Unravel Two

In the first Unravel Yarny conquered my heart pretty much immediately. This cute thread character gained quite a few fans so was excited to see a sequel at EA’s E3 conference. I was even more stoked about the “available now” announcement! Follow the rope and start reading our review for Unravel Two! 

THE GOOD

• Just like the first game, Unravel Two is a beautiful game with many striking visual moments. Seeing the two Yarny’s in photorealistic levels remains impressive and gives the game a special atmosphere.  Lots of different environments keep the game interesting too, and small little details on textures really make it one of the more engaging visual experiences on Xbox.  Swedish Indie-developer Coldwood has some amazing talent and deserve all the praise they get!
• Bringing a second Yarny into the mix has the obvious advantage that co-op players can really enjoy Unravel Two. But even for solo players the game has more depth and fun gameplay. The puzzle design has more variation because you can control two Yarny’s now, I felt it was more challenging than the first Unravel too. You can take that quite literally I don’t remember any single moment in the first Unravel that got me stuck, but this game has a few “what the hell should I do” moments. It is fun figuring out how to overcome some challenges. One thing is for sure, with the two playable characters the developer had a lot more creative freedom in making puzzles and that is the main reason why this one is far superior, compared to the first game.
• One thing that has been improved immensely is the control responsiveness. This was my main issue with the first one and despite adding more emphasis on platforming the overall experience is a lot better in Unravel Two. The game has more chase moments that force you to act quick (known from Ori and the Blind Forest for example) so having better controls was really necessary, I am  glad that the developer managed to do that!
• Not only the visual part of Unravel Two makes it a standout experience, the game has some dreamy soundtrack that perfectly fits Yarny and his friend.

Mixed Feelings

• Unravel opens up pretty emotional and while some story parts are nicely done I wish it had a little bit more meaning. I sadly lost interest in the bigger picture quite fast.

THE BAD

• Some puzzle trigger moments bug so you are forced to restart a checkpoint. This happens more than it should and can be frustrating because you don’t always know that some kind of trigger was supposed to happen. Luckily checkpoints are never really far away but it isn’t user-friendly that it happens in the first place.

Unravel Two [Score: 90%] The biggest new feature for Unravel Two is the co-op gameplay, that at the same time improves the single player experience too. Developer Coldwood did some fantastic work and my love for Yarny has increased quite a lot. Platform fans should immediately buy this one-of-a-kind game.