UNBINARY

Unbinary is a VR puzzle game where you are guided through a series of test chambers by an advanced AI, akin to Portal. In the game you are given access to 3 masks which when equipped change which objects you are able to interact with, as well as how NPCs will interact with you. I really enjoyed this mechanic and it allowed for some unique puzzles. Speaking of puzzles, they were enjoyable throughout the entire game. The first half of the game was maybe a little too easy, I wouldn't have minded if the difficulty began to ramp up a little earlier. The latter half had puzzles with a more satisfying difficulty, where a couple of times I did have to stop and think before proceeding. The game was never frustratingly difficult at any point. Unbinary also features a hand-painted art style that was just lovely to be immersed in. Objects and characters looked great in this style, and I even found myself saying hello back to every robot that greeted me. Some aspects of the environment such as walls could have used a touch more detail to give a bit more atmosphere, but overall the game looked great. Story wise, there was enough to keep me entertained for my play through with decent voice ac…

[i]<I wrote this incomplete review two months ago, intending to finish it by commenting on the allegory at the heart of this game. I didn't have time to do it, and now it has been too long since I played Unbinary and I don't remember the details to do it properly. The first part of the review about the gameplay is complete, so I will post the review as it was on March 2, 2022.>[/i] Unbinary is a puzzle and narrative adventure game for virtual reality that distinguishes itself from the abundance of similar games with a unique art style and a theme that is entirely an allegory. I'll comment on Unibinary at the allegorical level later, but for now let's look at Unbinary as a VR game. "Autonomous User" is your role as player character, and your job is to solve puzzles to advance through areas and collect the data cube at the end. "Webby" is the artificial intellegence the Autonomous User is operating within, and she is undergoing tests to ensure her perfection. Webby is there every step of the way, with continuous commentary and I enjoyed her companionship. The voice actress was very enthusiastic, and though she got screechy at times, it is clear from the start that the AI Webb…

I really liked this game! The art, amazing! Love the hand drawn... well... everything. The voice acting is very good, and consistent right up to the very end. Then it changes, and is a bit jarring. But that is minor. Controls are pretty solid. Platforming is a touch janky, but it isnt game breaking and I got use to it pretty quickly. The puzzles are unique, and utilize novel mechanicis in the second half. The novel mechanics tie in very nicely with the story narrative. The story itself is very good, and hits close to home. It was nice to have a game story that wasn't just some cookie-cutter run-of-the-mill plot. Overall I highly recommend.

The game isn't very long, but it has a pretty good storyline and nice graphics. Played it on the Quest 2 via AirLink and didn't run into any major issues.

Good puzzles with a unique art style that is compelling.

Wonderful environments with very nice model work and style. The voice actors were a little on the overdramatic side, with a bit of the "You... need... to... do... the... thing..." type of speak near the end, but it was more on the cheesy side than the annoying side. Sometimes I encountered puzzle-breaking glitches, such as bots losing track of their current location after moving around, but level restarts are easy enough and levels are short enough that I didn't lose much progress. [spoiler]I think the game was sort of trying to make a racism/prejudice allegory, which I found interesting in that they actually tied it into the puzzles rather than being only part of the dialogue. The yellow mask causes green bots to loathe you and actually shove you around if you get close (may be disorientating for some) which I found to actually be a little bit threatening as you'd walk near one, swap masks to climb a ladder, and hear the hate sounds start up; I found myself climbing ladders a little faster even though I was far enough that the green bots wouldn't touch me. I think it could have been a [i]little[/i] more subtle at times, but like the voice acting it wasn't disruptive and as previo…