Unleaving

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• DEVELOPER: orangutan matter
• PUBLISHER: orangutan matter
• PLATFORMS: PC
• GENRE: Puzzle Platformer
• RELEASE DATE: March 27, 2024
• INITIAL PRICE: 13.79€
• REVIEWED VERSION: PC

Unleaving is a narrative-driven puzzle platformer where every challenge unfolds within a hand-painted landscape, exploring the perception and meaning of the world. Despite the game featuring very impressive graphics, sounds, and diverse puzzles and platforming segments, the gameplay mechanics themselves can lead to frustration. The puzzles demand precise accuracy, and repeating the same challenges, that is, entering the same loop after making a mistake or dying, can be extremely tiring. You have to wait for everything to reload and then attempt to solve the same puzzle all over again.

The puzzles in this game range from easy to difficult and are crucial for progression. For instance, you might have to pull a box and jump on it to gain height and climb up, or precisely time a jump as a bison moves on a carousel, allowing you to soar onto a marked ledge. In fact, this is a very loose example, as these puzzles vary depending on the world you are in and provide diversity in that segment. 

The game continuously revolves around solving these puzzles while simultaneously enjoying the beautiful colors, animations, and a not-so-clear story. Should you get stuck on a particular section, help is offered, which will point you in the right direction but will not give a direct solution. Specifically, the puzzles are never so difficult that they completely halt your progress.

Gameplay and Artistry

The majority of the game is designed with an emphasis on trial-and-error, which means you will likely die several times during each puzzle. Solutions are often not obvious. Generally, the controls are basic: SPACE to jump and the Shift key for interacting with objects. However, they are frequently overly sensitive or indecisive, which further complicates solving puzzles that demand precision in timing or position, and often makes the situation more challenging, such as automatically climbing onto a box instead of pushing it. These minor flaws can make the puzzles harder than they need to be.

The developers themselves revealed the inspiration for the game’s name, Unleaving, in the lines of Gerard Manley Hopkins’ poem, “Spring and Fall: To a young child.” This poem begins with the line: “Márgarét, are you grieving / Over Goldengrove unleaving?” According to Hopkins, Goldengrove loses its leaves as the seasons pass, which is a metaphor for the transient nature of life. This poetry gives the impression that Unleaving is a metaphorical game crafted through the context of its illustrations, where the image is more important than the words.

A prominent characteristic of this game is its animations, which are very well executed. The sound and music during gameplay are kept to a minimum. They include the sounds of water, wind, footsteps, dragging objects, etc., which perfectly accompany the flow of the game, meaning they do not distract or detract. 

After you solve the main segment of the game, a cutscene follows each time, opening the path forward and including some of the most beautiful musical compositions. Unfortunately, the music is very rare, but the game truly impresses with a diversity of styles that evoke different emotions and successfully manage the narrative alongside the beautiful visuals.

Final Thoughts

I was extremely drawn to the different ideas this game offers. The world is truly beautiful, and it’s fascinating how all these elements are unified into a unique game. For example, you explore diverse landscapes such as beautiful meadows, snowy expanses, modernized locations, etc. All of this perfectly follows the events within the game itself, and although the game does not emphasize an explicit story, the texts that occasionally appear provoke thought. You simply get lost in the design itself.

Unleaving stands out for its artistry, but beyond that, I don’t see a reason why this would be a MUST-PLAY. However, when smaller development studios like Orangutan Matter dedicate so much love and attention to their art and put great effort into creating a game, you feel satisfied knowing that the money you invested in that game was well spent. For those who prefer games without intense action, enjoy exploring titles that offer something intriguing, or simply appreciate the visual experience, Unleaving delivers exactly that. It truly is a gem hidden within the vast ocean and world of games.