I've put off reviewing this one for too long. I'd simply do a let's play except this is a non-VR title and my let's play channel is VR only. It really deserves more attention though, as one of the more shocking, sobering and thought provoking game experiences of the last ten years.
Somehow INSIDE manages this without even a single line of written or spoken dialogue. Absolutely all story telling is done through the characters and environments, a truly impressive feat. The game's refusal to explicitly explain itself only intensifies the cryptic feeling.
You're thrown right into the thick of it when the game starts, tumbling down a rock ledge, apparently on the run from police. Or men with flashlights and guns anyway, as it's never fully clear who they are. But it does become all too clear, soon enough, why they are after you.
Everyone else being herded into trucks like cattle appears to be in some sort of trance. They are brainwashed, obedient and docile. You're one of the few who has escaped whatever process was used to mind control everyone else. Naturally that makes you public enemy #1 to whatever shadowy regime is responsible.
However once you discover the master helmets used to control all the brainwashed human cattle, you can turn this against your enemies. Many of the best puzzles in the game center around this mechanic, wherein you are able to take control over five to twenty people and use them to overcome various barriers impossible to pass on your own.
What becomes of the brainwashed people? They could easily have left it to the imagination, but you will see for yourself later on. There's some implication of alien involvement early on, with parasitic worms emerging from the backside of a pig. But surprisingly we don't see those worms again after that, and the enemies appear to be regular humans in some sort of secret organization thereafter.
Are the worms also inside the people chasing you? You encounter a totally different creature in the underwater portion of the game that is seemingly unrelated to all of it, and perhaps supernatural. How does it figure into all this? Was it human once?
There is a transformation scene later on which implies the organization has the means to mutate humans into other forms. For what purpose? Better hosts for the alien slugs? It is never explained. The game shows only what's necessary to answer the biggest few questions that relate directly to gameplay.
Unfortunately this trend extends to the ending, which comes totally out of left field and resolves nothing. It is my only, and biggest, criticism about the game. There is an immediately obvious alternate direction they could've taken the ending which would have been immensely more logical and satisfying, but so it goes.
All in all I can do nothing but recommend INSIDE. The puzzles are maddening but clever and satisfying to figure out. The theme is oppressive but mysterious, and greatly resembles the themes in my own writing. This could well be one of my stories had they not made the game first. I've had friends and long time fans come to me and ask "did you have anything to do with this?"
I will say that a gamepad is a must-have, without which it's a chore to play. The Xbox One gamepad is the best way to go, as many newer PCs have built in support for it and the build quality is excellent for what you pay, thanks to economies of scale.
Overall I give INSIDE a 9/10, docked one point only because of the big letdown of an ending. It's $9.99 on Steam, and up to you whether it's worth that much based on what I've written and your own thematic/gameplay preferences.
Check out this fan trailer btw, it's what originally sold me on the game:
Stay Cozy!
I've heard a lot of good things about this game. definitely gonna give it a try sometime. Glad to hear it's challenging and not just an ambient romp, that'll motivate me a bit.
I wish I had the master helmet so I could finally make my dog do tricks.
Yeah, I've played it through a few months ago. The end was a huge shock!
But it's still one of my favourites!
Limbo, Inside... Waiting for the next one.
Little Nightmares has a bit different world, but is very good too.
I've been playing that too actually. I couldn't pass it up after seeing the art style, environment and monster designs. It's funny how many of the best games of the past few years have been side scrollers.
Hmm, maybe we are fed up with all shooters and just want something different, with a good art and storyline that makes you immerse in the game right from the start.
Funny thing, smart bastards didn't answer any of the questions, so we have to wander around these worlds trying to figure out almost everything on our own :d
Oh, I've been dying to check this game out for a minute. I've watched a few people play it and it looks like a really awesome horror title. By the way, why don't you start a secondary channel for non VR lets plays? Or, maybe just record you playing the games and upload them specifically to dtube instead of youtube? I'd love to see you playing some other titles from time to time since your commentary is usually pretty entertaining, man!
I might, but the Rift comes with a pretty nice integrated microphone. I bought a $70 one I was told would be high quality for recording regular PC games only for it to sound terrible. I am unsure why, and not keen to drop that much on another microphone without some assurance it won't turn out the same.
I can suggest you a few mics that are around $45-50 that I'd trust for recording audio while gaming if you wanna get something still. I have a lot of streaming friends on youtube who do live shows often, and I've asked around in our little group should I ever get serious with live streaming and got a few recommendations on different style mics to check out.
It sucks dick that you spent $70 on something that is subpar and not working properly from the sounds of it. I'd definitely think it would be nice to see you play some other style games in the future though and think your followers besides me would enjoy it, bro. I'm not gonna bitch though so long as you put out a gameplay video either way, as I enjoy what you're doing now regardless.
By all means. I'd really appreciate it.
Not long ago I've made a giant research on mics and came to conclusion.
Samson Meteor is the best option if you just need a usb cheap mic.
But you need to buy a stance for it.
Okay, here's 3 different mics for you to check out. (I'll assume you just want a USB mic to plug into the PC, so that's what I'm linking. The prices range from $30-$70, the $70 meteor comes highly recommend from my streaming friends especially. The other two will give you solid quality though as well from what I'm told.)
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/598775-REG/Samson_SAGOMICS_Go_Mic_USB.html
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B017ACVQCQ/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B001AIQGUO&linkCode=as2&tag=mic-reviews-20&linkId=GBPGV5DRO2WJQDQQ&th=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004MF39YS/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B004MF39YS&linkCode=as2&tag=mic-reviews-20&linkId=5ELWCIJQIY6FYBIA
If you're looking for a different interface type just let me know and I can get you some good recommendations, bro.
I love this game, at a glance we see there is a horror. there is fear beyond the heart.
But after that there is a gap to free from the deep fear and accompanied by a splendor that excites the soul and spirit.
Opportunity wins narrowly, but with maximum effort will be a joy after fear.
This is what I can understand from Game above.
very cool game man.
A horror game, this game floats your boat 😂😂
Sounds interesting would have got it if it was cheaper. Not quite my style though. You should do more gaming related posts.
I love this game, at a glance we see there is a horror. there is fear beyond the heart.
But after that there is a gap to free
that's great horror gaming...
upvoted
resteemed
Great review!
Thanks!
Resteemed and upvoted!
Horriable. Nice post.
The game looks so cool and very interesting.
Thanks for the review @alexbeyman
Watching the trailer the first thought in my mind was undertaker of WWE. This game looks really fun. I would really love to see you playing this game.
oh my god...this made my heart beat to go up..this is full of horror..anyway nice game..full of excitement :)