Even small video games can reveal pleasant surprises years later. Now, roughly two years after its launch, Unpacking fans are all of the sudden discovering a beforehand revealed secret mode after a TikTok video introduced it again into the general public eye. The mode is named Dark Star, and it principally forces gamers to beat the sport by tossing objects on the ground as an alternative of neatly placing them away like in the principle mode.
In Unpacking’s customary mode, gamers full ranges by pulling objects out of a field and discovering an applicable spot to retailer them. If, as an example, you place rest room paper within the kitchen sink, the sport will spotlight the merchandise with a purple line and received’t allow you to full the extent. However, when you beat the sport the common method, you’ll be able to enter Dark Star mode, the place you beat every degree by ensuring each single merchandise is positioned incorrectly and highlighted in purple. Once a participant misplaces each single merchandise, the sport will award them with a darkened star and allow them to progress to the following degree.
Developer Witch Beam teased Dark Star as a secret mode previous to the official reveal, then shared a video documenting it as part of an April Fools’ Day post in 2022. “So many people thought it was a fake feature for April Fools’ until they tried it for themselves,” Tim Dawson, a co-founder of Witch Beam and technical director of Unpacking, advised Polygon by way of e mail.
Since that official reveal, some content material creators have even streamed their Dark Star runs. Still, it’s clear that many fans didn’t know in regards to the mode. After Dec. 22 Witch Beam TikTok went viral, fans shared reactions like, “THERE’S A DARK STAR MODE?!?!” and “I have 100% this game and I DIDNT KNOW THIS!? WHAAAAAT!?” Another wrote, “dude I beat this game like 10 times and i am just hearing abt this?!”
Dawson advised Polygon that the secret mode lets gamers discover new methods to expertise the sport’s puzzles. In the feedback, a number of fans commented on how troublesome Dark Star mode can truly be.
“I think what makes Dark Star so interesting is initially it feels like a gag,” Dawson mentioned. “But after a few levels, it sets in how much work it is, and continuing can feel absurd, transgressive, or cathartic. But in the end, it’s just another way to think about items and how they relate to our lives and the spaces we live in, which is what the game is all about.”
Dawson additionally says that whereas the mode “started as a joke,” the builders now admire it as an extension of the sport. “Because we decided not to extend Unpacking with DLC or a sequel, we often mention Dark Star mode when fans contact us asking if we’ll make more levels,” he mentioned. “In many cases, it gives them another way to experience the game.”
Personally, I feel Dark Star mode speaks to the methods our personal media diets and particular bubbles of the web can generally protect a way of shock in a sport. For Dawson, this sort of shock can lend a way of character to a sport.
“I think secrets help give games their personality,” he mentioned. “They’re the twinkle in the eye that suggests that these virtual worlds we spend time in might just be a bit bigger than you think. I love that we were able to come up with a good one for Unpacking.”
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