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INSIDE |OT| Limbo's Big Brother is Watching You
- Thread starter dancrane212
- Start date
How do I get past? I am at a small platform with a chain above it that can be climbed and moved back and forth a small distance by pressing a button. Every choice seems to result in death ...the second ringu dark haired water monster, now without the submarine
Hang by the end of the chain so that your feet touch the water and the monster will follow you. when the chain stops climb it so that the monster won't follow you back
now that the monster is far you have a chance to run away.
It's definitely a factor; if someone can enjoy something to the same degree for twice as long, I'd say it's twice as good. If your favorite game had half the content/length, wouldn't it be worse for it?
I'm curious about the opinions of other people here on the matter, and whether I'm missing something. I take it you enjoyed the game?
Hm, that's a really good point. I guess I just got used to Netflix and cinemas on the movie front.
On a side note, Blurays/DVDs seem more like films' equivalents of collector's editions, what with the physical copy, extra content, and appeal to re-watching.
Bits N Pieces
Member
Ill never understand trying to equate a monetary value when it comes to justify buying a game. Just can't get into that mindset at all. Especially when it's something like this and a close knit team have dedicated 6 years of their life to try and make it.
Is their work and effort worth £15.99? What a weird question.
Is their work and effort worth £15.99? What a weird question.
I dunno. I think it's still a fair question since many people have limited budgets. But if someone loved Limbo and was hyped for this, I don't understand how they would balk at this price. Games like this are rare.
I'm not sure I see what you're arguing here. Are you saying the prices of games are irrelevant or arbitrary, or that they should strictly reflect the expenses of the developer?
That's not the question I asked, but I don't think it's a weird question at all; if you want to get paid for what you do, of course someone will evaluate its worth, and I doubt the talented folks at Playdead, dedicated as they are, would be willing or capable of working six years for free. I wouldn't.
Dude, have you played and liked Limbo? If yes then what are you questioning? It's not like it's getting mixed reviews or anything.
d00d3n
Member
Thanks!
There are a lot of problems with that argument. First: You are just comparing "amount of content", like that is some kind of comparable metric. A video game's worth doesn't definite itself by the amount of time it manages to keep me busy. I don't just play video games to not be bored for the most amound of time. I want them to make me feel something. I want to get something out of them, I want to feel better after playing them than I did before.
INSIDE would not be a better game if it would be longer. Everything in it is built around a very certain story arc and atmosphere that goes hand in hand with its length. You are ignoring all of this by simply judging a game's worth by "amount of content".
I've paid X amount to go and look at a painting for 5 minutes.
It's not about the time it took to look at it, it's about the experience of looking at it.
Also, this opinion piece aligns with what a few here have said. http://www.trustedreviews.com/opinions/why-playdead-s-inside-is-massively-overhyped
It's not about the time it took to look at it, it's about the experience of looking at it.
Also, this opinion piece aligns with what a few here have said. http://www.trustedreviews.com/opinions/why-playdead-s-inside-is-massively-overhyped
More_Badass
Member
Enjoyment and quality isn't a binary logarithmic thing. Longer doesn't always equal better. Sometimes less is more. Concise pacing, a lean experience wth zero filler or fluff, a game that doesn't recycle and is constantly moving, mirror-sheen polish are what a shorter game can bring to the table
Twice as long doesn't equal twice as good. Twice as long can feel too long, a slog, something that overstays its welcome. Twice as long can turn a great game into an okay game because it should have ended 10 hours ago and that interesting mechanic that felt unique and different for the first few hours ends up rote and stagnant and repetitive by the end
It's not the amount of content that matters, but the execution of the content. And Inside is absolute top-tier execution, a masterful exercise in tension and atmosphere, that almost always introduces new concepts rather than recycle old ones
OrbitalBeard
Member
I stopped basing my game purchases on length a long time ago (Edit - Actually, this isn't entirely true. I'm far more likely to skip a bloated game than a lean, well-paced one).
For what INSIDE is trying to accomplish, a 3 hour duration is perfect.
psychotron
Member
This game is giving me feels I haven't had while playing a game in years. Absolutely magical game. I'm going back and forth between this and Witcher 3, which are both masterpieces.
I'm curious for two reasons: 1) making games for a living myself, I'm interested to hear other people's thoughts on the pricing, and 2) there are so many games I own and want to play, don't yet own but want to try, or feel like I should familiarize myself with to stay informed, and I can't possibly afford or find the time to play all of them.
Admittedly, content is hard (impossible?) to measure, but in this case I meant by it an abstraction of the duration for which the game can be enjoyed at its best, a sort of indicator of the longevity of the experience.
However, I didn't mean to suggest that the sole quality of games is the duration for which they can keep one preoccupied, but merely that more of something good is still an improvement, as long as it doesn't serve to deteriorate the overall quality. If Super Meat Boy or Mario Kart 8 had half their respective amounts of courses, they would be worse games due to their lessened lasting appeals. The "length" of a game is by no means a singular factor of quality but an aspect of it.
I think I'd have to play it to completely follow your argument here, but I can appreciate that a particular kind of story or atmosphere can lend itself to particular duration. I think it's actually pretty common for stories, particularly in movies and story-heavy games, to be too long in the sense that it drafs out and worsens the experience. Is the story really that important in Inside, though? I remember it being sufficiently abstract in Limbo for the game to take on virtually any length, although the simplicity of the mechanics in that game might have made it stale if it were any longer.
Regardless, I think I may have spotted the root of our divergent opinions on the worth of Inside: I seem to have neglected a factor of uniqueness in the experience of the game which renders it worthwhile even if other games that are equally engaging are "cheaper" compared to the duration of the experience; Arkham Knight or The Binding of Isaac may have been equally thrilling to me for a longer time at the same price as Inside, but Inside may be a different kind of "thrilling", offering a particular sense of atmosphere and experience from either, and in a way which no other game does as good. Does that make any sense?
I'll read that, cheers!
More_Badass
Member
Seems to boil down to 1) trial & error 2) puzzles arent that hard 3) not satisfied with the story
Of course massively overrated implies that the impressions of Inside aren't/can't be genuine. Since saying something is overrated is putting your perspective first, "those reviews just aren't right because it wasn't that good to me".
OrbitalBeard
Member
It's pretty obvious a game is special when even those calling it "massively overhyped" concede that it's still a good game.
I don't think it was massively overhyped, it was critically well received, which is a very different thing.
I think the buzz about the game in general has been very low, wonder how the sales were?
d00d3n
Member
I just completed the game. The amount of content felt almost perfect for this type of game imo. There was basically no repetitious content at all during the whole experience. I liked the twist for the last section of the game. Reminded me of the victory lap with the mech in the last section of Butcher Bay.
The secrets must be extremely well-hidden in the game. I took my time exploring the environments and got only one (very early in the game). Additionally, I am pretty sure that there is another one related to an elevator in the end of the game (just progressed with the story instead of experimenting with that).
The secrets must be extremely well-hidden in the game. I took my time exploring the environments and got only one (very early in the game). Additionally, I am pretty sure that there is another one related to an elevator in the end of the game (just progressed with the story instead of experimenting with that).
More_Badass
Member
Honestly there was like zero hype at all. Hell, Playdead only ever released two trailers in six years and only have like 4 tweets on the Twitter page. Inside is like the antithesis of overhyped. It's practically the definition of the "let the game speak for itself" approach. No marketing campaign, minimal press coverage before release. Just give out press codes and let people play
OrbitalBeard
Member
It definitely hasn't been overhyped. The article's title you linked to is pretty hyberbolic, likely to encourage clicks.
To be fair, I've seen the same 'overhyped' line elsewhere too.
The way I view it, X% of the population are narcissists or sociopaths. I don't get mad when I see the odd "overhyped" (functionally useless word) thrown out there because I assume that it's coming from someone with a physical inability to not place their opinion at the top of the pile.
I'm probably often wrong and it just comes from people with a lack of vocabulary, but it helps me cope.
More_Badass
Member
One's perception of something being "overhyped", usually driven by their own subjective opinion and personal perspective, and something actually being overhyped aren't actually equal
The former tends to be shorthand for "I didn't like this or this wasn't as good as I had hoped, so I can't fathom how it can be so good for anyone else"
Vincent Alexander
Member
I think I'm going to snag this game. I was afraid it's gameplay looked too similar to Limbo and I wouldve liked something a bit more spiced up or different. After everyone talking it up in here though, I think I'll grab it today.
Bits N Pieces
Member
Surely if something is overhyped then that happens pre release when all we have to go on are what the creators decide to give us and how we choose to build our own expectations with what we know?
I would say Inside has been one of the least hyped games to come out for quite some time and I think that's exactly what Playdead wanted to achieve.
The buzz or hype the game 'now' has is down to the people that have actually played it, expressing their opinions.
I would say Inside has been one of the least hyped games to come out for quite some time and I think that's exactly what Playdead wanted to achieve.
The buzz or hype the game 'now' has is down to the people that have actually played it, expressing their opinions.
VanCityGamer
Member
Guys, he means overrated not overhyped.
Vincent Alexander
Member
I agree this game didn't seem overhyped or anything. Maybe I live under a rock, but I didn't know about this game until last week.
To be blunt, I personally don't really care what anyone else, media or public, think of the game.
I thought it was a very poignant game, which i would deem, is it wasn't such a trope, as art.
As long as the development team get enough sales to allow them to produce another piece of work, I am happy.
I thought it was a very poignant game, which i would deem, is it wasn't such a trope, as art.
As long as the development team get enough sales to allow them to produce another piece of work, I am happy.
More_Badass
Member
Implies the same thing. That the praise and impressions can't be right because one's personal opinion doesn't match, hence it's overrated, or overhyped, or whatnot
OrbitalBeard
Member
Nope.
I'll just copy here a few impressions I wrote down in the spoiler thread. First of all, I think this is a great game. As people previously mentioned, this game is on a whole other level from a (definitely and especially) sound design and visual point of view. That sound design is absolutely in constant top form with moments that are simply baffling. Personally though, if I have to think about the entire game and compare it, I prefer Limbo and that might have to do with the (still felt) long-lasting incredible impression that game left on me and also because of my already big expectations for Inside being pushed over the edge by reviews and people who have been talking about it as if it was the second coming (which for me proved to be a tiny bit overrated... but it's an understandable reaction with an experience like Inside in a medium that is drowned in non-unique experiences).
For some reason I also felt it was much much shorter than Limbo, even though How Long to Beat shows Inside as longer. Maybe it's because it really wasn't challenging at all and even though it was beautifully crafter it always managed to make me feel like I need to constantly press on without a moment of pause (and yes, we did do all collectibles... that was actually another disappointment for me as a huge Limbo fan). I also felt like Limbo had a bit more environmental diversity. There's no doubt the environments in this game are crafted in a masterful way, it just felt for me that it never reached that absolutely incredible atmosphere from the beginning of the game again. But the game is definitely unique and beautiful and I would recommend it to everyone and I have to give another shoutout to Playdead because they are such masters of their craft. They will always have me as a supporter, fan and customer.
While this game is not in my top list for GOTY as I see that's a big metric for neogaf (and for that matter I don't think The Witness will be dethroned, but I can't wait to be proven wrong) and while I'm sure Inside isn't for everyone, I believe that experiencing it won't hurt anyone. It might be eye-opening, entertaining, or at least uniquely curious.
For some reason I also felt it was much much shorter than Limbo, even though How Long to Beat shows Inside as longer. Maybe it's because it really wasn't challenging at all and even though it was beautifully crafter it always managed to make me feel like I need to constantly press on without a moment of pause (and yes, we did do all collectibles... that was actually another disappointment for me as a huge Limbo fan). I also felt like Limbo had a bit more environmental diversity. There's no doubt the environments in this game are crafted in a masterful way, it just felt for me that it never reached that absolutely incredible atmosphere from the beginning of the game again. But the game is definitely unique and beautiful and I would recommend it to everyone and I have to give another shoutout to Playdead because they are such masters of their craft. They will always have me as a supporter, fan and customer.
While this game is not in my top list for GOTY as I see that's a big metric for neogaf (and for that matter I don't think The Witness will be dethroned, but I can't wait to be proven wrong) and while I'm sure Inside isn't for everyone, I believe that experiencing it won't hurt anyone. It might be eye-opening, entertaining, or at least uniquely curious.
I mean, yes? you're basing this on time spent. Shit, 60 dollar games that are 3 times the length of Inside (11 hours?) are not abnormal either.
Isn't Doom 11-12 hours? People don't seem to have any issue with the price of that game.
Yep, Doom's normal price here is 60 Euros, but it was also, like most AAA games, quickly discounted: currently, it's 35 Euros on Steam on account of the summer sale. But then, I probably just got used to paying less for games because I rarely buy any large games until they're heavily discounted.
In terms of comparability, I was thinking that people have so vastly different priorities that we should probably at least stick to a particular genre of entertainment/media if we want to retain any chance of insight. But in any case, I yield: if one is into Inside (or Limbo for that matter) for it's particular atmospheric and emotional qualities, I can see how that merits paying 20 Euros for a fairly short experience, simply because these games are uniquely brilliant in those regards. I suppose it really just comes down to what you're pursuing: games-as-entertainment (where do I get most fun for my money?) versus games-as-art (where do I get the most emotionally or thought-provoking experience?).
(And for the record, I probably will end up buying Inside at launch price since now I'm even more curious to see what it's like.)
More_Badass
Member
You're thinking of it as a if-or scenario. A game can be both. Fun is an amorphous subjective thing. A 3.5 hour finely-polished cinematic platfomer can be just as fun as Doom's old school action or Witness's puzzles. Although I wouldn't exactly call Inside "fun". It's engaging and compelling, but its bleak, oppressive, tense, eerie atmosphere and world isn't a fun place.
gollumsluvslave
Member
Just finished, much like Limbo (but on another level in terms of scale and ambition!) this was haunting, beautiful, surreal and will stay with me for some time. Didn't get much collectibles so will likely start another playthrough tomorrow, really interested in how the early part of the game is in terms of things I missed possibly related to the end.
Nearly every frame in this game seems meticulously crafted, the controls are perfect. Sound design is phenomenal.
Very hard to criticise - only thing I can say is it has to be played late in the dark with headphones on to get the full experience IMO.
Outstanding.
Nearly every frame in this game seems meticulously crafted, the controls are perfect. Sound design is phenomenal.
Very hard to criticise - only thing I can say is it has to be played late in the dark with headphones on to get the full experience IMO.
Outstanding.
blame space
Banned
jesus fucking christ
More_Badass
Member
I think I know what part you're at
blame space
Banned
I just finished itholy. hell I've been making the same face for about a half hour.
blame space
Banned
what the fuck man.
OrbitalBeard
Member
This game won't be leaving your head for awhile.
LukasTaves
Member
Perhaps I'm mis remembering, but I think the part with
the cracked wall that has an inside iron structure, that you have to hit with the sub, then pass with the boy
ramming a solid object
I imagine it'll do pretty well over time sales wise. It sounds like the game will probably end up on most platforms eventually just like Limbo. Good word of mouth and reviews will certainly help keep the sales going.