Unravel Two

After eyeing the game up for years, during a recent eShop sale I finally picked up Unravel Two, not being able to resist its incredible discount of 80%. Playable solo for sure, it is a game that has clearly been built around co-op and with my sister now owning a Switch herself, it seemed an ideal game for us to play together, even if we only see eachother now once a month or so.

The game begins with the red character, known as a Yarny, getting lost on an island where they quickly discover a fellow blue Yarny, conveniently yet by pure coincidence matching the colours of the Switch controllers. Immediately launching the co-op aspect of the game with the introduction of a second player, me and my sister jumped into the customisation menu first. Here you can change colour and head, body and eye shape, with additional options unlocked as you progress in the main story.

Acting as a hub for the game, a run-down lighthouse gives access to each of the seven levels, as well as providing wall space for paintings, earned via collecting hidden items and completing achievements.

The graphics for the game are very impressive, with lighting, reflections and textures all providing a great sense of realism. The characters themselves are especially detailed, with fibres visibly extending from their yarn-comprised bodies. It is the gameplay though where this game really shines. Connected by a string of yarn, this can be used in multiple creative ways throughout the game to navigate obstacles, platform, solve puzzles and avoid enemies. Above we see the red Yarny using the tether technique whilst swinging the blue Yarny below, such fun and a great laugh for me and my sister, failing multiple times to reach distant platforms.

Knots exist throughout the game that you can utilise, tieing your own yarn to to form a bridge. Alternatively the same technique can be used to move objects, fixing this makeshift crossing long enough for the second character to make the leap to the other side.

Some sections are purely puzzle-based and I’ll be honest, certainly had me and my sister perplexed, taking a good half hour to complete on occasion. Above a combination of swinging, jumping and using two pulleys was necessary to reach the glowing light, a guide throughout the game demonstrating where to reach to progress.

Given that you are but a small character made from yarn, the real world is full of danger with water, fire and animals all looking to take you out, plus some peculiar black, sparky creatures which have yet to be explained in our playthrough. This sense of scale is what makes the game so fascinating to explore, hopping across lily pads, crawling under benches and riding the prongs of a forklift truck!

In addition to the gameplay, there are beautiful cinematic moments too that allude to a deeper story. As you progress through each stage, two human characters, a boy and girl, appear as ghostly apparitions in the background, escaping more sinister humanoids that repeatedly pursue them. Now on level six, we remain none the wiser, but I look forward to uncovering the true meaning (hopefully) as we near the climax.

A fun little puzzle game provided you have someone to play with, and phenomenal value for money if purchased on sale, I couldn’t recommend the game highly enough. In fact my only gripe about the game is the length of the levels – with there being just seven, each can take an hour and a half to complete, in turn leading to the adventurous music becoming monotonous. Nonetheless, pick this up, and see that I’m not just spinning you a yarn in this blog post.