Deputy Moonman
Member
Okay, not even sure where to begin. I just finished playing through Inside this morning. Recently I've taken a strong liking to simplistic side scrollers with well done and immersive visuals, Unravel being one of the more recent. I did play through Ori and the Blind Forest recently as well - absolutely fantastic game - but I wouldn't necessarily consider the game-play or controls simplistic. Anyway, and back on topic, I loved Inside.
I'm not sure how a game can be so dark and disturbing, yet at the same time also be so charming, but Inside pulls it off. You are a young boy who, by all counts, appears to be wandering aimlessly through the world for reasons unknown. So, one of the draws of getting to the end of the game, aside from just enjoying the environment, was my desire to figure out what in the hell is going on in the game's world. Why are random people trying to kill me? What has happened and what is happening in this place full of death and perverse oddities?
The game has the most basic of controls, compared to something like Ori and the Blind Forest, or even Unravel, consisting of using an analog stick to move, one button to jump, and another button to perform different actions. But I actually liked the minimal controls. The atmosphere is so intriguing and the art style lends itself to the mood very well. I love puzzles and Inside is basically one puzzle after the next, with the added bonus of feeling like I was about to be hunted down or killed at every corner. None of the puzzles are hard enough to result in absolute frustration, but most are clever enough and gave me a sense of accomplishment upon solving them.
The best part about the game though again is the setting. Inside takes you through multiple mysterious locales, all just as dark and twisted as the next. As mentioned, you pretty much have no idea what is going on at any point in the game. Even after completion, the game leaves you with just as many questions as answers. The game uses superb use of shadows and lighting, making everything feel alive, with an intentional lack of detail and color. I thought the art direction/style was exceptional.
I found Inside surprisingly gruesome. The enemies in the game range from humans to animals to machines, and all want to stop you dead in your tracks. But, dying in the game is kind of satisfying - I'm not sure if there is a better way to say that. Playdead was very creative with the many different ways you can die in the game and with the associated death animations. In fact, I found myself usually letting myself die at least once in each area, if it didn't happen naturally lol, just to see what would happen.
My biggest complaint about the game is that there is only one save file. So only one person can go through the game at a time. And now that I want to go back and get the rest of the hidden items that I missed, I believe the only way to do that is to start from scratch and replay the whole game. There are no levels per se. It's just one continuous journey, which is fine. I just wish i could choose different points in the game to start at.. Other than that, I loved the game. Would easily recommend it to anyone and I sincerely hope Playdead does more games in the future. I purchased Limbo as well and will be starting it up today or tomorrow.
So yeah I enjoyed it. Felt inspired to make a small post about it. Up next: Limbo.
Cheers!
I'm not sure how a game can be so dark and disturbing, yet at the same time also be so charming, but Inside pulls it off. You are a young boy who, by all counts, appears to be wandering aimlessly through the world for reasons unknown. So, one of the draws of getting to the end of the game, aside from just enjoying the environment, was my desire to figure out what in the hell is going on in the game's world. Why are random people trying to kill me? What has happened and what is happening in this place full of death and perverse oddities?
The game has the most basic of controls, compared to something like Ori and the Blind Forest, or even Unravel, consisting of using an analog stick to move, one button to jump, and another button to perform different actions. But I actually liked the minimal controls. The atmosphere is so intriguing and the art style lends itself to the mood very well. I love puzzles and Inside is basically one puzzle after the next, with the added bonus of feeling like I was about to be hunted down or killed at every corner. None of the puzzles are hard enough to result in absolute frustration, but most are clever enough and gave me a sense of accomplishment upon solving them.
The best part about the game though again is the setting. Inside takes you through multiple mysterious locales, all just as dark and twisted as the next. As mentioned, you pretty much have no idea what is going on at any point in the game. Even after completion, the game leaves you with just as many questions as answers. The game uses superb use of shadows and lighting, making everything feel alive, with an intentional lack of detail and color. I thought the art direction/style was exceptional.
I found Inside surprisingly gruesome. The enemies in the game range from humans to animals to machines, and all want to stop you dead in your tracks. But, dying in the game is kind of satisfying - I'm not sure if there is a better way to say that. Playdead was very creative with the many different ways you can die in the game and with the associated death animations. In fact, I found myself usually letting myself die at least once in each area, if it didn't happen naturally lol, just to see what would happen.
All of Inside's achievements are tied to collecting hidden items, and I enjoyed searching for them. I was constantly keeping an eye out for hidden paths or areas throughout the game. There are 12 hidden items total, and I only found 8 on my own /sadface. Watched some youtube videos about the rest and will go back through the game in the near future to do the alternate ending.
My biggest complaint about the game is that there is only one save file. So only one person can go through the game at a time. And now that I want to go back and get the rest of the hidden items that I missed, I believe the only way to do that is to start from scratch and replay the whole game. There are no levels per se. It's just one continuous journey, which is fine. I just wish i could choose different points in the game to start at.. Other than that, I loved the game. Would easily recommend it to anyone and I sincerely hope Playdead does more games in the future. I purchased Limbo as well and will be starting it up today or tomorrow.
So yeah I enjoyed it. Felt inspired to make a small post about it. Up next: Limbo.
Cheers!
