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A somewhat unique mix of storytelling about life changes mixed with a meticulous packing simulator that will test your organizational skills sorely
While I wouldn’t call myself a cozy gaming enthusiast, I can absolutely appreciate their charms when they’re well-conceived and made. One Move Away immediately made me think of the excellent Unpacking, and in many ways it shares some of the same DNA. Granted, since you’re packing things up instead of pulling them out it works in reverse, and this is more of a first-person sim than an isometric pixel art affair, but it also somewhat indirectly tells a story through different times in a person’s life through this arranging exercise.Don’t let the cozy trappings and feels fool you though, very quickly you may find this challenging depending on how developed your life skills for Tetrising many items into as small and compact a space as possible may be already. You’ll absolutely need to work just to meet the base objective of getting the required items into the space allotted, taking layering into careful consideration and trying to be sure to place your simplest items on the bottom, and then dealing with the more irregular stuff last. The tutorial is at least helpful getting you on board, even if it may run a little long, but some abilities like stretching your arms can be especially crucial to your success, so it’s well worth going through. I do wish your shove skills were a little more realistic, since it’s amazing how pliable many things can be when enough force is applied, but I guess we’re being careful not to break anything, so I’ll leave that point alone I suppose.Now, some things to be aware of that may not jump out at you. While I personally had no issues with it, I’ve seen multiple people report having problems with motion sickness, even those who say that it normally isn’t an issue for them. What may specifically be causing that I can’t say, but it may make taking some time to watch gameplay video first a good idea, to see if you’re feeling any ill effects before taking the plunge. Another is that before long, as if packing some crazy stuff into pretty tight spaces wasn’t enough of a challenge, you’ll also need to begin taking some physics into account, so if you do a more sloppy job and things are allowed to shift too much while you drive down a bumpy road, your organizing will have been for naught. At least if you know this going in, and can take it into account before it is an issue, it may not make for such a rude surprise, but I would imagine some people may find this shifts the game further away from being a breezy and lighter bit of fun. As a whole it comes together quite nicely, but just be aware there could be some caveats that could cause you to rethink your feelings on it.
Justin Nation, Score:Nindie Choice! [8.1]