INSIDE

- Reviewed on Switch -

INSIDE released on June 29th, 2016. 

The developers behind 2010's massively acclaimed title, LIMBO, are known for their amazing, moody gameplay style. 

Their games, to me, are more of a cinematic experience. 

These developers, called Playdead, also released another critically acclaimed title, INSIDE, back in 2016. 

This platformer will take you on a creepy, dark narrative, as you unveil the horrid story behind this (average) five-hour game.

This review WILL have Major Spoilers so keep that in mind before continuing...

Going into this title, I immediately got vibes from another video game, Little Nightmares.

Though, in comparison, Little Nightmares was more horror based, while INSIDE was more of a dark toned, narrative experience. 

There are horror elements in this game that will make you stress over time, but the main gist of this gameplay is puzzle based.

To begin, you play as a young child, who, along with everyone else, has no face. 

The lack of facial expressions only makes the game's narrative more ambiguous and therefore makes each player interpret the story differently.

To my personal recollection, I found the story to be about this young protagonist, trying to run away (almost prisoner like) from this entity of sorts.

This entity being more specifically, an enormous, rich company, testing experiments on actual human beings. 

This is very apparent towards the end of the game, where (SPOILER) there are human exhibits that your freeing people from.

The game starts right in the midst of the chases. 

INSIDE is, again, a platformer, only having the player go left and right. 

However, I was simply flabbergasted and unbelievably impressed by just how much Playdead (the developers) were able to do with their level design, and extremely limited controls.

In this game, you can only go left and right, jump, and / or grab (interact). 

Being able to design a plethora of puzzles, using just these mechanics was incredible, even making me verbally express my shock!

You can definitely see a pattern during the midst of this story, with how they reuse these puzzles, but with different stakes. 

For example, one puzzle that is repeated throughout, is mind control. 

You, in many parts of the game, will sometimes grab a helmet with yellow lights, and then be able to control a whole party of brainwashed human beings. 

This mechanic, thus, lets you open heavy doors, boost jump the main character, or even reach the pressure plate number limit.

Sometimes, even without the helmet, you can still have a whole party of humans follow you to progress in the story / puzzles. 

I didn't mind the reuse of these puzzle mechanics, as really... what did you expect? 

I don't see INSIDE, as a masterclass of gameplay mechanics. 

I see this 2016 game, being all about the story. 

And quite frankly, talking about this game, doesn't do it justice, as I believe everyone should experience this story for themselves.

The level design / puzzles aren't too hard to figure out, I believe I only looked up one or two solutions, and that was it. 

There are underwater / swimming portions in INSIDE, and even submarine (mechanical) parts.

The enemies also vary throughout, and each give off their own aura of suspense.

For example, trying to pry open a path while seeing and / or hearing a pack of dogs running at you, really gets your blood pumping.

Or swimming to the surface, while a freaky, long-haired enemy, tries to grab you and drag you down, really shows this game's horror elements. 

Finally, INSIDE also has an ending that I've hardly ever seen in a video game.

The whole game is about escaping this company of sorts, and after you finally free yourself (and others), by combining with this blob of naked humans, and busting through the facilities' wall, you end up, finally, for the first time in the game, underneath the sun's rays. 

The game then just stays on this screen for a while. A little while later, credits show, then the game restarts (though you can now load any part of the game, you want to replay).  

This, I saw online, was to let players truly interpret the whole, overall story. Like I said earlier, everyone's idea of this story will differ, but the ending always stays the same. 

The ending is all about the player, no longer being trapped inside, but finally being free.

I was very satisfied with this short game, though the music wasn't the best. 

I, absolutely, recommend this game for any fan of suspense or even horror. 

Pros: 

    - Outstanding Story

    - Perfect Length for this Kind of Game

    - Great Suspense (and Horror)

    - Incredible Animations for Everything

    - Gameplay Mechanics (Puzzles) were Perfectly Executed / Created

Cons:

    - Music isn't that Great

My Rating for INSIDE (on Switch):

5 / 5

-----

Disclaimer

All Reviews, Ratings, Pros, Cons, and Opinions Shared on this Blog (Press A Reviews) are my (Connor Butler) own Thoughts and Feelings.