The deeper you journey into the mysterious world of developer Playdead’s INSIDE, the more surreal the adventure becomes. Players are thrown into the shoes of a nameless boy and, without any exposition, must make their way through the beautifully bleak world solving environmental puzzles and avoiding detection from mysterious masked guards and spotlights to get inside a peculiar complex.
INSIDE’s puzzles are never too challenging to lose their enjoyment and curiosity but they still require some thought and creativity at first. Death is also an inevitability with INSIDE as the game teaches you what you can and cannot do. What exactly it is you should do at these moments, however, are not entirely clear. For example, one section sees you blend in with a line of people in order to pass through security but when a guard dog starts to bark causing a guard to shine his flashlight on you, do you run for it or stay still? Deaths are frequent and often brutal in their nature which reinforces INSIDE’s dystopian atmosphere – though occasional comical as you are suddenly blown apart by a shockwave – but restarts are instantaneous so you can jump right back in to learn from your mistake without sitting through countless loading screens.
As far as puzzle-platformers go, INSIDE’s puzzles never feel forced on the player for the sake of having some puzzles to solve. Playing INSIDE feels like the puzzles are part of the environment that must be overcome to progress further whilst uncovering more about the game’s world without giving any concrete answers or explanations. This visual storytelling is where INSIDE shines above and beyond other games to earn its place as a masterpiece of game design. Its art style is visually striking with muted and saturated colours with light used to help guide you. The boy’s animation is meticulously detailed. He will stumble after a landing while running and look completely exhausted after a narrow escape from an extended pursuit. When you overcome some of the more challenging areas, music swells over the once empty soundtrack to give both an enthralling sense of wonderment and accomplishment before it gradually subsides again.
To say anything of the last act of INSIDE or in fact where the game takes you would completely ruin its experience. INSIDE is a game that is best played as the game intends you to: without any context. This will keep you intrigued and curious about the game’s world. With no conventional narrative, information is ambiguous and details within the background will clue you in on information about INSIDE‘s world. It is in the background where you will witness events of cruelty and plain weirdness that will remain with you long after you’ve finished playing and cause multiple replays to piece together all you have learned by the game’s powerful and abrupt ending. Credit must also be given to the developers for using INSIDE’s own gameplay mechanics to trick the player in such a way where the player’s own uncertainty and confusion gives way to the realisation that they have no control over some situations
If ever there was a video game that proved that games can be Art in terms of its visual and sound design, its (lack of) narrative structure, and utilisation of basic game mechanics, it’s INSIDE. This is a game that will be debated online, in classrooms, amongst friends, and treasured in the hearts of many for a long time to come.
By Andrew Murray
ThatFilmAndGameBlog 
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