One Move Away PC Review
Summary: If you liked 2021's 'Unpacking' you will probably enjoy the first couple of hours of One Move Away. A 3D First-Person puzzle game where you pack boxes and goods into whatever container the developers limited you with, featuring a hint of story and some physics.
3.5
Reverse 'Unpacking'
Ok, so my wife and I really liked ‘Unpacking’. And I’m trying really hard to not directly compare ‘One Move Away’ – but Ramage Games are making it really difficult not to, in both great and not-so-great ways. I enjoyed most of my short time with One Move Away, but I’m not sure if it’s a positive or a negative that it made me want to replay Unpacking instead. As usual, I will start with the basics – One Move Away is a puzzle game. You play in first-person in a lovely 3D world of vignette levels, during which you attempt to pack your toy truck, your dad’s car, your mum’s briefcase, etc. Aside from a brief description at the start of each level/puzzle, the story that exists is hinted at entirely in gameplay – I’m not sure if I’m being generous referring to the story as diegetic given the gist of the game feels more puzzle-focused than story. Keep in mind my screenshots below are from the first couple of hours, in case you are particularly sensitive to spoilers.
I enjoyed most of the art style and assets. The graphical style reminded me of Firewatch and Pacific Drive, but without the atmosphere of course. It ran well on PC and Steam Deck, and I appreciate that I could almost always tell apart what I needed to pack in my car boot, compared to just environmental assets. I think there is some room to tinker with the scale of the items and the player’s view angle, but after a few minutes I found I could ignore most awkward moments. The bland cardboard boxes seem appropriate for the gameplay mechanic of packing up, but are also very boring and begin to feel like placeholder assets and difficulty modifiers rather than art.
The gameplay is refreshingly simple. You pack whatever moving receptacle/container the game gives you. It starts very simple, but if you’re anything like me you won’t treat the optional objectives as optional – rather you will see them as a personal challenge from the developer to prove your intellectual worth, and intermittently blame the game for your inability to solve the puzzle… and then later remember it’s probably supposed to be a relaxed cosy puzzle game. There are some game mechanics that irritated me – I hated that each container had a really hard limit for the boundary. For example, when filling a suitcase nothing could cross the theoretical lid, when we all know that we are going to overfill that thing, sit on it and zip it up. If I ever gave up on an optional objective, it was because I couldn’t be bothered battling this pretend limit to each ute tray or car boot.
I noticed that before I even had a chance to start writing my thoughts down, Ramage Games had already patched the game to make some of the physics puzzles optional as a difficulty modifier. From the community feedback I noticed on Steam, the majority of people found the physics frustrating and ‘unfair’. My perspective – I thought it was hilarious. When I packed a car trailer, I used the wardrobe, washing machine, and dining chairs as walls for my furniture fort, within which I just dumped anything loose – and I loved watching the puzzle conclusion animation as it simulated a bumpy car ride with all the junk falling out as it failed me. To be fair, the joke didn’t last long given I realised the mechanic was supposed to be serious – but if Ramage Games had leaned into this as a gameplay modifier and mechanic, I think I would have stuck with One Move Away for longer than I did.
Final Thoughts
Overall I found One Move Away to be a fun, interesting but short experience. I enjoyed the potential in the physics, but missed the lack of depth. I think that’s why I always kept thinking back to Unpacking and lamenting the differences. If you’re looking for a relaxed experience, I recommend One Move Away – particularly after the recent patch. But maybe keep an eye out for a sale on Steam, because I’m not sure the puzzle mechanics and hints at story will offer most players enough depth to feel like it’s worth spending the extra hours on.
3.5/5 stars.
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