Unburden is a fantastic game built around the idea of helping others and unburdening yourself of possessions. What commendable themes and such a fun game!
The Backstory of Unburden
Unburden opened with Mark (aka employee number 1137) in his office, typing on a keyboard. All of a sudden, there was a bright light, and when it faded, Mark noticed he was wearing a sizeable backpack. He looked at it and asked himself how long he had been carrying this burden, and whether it was all necessary.
He walked around his office and evaluated the items it contained. He found a photo of himself with the chairman of his company shaking hands, but now he remembered that the man had got his name wrong. That was unsettling. He also found a plaque which commended him for being Employee of the Year, but as he watched, the text changed to Follower of the Year. This all got him thinking, is this all there is? Did he need all these possessions? Should there be more to his life? So Mark walked out of his office, and his adventure into the depths of self-reflection began.
The Look and Feel of Unburden
Unburden is an open-world, low-poly game. I loved the graphics!! The colors were very muted at first, but each time Mark helped others, the colors got slightly brighter. During the actual moment when Mark succeeds in helping someone, the colors get really vibrant, but then they fade a bit. The soundtrack for the game is pop synthesizer music for the most part.
It was cheerful and happy. Unburden has a grouping of NPCs that play in a rock band as well as a man weed-whacking his lawn. After Mark helped the rock band members, the song they were playing would get really loud as he walked close to them, and then faded away as he walked away. The same thing happened to the man with the weed whacker. At some points in the game, it was raining, and it sounded very realistic. I love when games pay so much attention to detail!! Not just details of sight but details of sound.
The demo for Unburden included a variety of areas and NPCs, all connected by paths. There is an art gallery with an artist, a rock band, a magician, a child right outside of my office building and a man weedwhacking his lawn. In the demo, each one of these individuals had a quest for me, usually involving more than one action. It was a lot of fun, and after I completed each quest, the area got really bright and colorful for a second.
The Gameplay of Unburden
I am a player who often needs a lot of handholding when I begin a game. When I played Unburden, I didn’t need any!! Every action was explained as I needed to use it, and there weren’t many different things I had to do. In a nutshell, I walked around a really cool world and spoke with the NPCs. At first, they all needed me to help them with something or other. Sometimes I had to complete a quest for one NPC before I could help anyone else. I used the items in my heavy backpack to help them, which unburdened me. Plus, every time I helped someone, my world got a bit brighter.
Unburden often flashed messages at me as I played. They included “Reducing a burden reveals items in inventory” and “Use items to help others while reducing your burden”. These told me the main theme of the game: reduce my burdensome possessions while using them to help others. What a lovely sentiment.
When I was given a task by an NPC, I could cycle through my possessions to see which ones might be of assistance. Usually, I was given a hint that I had to do something else first. I appreciate that!
Helpful Items in Unburden
I was given a wonderful journal to keep track of my quests. It also had some hints embedded in it, giving me gentle nudges of what I should do next. I loved how the journal checked off items which I’d completed and when a full quest was completed, it disappeared completely. That’s so helpful.
I also discovered I cannot talk to an NPC after I’ve completed their quest. I really like that. I dislike wasting time chatting with NPCs when there is no need to do so. In Unburden, I completed the NPC’s quest and then moved on to the next thing!!
Final Thoughts
I absolutely loved playing the demo for Unburden. It was just the right level of difficulty for me. It was not too easy, and yet with a few moments’ thought and some exploring, I was able to complete each quest. I played for 45 minutes and completed the entire demo. I can’t wait for the full game!
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