If Inside proves anything to Mario-obsessed Nintendo fans, it's that there's more than one way to skin a platforming cat. Which is a bizarrely grotesque image to contemplate. But then, Inside is full of bizarrely grotesque images. This is a thoughtful, masterfully-paced platform-puzzler with one of the most queasily fascinating settings in modern gaming. It's deeply disturbing stuff, but with a commendable degree of subtlety and restraint.
Rather than opting for the obvious jump scares of Resident Evil Revelations 2 or the schlock horror of Outlast 2, the Danish maker of Limbo - which actually hit Switch at the same time as Inside - has stuck with the creeping discomfort and relentless melancholy of its earlier game. Once again you play as a largely defenceless child, making your way from left to right through a nightmarishly hostile world.
With Inside, though, the dark fairy tale tone of Limbo gives way to dark sci-fi. Our protagonist is seemingly on the run from a monstrous corporation that conducts grim experiments on live creatures - including humans. Starting out in a dank forest, your journey will take you through converted farmyards and inky black lakes, with a prolonged final stretch that takes you deep into a vast compound.
Death is always around the corner in Inside, but these are not your typical video game terminations. They're often depressingly realistic in their banality, from the sickeningly curt thump of falling 30 feet onto concrete to the scrabbling twitch that precedes drowning. There's no life limit here (nor any UI for that matter), but you'll want to avoid fatal mistakes just to stop from wincing.
Thankfully, your interaction with this brutal world is simple enough: move with the left analog stick, jump with 'B', and use with 'A'. All three of those commands will be employed in a range of ways. We won't spoil the more outrageous examples, but with the 'A' button alone you'll be pushing and pulling boxes, opening grates, and flipping switches.
All of this reflects what a tactile game Inside is. Coupled with some sterling animation, there's real weight and heft to every action you perform in the game, while you often have to take into account the amount of time it will take our struggling hero to perform a certain command. This is as much a physics puzzler as a platformer. The graphics are also quite stupendous at selling all of this to you. Allied to the impeccable animation we've already mentioned is a detailed comic book art style that mutes the colour palette but exaggerates light and shade. If we've ever seen a better use of shadows in a game, we can't remember it.
This is yet another beloved indie game that runs and fits beautifully well on Switch. When docked, those gorgeous graphics really benefit from the increase in resolution and a more immersive screen size. However, the slow-paced 2D platforming still works very well in handheld mode. Plug in a set of earphones to get some of the game's immersive sound pumped directly into your brain, and Inside won't suffer at all on that portable screen.
If we were to issue any sort of warning here - beyond the fact that this probably isn't a game for very young or squeamish players - it's that Inside isn't terribly long. Most players will be able to breeze through it in five hours or less, and you can make your own mind up about whether that presents value for money at its launch price of £18 (which is, of course, a couple of pounds more than other versions). All we can tell you is that Inside doesn't waste a single second of your time. It's entirely free of pointless padding and dull repetition, deftly remixing and swapping out ideas almost at will. What's more, there are more memorable moments packed in here than in most games three times the size.
Conclusion
Inside is a grimly beautiful platform-puzzler that, while brief, is packed full of jaw-dropping highlights. While its dark tone won't be for everyone, it's all been executed brilliantly, with gently taxing physics-based conundrums woven into a haunting wordless narrative.
Comments 53
Such an incredible adventure. Glad I managed to wait out this long to get it on the Switch. Highly recommended.
This game is one of the most affecting things I’ve experienced. If you haven’t played it you definitely should!
Great game with great atmosphere! I agree with the review.
Such a month for indies between this and Hollow Knight, both of them are must have in the catalogue.
I was disappointed by Little Nightmares, and it's keeping me away from the "genre".
Is Inside very different ?
Will pick this up at some point but have already bought some new games that i sold probably focus on first. The backlog is lengthy.
God, 2016 game ! Happy for the people who never played it but if a title like that really interest you, you already played it...
It's 8.99 on Steam too... Erf !
This game features being attacked by dogs and swimming in deep water. I find both much more unsettling than the giant spiders of LIMBO. At least giant spiders aren't real. But the angry barking quickly sends a chill down my spine.
I remember when this game first released, sites were hitting it with 10/10's and calling it one of the best games of the year.
@Cobalt
A lot of Nintendo gamers haven't played it I'm sure, despite being interested in it. Just like Hollow Knight probably interests a bunch of PS/X1 only gamers, but they cant play it until it comes to their platform.
Also having a cheaper Steam price doesnt seem to have any impact. Almost all indies have a cheaper Steam price, almost all games have a cheaper Steam price. But people are still buying console games, either because they dont game on PC or would simply rather have it on Switch, or, they already own it on Steam and want this anyways. And btw, 2016 games, 2012 game, 2022 game... doesnt matter. Games dont always release across all platforms simultaneously. Doesnt make the game any less fun. People judge games based on how much fun they'll provide, not from a "good by" sticker like a cup of yogurt
@Nunya "I wasn't a fan of the overly trial and error approach to the gameplay, I thought Limbo handled things much better".
While I agree, I hate trial n' error gameplay and do feel Limbo handled that slightly better, overall I would say Inside was the game I enjoyed more.
Game Sounds Corny
I've played a little bit of Inside on PS4 and thoroughly enjoyed it. I've also played Limbo on Vita and that's great too. I'll definitely get Inside again on Switch, but maybe when it's a little cheaper. If it launched at the same price as Hollow Knight, it would have been a day one.
@Cobalt It's 5.99 on PS4 right now and also a bundle with Limbo must buys if anyone it's interested
@JaxonH
I totally understand your point but I'm not 100% agree with you...
I always feel that there is a "Switch extra fee" that Switch-players have to pay... I see that for indies and for multiplats... That's not really fair.
It's like Nintendo gamers are considered as morons who pay whatever is price... I hate that way of thinking...
@Cobalt Games are not milk. They don't have an expiration date. Go out, breathe some fresh air, and stop trolling.
Absolutely love Playdead's games, it was worth waiting for the Switch version.
@Cobalt Perhaps that extra fee is due to Nintendo charging more than other platforms. Perhaps there are other costs involved that aren't there elsewhere. We don't know but there's a reason for it and I don't believe it's because developers see Nintendo gamers as "morons" as you put it.
Not quite worth that price given that you can only really play it once but a damn good game all the same.
Even better if you try to find all the secrets.
@EasyDaRon
Do you know that I'm an indie developer ?
@Cobalt Funny. I have the opposite problem. The other week I had an urge to play Portal, a game that I missed when it was new. I was disappointed to find out neither it nor the sequel are on the PS4 store, despite being so highly praised. The more old greats to be re-released, the better.
@OorWullie
I never said "developers see Nintendo gamers as morons" I said " IT'S LIKE Nintendo gamers are considered as morons who pay whatever is price... I hate that way of thinking...
@EasyDaRon
You guess the wrong way...
@hiptanaka
It means that you don't have a Steam account then ? If it's the case, I understand your point.
@Cobalt While it can be annoying, I don't think it's unconventional for re-releases on new platforms to bump the price? The cycle begins again, after all. First you sell to people willing to pay for new games, then you sell to people who only buy on sales.
@Cobalt I have a Steam account, but I prefer to play in front of the TV, and that's more cumbersome with Steam, as I don't have a computer hooked up all the time.
@EasyDaRon
Glückwünsche !
@Cobalt
It's not that, it's just that console gaming has different pricing than PC. And whenever a game first releases it gets sold for the same price as all other consoles. Theres the occasional game that costs a little more on Switch, but this isnt one of them. And usually even then it's only because of cartridge expenses.
Either way, prices drop. They dont start off at fire sale prices on any platform. If the price doesnt work for you or whoever, catch it in a sale. And there are good weekly eShop sales on Switch- it's not like past generations.
@hiptanaka
Do you know that you can plug you PC in your TV without a cable ?
@JaxonH
I know, I know. In fact, the real problem is that the Switch get games later than the other platforms... So yeah, the price is higher... :/
@Cobalt It's just more of a hassle. The point is if Portal was on every platform, I could buy it where I most want it.
I liked this ok on PS4, but I didn't really get why everyone was raving about it. I found the gameplay very trial and error and the only real difficulty I had was when solutions or items were hidden, usually by the gloomy environments. I remember this one bit that baffled me, until I realised there was a lever that i was simply running past repeatedly without seeing it. Its a good enough game, with great art direction. But I always see massive praise with little counter argument.
I saw it through to the end, but I'd never touch it again.
I was tempted but the price is too high when you can get it cheaper elsewhere, they should have done a bundle where you got it with Limbo for free or some kind of discount for getting both.
I was pretty excited when I heard it was coming to Switch since I don't own PS4/XB1... I loved LIMBO on PS3 years ago... but I am building a new HTPC so I grabbed INSIDE on the Steam Sale to try on my new PC.
Sounds interesting. On my radar now.
I'm a bit disappointed that no one has commented on what a great read this review was. I want to read more from this reviewer for sure.
Bought it... on $9 for Steam. Glad these games are on Switch but why bother when they are cheaper on other platforms?
I played it on PC a year or two ago, when I got it in a sale for less than $15.... I would gladly rebuy and replay again on Switch if it wasn't 25 friggin' bucks where I live.... Oh well.... in my wishlist... will wait for a "sale" to get it at "normal" price.... (thanks to bad currency and the "Nintendo tax")...
Played it on PS4. An absolute masterpiece
@Nunya I thought the opposite, Limbo required more trial and error, mostly due to some tricky platforming sections, whereas Inside is almost too easy except for a maybe one or two puzzles.
@hiptanaka 100% agree. Portal games not being available on every single platform possible is a disservice to humanity.
@gortsi I'm not trolling I'm just saying it sounds corny meaning it sounds bad
For the people complaining about the price, please be aware that this game has the same MSRP on all platforms except iOS, it just may have a discount on some of them.
https://store.playstation.com/en-us/product/UP2054-CUSA05297_00-INSIDE0000000000
https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/inside-switch
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/inside/c17gqf31d617
https://store.steampowered.com/app/304430/INSIDE/
I don't got a switch anyways but my friend does so I play on his
@LegendOfPokemon Maybe because this isn't the Twilight Zone where everyone has the exact same setup?
Maybe some people only have a laptop that isn't used for gaming, a PS4 with limited space, and a Switch with plenty of space, plus the added bonus of being portable? Maybe this version isn't for you? Maybe not every iteration of a product needs to cater to every single consumer in the universe, because it doesn't, and that would be silly to think otherwise?
@JTTSantos
Well, to be more precise, I've liked Limbo a LOT. But Little Nightmares put me off with the (sometimes very) long loadings, which may have made me less indulgent towards some gameplay faults (imo). But I'll try giving it a chance...
@nab1
If it's not AAA, it's always too expensive somehow.
I'm going to keep an eye out for the sale.
Its a 10/10 for me. A perfection.
Definitely intrigued by this one, but it'll be a backlog until a sale.
I really don't care for these kind of games, but I can tell how it gets good scores.
Soon as there's a sale I'll pick this up and finally play this on Switch...can't really justify paying full price for Limbo having played in on 360 and have it on Steam, but I never did pick up another copy of Inside
So happy that this game checks out on Switch!
Playdead spent a lot of time on this baby and it's realy been paying off.
@Cobalt the Switch tax
just finished it, switched to it after getting annoyed with little nightmares loading times on death (which inside doesnt have @Tibob)
i rarely comment here but this is seriously the craziest and best game i ever played
@snusmu
Thanks for your comment. I'll grab it before the sale ends !!
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