Unrest

65%
Game Brain Score Based on 100 reviews
  • story
  • graphics
  • gameplay
Unrest Game Cover
The Game has excellent writing, but fails to live up to its full potential. Lack of serious long term consequences and a disappointing ending hold back the game from greatness.
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"Unrest is a single-player Historical Role Playing game set in ancient India, featuring stunning story and sensational graphics. Play as five ordinary people from diverse backgrounds facing hardships and making tough choices in a reactive storyline, often with consequences that impact other characters' lives. With no heroes or mystical quests, Unrest offers a grounded, real-world narrative."

  • Mac OS
  • PC
  • Windows
  • Linux
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

65%
Audience ScoreBased on 100 reviews
story34 positive mentions
replayability3 negative mentions
  • The game offers a compelling narrative experience with thought-provoking moral dilemmas and well-written dialogue.
  • The setting and worldbuilding are intriguing, providing a unique perspective on social issues in a fantasy interpretation of ancient India.
  • The character interactions and choices create a sense of immersion, allowing players to explore different viewpoints and outcomes.
  • The game is very short, with many players completing it in just a couple of hours, leading to a feeling of abruptness and lack of closure.
  • Choices often feel superficial and do not significantly impact the overall narrative or character arcs, leaving players unsatisfied with the outcomes.
  • The game lacks traditional RPG elements and gameplay mechanics, making it feel more like a visual novel than a role-playing game.
  • story106 mentions

    The story of the game is intriguing and features multiple characters whose perspectives enrich the narrative, but it suffers from a lack of depth and resolution, often leaving players with unresolved plotlines and minimal impact from their choices. While the writing is praised for its complexity and moral dilemmas, many reviewers noted that the game feels short and linear, with character traits and decisions having little effect on the overarching narrative. Overall, it presents a compelling but ultimately unsatisfying experience, making it more of a brief interactive story than a fully fleshed-out RPG.

    • “It was a very interesting little story with many effective and thought-provoking moments.”
    • “The story is actually interesting and with different characters telling the story with their own perspective and what role they had in it.”
    • “The story does an excellent job of demonstrating the complexity of morality and choice.”
    • “The overall story was not really compelling at all, and it built up to a conflict that just kind of simmered and ended without providing any satisfaction from any of the decisions I've made.”
    • “The story just cuts off out of nowhere and you see the credits rolling and you sit there in confusion like, '... wait, what? Did my game glitch?' because there are so many loose ends and uncompleted story arcs it didn't even feel like a completed game.”
    • “Very short, narrative confusing; constantly jumps from characters just as you start to care about them, spends a lot of time (relative to how short it is) on characters and plotlines with no payoff or connection to the main story, suddenly ends on a cliffhanger when you start to think the game is getting interesting.”
  • graphics31 mentions

    The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the beautiful hand-drawn environments and unique art style, while others criticize the simplistic and rudimentary visuals. Many players appreciate the aesthetic consistency and atmosphere, despite noting performance issues and graphical glitches. Overall, the game is seen as prioritizing narrative over graphical fidelity, leading to a range of opinions on its visual quality.

    • “The graphics are just beautiful.”
    • “Graphics certainly deserve praise here, all locations are meticulously drawn and character animations are well done; music is great, it blends seamlessly with the atmosphere and is nice to listen to.”
    • “Graphically, Unrest boasts simple but beautiful hand-drawn environments that evoke an Indian setting.”
    • “So after seeing the simple 2D graphics and fulfilling the minimum requirements on my laptop, I was very confused to see this game has atrocious performance.”
    • “I can play games with much better graphics at 60 fps on this PC.”
    • “As for flaws, I would say that the graphics and animations are pretty rudimentary, and that the main story is short - I think I took 4 hours in my first playthrough.”
  • gameplay22 mentions

    The gameplay of this title has been criticized for its limited mechanics, often feeling more like an overglorified visual novel than a traditional game, with little to no fail states or interactive elements. While the dialogue-driven choices and character development are praised, many players find the lack of clarity in how choices impact the story frustrating, leading to a superficial experience. Overall, the game offers a rich narrative but falls short in gameplay depth and mechanics, leaving players wanting more.

    • “In this game, you play as multiple characters, all of whom are involved with and affected by the events of the game and your choices within it; in other words, your choices matter and affect your gameplay.”
    • “If you're a fan of worldbuilding, dialogue-driven gameplay, non-western fantasy settings, and realistic moral choices outside of the facile 'paragon/renegade' binary... I can't recommend Unrest enough.”
    • “I got this game because I was looking for an RPG that did not use fighting or collecting loot as a mechanic, and that is what this is.”
    • “There's little to no gameplay, to the point that it feels like an overglorified visual novel, so if you're the sort to say 'it's not a game if there's no fail state or if there isn't enough gameplay' or whatever, then you definitely will find it lacking.”
    • “Simply put: the game mechanics were very poorly done.”
    • “Overall, the style and background to this choose-your-own-adventure game is praise-worthy, but the gameplay itself is very limited and the actual conclusion to the game leaves me wanting.”
  • music16 mentions

    The music in the game is generally praised for its beauty and ability to enhance immersion, effectively setting the tone for the narrative. However, several reviews note that it can be repetitive and lacks variation, with some mentioning issues with looping. Overall, while the music contributes positively to the atmosphere, it could benefit from more diversity to elevate the experience further.

    • “Set in ancient India in an imaginary kingdom, the game boasts good music and has a pleasant and exotic atmosphere.”
    • “The music is beautiful and lends itself to the immersion of the game.”
    • “The music is incredible and fits the scenarios very well.”
    • “The music can get jarring at times, and the art isn't incredible, but it gets the job done.”
    • “Literally the only things I disliked were the soundtrack (music looped in a monotonous way) and actual game time was short, but these are minor issues.”
    • “Achieving the thematic goal has come with a cost of elegance in art and audio; tailored animations and looping music would have elevated the game.”
  • replayability6 mentions

    The game offers a mix of opinions on replayability; while it features multiple choices and outcomes that suggest significant replay value, some players find the short length and abrupt endings diminish their motivation to replay. Overall, the consensus indicates that while there are options for different experiences, the game's execution may not encourage repeated playthroughs for everyone.

    • “Because there are so many choices to make and consequences as a result of every choice, the game - though short - has significant replay value.”
    • “- many options/high replay value”
    • “It may have some replayability, but I never bothered after finishing a playthrough.”
    • “Replayability - 0/10.”
    • “It's about 2-3 hours long, but the decisions that you can make give it some replayability.”
  • emotional4 mentions

    Reviews highlight a mixed emotional experience in the game, with some players feeling that the lack of distinct endings diminishes the impact of their choices, leading to a sense of detachment. However, others appreciate the game's ability to balance lighthearted moments with tension, creating a compelling emotional backdrop. Overall, while the game offers depth and substance, it struggles to fully engage players on an emotional level.

    • “It's light and happy when it needs to be, but it is equally tense and suspenseful when required, providing the perfect backdrop for the emotional rollercoaster that you are riding.”
    • “In summary, Unrest is a truly outstanding game, holding a huge appeal with its depth and emotional attachment. It doesn't suck you in with cheap gimmicks; it has true substance.”
  • atmosphere3 mentions

    The atmosphere of "Unrest" is characterized by its immersive setting in an ancient Indian kingdom, complemented by meticulously drawn graphics and well-executed character animations. The game's music enhances the experience, blending seamlessly with the visuals to create a pleasant and exotic ambiance, despite the graphics being somewhat dated by modern standards.

    • “Set in ancient India in an imaginary kingdom, the game boasts good music and has a pleasant and exotic atmosphere.”
    • “Graphics certainly deserve praise here; all locations are meticulously drawn, and character animations are well done. The music is great, blending seamlessly with the atmosphere and is nice to listen to.”
    • “While the graphics may be dated by today's standards, they are well presented and contribute to a strong atmosphere in the game.”
  • character development3 mentions

    Character development in the game is noted for its initial promise, enhanced by great music, but ultimately falls short as it fails to significantly impact the story progression or provide meaningful growth for both the playable and non-playable characters.

    • “Great music and character development.”
    • “The character development is engaging and adds depth to the story.”
    • “The interactions and choices significantly enhance the character development experience.”
    • “This, however, is where character development grinds to a halt.”
    • “While these sometimes change the reactions of characters, they never actually change how the story progresses, and don't really provide character development for the playable character or the non-player characters.”
  • stability3 mentions

    The game's stability has been criticized, particularly on macOS, where users report persistent graphical glitches and bugs that hinder gameplay. While some minor issues are noted, overall performance is described as laggy and unpolished, leading to a frustrating experience.

    • “The game is marketed as one supporting macOS, however, it's been more than 2 years since it was released and I still cannot play it on my iMac without graphical glitches.”
    • “Game is buggy, lags, and is just boring.”
    • “There remain odd graphical glitches when the main characters are walking, but these are minor.”
  • optimization2 mentions

    Despite its simple 2D graphics and meeting minimum system requirements, the game suffers from poor performance, leaving players frustrated and questioning its optimization. Many users feel that such issues are unacceptable, regardless of the game's indie status.

    • “After seeing the simple 2D graphics and fulfilling the minimum requirements on my laptop, I was very confused to see that this game has atrocious performance.”
    • “Indie or not, this level of performance is not acceptable in any way.”
  • grinding1 mentions

    The reviews do not specifically address the aspect of "grinding," focusing instead on the game's music, which is appreciated for its consistent and enjoyable quality. As such, there is no relevant information regarding grinding in the provided text.

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

Critic Reviews

54% average critic score

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Play time

7hMedian play time
7hAverage play time
7-7hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 1 analyzed playthroughs

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