Unravel Two

Sunday, June 4, 2023

I started playing Unravel Two on the Xbox at the insistence of my 11-yr.-old. Playing cooperative video games is one of the best ways I've found that we can bond and enjoy our time together. In this game, you each play as an adorable creature called a "yarny" made from, yep, yarn.

It’s a platforming adventure game seen from a unique perspective, or two. Play as a pair of Yarnys – small beings made of yarn and connected by a single thread – in local co-op or as a single player. Run, jump and swing through platforming puzzles, foster friendship, and shed light on a world covered in shadow.

I'm not certain how these yarnys came into being, but an unusual sort of sparkly light that travels with them hints at a magical origin. The two characters emerge for their adventure having just survived a shipwreck. They use spare threads from their bodies to devise clever solutions to get past obstacles on the forest floor as they travel away from the coast where they were deposited by a raging sea. So far, my son and I haven't encountered any enemies, though, this being a video game, it wouldn't surprise me at all if they showed up at some point. The challenge has been mainly to overcome falling to your death as you navigate jumping and swinging from your yarn. Death is extremely temporary, as you quickly respawn to a nearby checkpoint. You usually materialize right before the present obstacle. It can take a few tries to get your timing right when navigating through some of the terrain with nothing but your yarny appendages to assist you.

Helping your fellow player is the name of the game. Only by extending each other's capabilities can you complete your quest. If Unravel Two is on your system of choice (and it's on just about all of them), and you have a buddy, I would recommend checking it out. The metaphor is brilliant. Just as your characters are attached to each other by yarn, you and your partner will enjoy the time bonding.