INSIDE Reviews
Playdead's Inside is a masterpiece from beginning to end, and its Switch port is as good as you could hope for. It's another must-play title on Nintendo's hybrid, and is unlike anything I've ever played before.
Limbo, when I reviewed it all those years ago, was one of the few games that compelled me to reward it a perfect score. Inside isn’t just a marked improvement on Playdead’s formula, it smashes through the benchmark Limbo set tenfold, leaving me to ponder how a team so small can produce an experience so damn grand.
Inside is a masterclass in minimalist design. Enthralling and enjoyable.
Even if players only progress as far as 'I don't get it', playing Inside—and stepping outside of that comfort zone—will leave you changed, even if only a little, on the inside.
So few games come close to perfect but Inside is a true gaming treat for XBox One, especially if you like dark puzzles!
Playdead could have simply made yet another 'Limbo' and it would've been great. Instead, they kept the core gameplay and went into a bold yet familiar direction with it. 'Inside' hasn't left my thoughts since I completed it, and I doubt it will any time soon. It's a fantastic game that proves what the medium can do when used correctly, and provides an experience that can't be replicated by film or literature.
Whilst it may not be perfect, let's be honest, nothing ever is. Inside does have a few issues here and there with the story, but I don't care, the whole experience is an absolute gaming pleasure. Whilst it may not be a game that appeals to everyone and have a rather niche target market, those who love this genre will indeed, love this game.
INSIDE pulls you in and makes you forget everything that was going on in your real life. A new benchmark for puzzle-platformers, a must-have for every gamer and easily one of the best games ever.
Review in Persian | Read full review
A mature, dark and deeply immersive adventure dripping with atmosphere. Inside is a classic full of surprises and memorable moments.
Inside is, in many ways, a spiritual successor to Limbo. It reiterates on the formula and design established by Limbo and polishes it to perfection. The game is full of thought provoking puzzles and a narrative structure that requires you to think, while also highlighting the negative side of the human society.
We went deep into the despair and desolation of Playdead's Inside and found it to be one of the finest examples of emergent narrative there are.
INSIDE is an odyssey I recommend everyone, gamer or not, to undertake. When it’s all said and done, the game did feel a bit short, but every second is worth it. I haven’t felt so strongly towards an indie game story since Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, and that’s saying a lot. After experiencing a monotonous world of where specs of dust in pale moonlight beauty in comparison to flakes of flesh wafting in the sunlight, the credits made me sit in the sun, reflect on myself and the progress of our world. It’s hard to discover any true answers in our world, much like the mysteries still left unsolved in INSIDE’s world of scientific genocide, but it’s easy to understand the massive effort it took Playdead to splice together this masterpiece.
Playdead have taken everything that Limbo offered, and expanded it exponentially with Inside. Crafting a sublime 2D platformer with another unique art style, they take so many unexpected turns with the game that they may as well ship it with a sat nav. A game that starts you off as a boy in the wood will immediately draw comparisons to their 2010 debut, but the connective threads between Limbo and Inside are slowly pulled apart as the latter goes on and begins its descent into something all the more disturbing. A fantastic example of polishing a game until it’s done, Inside may only be around 4 hours long but it’s been well worth the 6 year wait.
After playing Limbo and how good that was I never thought INSIDE would top it, boy was I wrong and this might one of my favorite games this year.
A must have for any gamer looking for something special
Please, do yourself a favor and buy Inside right now before you get spoiled. From the beginning Inside is an unforgettable experience that every gamer has to play. What makes it even more unforgettable are the last gameplay moments, I’m still shocked about it. Developer Playdead has done impossible work, I’m still baffled that only 25 people can make a game like Inside, it’s simply mind-blowingly good.
Inside encapsulates everything right within the independent game genre, exuding a masterclass in game design with stellar animation and a muted colour palette that fit its macabre interior perfectly. Though some may be put off by its obtuseness, Inside is a unique title all gamers should eventually at least attempt to experience.
"Inside is a hauntingly oppressive 2D platforming masterpiece with a gorgeous artistic approach, incorporating moments of stealth, frantic chases with creative but not overly complex puzzles".
Dark, disturbing, satisfying and compelling. A masterpiece.
I won’t delve too much into the story, but I will say that the ending – an it most certainly has an ending, is something that you and your friends may come to talk about, theorise about, and discuss for many weeks to come.