INSIDE Gives The Phrase “Sophomore Slump” The Middle Finger

No game is developed in a vacuum, but INSIDE is tightly chained to the context in which it exists: the spiritual sequel to LIMBO. In this case, that isn’t an indictment of quality. Seldom in the indie community can you make such a clear comparison between a studio’s first and second titles. That direct line of critique is easier made in the AAA world where franchises routinely span several game entries even within the same console or tech generation. Playing INSIDE after LIMBO is akin to switching from an outdated pair of glasses to a prescription that’s actually right for you. Everything is instantly sharper, clearer, and more vivid.

INSIDE takes all the high notes of Playdead’s first title, LIMBO, and distills them like fine wine. Or maybe ages them like beer? I clearly don’t know enough about how alcohol is made for this metaphor. Either way, Playdead has a firm understanding of exactly what worked in LIMBO and invested a lot of effort into polishing that experience.

INSIDE is just as ethereal as its predecessor. You are dropped into the game in a similar fashion: a young boy in the woods, enveloped by atmosphere with no direction to go but forward, assailed at every turn by twisted perils. It should be noted that INSIDE is not for the faint of heart. Just like LIMBO, it’s a game about a young boy in a very dark setting. If you screw up, there is some very real, very disturbing violence visited upon your character.

The best puzzles in the game are deep layers of previous mechanics put together in a brain-tickling cocktail.

INSIDE invites you to fail first and fail often. The deaths experienced by your character are morbid at the best of times, but after the first few incidents I found myself able to look past the horror of a boy being strangled and drowned in a puddle and more apt to pay attention to my surroundings. What makes INSIDE’s puzzle design so flawless is its transparency. No puzzle is unfair or asks you to devise a solution that you haven’t been shown before. The best puzzles in the game are deep layers of previous mechanics put together in a brain-tickling cocktail. On a macro scale, INSIDE’s puzzle design is concise and focused. Only a couple times did I see a misplaced mechanic that was thrown in for a single puzzle and never revisited.

The sound design for INSIDE is by far the most successful part of its production. The lighting effects and animation are beautiful as well, but everything you hear — and don’t hear — is what tips the game from decent to excellent. There are times you’ll hear almost nothing but your character breathing. You’ll hear footsteps. You’ll hear the occasional swell of music, building as you work through a puzzle, like your own personal cheering section. Most importantly, INSIDE uses proximity of sound to cue the player. There are times when the camera draws back during long sections of walking or swimming when it really wants you to appreciate a vista. At these moments, the sound will dim as well, as if heard through a wall, and then come back to the forefront as your attention is required with your character again.

Every puzzle feels set up perfectly for you to jump in and assume your place.

There is a rhythm to INSIDE that goes beyond just the sound effects and minimal soundtrack. Every puzzle feels set up perfectly for you to jump in and assume your place, if you can manage — like a set of dominos waiting for the last piece. Once you can feel the beat inherent in the game, the puzzles start getting easier. You begin to slip into the mechanics and understand what to do almost without thinking. It makes the execution no less of a challenge, but the pride in pulling it off infinitely greater.

#TL;DR

If you had any interest at all in LIMBO, INSIDE will be a welcome return to the mechanics that Playdead brought to the table originally. Solid puzzle design and excellent atmosphere combine to make INSIDE one of my favorite indie experiences this year. It isn’t often that you see a game with such clear conviction to be exactly what it set out to be. INSIDE provides the rare opportunity for us as players to see a direct progression of a small studio between two titles. Instead of going limp after their initial critical acclaim, Playdead returns to the field with a confident, streamlined iteration on their first hit.