{"id":777,"date":"2023-08-24T19:16:35","date_gmt":"2023-08-24T19:16:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ballpeenhammer.com\/?p=777"},"modified":"2025-07-02T19:31:14","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T19:31:14","slug":"unpacking-mobile-review-best-on-ipad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.ballpeenhammer.com\/index.php\/2023\/08\/24\/unpacking-mobile-review-best-on-ipad\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Unpacking\u2019 Mobile Review \u2013 Best on iPad"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a class=\"app-icon\" href=\"\/games\/unpacking\" style=\"float:left;margin-top:4px;margin-right:10px\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-radius:20px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" alt=\"\" class=\"lazyload\" data-src=\"http:\/\/www.ballpeenhammer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/100x100bb-6.jpg\"><\/a> While I\u2019m still waiting for a few games <a href=\"https:\/\/toucharcade.com\/2022\/05\/02\/10-best-ios-ports-2022-wishlist-no-mans-sky-disco-elysium-unpacking-mobile-iphone-android-ipad\/\">from my list<\/a> of games I\u2019d like to see hit iOS, I\u2019m super happy that Witch Beam\u2019s narrative puzzler <em>Unpacking<\/em> <a href=\"http:\/\/toucharcade.com\/link\/http:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/app\/id6450058135?mt=8\">($9.99)<\/a> has gotten an excellent conversion on iOS through Humble Games. Over the last week or so, I\u2019ve been replaying <em>Unpacking<\/em> on iPhone, iPad, Switch, Steam Deck, and Xbox to see how I feel about the game over a year since it launched, how the iOS version plays, and more. It has been interesting to revisit the game and narrative of <em>Unpacking<\/em> with its iOS release and the added perspective of helping a family member move and unpack recently.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"video-responsive\">\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Unpacking Launch Trailer\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/vPcoMltTVXE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Your aim in <em>Unpacking<\/em>, as the name suggests, is unpacking and arranging various objects. You experience someone\u2019s life through different stages with a narrative that slowly unfolds through objects, locations, and puzzles. Don\u2019t expect a traditional story here though. <em>Unpacking<\/em> will take you about 3 or 4 hours to play depending on how good you are at positioning and placing objects. If you ever get stuck, you can enable an accessibility option to let you place objects anywhere. This removes the puzzle aspect of <em>Unpacking<\/em>, but is there as an option. It was fun seeing specific objects change over time, and also learning how you should arrange things, because I definitely have been organizing some items wrongly if <em>Unpacking<\/em> is to be believed. <\/p>\n<p>These items are all in boxes, and <em>Unpacking<\/em> grows more complex giving you different rooms and more kinds of objects to place. As a zen experience, <em>Unpacking<\/em> nails everything, but I found myself confused for the specific placement for some objects. When you finish, these objects will glow telling you that they need to be placed somewhere else. This leads to trial and error, and is the only actual gameplay element of <em>Unpacking<\/em> that I didn\u2019t like.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-310056 lazyload\" data-src=\"\/\/cdn.toucharcade.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/unpacking-mobile-review-ipad-iphone-switch-steam-deck-coffee.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p>When I first played <em>Unpacking<\/em>, I used a combination of touch and button controls. I <a href=\"https:\/\/toucharcade.com\/2021\/11\/02\/switcharcade-round-up-reviews-featuring-dusk-and-dungeon-encounters-plus-the-latest-releases-and-sales\/\">loved it on Switch<\/a>, but it felt like a game that would shine on iPad. Fast forward to today, <em>Unpacking<\/em> is available on iOS and Android at half the price of the console and PC versions. The developers of the port have done a fantastic job, but there are a few issues right now on mobile, less so on iPad. <\/p>\n<p><em>Unpacking<\/em> supports full touch controls and controllers on iOS. I used my Razer Kishi V2 on iPhone 11 and had a great time with <em>Unpacking<\/em>. Playing with touch controls isn\u2019t an amazing experience on my iPhone 11 though. It is better on iPhone 14 Plus. On iPad, <em>Unpacking<\/em> feels right at home. The visuals are gorgeous on my iPad Pro, and it even supports controllers with correct button prompts. When I used my DualSense controller, it automatically swapped to showing me PlayStation button prompts. I have no complaints with the iPad version\u2019s interface. <\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" alt=\"unpacking mobile\" width=\"2796\" height=\"1290\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-310057 lazyload\" data-src=\"\/\/cdn.toucharcade.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/unnamed-102.png\"><\/p>\n<p><em>Unpacking<\/em> on iOS has a lower frame rate than the console versions, but it isn\u2019t a dealbreaker. I am disappointed to not see support for 120hz like the PC version has or even a locked 60fps option on modern iOS devices. When it comes to controls and the interface, mouse and touch are the best ways to play <em>Unpacking<\/em>. I would only use a controller with an analog stick to move the cursor as a last resort option or if you\u2019re playing on your phone with a Backbone or Kishi controller.<\/p>\n<p>The iPhone version even has a vibration option that uses haptics. They are very well implemented. Barring that, you can increase the touch target for icons to make it easier to play on iPhone. <em>Unpacking<\/em> isn\u2019t a long game, but I would\u2019ve still liked to have cloud saves using iCloud on iOS. <\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" alt=\"\" width=\"1792\" height=\"828\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-310058 lazyload\" data-src=\"\/\/cdn.toucharcade.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/unpacking-photo-mode-mobile.png\"><\/p>\n<p>Having played <em>Unpacking<\/em> on Nintendo Switch, PC, and Xbox before the iOS version, it is hard to find fault with the latter barring the lack of iCloud save support. The asking price being half of other platforms and such an excellent conversion definitely makes it an easier recommendation. I already loved the storytelling, relaxing gameplay, gorgeous visuals, and soundtrack in <em>Unpacking<\/em>, but it has found a new home on iOS and shines on the plattform. I hope the developers can add a higher frame rate option, but I have nothing bad to say about <em>Unpacking<\/em> barring that. If you held off on the PC and console versions, <em>Unpacking<\/em> is essential on iPad. <\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>While I\u2019m still waiting for a few games from my list of games I\u2019d like to see hit iOS, I\u2019m super happy that Witch Beam\u2019s narrative puzzler Unpacking ($9.99) has gotten an excellent conversion on iOS through Humble Games. Over the last week or so, I\u2019ve been replaying Unpacking on iPhone, iPad, Switch, Steam Deck,&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":779,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-777","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ballpeenhammer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ballpeenhammer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ballpeenhammer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ballpeenhammer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ballpeenhammer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=777"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.ballpeenhammer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":780,"href":"http:\/\/www.ballpeenhammer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777\/revisions\/780"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ballpeenhammer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/779"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ballpeenhammer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ballpeenhammer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ballpeenhammer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}