Unrest

Good little interactive story with complex intertwined character political choices to save a dying empire. Set in ancient India in an imaginary kingdom, Unrest can boast good music and has a pleasant and exotic atmosphere. A lot of reading is involved but however, don't expect too much adventuring: there's no choosing where you want to go when you want to, swapping between characters is forced upon you and there's no hidden inventory or secret stats to boost to change the game's outcome. If you're skillful and cunning enough, the fate of protagonists will be good, bad or neutral and the general outcome will either be on the positive side or on the negative.

I wish this review system had more options than Up or Down. I bought this game a long time ago, finally played. Finished a run through in several hours. The story was quite interesting and some choices did have clear effects and others you're left wondering did anything matter. The ending to the game was ultimately underwhelming. Even a couple more paragraphs or few more minutes of expose game play could have made this a fulfilling adventure. Sadly you're left with a huh that's it? I can't really make heads or tails whether this game is worth it. But i guess 51% up 49% down. Shame the ending took atleast 25% off my score. The other main drawback is game pad controls suck and walking in general is just painful. Need a run option / auto-run option.

Absolutely not. the idea is cute, and the characters are interesting, but this story is linear as hell, and only lasts about an hour at most. I wouldn't reccommend any games by this 'company'. they are all the same.

Short but a good narrative experience. I enjoyed it a lot.

Unrest is a surprisingly well put together, narrative focussed game in which you control a number of characters during a trying time. You play as various sides of a conflict, that's brewing in a region, due to drout, fear of foreigners and the abscence of a legitimate ruler. This game looks nice, in it's simple, stylistic sort of way and offers an interesting story. There's little to no gameplay, to the point that it feels like an overglorified visual novel, so if you're the sort to say 'it's not a game if there's no fail state or if there isn't enough gameplay' or whatever, then you definitely will find it lacking. Though I did enjoy playing through this and did like the writing, I still felt that this was incredibly flawed. For a start, it's not very obvious who is important and who isn't. I spent the best part of an hour preparing for a character's journey, because I thought they would be a major character but then I never saw them again. They survived but their impact on the plot was minimal after that. Another issue I had was when a character was introduced and had yet to meet their destiny, only for me to turn a corner and find my destiny, less than ten minutes after starting. In short, it felt a bit weird, like an abridged Star Wars: New Hope, where it just skips to the bit where Luke Skywalker finds the Millenium Falcon. I do like how the factions in this are quite relatable and nobody seems completely unreasonable. You can also control how each character behaves, so it makes it quite interesting as you go along. You can even replay each segment, multiple times, replaying it in different ways. I look back on the time that I spent on this game fondly and would recommend it to anyone who likes Narrative driven games, like To the Moon. I'd even go as far as to call it a 'flawed gem.'

Tasty bite-sized morsels of exploring with a babble heavy dipping sauce.

Unrest is an ambitious and unconventional role-playing game developed and published by Pyrodactyl Games that stands out for its focus on social storytelling rather than combat or traditional RPG mechanics. Set in the fictional ancient city-state of Bhimra, inspired by classical India, the game unfolds during a period of drought, famine, and growing political turmoil. Instead of casting the player as a hero destined to save the world, Unrest asks them to embody a range of ordinary people whose lives intersect amid social upheaval. The game’s premise is simple yet powerful: explore the dynamics of power, survival, and morality in a society on the brink of collapse, not through grand battles, but through dialogue, empathy, and choice. The most striking element of Unrest is its narrative structure. The story is told from multiple perspectives across different social classes and walks of life. In one chapter, you might play as a young princess facing an arranged marriage that could shape the future of Bhimra’s fragile political alliances; in another, you’re a peasant girl struggling to survive in the slums, or a naga—an intelligent serpent-like creature—trying to negotiate peace between two conflicting races. Each chapter feels self-contained yet interconnected, gradually revealing how small decisions ripple through the city’s wider social fabric. The writing is subtle and layered, delving into caste, faith, privilege, and rebellion without ever feeling heavy-handed. Rather than offering clear moral binaries, the game thrives on ambiguity: kindness can backfire, defiance can cost lives, and silence can sometimes be the only form of resistance left. Gameplay in Unrest revolves primarily around conversation and decision-making. Every interaction is built on a system of relationship metrics—fear, respect, and friendship—which determine how other characters perceive you. Choices influence these values, shaping not only immediate outcomes but also future interactions. This creates a sense of personal accountability rarely found in games; even seemingly trivial exchanges can alter the story’s trajectory. There is no combat system in the traditional sense—conflicts are verbal or political, resolved through dialogue rather than violence. This design choice reinforces the game’s commitment to portraying vulnerability rather than empowerment. You are often reminded that your characters, no matter how noble or defiant, exist within rigid hierarchies that limit their freedom to act. This lack of agency is not a flaw, but a thematic statement about life under oppressive systems. The art and presentation of Unrest complement its tone perfectly. The hand-painted visuals give the city of Bhimra a vivid, storybook quality, rich in color and atmosphere. Each environment—from palace courtyards to bustling markets and dilapidated alleyways—feels alive, reflecting the social stratification that defines the city. The soundtrack, built on traditional Indian instruments and rhythms, lends authenticity to the world, while the minimalist interface keeps attention focused on the narrative. The technical execution, while not flashy, serves its purpose well. Animation and movement are simple, and some players may find them stiff or basic, but this simplicity also allows the storytelling and dialogue to take center stage. The result is a world that feels both grounded and mythical, where realism blends with allegory in equal measure. One of the game’s strengths is its replayability. Since every chapter offers branching choices and moral dilemmas, outcomes vary dramatically depending on how you navigate each conversation. Characters can live, die, or disappear depending on your actions, and yet the story continues regardless—there are no game-over screens, just consequences. This continuity gives the narrative weight, making every decision meaningful even if it leads to failure. The relatively short playtime—around four to five hours for a single run—encourages experimentation with different paths and perspectives. However, the brevity also limits the sense of depth that longer RPGs might offer. Some storylines end abruptly or leave you wishing for more time with certain characters, but this imperfection mirrors the unpredictability of the world the game portrays. Unrest is not a game for those seeking action, puzzles, or intricate mechanics. It is a slow, contemplative experience, more akin to an interactive novel than a conventional RPG. What it lacks in complexity, it makes up for in sincerity and thematic richness. Its depiction of social inequality, faith, and human frailty feels authentic and unfiltered. Few games capture the sense of existing within a living society rather than standing above it as a hero. By focusing on the powerless and the marginalized, Unrest delivers a kind of realism rarely attempted in the medium. It’s a thoughtful exploration of how people survive within broken systems, how empathy can both heal and harm, and how even small acts of courage can reverberate through a fragile world. Ultimately, Unrest succeeds as a distinctive narrative experiment—a quiet, introspective RPG that challenges expectations of what role-playing can mean. It is not about conquering enemies or collecting rewards, but about understanding the complexities of humanity in a time of crisis. The experience may be brief and occasionally rough around the edges, but its message lingers long after the credits roll. For players drawn to meaningful storytelling and moral nuance, Unrest stands as one of the most original and thought-provoking indie RPGs of its time. Rating: 6/10

i like narrative-driven RPGs, and this one is full of morally ambigious choices. i liked the fantastical india setting and i liked the characters, i felt like everyone you meet has their own life and lore. the ending falls a little flat and there's no closure, but isn't that just like life, really?

It's a good story that felt a little Shakespearean in its power struggles and attention to fate and fortune. But with unfinished bits and pieces. Kind of like an unfinished tapestry with fringes on all sides. Good artwork. As mentioned in another review, some sub-plots felt simply dropped. The story, told from the perspective of different characters, felt like everything was suppose to converge on one climatic moment. Most did, some didn't. Maybe the developers ran out of time or money. As a game, I wish my choices had more effect on the outcome but they didn't seem to. The best dialogue options seemed to be saved for the war general in the second last chapter or perhaps by that time I, too, wanted to take a more blunt and wry stance. Technically, games like this need a Fast-Travel option. Also, two different characters collected a bunch of 'books' in-game and I could not find a reason for this or find a way to read them? Well, the game was interesting enough, despite feeling unfinished, to get me to finish it in one evening.

Tags: Isometric RPG - Topdown RPG Additional Tags: Delete Local Content & Remove from Library TLDR: Dialog only. Exploring maps to find people to talk to. Fluff text. Fake choices. Abrupt ending. Indie dev. Not worth the time investment.