EA announces puzzle-platformer Unravel

Today at its pre-E3 press conference, Electronic Arts showed off Unravel, a puzzle-platformer from indie developer Coldwood.

Yarny, the game’s protagonist, is a diminutive character who seems destined to forever be described as a yarn version of LittleBigPlanet‘s Sackboy. Yarny is made of a single thread of twine that, as the game’s title implies, unravels as players progress through Northern Scandinavian levels.

In the gameplay trailer below, the little guy uses his own body’s twine to swing and climb through the game world and even to catch a ride on a flying kite. Throughout Unraveled, players will have to manage the fact that Yarny is constantly unraveling when moving. That means they’ll have to think carefully about what paths they should take and how they can best use the trailing twine to solve puzzles.

Coldwood promises a “heartfelt story re-connecting the memories of a long lost family” without a single word of dialogue being spoken.

Creative Director Martin Sahlin says his team began development by thinking about their lives and the things that were meaningful in them. “The tale of Unravel is about love, and the bonds between people,” he said in a prepared statement. “And the yarn is a representation of that. Yarny’s red thread is the tie that connects everything in the game, from the gameplay mechanics to the story, and the people in it.”

Unravel is confirmed for a digital release on Xbox One, but no price or release date has been announced.