Unpacking was one of the best games of 2021, to the point where it didn’t just make my personal GOTY list, but the entire site’s as well. It is currently available on PC, Mac, Switch and Xbox One. It is most definitely not available on Apple’s iOS devices.
And yet! Earlier today the top free download on the App Store, outranking even YouTube, Tik-Tok and Instagram, was a game called Unpacking Master (it has since slipped back down the charts) which, as you may have guessed from the pricepoint and platform, is not just inspired by Unpacking, but is a criminally shameless clone of it.
From the name to the premise to the viewpoint to the art style to the music to even the way the whole thing is framed, this is Unpacking! Only it’s not, it’s some game a bunch of arseholes whipped up to capitalise on Unpacking’s accolades and make some quick money from in-app purchases.
If you’ve never played Unpacking, here’s a trailer for it:
And here’s Unpacking Master:
The game is also available on Google’s Play Store for Android devices, where it’s currently sitting in the #2 position. The fact it looks and sounds so much like Unpacking, right down to the name, is cutting so close to the original that people are downloading this by mistake, assuming that it’s simply a mobile version that developers Witch Beam whipped up. Here, for example, is the top-listed review on the Google Play Store:
I downloaded this on a whim without looking at the developer… I was really hoping this was a mobile version of Unpacking by Witch Beam and Humble Games, which has an incredible story. This feels like a ripoff of that, down to the rooms and the items in them.
It also sounds like a game that sells itself on being relaxing is also killing the vibe with ads:
i love the concept of this game, but the incessant ads which pop up unannounced every five seconds make it basically unplayable. it cancels out any relaxing aspect of the game and makes me want to tear my hair out.
Fuck this! And fuck publishers SayGames Ltd. If you see this advertised on either shopfront, please don’t download it.
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