Hi everyone, and welcome back to My Week Unwrapped, where I discuss all the games I’ve been playing over the last seven days. This was a busy week with some big releases, including the much anticipated Monument Valley 3. I also have a preview of an upcoming game and I continued playing other games I was in middle of. There’s a lot to discuss, so let’s get started.

Monument Valley 3

I went into Monument Valley 3 a little worried because I found the second game absolutely gorgeous but underwhelming when it came to the puzzles. The original was brilliant and I wanted more of that. Now, I can’t say MV3 quite matches the original, but it does feel more like a proper sequel, one that builds on the existing mechanics in ways that really work. I was a little concerned that the boat mechanic would feel too much like a gimmick, but it was used to allow access to two islands at a time and I think it was a great addition. I even got stumped for a bit on some of the levels, though I do still wish that they had taken them even further. None of the levels are as complex as what we saw in the original. But there are more chapters coming over the next year or so, and I’m hoping they might offer more complex puzzles. Either way, I’m pleased with what we got and I’m looking forward to more in the future. I’ll also be making individual videos for each chapter and posting them here if you need any help.

Pine: A Story of Loss

Pine is a wordless, emotional game about how memories of people you lost sneak into your daily life. It follows a woodworker who’s grieving the passing of his wife. He tries to go about his day, continue things as though nothing has changed, but everything reminds him of her. It starts off a bit slow and repetitive and I admit I was losing patience with it. But it pays off in the end and I don’t regret playing. I also like how, at certain points, the controls get stuck to show he’s struggling. I would have liked more of that instead of the same things over and over, but I do get where the developer was going with it. Overall, I think it’s a moving experience that’s worth playing, but you do need some patience.

PBJ – The Musical

PBJ – The Musical is an upcoming game from Philipp Stollenmayer about the invention of the peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The songs were written by Lorraine Bowen and they are indeed catchy. It should be out in early 2025, but I was lucky enough to play some already and recorded the first three acts for you. It’s a super silly, oddball game that I’m looking forward to playing more of. I wrote more about it here and I’ll definitely have more impressions for you as it gets closer to release.

Carrion

I’m slowly making my way through Carrion and spent another half hour with it. I struggled a bit to find the path I needed to take (I wish there was a map) but once I found it, things really opened up. There’s so much I have access to now and I’m even a bit overwhelmed. I learned how to shrink myself so I could change my abilities and I’m sure there’s other things I’m not aware of yet based on the environment around me. I plan to play more and hopefully make more progress.

Genshin Impact

And last, I continued exploring Natlan in Genshin Impact. I love that dragons are a big theme in this area. I also noticed that they added more functions to the compasses and they can now locate challenges and puzzles that lead to chests even if those chests aren’t yet visible on the map. It makes a huge difference in finding things I missed. These areas are so big and it’s so easy to overlook things while I’m following a quest or just going from point A to point B. So I really appreciate it. Other than that, I’m just biding my time until the next update arrives with Mavuika and Citlali, who I hope to get.

And that’s everything I’ve been up to this week! I also finished watching the existing episodes of Loot and then remembered I never caught up on Trying, so I’m watching season 4 of that now. Anyway, let me know in the comments section which games you’re playing and I’ll see you back here next time for more of My Week Unwrapped!