A 2D Platformer Adopts a New Point of View: Inside Review
- Patrick Bardenett
- Dec 22, 2016
- 3 min read
A boy slides down a grassy hill into a dimly-lit forest. No instructions, no backstory, no vocalization.
All you have is instinct.
Unless this is your first video game, you are most likely aware that the natural flow of any “side-scroller” video game is similar to a book: Left to right. Inside takes this concept and turns it on its head.
For those unaware, Playdead Studios jumped into the indie game scene in 2010 with a smash hit, Limbo. Limbo captivated a cult following and cultivated an even larger amount of awards by using an age-old formula and adding their own personal twist. The reason I bring this up is because Inside is a spitting image of its predecessor, Limbo. Why would Playdead create a product almost visually and thematically identical to their only other game?
Because it works.
Inside creates a world full of questions and quirks far beyond the puzzles you must complete to advance to the next area. It envisions a dystopian society that is as detailed as it is bone-chilling. One noticeable difference between Inside and its predecessor is the graphic stylings. While the rule of “good graphics doesn’t necessarily mean good game” certainly applies, the upgrade allows for a more immersive world that drags you along a rollercoaster of emotions in the form of a small child.
Side-scrolling action is often limited to a two-dimensional world of bare bone décor to highlight the important pieces that a character can interact with. Inside made the executive decision to not play by the rules and combats the structure of side-scrolling with including not only incredibly impressive amounts of detail in the background, but detail essential to the plot and creating your own hypothesis about the situation you have been thrown into. This allows both the world in front (the side-scrolling) and behind (environment) to feed off of each other and create a seamless transition from one puzzle to the next. Just like Limbo, there are no levels. Checkpoints are given but not announced, making the entire game both one giant puzzle and one continuous story. This also makes the game very difficult to put down. Not that that’s a bad thing.
Additionally, where Inside succeeds the strongest lies in two facets: the puzzles and the interpretation of the few packets of information the player is given.
For the puzzles, they are often physics or timing based. Controls are simple, yet learned through instinct, as the player can beat the whole game using only a couple buttons and the control stick. One of the more impressive feats of the game is how rewarding every SINGLE puzzle feels. Be it a narrow escape that has your heart racing or a not-so-simple Simple Machines conundrum that gives you a sigh of relief and a patch of pride upon completion. Limbo’s puzzles were pushing the envelope in terms of side-scrolling norms. Inside’s puzzles smash that envelope, tear it up into tiny shreds, and politely ask you to put them back together.
The controls are tight, responsive, and fair, creating a worry-free system of movement that promotes personal accountability for decisions and most importantly, failures. You will fail. Many times. That’s what makes every success feel so incredible.
As far as storyline goes, a lack of dialogue or any resemblance of a script provides the player with a rich platform to envision their own story and conclusions up until the very end(s). “Less is more” is the creed Playdead has embraced and relished in over their first two titles and the results “speak” for themselves.
Great humility allows Inside to blossom in unsuspecting ways. The subtle nuances are accented through haunting silence and slow, deliberate gameplay. Every last pixel was considered and intentional, leaving nothing to chance and everything to interpretation. Combine the well-crafted journey with a jaw-dropping, goosebump-inducing ending, and you’ve got a recipe for a classic that will be around for many years to come.
Patrick Bardenett, Contributor
Patrick is one of Game Chop's first contributors. He covers reviews and news, and keeps his finger on the pulse of the indie game field. He enjoys story-driven games, and loves diving into the more complicated plots of some of the world's best games.
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