playthroughs

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Frequently Asked Questions

Unbox: Newbie's Adventure is a platformer game.

Unbox: Newbie's Adventure is available on Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X|S, PC, PlayStation 5 and others.

On average players spend around 12 hours playing Unbox: Newbie's Adventure.

Unbox: Newbie's Adventure was released on September 5, 2016.

Unbox: Newbie's Adventure was developed by Prospect Games.

Unbox: Newbie's Adventure has received positive reviews from players. Most players liked this game for its gameplay but disliked it for its stability.

Unbox: Newbie's Adventure is a single player game with multiplayer and local co-op support.

Similar games include Unbox, A Hat in Time, Poi, Bang-On Balls: Chronicles, Yooka-Laylee and others.

Unbox: Newbie's Adventure

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