Review: Urban Jungle Pairs Plants With Unpacking Style Gameplay

Unpacking set something of a cozy trend by pairing elements like environmental storytelling with room organization, and Kylyk Games and Assemble Entertainment built on that concept with the plant arranging game Urban Jungle. The concept is similar and the inspirations are clear! However, here there are more puzzle-based elements and overt storytelling that attempt to add a little more challenge while also ensuring you know exactly who the character you’re helping is. Like Unpacking, we’re following a specific individual in who loves plants in Urban Jungle as she moves from place to place throughout her life. Ayta Borisova first fell in love with horticulture in 1995 with her grandma, where she was staying with her brother while her mom looked for work. However, that was cut short following her mother getting work abroad. Each chapter follows a year and period in Ayta’s life as she settles into a new place and makes it her own by also placing new plants. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fB1aE4ymoF4&ab_channel=AssembleEntertainment The structure of Urban Jungle means that each chapter in the game is a new location and level with challenges, just like Unpacking. So in the first 1995 stage, Ayta is staying with her grandmother and helping her place plants until she hits a certain point milestone by satisfying their needs and unlocking the next chapter. The second jumps to 2001, when Ayta and her brother Nurgun are sharing a room in a new home with their mother. Since Ayta got her first “A” of the year, her mother (and grandparents) gifted her plants to decorate her space. Said plants are a random draw. After you use up the ones in your dock and hit a point milestone, you can select two additional ones to add to your collection. Each one has humidity and light needs. They will also be happier or less healthy if placed alongside other plants. There are different variants of each one, which can involve different sizes or cosmetic designs, to offer a change of pace. While some of the “selection” options will be free, you can use earned coins to “pay” for potentially rarer ones. Images via Kylyk Games This means each stage involves optimal arrangements. Which I found honestly isn’t that difficult. Unlike Unpacking, which often had very specific spots or requirements for certain pieces you’d placed, Urban Jungle is a game that offers a lot of room and opportunities. Need light? Place the plants near a window or turn on an actual light in the room. Need water? Putting one near a watering can, sink, fountain, or hose will work. The plant only likes being around certain other plants? Well, I found there honestly isn’t any incentive to diversify, especially since the plants at each top up are random, so just take only two or three varieties that all get along. I found it is pretty easy to beat the system. Once you hit the point allotment for a stage, you also don’t need to immediately move on. There are often optional objectives, which can involve tidying up elements of a room or interacting with certain objects, and you can get some coins for plants for that. There’s also a free-play option once you’ve unlocked a stage, which allows a little more opportunity to decorate, rearrange, and play around. Especially if it is a location with multiple room sand stories to it. Images via Kylyk Games While it isn’t as subtle about its story as Unpacking, I did enjoy the direction Kylyk Games took with Urban Jungle. It is easy to sympathize with Ayta. I wanted her to enjoy what she loved and to have cozy spaces to live in, especially as she dealt with issues with her brother or job. I was also completely unfamiliar with the Sakha Republic and appreciated cultural elements included. For example, after I heard about Yhyakh in the tutorial level, I went online to learn more about it. I will also say that Urban Jungle isn’t quite ideal on a handheld gaming PC just yet, so if you’re using a Steam Deck, you may experience issues. I was playing on a Lenovo Legion Go, and using the controller scheme wasn’t ideal at the moment. There are times when moving a plant with just a joystick and buttons doesn’t work. Maybe it won’t automatically realize that yes, there is a table/desk/surface it can be placed on and will still slide along the floor. It might not select the right one. It’s fiddly! You’ll need to still use the mouse and touchscreen to play! I also missed a few optional objectives, such as one involving petting a cat and another with a light being turned on, due to the game glitching and both becoming inaccessible when using the controller scheme. Urban Jungle is interesting and happens to be one of the better organizational games like Unpacking that I’ve played. I like the defined identity of our avatar and sympathized with her situation. The concept is enjoyable too, and it scratches similar itches. It also encourages a bit of strategy, since you need to take into account other foliage, ligh

Apr 5, 2025 - 14:14

Review: Urban Jungle Pairs Plants With Unpacking Style Gameplay

Unpacking set something of a cozy trend by pairing elements like environmental storytelling with room organization, and Kylyk Games and Assemble Entertainment built on that concept with the plant arranging game Urban Jungle. The concept is similar and the inspirations are clear! However, here there are more puzzle-based elements and overt storytelling that attempt to add a little more challenge while also ensuring you know exactly who the character you’re helping is.

Like Unpacking, we’re following a specific individual in who loves plants in Urban Jungle as she moves from place to place throughout her life. Ayta Borisova first fell in love with horticulture in 1995 with her grandma, where she was staying with her brother while her mom looked for work. However, that was cut short following her mother getting work abroad. Each chapter follows a year and period in Ayta’s life as she settles into a new place and makes it her own by also placing new plants.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fB1aE4ymoF4&ab_channel=AssembleEntertainment

The structure of Urban Jungle means that each chapter in the game is a new location and level with challenges, just like Unpacking. So in the first 1995 stage, Ayta is staying with her grandmother and helping her place plants until she hits a certain point milestone by satisfying their needs and unlocking the next chapter. The second jumps to 2001, when Ayta and her brother Nurgun are sharing a room in a new home with their mother. Since Ayta got her first “A” of the year, her mother (and grandparents) gifted her plants to decorate her space.

Said plants are a random draw. After you use up the ones in your dock and hit a point milestone, you can select two additional ones to add to your collection. Each one has humidity and light needs. They will also be happier or less healthy if placed alongside other plants. There are different variants of each one, which can involve different sizes or cosmetic designs, to offer a change of pace. While some of the “selection” options will be free, you can use earned coins to “pay” for potentially rarer ones.

Review: Urban Jungle Pairs Plants With Unpacking game like — Images via Kylyk Games

This means each stage involves optimal arrangements. Which I found honestly isn’t that difficult. Unlike Unpacking, which often had very specific spots or requirements for certain pieces you’d placed, Urban Jungle is a game that offers a lot of room and opportunities. Need light? Place the plants near a window or turn on an actual light in the room. Need water? Putting one near a watering can, sink, fountain, or hose will work. The plant only likes being around certain other plants? Well, I found there honestly isn’t any incentive to diversify, especially since the plants at each top up are random, so just take only two or three varieties that all get along. I found it is pretty easy to beat the system.

Once you hit the point allotment for a stage, you also don’t need to immediately move on. There are often optional objectives, which can involve tidying up elements of a room or interacting with certain objects, and you can get some coins for plants for that. There’s also a free-play option once you’ve unlocked a stage, which allows a little more opportunity to decorate, rearrange, and play around. Especially if it is a location with multiple room sand stories to it.

While it isn’t as subtle about its story as Unpacking, I did enjoy the direction Kylyk Games took with Urban Jungle. It is easy to sympathize with Ayta. I wanted her to enjoy what she loved and to have cozy spaces to live in, especially as she dealt with issues with her brother or job. I was also completely unfamiliar with the Sakha Republic and appreciated cultural elements included. For example, after I heard about Yhyakh in the tutorial level, I went online to learn more about it.

I will also say that Urban Jungle isn’t quite ideal on a handheld gaming PC just yet, so if you’re using a Steam Deck, you may experience issues. I was playing on a Lenovo Legion Go, and using the controller scheme wasn’t ideal at the moment. There are times when moving a plant with just a joystick and buttons doesn’t work. Maybe it won’t automatically realize that yes, there is a table/desk/surface it can be placed on and will still slide along the floor. It might not select the right one. It’s fiddly! You’ll need to still use the mouse and touchscreen to play! I also missed a few optional objectives, such as one involving petting a cat and another with a light being turned on, due to the game glitching and both becoming inaccessible when using the controller scheme.

Urban Jungle is interesting and happens to be one of the better organizational games like Unpacking that I’ve played. I like the defined identity of our avatar and sympathized with her situation. The concept is enjoyable too, and it scratches similar itches. It also encourages a bit of strategy, since you need to take into account other foliage, light, and humidity. However, it can also feel repetitive and restrictive sometimes, and the lack of proper handheld gaming PC and fully comprehensive controller support keeps it from being a Steam Deck must-have. With a few adjustments to the control scheme, it could be a relaxing way to pass some time.

Urban Jungle is available for PCs, and a demo for the game is out now.

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