Paras disliked the inconsistent design of the puzzles, the "clunky" controls, and the unintended need to backtrack after running out of yarn, which he described as the game's "worst aspect". Rob Crossley of GameSpot praised the overall presentation of the game, which he thought was its defining feature, but criticized the amount of depth to the actual gameplay mechanics. He scored the game a 7 out of 10 and summarized his review with: ""Unravel"s wonderful sights and sounds won’t escape your own memory so soon. But assessed purely on gameplay, it’s everything I tend to fear about indie projects; Beautiful, heartfelt, but like Yarny himself, not robust enough." Louise Blain for GamesRadar scored the game a 4.5 out of 5, saying: ""Unravel"s appeal goes far beyond pretty levels. Beautiful, poignant and with an iron grip on your heart, Yarny manages to effortlessly deliver a wonderful platformer and a bittersweet message." Even though she criticized the later levels for not being as robust as other levels, Blain praised the puzzle mechanics, soundtrack, protagonist, and the visuals. IGN's Daniel Krupa scored the game an 8.3 out of 10, writing: ""Unravel" took me on a surprisingly thoughtful and reflective journey, which encouraged me to appreciate the small and the insignificant with every step. As a puzzler it has charm due to Yarny’s engaging skills, but as a platforming experience it’s less remarkable. But to judge it solely on these mechanical aspects would be to overlook its greater achievement: the way it provokes subtle and complex emotions through the use of nature and nostalgia. It all makes for a sincere, warm-hearted, and extremely likeable adventure." Arthur Gies of "Polygon" scored the game a 6 out of 10 and wrote: "There's an emotional core to "Unravel" that's difficult to overstate, and it's hard to ignore how strong a character the little red spool of textiles manages to become despite not speaking at all. "Unravel" wants to say something, and I admire it for that. But it can be hard to shine a light on the bigger-picture things "Unravel" does well when it gets so many basic things fundamentally tangled up." Tom Sorry from VideoGamer.com scored the game a 7 out of 10 and wrote: ""Unravel" is thoroughly enjoyable, lovely game, but it falls short of being something to be truly cherished.