It’s been a long time coming but Playdead’s new game Inside has finally made its début on Xbox One and PC. Inside shares many similar characteristics to 2010’s Limbo and is considered to be a spiritual successor. Limbo is a game that many would consider to be the defining title of Microsoft’s Xbox Live Arcade initiative, during a period of exclusivity on Xbox 360 last generation. The big question then is whether Playdead can capture lightning in a bottle a second time?
First and foremost, I’d like to get this said early-on: Inside is much easier and thus far more approachable than Limbo ever was. Raising the question, whether die-hard Limbo fans will find Inside too easy? Yes, without a doubt. In comparison to Limbo the puzzles are much more, shall we say ‘tame’, and that’s what I love about it. While it might not appeal to die-hard Limbo fans – Inside’s puzzles are really designed for quick trial and error thinking, typically one mistake and you’re on your way. There’s nothing more grating to me than having to resort to looking online for a solution before you can progress further with a game. With that said, I’ll throw my hands up to owning Limbo since it first launched on Xbox 360 and having only just revisited and completed it mere days before Inside was released.
The story of Inside is whatever you make of it. Boy, darkness, woods, a lab/scientists, odd things…You might have guessed that you play as an unknown young lad whom stands out with his red jumper in an otherwise slightly muted colour palette (not quite as black and white as their last game). Playdead have clearly taken inspiration from other iconic sources, the boy himself is rather reminiscent to Ico, while the core gameplay is identical to Limbo: move left or right, there’s a jump button, and another button to interact with objects; pull levers, drag boxes to climb onto… pretty much what you would expect. The background visuals are much more active and impactful to the gameplay, from simple things as guards pointing their flashlight towards the screen while the boy hides behind a tree, if you get spotted then the guards or even dogs will come running from the background onto the player’s path to chase you down. Still, for a game that is more approachable to the masses, Inside is far more than just a pretty picture.
There’s droids which are encountered throughout the game which basically serve to add some more depth and thought behind the otherwise simple puzzle aspects of the game. Uncannily similar to Oddworld, you can control them and have them follow you. Primarily they’re another means to an end, as much as dragging a box to climb up to the next area, the droids can be used to throw you upwards to higher areas, lift large gates, etc. for you to progress in a similar manner. There’s even plenty of underwater sections, where swimming becomes common, but what’s really striking and fun to use is a small sub which you can climb into and blast through weakened walls, all the while highlighting your path with a large mounted light.
The audio in particular is most impressive: there’s an ambient effect to the audio design throughout, while 5.1 speakers are fine, I’d really recommend headphones as there’s much more depth and there’s just some subtleties that you’re only likely to pick-up on with headphones unless you play it with the volume cranked up and annoy any neighbours.
In terms of value and re-playability, Inside’s achievement list doesn’t give any incentive to replay the game bar collectible hunting. It’s an easy 1000G completion which I’m sure many will be happy about. While achievements can be used to challenge players to beat the game or do certain tasks, I think in the case of Inside, the fact that there’s none whatsoever for completing the game and it’s all related to collectibles is initially clever. It helps in just being able to launch the game without distractions and just lose yourself in this seamless experience, from start to finish, all with no loading screens, with some thoughtful puzzles and intense moments along the way, and just take it all in and enjoy it.
As a 90’s kid, where side-scrolling games were all the rage, it’s really pleasing for me to see Inside get it so right and do so to such a high standard by making use of the advancements of modern hardware to craft a completely alluring and mesmerising game that is a joy to play from start to finish. The game is so stunningly realised, with such incredible attention to detail that is not normally seen in a side-scrolling budget game. It’s certainly appealing to a much wider audience than their past game, where I feel anyone could pick it up and work their way through. If you have a soft-spot for old-school side-scrolling games of yesteryear, Inside might just be the game you never knew you always wanted.
Score – 9.5/10
Review code supplied by Team Xbox.
