I always heard people talking about Inside and wanted to live this experience. Now that I played I understand why people love it.
The game don't tell you the story and left to you try to understand what's happening. Everything on the background is intersting and let you think what's going on.
The characters moviments are incredible for a indie game from 2016. The puzzles are also enjoyable.
Inside is a short game that every gamer has to play.
If you see Inside on sale or if you have Xbox Game Pass, play it.
The game don't tell you the story and left to you try to understand what's happening. Everything on the background is intersting and let you think what's going on.
The characters moviments are incredible for a indie game from 2016. The puzzles are also enjoyable.
Inside is a short game that every gamer has to play.
If you see Inside on sale or if you have Xbox Game Pass, play it.
I'm glad to inform that Inside's dystopic orwellian nightmare is still an effective demonstration of what strong compelling imagery and setting can do for storytelling, acting as spiritual sequel to what was an otherwise meandering experience that indulged on the worst tendencies and trends of the indie "games are art" landscape, trimming out most of the unnecessary fat that would get in the way of the actual meat of the "fragile boy going through a hostile environment" concept.
Beyond the immediately noticeable vast improvement in texture, color, sound design and animation work Inside has over Limbo's amateurish monochrome and blurred style, the addition of depth to its massive and imposing backgrounds that juxtapose with the main protag's railroaded 2D axis manages to instill a sense of bleakness and insignificance unmatched in videogame settings, and utilizing its industrial and desolate landscapes as the core instrument to tell its story, the limited dimension allowed to the player is enough to raise intrigue and curiosity as Inside deliberately ofuscates and limits what you glimpse off its distant and alluring backgrounds.
Tying it all up, you have a seamless and intuitive gameplay experience that manages to rectify the lanky and awkward controls that bogged down Limbo and that instead focuses more on the strengths of the cinematic platformer genre, conveying narrative through the pure act of constant movement. Replaying it again, Inside proves to be a much more exasperating endeavour, as you are stopped dead on your tracks to solve puzzles more often than you would like. Fortunately, the fluid animations and perceptible interactivity keep a brisk pace going and utilize said puzzles to reinforce the themes and narrative of the game with a level of craftmanship that Limbo rarely ever managed to pull off.
These aspects alone put Inside on a pedestal far and above Limbo's artistic aspirations, but it's the finale that elevates it beyond what people ever expected it to achieve all the way back in 2016. The centerpiece of Inside and what the whole game builds towards to, the abrupt shift it takes in its last act is still one of the most incredible and well crafted turns I have ever seen a videogame pull off, feeling simultaneously alien and second nature to control and barrelling its way into a catharsis that recontextualizes what came before it and fills its final note with poignancy by the mere act of taking control away from you for a few secs, as you flick the analog sticks one last desperate time.
Much has already been said about Inside's meta commentary on the nature of player agency and the illusion of control, interpretations that are made evident with the unlocking of the secret ending and the decoding of the game's plot, and while I understand that could lead to some people eye rolling as we get yet another postmodern game using the nature of the medium to exploit these concepts, I think Inside manages to pull it off solely based on the strength of its thematic cohesiveness that brings it all together at the end. And its impressive how Inside is able to balance its prevasive and easily understood authoritarian imagery with more subtle and easy to miss nuances that turn a motionless chick in the background into a masterclass of foreshadowing and establish a simple hidden in plain sight diorama as the game's version of 1984's "boot on a human face".
Regardless, Inside's ability to keep its subtext hidden in its scenery is its biggest strength, running instead on tone and atmosphere alone, telling all you need to know from the first moment you take control of the boy in red, and allowing the player the decision to be invested or not in its world, one you will desperately want to get inside of.
Beyond the immediately noticeable vast improvement in texture, color, sound design and animation work Inside has over Limbo's amateurish monochrome and blurred style, the addition of depth to its massive and imposing backgrounds that juxtapose with the main protag's railroaded 2D axis manages to instill a sense of bleakness and insignificance unmatched in videogame settings, and utilizing its industrial and desolate landscapes as the core instrument to tell its story, the limited dimension allowed to the player is enough to raise intrigue and curiosity as Inside deliberately ofuscates and limits what you glimpse off its distant and alluring backgrounds.
Tying it all up, you have a seamless and intuitive gameplay experience that manages to rectify the lanky and awkward controls that bogged down Limbo and that instead focuses more on the strengths of the cinematic platformer genre, conveying narrative through the pure act of constant movement. Replaying it again, Inside proves to be a much more exasperating endeavour, as you are stopped dead on your tracks to solve puzzles more often than you would like. Fortunately, the fluid animations and perceptible interactivity keep a brisk pace going and utilize said puzzles to reinforce the themes and narrative of the game with a level of craftmanship that Limbo rarely ever managed to pull off.
These aspects alone put Inside on a pedestal far and above Limbo's artistic aspirations, but it's the finale that elevates it beyond what people ever expected it to achieve all the way back in 2016. The centerpiece of Inside and what the whole game builds towards to, the abrupt shift it takes in its last act is still one of the most incredible and well crafted turns I have ever seen a videogame pull off, feeling simultaneously alien and second nature to control and barrelling its way into a catharsis that recontextualizes what came before it and fills its final note with poignancy by the mere act of taking control away from you for a few secs, as you flick the analog sticks one last desperate time.
Much has already been said about Inside's meta commentary on the nature of player agency and the illusion of control, interpretations that are made evident with the unlocking of the secret ending and the decoding of the game's plot, and while I understand that could lead to some people eye rolling as we get yet another postmodern game using the nature of the medium to exploit these concepts, I think Inside manages to pull it off solely based on the strength of its thematic cohesiveness that brings it all together at the end. And its impressive how Inside is able to balance its prevasive and easily understood authoritarian imagery with more subtle and easy to miss nuances that turn a motionless chick in the background into a masterclass of foreshadowing and establish a simple hidden in plain sight diorama as the game's version of 1984's "boot on a human face".
Regardless, Inside's ability to keep its subtext hidden in its scenery is its biggest strength, running instead on tone and atmosphere alone, telling all you need to know from the first moment you take control of the boy in red, and allowing the player the decision to be invested or not in its world, one you will desperately want to get inside of.
It's easy enough to fit a game like this into a single play session because of its short length, but it's also hard to just simply want to keep everything to that extent given how bleak everything in INSIDE shows itself to be. Yet it's also that simplicity of the game's mechanics that ultimately make it all the more worthwhile.
The puzzles are simple, but as you figure everything out - what makes INSIDE work can only be best summed up by the fact that there's no clear idea what comes afterwards. It's the fact that there's no clear idea how this universe works that makes one want to continue on with the game, and the bleakness just makes you wonder where it'll all end up.
The puzzles are simple, but as you figure everything out - what makes INSIDE work can only be best summed up by the fact that there's no clear idea what comes afterwards. It's the fact that there's no clear idea how this universe works that makes one want to continue on with the game, and the bleakness just makes you wonder where it'll all end up.
All my š¤š£š¤š£ are scared of the future
This review contains spoilers
Iāve been waiting awhile to play this; I just never got around to it. I was a fan of Limbo back in the day, so Iām glad that the aesthetic has been built upon in this game. Inside is dark and brooding; itās oppressive in its atmosphere of despair.
I do like the cancer allegory; I know many donāt really buy it, but itās definitely all there for me, where I felt it wasnāt humans attacking me but rounds and rounds of chemotherapy. culminating in what can only be described as a tumour running on a mass of limbs that would make John Carpenter proud.
This game resonated with me. I donāt mean to make light of a heavy subject, but I really did find the game oppressive and defeatist, but there is beauty in this game still. I played it again soon after beating it to make sure I was catching everything. It can be interpreted in a myriad of ways, as can be said of the best art.
I do like the cancer allegory; I know many donāt really buy it, but itās definitely all there for me, where I felt it wasnāt humans attacking me but rounds and rounds of chemotherapy. culminating in what can only be described as a tumour running on a mass of limbs that would make John Carpenter proud.
This game resonated with me. I donāt mean to make light of a heavy subject, but I really did find the game oppressive and defeatist, but there is beauty in this game still. I played it again soon after beating it to make sure I was catching everything. It can be interpreted in a myriad of ways, as can be said of the best art.
This game hit me super duper hard.
You ever stare at a famous painting, and you get why people like it, you get the vibe it's going for, but it's just not doing anything for you, and then suddenly after a few solid minutes of staring at it you start to break into tears as the weight of what you're viewing hits you all at once? This game gave me a moment like that.
What's here is an incredibly artistic, incredibly tense and atmospheric, puzzle-platformer with a grim theme and a crazy fucking final stretch that never fails to shock.
It's probably a 3.5 or 4.0 for most people, it's a 5.0 for me personally. I hope you like it!
You ever stare at a famous painting, and you get why people like it, you get the vibe it's going for, but it's just not doing anything for you, and then suddenly after a few solid minutes of staring at it you start to break into tears as the weight of what you're viewing hits you all at once? This game gave me a moment like that.
What's here is an incredibly artistic, incredibly tense and atmospheric, puzzle-platformer with a grim theme and a crazy fucking final stretch that never fails to shock.
It's probably a 3.5 or 4.0 for most people, it's a 5.0 for me personally. I hope you like it!
Instigante e desafiador. O jogo consegue te deixar chocado, confuso e surpreso, tudo isso junto com uma arte incrivelmente detalhada. O game Ć© super bem polido e tem uma trilha sonora excelente. O Ćŗnico defeito do jogo Ć© que o nĆvel de desafio cai bruscamente nos momentos finais da aventura. ObrigatĆ³rio pra quem gostou do jogo "LIMBO".
I'm glad I played it, but the short length may bother some people.
Everything comes together wonderfully, and things are left up to interpretation story wise. In the middle of a second play through, minimalist game design at its finest.
Everything comes together wonderfully, and things are left up to interpretation story wise. In the middle of a second play through, minimalist game design at its finest.
This review contains spoilers
āSometimes I do stupid stuff, and I donāt even know whyā¦ as if my body were being controlled by some demented, sadistic puppet-masterā¦ā
Inside is an extremely hard to explain experience. In a lot of ways it's similar to what Journey did for me as a video game, but something about Inside feels different. It's bleak, it's dark, it's abstract, but most of all it's unnerving. The lack of explanation and the Metropolis-esque environment clearly paints a picture of a depraved world overruled by the horrors of capitalism and class divisions. Freedom is an unknown concept. Everyone is a soulless, dehumanized slave marching forward step by step as robots, doing exactly what they are told and being disposed of whenever deemed useless. They lack what many of us take for granted, choice.
Timing is what makes this game tick. The score plays a huge part here. There are so many moments that give you an idea of Inside's abstract world and its apparent meaning, highlighted by the game's impeccable atmosphere. For instance, when the boy uses a headgear to control a body, the player at one point has to control another body with that same body. The utter silence during this moment is immediately overwhelmed by this almost serene yet ominous soundtrack.
Everyone is a puppet.
You can also go meta with this idea and assume that even the boy lacks freewill as he is controlled by us, the player. Throughout his entire journey in pursuit of freedom and shelter from the harsh world around him. Until the very end, where he ends up on a shore, a ray of light shining down at his blob of a body, where true freedom is finally granted to him, as we, the player, can no longer control him. His future is uncertain to us, but so long as he is in control of it, freedom shall remain.
Another idea that kept popping up in my head during my playthrough was that none of the characters, except the guards and researchers seemed "human". So maybe these were clones made for labour, and the kid seemed to have gained sentience. But this idea doesn't seem to work well with what the story is trying to convey.
Inside is fascinating. It's simple, it's linear, and it almost feels like too simple of a game at times. But somehow, out of every game I have ever played nothing has made me think this much about its cryptic world and ideas since Journey and NieR:Automata.
And I still can't nail down what exactly Inside is about. Especially the ending dawg WHY THE FUCK DOES HE FUSE WITH A FUCKING BLOB OF MEAT ššš
"It may be that we are puppets-puppets controlled by the strings of society. But at least we are puppets with perception, with awareness. And perhaps our awareness is the first step to our liberation."
9/10
Inside is an extremely hard to explain experience. In a lot of ways it's similar to what Journey did for me as a video game, but something about Inside feels different. It's bleak, it's dark, it's abstract, but most of all it's unnerving. The lack of explanation and the Metropolis-esque environment clearly paints a picture of a depraved world overruled by the horrors of capitalism and class divisions. Freedom is an unknown concept. Everyone is a soulless, dehumanized slave marching forward step by step as robots, doing exactly what they are told and being disposed of whenever deemed useless. They lack what many of us take for granted, choice.
Timing is what makes this game tick. The score plays a huge part here. There are so many moments that give you an idea of Inside's abstract world and its apparent meaning, highlighted by the game's impeccable atmosphere. For instance, when the boy uses a headgear to control a body, the player at one point has to control another body with that same body. The utter silence during this moment is immediately overwhelmed by this almost serene yet ominous soundtrack.
Everyone is a puppet.
You can also go meta with this idea and assume that even the boy lacks freewill as he is controlled by us, the player. Throughout his entire journey in pursuit of freedom and shelter from the harsh world around him. Until the very end, where he ends up on a shore, a ray of light shining down at his blob of a body, where true freedom is finally granted to him, as we, the player, can no longer control him. His future is uncertain to us, but so long as he is in control of it, freedom shall remain.
Another idea that kept popping up in my head during my playthrough was that none of the characters, except the guards and researchers seemed "human". So maybe these were clones made for labour, and the kid seemed to have gained sentience. But this idea doesn't seem to work well with what the story is trying to convey.
Inside is fascinating. It's simple, it's linear, and it almost feels like too simple of a game at times. But somehow, out of every game I have ever played nothing has made me think this much about its cryptic world and ideas since Journey and NieR:Automata.
And I still can't nail down what exactly Inside is about. Especially the ending dawg WHY THE FUCK DOES HE FUSE WITH A FUCKING BLOB OF MEAT ššš
"It may be that we are puppets-puppets controlled by the strings of society. But at least we are puppets with perception, with awareness. And perhaps our awareness is the first step to our liberation."
9/10
In music, a band that debuts big then needs to face a phase known as the 'difficult second album syndrome' or perhaps the sophomore slump. Playdead could have outdone themselves on a first go with the incredible LIMBO, it would be risky adding even just one extra layer of colour and perspective depth.
Thankfully it paid off and INSIDE excels with excellent sense of pacing and visual control of narrative. Set in a dystopia not far from that of its predecessor, you play another sneaky boy who attempts to infiltrate a frighteningly fascistic testing facility. The sense of dread is better established very early on as you traverse a forest where you hide from 'officers' in trucks carrying dozens of people. It is almost impossible not shake the many associations with historical human atrocities such as the Holocaust. The imagery and even the gameplay (not to spoil anything) follows a consistent theme of having power and control over others; a government manipulating hordes of the public in a chilling unison. Of course, this is just a sci fi concept in a world far from ours, right?
Thankfully it paid off and INSIDE excels with excellent sense of pacing and visual control of narrative. Set in a dystopia not far from that of its predecessor, you play another sneaky boy who attempts to infiltrate a frighteningly fascistic testing facility. The sense of dread is better established very early on as you traverse a forest where you hide from 'officers' in trucks carrying dozens of people. It is almost impossible not shake the many associations with historical human atrocities such as the Holocaust. The imagery and even the gameplay (not to spoil anything) follows a consistent theme of having power and control over others; a government manipulating hordes of the public in a chilling unison. Of course, this is just a sci fi concept in a world far from ours, right?
Honestly a lot better than I expected. Usually these types of games don't have a lot to offer, but Inside keeps surprising both in gameplay, atmosphere and story elements throughout. The sounddesign of this game is definitely its strongest point, allowing you to feel completely immersed in its environment. Especially the sonic booms midway through the game felt scarily real and dangerous.
If you concentrate on getting the secrets, Inside has a lot more difficulty to offer as well. They are always visible by a particular cue, so you do not have to search for them endlessly, but it takes some extra thinking to get to them.
The game is quite short, but for me that is actually a positive rather than a negative. Making this game longer would only make it more tiresome, in my opinion.
I think this is a game anyone would enjoy. No annoying voicelines/dialogue, interesting but possible puzzles and a weird and interesting feel.
If you concentrate on getting the secrets, Inside has a lot more difficulty to offer as well. They are always visible by a particular cue, so you do not have to search for them endlessly, but it takes some extra thinking to get to them.
The game is quite short, but for me that is actually a positive rather than a negative. Making this game longer would only make it more tiresome, in my opinion.
I think this is a game anyone would enjoy. No annoying voicelines/dialogue, interesting but possible puzzles and a weird and interesting feel.
Inside is a game I've heard about for quite some time but I hadn't gotten around to playing it until now and I am so shocked by the quality of this game.
Immediately, Inside immerses you into it's dystopian world through it's fantastic qualities. Perfectly crafted audio design coupled with the daunting soundtrack work in tandem to create tension, peace, and horror throughout the game. Visually the game design is simple but timeless and Playdead did a fantastic job of utilizing these features to create one of the best unsettling atmospheres I have ever seen in a videogame.
Inside begins with a cold open, not a single word of dialogue is spoken, yet somehow convinces the player to care deeply about this boy's journey, as you guide him throughout treacherous territory. Challenging puzzles and intense action set-pieces are extremely well done, and I found myself really having to think about my next decision, finding pride in my intuition when I got something right the first time.
Achievements are tied to secret collectibles that can be found throughout the game and most are extremely well hidden and off the beaten path, and I'd recommend using a guide to attain them. There is also an alternate secret ending that you should look up afterwards.
Story-wise, the game is open for interpretation, and you discover more nefarious things happening throughout the plot and this game really gets more dark and twisted as you progress. Several times throughout the game I felt so uncomfortable with what was going on (in a good way), I highly recommend going in blind and allowing Playdead to take you on this journey.
I simply cannot fault the game, it didn't overstay it's welcome, but I didn't crave more once it was over. The stakes were raised with each progression point, and the puzzles coupled with the atmosphere makes this honestly one of my favourite experiences I have had to date with the genre.
Immediately, Inside immerses you into it's dystopian world through it's fantastic qualities. Perfectly crafted audio design coupled with the daunting soundtrack work in tandem to create tension, peace, and horror throughout the game. Visually the game design is simple but timeless and Playdead did a fantastic job of utilizing these features to create one of the best unsettling atmospheres I have ever seen in a videogame.
Inside begins with a cold open, not a single word of dialogue is spoken, yet somehow convinces the player to care deeply about this boy's journey, as you guide him throughout treacherous territory. Challenging puzzles and intense action set-pieces are extremely well done, and I found myself really having to think about my next decision, finding pride in my intuition when I got something right the first time.
Achievements are tied to secret collectibles that can be found throughout the game and most are extremely well hidden and off the beaten path, and I'd recommend using a guide to attain them. There is also an alternate secret ending that you should look up afterwards.
Story-wise, the game is open for interpretation, and you discover more nefarious things happening throughout the plot and this game really gets more dark and twisted as you progress. Several times throughout the game I felt so uncomfortable with what was going on (in a good way), I highly recommend going in blind and allowing Playdead to take you on this journey.
I simply cannot fault the game, it didn't overstay it's welcome, but I didn't crave more once it was over. The stakes were raised with each progression point, and the puzzles coupled with the atmosphere makes this honestly one of my favourite experiences I have had to date with the genre.
ā Time to finish - 4 hours 00 minutes
š¤¬Difficulty - easy
šGraphics ā Fluid animation, awesome lighting!
š Soundtrack/Atmosphere - Game has soundtrack where appropriate especially towards the end of the game stared at the screen for 5 minutes reflecting on the past 4 hours. Amazing atmosphere. Really well done!
š Main Story / Characters ā I loved the story, you are never sure what's going on. But it gives you enough clues to piece together your own story. I am sure if I talk to someone else they may have a different view of what is happening. I love how the story is told with no words and just actions in the background.
š¤ŗ Combat ā None
š Movement/Physics ā Excellent. I loved how so much is going on in the 3d background, but the character is in a 2d plane
š§ Side Activities / Exploration ā None
š£ Voice acting ā None
š Review:
The best thing about this game is every frame is a masterpiece in graphics, lighting, and story telling. The story is told through subtle foreground and background queues allowing you to through the entire game have theories on what maybe going on. Honestly, I still don't know and I don't think that's the point, its the journey that counts in this game. Oh yes I really also liked the puzzles but they were easier than the 1st game but to me I am really here for the atmosphere and the creativity that oozes out of this game.
š”Final Thoughts:
Must play! unique game and surpasses its already high bar set by its predecessor. This game is for you if you are into appreciating artistic nature of games, if you just want a hard puzzle/platformer and don't care about anything else this is not for you.
š¤¬Difficulty - easy
šGraphics ā Fluid animation, awesome lighting!
š Soundtrack/Atmosphere - Game has soundtrack where appropriate especially towards the end of the game stared at the screen for 5 minutes reflecting on the past 4 hours. Amazing atmosphere. Really well done!
š Main Story / Characters ā I loved the story, you are never sure what's going on. But it gives you enough clues to piece together your own story. I am sure if I talk to someone else they may have a different view of what is happening. I love how the story is told with no words and just actions in the background.
š¤ŗ Combat ā None
š Movement/Physics ā Excellent. I loved how so much is going on in the 3d background, but the character is in a 2d plane
š§ Side Activities / Exploration ā None
š£ Voice acting ā None
š Review:
The best thing about this game is every frame is a masterpiece in graphics, lighting, and story telling. The story is told through subtle foreground and background queues allowing you to through the entire game have theories on what maybe going on. Honestly, I still don't know and I don't think that's the point, its the journey that counts in this game. Oh yes I really also liked the puzzles but they were easier than the 1st game but to me I am really here for the atmosphere and the creativity that oozes out of this game.
š”Final Thoughts:
Must play! unique game and surpasses its already high bar set by its predecessor. This game is for you if you are into appreciating artistic nature of games, if you just want a hard puzzle/platformer and don't care about anything else this is not for you.
INSIDE is unique as it is the first game I have played, or the first piece of art I have experienced, to not really have a story, but still has themes and a message. It's very open to interpretation (I'm still debating if this is a game about socialism or about a parralel universe where a nazi-like regime is instaured), but will not leave you incensitive.
As for gameplay, the puzzles are smart, set a great oppressive ambiance. There are a lot of very strong moments, because of the oppressive ambiance, that will force you to do horrid things to survive. Also, the animations are suprisingly smooth and the artstyle, whilst not perfect, is nice to look at most of the time.
As for gameplay, the puzzles are smart, set a great oppressive ambiance. There are a lot of very strong moments, because of the oppressive ambiance, that will force you to do horrid things to survive. Also, the animations are suprisingly smooth and the artstyle, whilst not perfect, is nice to look at most of the time.
Se no Limbo, o que te motiva Ć© escapar da solidĆ£o, no Inside, Ć© a curiosidade. Nessa jornada, nĆ£o nos importa o que estĆ” em nossa frente, Ć© tudo apenas um utensĆlio para saciar uma fome por conhecimento. Enquanto passamos por cenĆ”rios mortos, vemos pessoas sendo controladas como bonecos para entreter quem estĆ” de fora, mas na verdade, nĆ³s mesmos nĆ£o estamos distantes disso, atĆ© porque nĆ³s, que estamos observando por trĆ”s da tela, estamos controlando esse garoto inocente como um boneco de videogame, apenas para sabermos o que se encontra no final da jornada.
Bo Burnham really outdid himself with this one!
The boy is innocent. The boy is cruel. The clock is ticking and we are moving ever backwards.
The more I play INSIDE the less I understand it. The journey remains the same but the drama, the order, the sequence of facts and events leading me towards this beach keeps shifting in my head. Forest. Factory. City. Center. Conspiracy. Factory. Forest. City. The pig?
The pig is the first time I sensed danger within the boy. So far violence had only come from one side ā foreground pushing against background, my corner of the screen under constant assault by hostile forces. But then you get to a barn. You put shapes through the grinder and the game plays a joke on you by revealing that it was in fact, merely, hot air. Moving. But then you progress a little further and thereās holes in the dead. The pig runs ceaselessly after you until it canāt anymore and a thread is pulled. Now itās barely alive but you need its frame to move forward, to take control of the others.
I recently played the game with my little brother who kept referring to them as āveggiesā first, before they themselves become engines of control, from which point on it was āthe hanged menā. By putting our collective bodies on the line we become a voice for the voiceless. A King of limbs that can barely moan may nonetheless surge and thrive.
You can never discount the pleasures of INSIDE. Of watching this little skeleton getting blown to bits by a soundwave, teleported to start when the camera's done dwelling on its physics, succeeding this time because we've been here before, many ways actually and none of this matters but the ragdolley motions of the boy display not just an urgency of flesh but also clear playfulness, his turns a little too high-heeled and televised to reflect their imparted violence - he puts on a hell of a show for someone who never talks, doesn't he ? That is not to say the boy is without words but his language is plain and practical, never crossing beyond what the game requires of him which is to say a few actionnables verbs of command. Run. Jump. Grab the box and then break the necks of a few employees as we crash through the ceiling of this life-sized diorama. Everyone of us, complicit in unassisted murder.
.
Limbo was a sham because it refused to say something of its greatest moment - the spider. To make a fairytale you need to recognize the taint that's shared the moment a story is put into the world. INSIDE has many legs - many "spider moments" - to pull us astray but it consciously decides to cast its support to the boy in all instances. That's not just a matter of gaze, it has to do with every facet of play here and if horror at the fate of this particular body was the sole point, I'd be displaced. The voyeurism of INSIDE is nearly wholesome - I wouldn't go as far as saying this story is a fairytale but this is not a test for societal collapse and these are not warning signs. No, INSIDE best functions as a dreamlike object, something you'd see between the trees in a half-dozed-off car, or could touch through the cold iron, or hear on a late night before the moon's signal is lost, forever. What's translated is often not what was actually received yet here we are, playing still.
Radio static just makes too much sense for us not to exploit. Itās a tool of calibration containing the possibility of sound, for it to be simultaneously produced and heard in order to make sense of the narrative. Distorted echoes become distinct, likewise the back-and-forth of frequencies allows us to reshape the puzzle into a humane form of communication ā manufactured, tempting but unreliable. INSIDE rejects the appeal of the static even though its world is littered with remains from a radio era that demands we go back to the soil, find the collectibles, make the protagonists and ourselves whole again by unplugging the progression bar, halfway emptied ā always waiting. Who wonders about the shape of infinity in the age of capital?
The trap was thinking revolt was ever an option when the first death occured, and then stayed onscreen for a few seconds too long as the boy gets dragged into darkness and then we reproduced the inputs with a slight variation and this time the boy stumbled and lived but would kill by accident later down the line and finally by necessity because there's only one of two way this dance can end.
What's fair in this gamble is that I was never under any illusion of life - illegitimate or otherwise - bubbling under the surface of INSIDE yet I still cared deeply - but for who or what ? I mean who else than me right ?
I like narratives of death and rejection in games because they allow us to make sense of our place inside and outside their ecosystem of immersion. You can never lose if the game itself is telling you to touch grass. A guilt-free form of autoscopy. What the game is about becomes less important than the gesture itself (to go against the grain) projecting value, maybe even morality, towards the onlooker by way of sensations at the tip of our fingers. I barely made the jump, swerved a bullet and just, just escaped the clutches of the superstructure. Still, I got to experience it all. Fuse-out and curtains.
What remains with INSIDE for me is a lingering sense of doubt, in the shape of a space where we can't actually delineate the strings from our unique first-person experience. I have so many doubts about the boy, about this world, about its very real absence of faƧade. Where even am I ? John Battle said it best a while ago :
āI float all the way down there, most assuredly dead and if this is where I am to die, then, so be it. The game has shook me in so many ways that I feel so far from those woods, dogs and that warehouseā¦ Iāve been taken so far down that Iāve entered the other side, a proverbial underworld. And then I move. And Iām not dead. And I did not drown, at least not completely.
Moreso now I can never drown.ā
And so the stage is set, and I am in the forest once again.
All inside the immortality machine.
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Until I've gathered my thoughts on the subject enough to attach my own hyperlink to this.
The more I play INSIDE the less I understand it. The journey remains the same but the drama, the order, the sequence of facts and events leading me towards this beach keeps shifting in my head. Forest. Factory. City. Center. Conspiracy. Factory. Forest. City. The pig?
The pig is the first time I sensed danger within the boy. So far violence had only come from one side ā foreground pushing against background, my corner of the screen under constant assault by hostile forces. But then you get to a barn. You put shapes through the grinder and the game plays a joke on you by revealing that it was in fact, merely, hot air. Moving. But then you progress a little further and thereās holes in the dead. The pig runs ceaselessly after you until it canāt anymore and a thread is pulled. Now itās barely alive but you need its frame to move forward, to take control of the others.
I recently played the game with my little brother who kept referring to them as āveggiesā first, before they themselves become engines of control, from which point on it was āthe hanged menā. By putting our collective bodies on the line we become a voice for the voiceless. A King of limbs that can barely moan may nonetheless surge and thrive.
You can never discount the pleasures of INSIDE. Of watching this little skeleton getting blown to bits by a soundwave, teleported to start when the camera's done dwelling on its physics, succeeding this time because we've been here before, many ways actually and none of this matters but the ragdolley motions of the boy display not just an urgency of flesh but also clear playfulness, his turns a little too high-heeled and televised to reflect their imparted violence - he puts on a hell of a show for someone who never talks, doesn't he ? That is not to say the boy is without words but his language is plain and practical, never crossing beyond what the game requires of him which is to say a few actionnables verbs of command. Run. Jump. Grab the box and then break the necks of a few employees as we crash through the ceiling of this life-sized diorama. Everyone of us, complicit in unassisted murder.
.
Limbo was a sham because it refused to say something of its greatest moment - the spider. To make a fairytale you need to recognize the taint that's shared the moment a story is put into the world. INSIDE has many legs - many "spider moments" - to pull us astray but it consciously decides to cast its support to the boy in all instances. That's not just a matter of gaze, it has to do with every facet of play here and if horror at the fate of this particular body was the sole point, I'd be displaced. The voyeurism of INSIDE is nearly wholesome - I wouldn't go as far as saying this story is a fairytale but this is not a test for societal collapse and these are not warning signs. No, INSIDE best functions as a dreamlike object, something you'd see between the trees in a half-dozed-off car, or could touch through the cold iron, or hear on a late night before the moon's signal is lost, forever. What's translated is often not what was actually received yet here we are, playing still.
Radio static just makes too much sense for us not to exploit. Itās a tool of calibration containing the possibility of sound, for it to be simultaneously produced and heard in order to make sense of the narrative. Distorted echoes become distinct, likewise the back-and-forth of frequencies allows us to reshape the puzzle into a humane form of communication ā manufactured, tempting but unreliable. INSIDE rejects the appeal of the static even though its world is littered with remains from a radio era that demands we go back to the soil, find the collectibles, make the protagonists and ourselves whole again by unplugging the progression bar, halfway emptied ā always waiting. Who wonders about the shape of infinity in the age of capital?
The trap was thinking revolt was ever an option when the first death occured, and then stayed onscreen for a few seconds too long as the boy gets dragged into darkness and then we reproduced the inputs with a slight variation and this time the boy stumbled and lived but would kill by accident later down the line and finally by necessity because there's only one of two way this dance can end.
What's fair in this gamble is that I was never under any illusion of life - illegitimate or otherwise - bubbling under the surface of INSIDE yet I still cared deeply - but for who or what ? I mean who else than me right ?
I like narratives of death and rejection in games because they allow us to make sense of our place inside and outside their ecosystem of immersion. You can never lose if the game itself is telling you to touch grass. A guilt-free form of autoscopy. What the game is about becomes less important than the gesture itself (to go against the grain) projecting value, maybe even morality, towards the onlooker by way of sensations at the tip of our fingers. I barely made the jump, swerved a bullet and just, just escaped the clutches of the superstructure. Still, I got to experience it all. Fuse-out and curtains.
What remains with INSIDE for me is a lingering sense of doubt, in the shape of a space where we can't actually delineate the strings from our unique first-person experience. I have so many doubts about the boy, about this world, about its very real absence of faƧade. Where even am I ? John Battle said it best a while ago :
āI float all the way down there, most assuredly dead and if this is where I am to die, then, so be it. The game has shook me in so many ways that I feel so far from those woods, dogs and that warehouseā¦ Iāve been taken so far down that Iāve entered the other side, a proverbial underworld. And then I move. And Iām not dead. And I did not drown, at least not completely.
Moreso now I can never drown.ā
And so the stage is set, and I am in the forest once again.
All inside the immortality machine.
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Until I've gathered my thoughts on the subject enough to attach my own hyperlink to this.
A beguiling experience, so much so that I ended up replaying it within a week of finishing it for the first time.
I think this game threw me off in my first encounter with it because the early-game seems to have such a focus on dictatorships and their oppressive powers, as the child you guide sneaks past guards and their vicious patrol dogs, as people are turned into zombies, cattle even, whilst the land is left to ruin. I assumed that on some level that was just going to just be the point, each gut-wrenching death an admonishment of the system enacting them, and so was caught completely off-guard by the game's increasingly surreal and fantastical developments.
More prepared for this mysterious world's descent into progressively stranger and unreal territory on my second playthrough, more prepared for how the visceral, very real horror that inhabits the game from its opening moments eventually warps into the kind of horror that consumes our minds, our very flesh, I ended up being even more on-board with what's going on here.
The game leaves a lot up to interpretation, but my own personal read is that INSIDE is very much about control. The most immediate tie-in here is how oppressive systems seek to exert control, but the game expands on this asking questions about the nature of control within narrative, control within videogames, and how ultimately who is in control is so often going to come down to a matter of perspective. I have a lot of feelings, largely positive, regarding how the game explores all of this but don't want to send this review into the territory of overt spoilers.
Despite all the things I love about this game, I do think it tries a bit too hard to be, well, a game in the conventional sense. The subtle environmental platform-puzzler aspects that weave themselves into your adventure as your propel yourself along are wonderfully handled, but moments when the game stops you in your tracks to make these puzzles more of a focal point are much less appealing to me all at once disrupting the immersion brought by the game's atmosphere by making the environments less believable whilst also bringing the game's compelling forward momentum to a grinding halt. This all just leaves me wishing the game had leant even harder into its narrative and artistic focus.
That all said, INSIDE is a wonderful little experience, one whose best moments and ideas tunnelled into my brain, and whose ending arc is going to stick with me for a long time.
I think this game threw me off in my first encounter with it because the early-game seems to have such a focus on dictatorships and their oppressive powers, as the child you guide sneaks past guards and their vicious patrol dogs, as people are turned into zombies, cattle even, whilst the land is left to ruin. I assumed that on some level that was just going to just be the point, each gut-wrenching death an admonishment of the system enacting them, and so was caught completely off-guard by the game's increasingly surreal and fantastical developments.
More prepared for this mysterious world's descent into progressively stranger and unreal territory on my second playthrough, more prepared for how the visceral, very real horror that inhabits the game from its opening moments eventually warps into the kind of horror that consumes our minds, our very flesh, I ended up being even more on-board with what's going on here.
The game leaves a lot up to interpretation, but my own personal read is that INSIDE is very much about control. The most immediate tie-in here is how oppressive systems seek to exert control, but the game expands on this asking questions about the nature of control within narrative, control within videogames, and how ultimately who is in control is so often going to come down to a matter of perspective. I have a lot of feelings, largely positive, regarding how the game explores all of this but don't want to send this review into the territory of overt spoilers.
Despite all the things I love about this game, I do think it tries a bit too hard to be, well, a game in the conventional sense. The subtle environmental platform-puzzler aspects that weave themselves into your adventure as your propel yourself along are wonderfully handled, but moments when the game stops you in your tracks to make these puzzles more of a focal point are much less appealing to me all at once disrupting the immersion brought by the game's atmosphere by making the environments less believable whilst also bringing the game's compelling forward momentum to a grinding halt. This all just leaves me wishing the game had leant even harder into its narrative and artistic focus.
That all said, INSIDE is a wonderful little experience, one whose best moments and ideas tunnelled into my brain, and whose ending arc is going to stick with me for a long time.
I would like to talk about the game but the game doesn't want me to
This proved to be a great game to play before bed over a few nights. Nothing too difficult but I got stuck in a few spots cause I'm dumb. Not too sure what was going on with the story exactly but the final stretch of the game was very much my shit.
Overall well worth the low price I got it for.
Overall well worth the low price I got it for.
Timing is everything. Death here is filtered through as machinery; a natural cog to industrial malevolence. The absence of free will in a dilapidated landscape drives Inside's core mechanics. Like Journey, this game functions best as an immersive and mostly risk-free experience but this one is all the better for that simplicity. Its puzzles are straightforward but the biggest draw for me is just how focused this is on delivering an uncompromisingly stark vision, employing brilliantly ghastly sound work and visceral imagery. I was shocked by how many of these puzzles I instinctively recalled from my last playthrough years ago and that's a credit to just how well the game drives itself into your mind. There's much here that hits you in the gut, and there's no particular logistical reason as to why. It just does. Bodies and spaces, I guess. Yada yada yada.
I've been speechless ever since I finished the game for the first time. It's not only well crafted, but easily surpasses every game in the genre. The gritty and unnerving atmosphere climaxes in one of the best artistic achievements in the industry. If this game was eligible for something like the oscars, it would snatch away best cinematography and sound design. Playdead have outdone themselves in every imaginable aspect. The shockwave-scene with the soundtrack by Martin Stig Andersen is one of the best scenes I've seen in a game.
Don't miss out.
Don't miss out.
As a spiritual successor to Limbo, the similarities between both games are easy to spot.
The story is open to interpretation and even after seeing the secret ending, I'm a little confused as to what went down.
The mute color palette creates a good atmosphere with a persistent sense of disconcernment.
The gameplay is pretty simple, but considering it's meant to first and foremost be an experience, it works out well enough.
I'll also give the game props for giving you the option to load and replay even the smallest of segments.
Overall, if you liked Limbo, you'll most likely enjoy this game as well.
While I most likely won't revisit it, it was a nice and short experience.
The story is open to interpretation and even after seeing the secret ending, I'm a little confused as to what went down.
The mute color palette creates a good atmosphere with a persistent sense of disconcernment.
The gameplay is pretty simple, but considering it's meant to first and foremost be an experience, it works out well enough.
I'll also give the game props for giving you the option to load and replay even the smallest of segments.
Overall, if you liked Limbo, you'll most likely enjoy this game as well.
While I most likely won't revisit it, it was a nice and short experience.
if playdeadās next game has more than one word in the title im gonna be so pissed
Masterpiece. Even though I typically associate Undertale with 2016 it technically came out in 2015 so thusly Inside is my indie game of 2016ā¦ obviously.
One of the most focused atmospheric games ever made. Itās super tense and goes to extremely strange places. The wordless storytelling is incredible. The climax is something that has stuck with me for years. Would love to see a film adaptation of this one which isnāt something I usually want for video games but this is an interesting enough world for me to say itās warranted.
One of the most focused atmospheric games ever made. Itās super tense and goes to extremely strange places. The wordless storytelling is incredible. The climax is something that has stuck with me for years. Would love to see a film adaptation of this one which isnāt something I usually want for video games but this is an interesting enough world for me to say itās warranted.
comecei sem entender nada e terminei sem entender nada
This won't come as a surprise to anyone who's seen clips or images of INSIDE, but this game is all atmosphere. The puzzles are interesting every now and then, but they're no more complex than a standard Zelda game. It's a nice 2-3 hour game that you can complete in a single sitting, and an experience that's largely worth having due to its unique nature, but I won't be thinking about it in a week.
The final act seems to be a huge hit with a lot of people, and while I admire the twist and shock value that comes with it, it ultimately didn't resonate for me. Like I said, atmosphere is king here, and any meaning is going to be found in your own interpretations. (The hidden ending is an even worse offender here!) INSIDE is gorgeous, well-made, and a game I'd recommend to anyone who's up for a movie-length unique little title, but YMMV when it comes to actual enjoyment of the game.
The final act seems to be a huge hit with a lot of people, and while I admire the twist and shock value that comes with it, it ultimately didn't resonate for me. Like I said, atmosphere is king here, and any meaning is going to be found in your own interpretations. (The hidden ending is an even worse offender here!) INSIDE is gorgeous, well-made, and a game I'd recommend to anyone who's up for a movie-length unique little title, but YMMV when it comes to actual enjoyment of the game.
MAS OQUEEE!!!!
SIMPLISMENTE FANTASTICO!!
SIMPLISMENTE FANTASTICO!!
Simple but fun gameplay set in an awesome dystopian world with a story that is weird in all the right ways. What does it mean? Who knows, but I like it!
Was I full of shit when I originally gave this game a paltry 3 star rating and I rather glibly dismissed it as being largely boring? I absolutely was. This game is fucking amazing. What few gripes I do have with it are slight because this is seriously one of the most inventive, deeply original, and (for lack of a more apt descriptor) wonderfully weird games that iāve ever played and I wouldnāt hesitate for a second to call it a masterpiece. The sheer leap in quality from Limbo to this game alone is nothing short of incredible. The levels are equally as tightly wound but far more creative and complex, managing to avoid feeling stiflingly linear while still remaining an incredibly focused and cohesively packaged experience, the mechanics feel weighty and smooth, aided by some fantastic controls and responsive animations, and the game features plenty of interesting and detailed environments that are consistently a treat to explore. The underwater levels are especially wondrous and they add a ton of flavor and tension to individual stretches of the game. From a technical and sensory standpoint the game is equally as outstanding too, sporting rich and captivating art direction, stark and beautiful visual storytelling, and a droning, atmospheric ambient score thatās coupled together brilliantly with the eerie and immersive sound design. All of these elements are just some of Insideās many sumptuous delights. It also excels in regards to gameplay variety and it never once feels boring or uninspired. Nary a moment goes by here thatās not exciting or memorable in some way or another, the game masterfully blending and balancing platforming and puzzle solving, highly scripted but no less fun pseudo stealth sections, and equal parts engaging and thrilling action set pieces to great effect. The puzzles in particular deserve to be singled out for how surprisingly enjoyable they are. Theyāre unique, challenging, well wrought, and both immediately rewarding and immensely satisfying to solve, requiring genuine thought and skill from the player but never once feeling obtuse or oblique. The more trial and error driven gameplay segments from Limbo are still very much present here and they too are vastly improved over its predecessor. Not only are they utilized far less frequently throughout (on top of being generally less frustrating to play through due to very merciful checkpoints) but the game is so brilliantly designed and deftly paced otherwise that they are easy to discard as minor hiccups in the grand scheme of things. Bottom line? I had a total blast coming back to this game all these years later and itās definitely much better than I had remembered it being when I first played it. It was frankly erroneous of me to have taken it for granted. Itās abundantly clear to me now that playdead studios are extremely talented game developers and Iām excited to see what they do next.