Playdead's first game, Limbo, was among the first batches of really successful indie-games when it was released on Xbox Live. In many ways Playdead's new game, Inside, is a lot like its predecessor. Its a dark, dreary, side-scroller with a focus on puzzle solving and thoughtful platforming. Yet, as much as it shares in common with Limbo, Inside manages to raise the bar on just about every level imaginable. This is a haunting, disturbing, world that will have to desperately have you fighting for survival. An experience unlike anything you've ever played before, just know this adventure isn't for the faint of heart.
In this story you play as a young boy fighting for survival. Running through the forest you see people being rounded up and shipped away by these other masked "people". As you progress it seems like the people getting rounded up are being brain-washed and experimented on. It would appear that on your attempt to hide you're also going to try to throw a wrench into these horrid experiments. However, you must be very careful because if you're caught by the people in the masks or slip up near any of the many hazards death is imminent. As you progress you're discoveries will be increasing more bizarre and twisted.
Your survival depends on your ability to keep calm under pressure and react quickly as the situations dictate. Sometimes you'll just need to take cover and hide from the "masks" and their dogs while other times you may just need to run. There are many other hazards to be wary of from explosions to monsters in the depths. Although Inside is quite forgiving on check points you'll become increasing careful after witnessing one too many brutal deaths. When your life is not in immediate danger you with still need to be clever enough to navigate the different environments. On multiple occasions you'll need to take over the minds of the brain-washed people in order to get help with various tasks. Other times you'll get to control various machinery or jump on steam powered blocks to get around.
The atmosphere is what really makes this such a unique and compelling experience. Honestly, it is not even clear if you are on earth or if the bad guys are even human. Add on top of that some of the gravity defying experiments and you'll begin to wonder if the world you're in even has the same laws of physics as ours. As things continue to get stranger and more nefarious you become increasing intrigued to see what the developers are going to throw at you next. This is a game that asks way more questions than it answers but it just gives the whole game a wonderful mysterious air. Even if you don't know what you're doing as you progress you'll still feel very accomplished by the end of this journey.
Inside is incredible the way it made me feel disturbed in a fashion only a videogame experience could have delivered. The scenes unfolding around you are equally haunting and intriguing. Every death is so gruesome you really try your hardest to make sure you are increasing careful in these dangerous environments. The difficulty curve on the challenges present in the game's puzzles feels very natural. This isn't a particularly long game but it is so well polished that it is hard to imagine much more they could have done without just adding filler. For a game with no dialogue this is one of the most compelling narratives I've experienced and I can't recommend it enough. If you have the stomach for a good creepy tale Inside is a must play.