izigame.me

This game drew me in. Made me interested from the beginning. AAA games don’t do that.
I've only just recently discovered this game and it is without a doubt one of the greatest gaming experiences of my life (and I'm 37 now). It’s probably the most fulfilling videogame experience I’ve ever had, and is easily one of my favourite games of all time. I went into it praying for more Limbo and it just held my standards down and pimp-slapped the sh*t out of them. I’m struggling to think of the last time a game made me step back and say "Wow". An absolute masterpiece. This game is the epitome of quality over quantity. There are games out there that last months to complete but are nowhere near as satisfying as Inside.
Inside was honestly such a roller coaster of emotions. It's become one of my favorite games, and I was just impressed how it could just grasp my attention so well without any words. The art style, the simple gameplay, thoughtful puzzles throughout the game, etc. I loved it all. It was so thrilling and an amazing journey. Many atypical gamers might label Inside as pretentious gibberish, however I think that what Playdead managed to pull off here is really quite extraordinary. Much similarly to something like Journey, Inside attempts to immerse you in sound and visuals, whilst slowly peeling away bits of this mysterious world that you find yourself in. I could clearly see that they took and learned from limbo and expanded on it every single way, rather than attempting to do something on an absurd scale like most sequels tend to. If you feel alienated by this game, so be it, however I am happy that for once a game asked for my participation.
For those curious, Inside has the same amount of story as Limbo, i.e. not much at all. BUT theres just enough little bits of the world that will get people wondering and making theories for a long time. The atmosphere is one of the best ever. Don't know how else to put it. Everything just feels so creepy and wrong, even though you can never really put your finger on what exactly is happening in this world. The puzzles are good too. Very similar to Limbo's puzzles (push this block, climb that rope, do both of those things together) but with several cool new gimmicks that get thrown in later.
In Inside, there could be a theoretical timeline of events leading up to the beginning of the story. You wander through environments thinking, "My god, what happened here? Who did this and what were their motivations?". By the time the credits roll, some of those questions may have been answered, most only hinted at, and others you will have to find closure with on your own terms. I love how you get dropped into a new situation and you can easily pick up what you're supposed to do from the cues. It's so brilliantly designed. I hate when any story dumps exposition into my ears, so having the world speak to me visually was enough. I'd stare at the background in awe or horror. It's crazy how intense it can be at times. In Limbo, the world is intriguing, but it doesn't feel as realistically inhabited as in Inside. This is easily one of the most unsettling horrible series of scenes and vignettes I've ever seen in videogames. It made me feel awful in the best way. The gameplay is more playdead, but streamlined and more thoughtful.
I think it's totally worth full price though, especially if you're looking for shorter experiences that you can complete if your gaming time is limited. I always think that Inside answers the question of why do we love videogames. It is a masterpiece, a 10 out of a fu*king 10, and everyone should experience it.
10/10