I don't think anyone had heard of this game when it was first announced at E3 2015 but when we saw the trailer, I was impressed on what I saw in that trailer. It might look like something out of LittleBigPlanet at first with it being a platformer title but Unravel is more of a puzzle platformer throwing in some puzzles and challenges along the way.
As you start the game there's an introduction of an old woman is seen looking out her window, before she adjusts a picture of a baby and picking up a ball of yarn. As she proceeds upstairs, a lone ball of yarn rolls out of shot a red and a strange knitted type doll named Yarny. Who is an anthropomorphic creature made of red yarn, and the protagonist for the story. When you start a chapter all of them are presented through photo frames that are scatted around the house, holding down square will give you a memory segment around that setting. The first stage is in a garden then another level will be the sea, other levels will have different settings based on the memory segments through the photo frames, it does feel like it has a mix of LittleBigPlanet, Flower and Limbo.
With it being a puzzle platformer Unravel does throw in some clever challenges Yarny can use his yarn as a rope to pull or grab objects you can also grab on to hooks and swing your away across. Another clever idea you'll notice is that if you see two hooks close by you can attach them together you can make a little trampoline which help you reach higher places you need to get to or finding a collectable nearby from a higher place you can't reach. Plus you can also attach hooks say if one is a few inches up and the other hook is on the ground and you need to get a heavy object up there you can make a line string which can help you move heavy objects by just sliding them.
A really clever mechanic is how you move around in the game sometimes it's just traversing, navigating. Since you always leave this trail behind you from jumping over platforms, grabbing ledges or swing across the further you move and nowhere near a red yarn checkpoint the more trail you leave behind you'll end up walking a lot slower and making it harder to move but in order leave less of a trail you would need to und the odd knots that are wrapped around hooks seems like a smart idea at first but later levels will have you thinking what should I do next.
The graphics and visuals look really well done using inspired landscapes from Sweden most places were various places in Umea like it’s encouraging families to visit these places if you can, it uses a lot of photography through the whole game especially through certain parts of the game you'll see odd images above you like memory-flashbacks based around the old woman and her family. The level designs and environments are very well detailed to look at it might feel like a short game but as you progress further and further into Unravel you fully understand what's really going on when it comes to storytelling and why Yarny is collecting certain Yarn objects for the scrapbook.
Even the soundtrack does an amazing job with some emotional themes I really don't want to spoil the rest of the story to you if you haven't played Unravel yet, I'm aware that it is a short game but does offer plenty of replay value and of course collecting all secret pieces and getting 100% will keep you busy for a while. Unravel is one of those games that does stand out for a 2016 title and a game to pick for people who don't play games that often, I'm pretty sure it won't be the last time we've seen of Yarny or that red trail.