Unwording Review - Heard The Word About The Bird?

Story is one of the key factors I look for in a game, and there’s nothing more profound than when finishing a game, I’m reliving the experience in my head or when the content has sparked an interest in a subject – be it pirates, cars, or learning a new skill. Unwording is one of those sparks and a meaningful one at that.

This isn’t the first Frostwood Interactive game I’ve covered. I considered Rainswept a masterclass in storytelling, and Forgotten Fields inspired me to write more. Following that theme, which is somewhat of an inspirational trilogy, Unwording has taught me how to think. More on that in a bit, and hopefully, not be so wordy.

The game itself is more like a game jam. That’s not to undermine the developer’s efforts, but it takes a couple of hours to finish, and the hurdles are more clunky than challenging. In it, you play a chap who finds it very hard to motivate themselves and get out of bed. The theme here is training your mind to think differently, and that’s where you fit in.

Unwording Review

Unwording takes place over three days, and each is represented by a different graphical style, signifying your progress. At the start, the world is flat, and you interact with the items around you by walking up to them and pressing ‘E’ or the corresponding button.

As a puzzle game, the initial process is rearranging words to put a literal spin on their meaning. In doing so, the protagonist’s outlook changes, and they can progress through their day. On the first day, you validate their low mood and reinforce ideas. By the second day, your perspective starts to change, and with this, the visuals shift.

Without giving direct spoilers (see the trailers and screenshots – the style is revealed), the puzzles advance and now you are rearranging words in 3D to rethink a thought, making it a positive one. By day three, you’re typing into commands to interact with the world and developing some positive insights.

Every Day Is Exactly The Same?

The presentation and general mood of Unwording work very well, but I did encounter technical issues – notably on the Steam Deck. The character would sometimes walk through objects, or when in the 3D mode, the viewpoint would lock, and it reached a point where I could not proceed with literally one action to complete.

Switching over to the desktop solved this, and I subsequently completed the game two more times, thoroughly exploring the environments and unlocking everything to be seen. The typing element was much better on the desktop, rather than pressing hotkeys on the Steam Deck!

What resonated with me most, however, was the subject matter. When presented with negative problems, I could provide the correct answer, verifying that I have felt this way before and still experience moments with a skewed interpretation. This is also intentional of the game. What makes the difference here is that the developer has provided links to articles and YouTube videos that are inspiring and help us combat our negative thinking.

I won’t provide the links here, but one such video was wonderful – a channel I’m already subscribed to but hadn’t seen the interview. In short, the content has helped shape my thought process these past couple of weeks when circumstances have been particularly tough.

Verdict

Granted, you could say a blog post with the links would be enough, but that defeats the purpose of Unwording. It’s an enjoyable experience, if a little brief, but having played through it a few times and checked out the resources – including the developer’s own video – has inspired me again. For that reason alone, I suggest you look into this one.