Packing Life – PC Review

Kyle McGrath

10 hours ago

The image shows a room with multiple conveyor belts, with a woman (only visible from the neck down wearing a high-vis vest) stood at a desk. She has yellow gloves and she's packing various items into a box. A black and white cat is also 'helping her'. The text is black with a white outline, and says 'Packing Life'.

A new little sim has come to me named Packing Life, it was created by the team at Aroko Game Studio. And has us step into the character Lily as she packs up orders, while unloading a sweet story for you. Packing Life is out now on Steam, and has a demo available too, just in case you wish to try before you buy. If you do purchase Packing Life, it is more on the cheaper side, with the cost of £8.50.

Everyone loves parcels, even the packers.

Gameplay

Packing Life is all about organizing items to fit into the various boxes. The game lets you know which size via the little monitor. We then begin to package products to fit, similar to Tetris without the speed. Before you do begin playing Packing Life offers the player two modes. Relaxing which removes the in-game timer, or normal – with the timer. With each package made, the player will have to slap labels on later on if the items are fragile, or contain liquids. Failing to do so, or missing a label, will give you a penalty to your earnings. So far nothing to harsh, and with normal mode being slow with orders also gives penalties. I opted for relaxing for this review.

At the end of each shift the player earns money that they can then use to spruce up their work station. Some of these are a mug, poster, or the actual stations colour. I wasn’t bothered with any of these, so I haven’t done any. You may also spot a cat lingering around the area. Yes you are able to click on it, and get some meows. The story itself happens between each shift offering more insight into Lily’s life.

Graphics & Audio

Despite the simplistic art style, Packing Life has some fairly well detailed items in the game that almost makes you jealous of the customer’s shopping sprees. It’s fun being nosy and seeing the various interesting items you have to pack. Additionally, the music is fun but quiet, and the sound effects when packing, taping and scanning are soft on the ears.

Longevity

I reached day 10 in Packing Life, and that had taken me close to 4 hours. The game might move faster if you have the shift timer, as relaxing mode goes at the players pace. There are 8 achievements for the player to unlock, but most consist of you just doing boxes. So it’s more on how much you feel like you can put into Packing Life.

Final Thoughts

Packing Life is an okay game, but isn’t trying to do anything special. If you are looking for a time killer, then grab this when you are ultra bored. But maybe not if you actually work in a warehouse, might drive you insane. The simple tunes and easing pacing with relaxing mode, is enjoyable and easy to unwind with.

So I’m going to give Packing Life, the Thumb Culture Silver Award.

Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.