I reviewed Limbo, the previous
game from this Danish stable, and in a single word described it as
brilliant. Whilst I don’t like repeating myself, I can’t think of a more
apt word to describe Inside.
If you played Limbo you will
know what to expect. It’s a side scrolling 2D puzzle platform game,
which is the least you can say about it. You will die, trying to
dodge/avoid/escape all manner of things – people out to kill you, dogs
out to tear you apart, search lights trying to find you – all in a
single plane. You can go left, you can go right, but nothing more. You
can climb up and down, you can jump, you can grab hold of things and
pull, you can swim and swing and pull and drag, but never outside the
single left to right plane.
It’s amazing how free that
limited perspective can feel. There is depth to the visuals that make
you forget you can only go left and right.
Speaking of which, the visuals
are awesome. Black and white except when they aren’t (thereby drawing
your eye to that detail), they convey the dystopian, dysfunctional,
disturbing world of Inside with a vividness that belies their
simplicity. Subtle shifts of the camera accentuate depth and space, and
the first time I sank into an abyss I was truly impressed. Throw in the
lighting and it just gets better.
Front and centre, like Limbo, is
a small boy. More 3D than his predecessor, he is still running, left and
right, but inexorably towards the right, avoiding the things that are
hunting him, or are just in his way, drawn on by… something. Whether
it’s his own making or beyond his control you can decide for yourself.
He is though a work of art. He
will stumble, he will fall, he will puff with exertion, all based on
what he is doing on screen. He will also be ripped to pieces, blown to
bits, and torn apart, with appropriate visual and auditory effects.
Death is a lesson though, so
embrace it. You die learning what not to do, making the next attempt a
little less likely to end the same way. You will also die because you
can’t achieve the necessary sequence (get in, swim, activate switch,
swim, get out, lure, get in, swim, activate switch again, escape) as
quickly as is necessary. There are other similar sequences, and some
that involve keeping predators at bay or avoiding their charge, all with
small margins of error. At the same time, you often have to be working
out how am I getting out of this part of the environment – just dodging
the charging pig isn’t enough. Luring it/using it/manipulating it to
find a way forward is what is required.
There is lots going on in the
background, and now and then in the foreground as well. Inside is not a
happy place – there are people in cages, mind controlled humans, and
some unsavoury experiments. You aren’t immune to this – mind control
will at various times be your best friend.
The puzzling involves getting
through the environment. As much as it is about avoiding the things that
will kill you, it is even more about how do you manipulate things to
move on. You will find cubes that can propel themselves into the air,
objects that can be dragged and pushed and thrown, mind controlled
minions that can assist in interesting ways; even the antagonists can be
used on occasion to achieve an end. Some objectives are obvious, if the
solution is not. Others are less so, and will require patience. Some are
wickedly clever – I loved the 20 man puzzle (and all its bits and
pieces) in about the middle.
It is probably easier than
Limbo, with less nimble fingered athletics and more environmental
manipulation, but you will have do to do the former. So grit your teeth
and knuckle down, and push through.
It plays with six keys - left,
right, up, down, jump and hold. You can map them to suit yourself. It
saves as you go, usually quite generously; if you overcome an obstacle
the chances are good it will save at that point. While you can’t choose
to save, you can choose to load at numerous points.
Freaky things happen, not least
of all at the gobsmacking end. It has to be seen, not explained. Even if
it could be. It is all manner of visceral, tormented, demented, goodness
knows what. But it is worth the price of admission by itself.
What the story means is up to
you. You will likely have views and form opinions and then change them
as the vista and events unfold as you run. There are then two endings,
one which you will only be able to get if you find all the orbs along
the way, and then only if you are extremely observant (and moreso than
me). I watched it on YouTube, and found it oddly satisfying, if
depressing. The ending I got was simple and baffling all at the same
time; there is sunshine, I am outside, but what am I?
You can read lots about what the
endings mean should you want to. Or you can just enjoy a wonderful piece
of platforming.
I played on:
OS: Windows 10
Processor: Intel i7-3820 4GHz
RAM: 16GB DDR3
