Unleavingis a story-driven puzzle platformer told through a child’s perspective in a world brought to life like a painting. Stories in video games aren’t always clear-cut, and many rely on different ways of telling their story, such as environmental storytelling. It’s a technique that many fans of the puzzle platforming genre are no doubt familiar with, especially for fans ofgames likeHollow KnightandLimbo. However, games that use environmental storytelling often place different levels of importance on features like puzzles and may exclude features like special abilities or combat altogether.
Concerning storytelling,Unleavingguides players on an introspective journey rather than imposing its meaning. Just as art is often open to interpretation,Unleavingputs the experience in players' hands as they navigate puzzles with minimal direct storytelling. In a recent interview with Game Rant, developers Sura Karnawi and Saif Jabur explained why they chose this approach and their various inspirations, including Studio Ghibli. They also revealed ’s puzzle-platforming elements and how these relate to the storytelling.
Unleaving’s Environmental Storytelling And Puzzle Platforming
Where manypuzzle platformer gamesfocus on mechanical progression, Jabur explained they wantedUnleaving’s puzzles “to be guided by the narrative.” When asked about the types of puzzles in the game, he also addedUnleaving’s puzzles are “reminiscent of the old classical games likeLimbo,” meaning mostly physics-based puzzles rather than skills-based ones. However, he also mentioned some have “unusual changes in the music mechanics.” GivenUnleaving’s puzzles tie closely to its narrative, Jabur added that talking about the puzzles is difficult without revealing the story, but he explained the impact of this approach:
You progress through the story, not knowing what the next thing is going to be. That way, we could sort of nurture the process rather than control it.
Using puzzles as a vessel forenvironmental storytellingis intriguing and reflects how it doesn’t seek to impose its meaning on players. This approach also reflects the mindful art processes that drove its creation. Instead, it’s up to players to interpret the experience as the story unfolds. As Jabur explained,
This is a personal journey, interpret it the way you want. We encourage introspection and thinking about the messages.
Unleaving’s Studio Ghibli Inspirations
Studio Ghibli moviesare widely celebrated and often tell stories through a child’s viewpoint or other unusual, unique ways. Their stories often unfold and end in unusual or non-imposing ways, an approach that Jabur explainedUnleavingshares:
A lot of studios do that kind of process, like Studio Ghibli. They basically don’t have an ending to their story, and they just let the story unfold. We did a kind of similar process where we got different perspectives from different collaborators, and we just let the narrative come forward on its own. I think it came to be something unpredictable, and it affected us personally in different ways as well.
While Knaresborough Bridge in England was the original inspiration forUnleaving’s creation andgames likeLimbowere influential, Karnawi citedPrincess Monokoas another initial inspiration. The developers also discussed how presenting deeper or adult themes through a child’s often innocent and fresh perspective is also significant inUnleaving,as Ghibli movies often do. As Jabur explained,
I think the idea is that Hayao Miyazaki didn’t shy away from presenting violent, deeper themes. When he was challenged about that, he said younger audiences should really acknowledge that such things exist online. We also wanted to bring such an approach that deeper themes can be presented to a younger audience in a poetic way, not in a forced way. It’s a personal experience that you put your own meaning into.
