Draft:Unleaving

Unleaving is a 2024 narrative-driven Puzzle-platform game and debut title from Toronto-based indie team orangutan matter.. . Unleaving is told through a child's perspective in a world brought to life like a painting exploring the perception and meaning of the world. Where many puzzle platformer games focus on mechanical progression, Unleaving's puzzles tie closely to its narrative. The game was released on March 27th, 2024 for Windows and macOS.

Unleaving received "generally favorable" reviews from critics.

Gameplay
Unleaving is a puzzle platform game that plays a lot like Limbo (video game), Inside (video game), and even Gris (video game). Most puzzles are physics-based where momentum and physics play a bit part in progression. Many puzzles require trial and failure but the game offers a vague assist to point the player in the right direction. Unleaving is a metaphorical game crafted through illustrations and puzzles context where each chapter is based on a specific theme that guides the mood, emotion, and story and, by extension, influences the colors and style. The game encourages players to introspect, drawing connections between the unfolding events and their own personal beliefs and experiences. The story of Unleaving focuses on a small child, lost and hopeless, who hears whispers from a lone leaf. Soon, a moth springs to life. Intrigued, the child follows this moth into wild, imaginary worlds where meaning and understanding are explored. This opening sets the stage for the player to engage in abstract thinking, delving into the child’s imaginative world brimming with curiosity and adventure. Unleaving doesn't aim to tell a linear story; it's up to the player to draw their own thoughts and lessons from the scenes seen.

Development
In an in-depth interview with GameRant, Unleaving's devs discuss how their mindful art process pervaded everything. Unleaving combines graphite elements with hand-painted backgrounds. It utilizes traditional painting mediums like acrylics and color palettes reflective of different emotions. While the art style is inspired by renowned artists like J. M. W. Turner, it came from a long process of trials. Unleaving's art style also incorporates Stop motion animation techniques, described by the devs as "painting animation". Thousands of paintings were captured for the backgrounds. The devs of Unleaving emphasized that the backgrounds were very essential to evoking emotions in the narrative and they created different background with intention for every new segment in the game. The puzzles in Unleaving where developed as a vessel for environmental storytelling. The devs explained how they were inspired by Studio Ghibli's approach to storytelling by starting without an ending and letting the story unfold. Similarly the devs nurtured the process of creating Unleaving rather than controlling it

Reception
Unleaving received "generally favorable" reviews. Marc Szymanski of The Gaming Outsider praised its artistic and emotional narrative, writing "The power of the art and the music to bring me to such emotion…in a video game? This game certainly hit me in ways that I don’t recall experiencing before". Casey Scheld praised the art but thought it was a bit short, writing "A short-but-sweet art piece, Unleaving leaves a lasting impression that truly immerses players in its artistic world. For those feeling a little lost, be sure to take this journey". Cosmin Vasile of Softpedia praised how Unleaving manages to communicate emotions but criticzed its focus on precise execution, writing that "The puzzle design is good, although it's easy to struggle with execution after having a clear idea of the solution"