Unravel Two

Genre: Puzzle-Platformer

Players: 1-2 Co-Op (Local)

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Review:

Unravel Two is a family-friendly Puzzle-Platformer originally released on multiple platforms in 2018 and ported to the Nintendo Switch in 2019. It is the second game in the Unravel series, but players don’t need to have played the first game to understand what’s going on here, as there’s no dialogue and very little of what you’d consider “story” aside from your observations of what characters are doing, with your “yarny” characters’ struggles happening alongside ghosts of what looks to be teenagers running to escape from abusive adults (largely implied, nothing explicit).

Graphically, this game doesn’t have the same level of detail as the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of the game, but it still looks quite good, with your little yarn characters moving around in a real-world setting that has a lot of nice detail and some good use of lighting, although I’ll note that there is some aliasing that crops up. In a nice touch, playing in docked mode allows players to choose between graphics and performance modes, with the former providing more detailed textures, and the latter bumping the framerates up from 30FPS to 60FPS. Personally, I found 30FPS to be more than sufficient, and I preferred the extra detail that mode provided, but I’m glad the developers gave players the option between the two.

However, while the graphics here are pretty good, the sound is absolutely wonderful, with a really nice, subdued, emotional soundtrack that makes this feel like more than just a cutesy game about silly yarn creatures, but something that has some emotional depth to it.

In terms of gameplay, I feel like this game has done something really unique and special with its two-character mechanic. Players can play these characters separately in couch co-op, and the game is excellent played that way, but it is perfectly playable with just one player as well, with the controls for switching between the two characters and using the string that ties them together in different ways feeling natural, and used in some really creative ways in the game’s puzzles.

Honestly, I strain to remember the last time I found a Puzzle-Platformer to have mechanics this engrossing, with players easily using one character to hoist the other up or swing them to the next ledge, or have both characters tie down their ends to form a bridge… and while none of the puzzles here really had me feeling like I was challenged to try and figure out the solution for very long, there were plenty of times where I had to stop for a moment and think things through, and felt clever when I realized what I needed to do.

Really, my biggest complaint about this game is its length – the entire thing can be completed in 5-6 hours. That’s not horrible for a game that’s priced to be a budget title, as this game is, but I would have gladly paid more for a longer game.

What really surprises me is that this game is currently the only title EA has published on the Nintendo Switch other than their lazy yearly releases of FIFA Soccer, at least until their upcoming port of Burnout Paradise Remastered comes out. And yet, despite EA being one of the worst third-parties when it comes to their support of the Nintendo Switch, they have brought Switch owners one of the console’s best Puzzle-Platformers, one with some great mechanics, great puzzle design, interesting world design, wonderful music, and fantastic co-op. If you don’t already own this game on another platform, you should absolutely get it on the Switch.

tl;dr – Unravel Two is a family-friendly Puzzle-Platformer that has you playing as a pair of small yarn-creatures as they use their yarn to help each other get past various obstacles in a real world environment. The presentation, while not on par with other versions, is still fantastic, and the puzzles are superb, whether you’re playing solo or in co-op. The only thing holding this game back is its short length, but with its low price, this game is absolutely worth getting on Switch if you don’t already have it elsewhere.

Grade: A-

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