Ever since touchscreens started appearing on every device in the house, the trusty adventure game has enjoyed a renaissance. We’ve seen rereleases, remasters and brand-new series take off on all platforms, and Switch is an ideal home for them. Enter The Inner World, a point-and-click adventure from German developer Studio Fizbin.
Good-natured, naïve Robert is the young ward of Conroy, a shady Wind Monk and leader of Asposia. His apprentice’s unique ‘flute-nose’ has always set him apart from other stripy-noses. The kingdom is beset by fearsome wind-dragons known as Basylians which Conroy placates by ensuring his subjects live sinless, obedient lives. An accident thrusts Robert amongst the proles where he meets Laura, a streetwise pickpocket who lost her father. Their adventure soon reveals sinister goings-on and the true story behind Robert’s unique shnoz.
Visually, The Inner World has a Regular Show/Rick and Morty vibe which looks sharp on Switch, both on the telly and in handheld mode. Those visual influences bring heightened expectations for the writing and, although you’ll rarely be belly-laughing, the dialogue from its cast of oddballs will surely put a smile on your face.
That is, when your face isn’t screwed up in frustration. History shows that even the finest adventure games occasionally drop the ball with an inscrutable or illogical puzzle – we’re looking at you, Monkey Island 2! Some players love pushing through these games, brute-forcing solutions through every possible combination of items and objects. Personally, we feel a bit deflated, retreat to a walkthrough and then fume incredulously at the solution we were supposed to deduce from the tiniest of clues. Ah yes, obviously you’ve got to lubricate the lock with orange juice while the guard is distracted by the flaming sandwich you ignited using spectacles which refract sunlight from a window you opened earlier after flirting with the bank manager across the street. Simples!
The Inner World takes obtuse point-and-click puzzle design and builds a whole game around it. It’s just as well the voicework is entertaining because you’ll need to talk to everybody and exhaust all their dialogue to unlock new options and clues before exhausting them again. It’s not completely nonsensical – and the clues are there if you listen carefully – but you’ll be backtracking and doublechecking quite a bit.
Fortunately, then, a comprehensive hint system is on hand to help you out. Clicking through a branch will give you clue after clue until finally telling you outright how to progress. We saw a similar system in Thimbleweed Park, although it’s baked into the menu here rather than being a cumbersome in-world service. Perhaps we were just having an off-week but completing The Inner World without using the hint system would be a Mensa-level accomplishment, or an epic feat of trial, error and patience. Lateral thinkers may breeze through it, but we went skulking to the hints menu more than we’d care to admit.
Which is fine – it’s there for a reason – but repeated use takes the fun out of puzzle solving. We found ourselves hopelessly combining objects in our inventory. “That’s just a random guess, isn’t it?” Robert comments. Too right, but you do it to avoid turning the hints system into a glorified walkthrough which robs you of any feeling of accomplishment.
Control-wise, you move with the analogue stick and cycle through nearby ‘hotspots’ (interactive points) using ‘L’ and ‘R’. Hitting ‘A’ brings up three icons enabling you to ‘look’, ‘combine’ or ‘use’ whatever you’re interacting with. Your inventory is on ‘X’ where you split and combine found objects. You’ll also get the opportunity to break out Robert’s flute-nose at certain points and play it like an ocarina. Cycling through a load of hotspots to reach the one you’re after becomes tiresome and the puzzling lack of touch support feels like a missed opportunity which could have streamlined the experience.
Yet the characters and world have an offbeat charm which compels you to continue regardless, even though you’ll sense early on where the story is headed. Although we felt forced through desperation into using the mechanical hints system, we ultimately still found enjoyment in Robert and Laura’s adventure.
Conclusion
Despite a disappointing lack of touch support and resulting control irritations, The Inner World has much to like and Asposia’s warped characters are delightful company, provided you’re happy to ask for help when you’re stuck. There’s certainly no shame in that – and the hints system works perfectly – but we didn’t have enough ‘eureka!’ moments of our own to feel sufficiently satisfied with its wilfully obtuse solutions.
Comments 12
Thats a shame, when I saw the video of it I was quite interested. But if it is so complicated that you have to refer back to "hints" or guides. Not that interested
I like the visual style a lot but there are already too many other games to consider...
Could it be, that the problem is, that you used the hint system way to often and never learned how the game worked? If you play awesome puzzle game The Witness you can use a online guide for the puzzles, but then you miss totally, what this game is about. You need to learn the puzzle mechanics. It's the same about Point'n'Click adventures. I think there are some difficult puzzles, but it's always logical.
But I can understand, if you review a game, you don't have enough time to really look for solutions. But that's what games in this genre are about. Searching for solutions and clever combining and being rewarded with more parts of the story. The hint system is a nice addon, if you are really stuck.
That they didn't offer touch controls is a bit sad, but on the other hand you get a full price game for a low price. Including touch controls, that would just work if you play in handheld mode, would mean more development time for the console version and higher price.
This game is really awesome regarding the style, the story and the characters. It's a perfect fit in the time where we are living as it got a serious background, about an event we all should never forget. The grade and your conclusion sounding too harsh for me.
Gotta throw my 5 cent into the ring here:
having played the game a few years ago on my phone, I can say that it's a really fun p'n'c with a charming sense of humor and pretty decent voice casting as well.
The puzzles are tricky at times, but (imho) not nearly as frustrating as the review would make it seem.
BUT a lack of touch control is just... puzzling (heh).
Especially since this game was on touchy devices years ago. It's cool you can cycle through hotspots, but that should only be an additional thing in case you're having problems spotting something.
I'd say: with touch controls this is a strong 7/light 8.
But in the state it is now, I'd also give it a 6. Maybe they'll provide an update.
@Bunkerneath
i played it on pc and must have used the hints like, once?
i don't know how seasoned you are in point and clicks, but if you enjoy the genre, this is one of the finest I've played recently.
on the other hand, I can see how it could get frustrating if you're trying to rush it to get the review done. but in my experience, point and clicks must be played in bursts, taking breaks when you hit a wall and returning later with new eyes.
@RetiredR Discworld! Had completely forgotten about those! Never played the third one. Need to revisit them.
6 is usually what I expect for most P&C's lol, but many I end up liking at 6/10 and 7/10. I didn't care for the art style/world, so I'll likely pass on this one anyway.
No touch control? That is weird. I bought the sequel (already played the first game on pc and it's a really fun adventure game) and it has touch controls included.
@fco
It’s certainly true that a deadline means you can’t just walk away and let things simmer like you might otherwise. Touch would make a world of difference though.
I’m currently playing the sequel which addresses some key issues. Watch this space
Sounds painfully underwhelming to me.
For me it was a fun game. Lack of touch controls was not too big issue. When playing part 2 with touch controls I was surprised that in the end I went back to button controls. For me it is a strong 7/10 game.
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