inside video game review
Inside - The masterpiece after LimboIn the summer of 2010, the Danes of Playdead irreparably marked the sphere of video games (indie but not only) with Limbo, a dark headlong flight strewn with deadly traps with a sinister and memorable monochrome aesthetic. Six years after this first coup of artistic and playful brilliance, the studio returns to us with Inside, a game with a concept quite close to its predecessor, but with devilishly more efficient execution. Let's dive together in this disturbing universe for this test of a real masterpiece!
LEAKING IN
In direct reference to its predecessor, Inside begins in the same way as Limbo. The player plays a small boy with a faded face fleeing into the depths of a dark forest. The similarities with its elder brother don't stop there since the two titles are based on a similar concept: the platform punctuated with deadly traps to avoid and devious puzzles to solve, these are the ingredients of the Playdead formula. So here we are wanted after a few short steps in the race by mysterious men in black suits. The buggers are doing their utmost to put us on the hook. Full headlight on their vans, tranquilizers pistols and hounds with flair just as sharp as their jaws give us the first elements of the intrigue of the game: we are tracked and we will have to flee or hide to hope to survive. The woods quickly give way to a more industrial setting where strange puppets advance in single file like puppets animated by an unknown goal.As the progression progresses, Inside distills some elements of understanding of its scenario, not by the traditional means of the text or the kinematics, but in a subtle way by the simple interpretation of the events in progress. Despite its lack of direct narration, the game manages to tell something powerful with only its attention to detail and a controlled sense of staging. If nothing will ever be said explicitly, we understand that the young boy evolves in a dystopian society in the grip of violent troubles. The sets, straight out of anticipation novels, continue - and above all sublime - the artistic momentum started by the studio in 2012 with Limbo. They give pride of place to depth with scenes cut into several shots and use a muted color palette to convey a range of emotions ranging from anxiety to disgust, passing through a few moments of hope.
Behind its elements of obvious kinship, Inside shows itself in every point superior to its elder: more macabre, more sordid, deeper, the title of Playdead is also much better built over the length. I will not go deliberately further into the description for fear of revealing too much to you. It would be a shame to spoil you these wonderful moments of narrative power, some of which will remain indelibly etched in your memory as a player.
THE ETERNAL SILENCE OF THESE SPACES FEARS ME
Let it be said, the experience will be linear, since most of the gameplay always comes down to advancing at all costs from left to right of the screen while avoiding (as much as possible) the deadliest traps. Behind its apparent minimalism, Inside is full of good platform ideas and devious puzzles. Our interactions are limited to a few simple actions: moving forward, jumping, pulling objects or levers, pressing buttons, climbing ropes and swimming. These restrictions however open the doors to many variations of game mechanics and demonstrate the fantastic job of developers in maintaining the pace of progression. Because even more than in Limbo, Inside never falls into the trap of using its various gameplay gimmicks to the end. We will certainly use the same actions to solve certain puzzles, but they will always be accompanied by a new mechanism capable of renewing our interest. Let us cite here without going into too much detail these devilishly well-designed phases during which the young boy is able to control by thought of disjointed homunculus to help him overcome certain obstacles.The puzzles are gradually gaining in complexity, they use both your sense of timing and your ability to combine several actions to thwart both obstacles and death. The whole is linked with a sense of rhythm perfectly mastered whose sustained flow will lead you to live a grand finale which will probably remain in the anal of the video game. It is possible to remain blocked for a few minutes on certain puzzles without feeling a sense of frustration linked to any concern for the game to transmit its internal logic. The solution is always to be found in the vicinity, obvious to those who will be able to consider things in their entirety.
AS SORDIDE AS FASCINATING
If Inside is more colorful than its monochromatic predecessor, it still plays with restraint on the palette of shades used in order to create an atypical atmosphere. There emerges from this dark universe a rare sinister beauty sublimated by a more marked work on the depth of the plans and the animations of the characters. Each fatal situation is an opportunity to see the very fine work done by the studio on the setting in motion of its young hero. If there remains a faceless figure, our character gives off an exceptional aura thanks to always very natural movements. The work on the physics engine of the game offers a perfectly balanced rendering of the momentum, the weight and the dynamics of the objects. This results in a flawless and consistent grip which the respondent participates in grabbing us from the first to the last minute of the game.Limbo suggested many situations thanks to his work on silhouettes and shadow play, Inside does not hesitate to be much more figurative in the exhibition of his disturbing universe. Playdead demonstrates constant attention to detail in environments of insane coherence. Scary on many occasions, the title does not hesitate to put your nose in the sordid in order to raise many questions about existence, free will and human nature. The camera, sometimes close to the action, sometimes quite far away, takes part in this plunge into the darkness underlined by skillful plays of light and effects of depth with sometimes direct impact on the gameplay.
Like Limbo, Inside is minimalist in terms of its soundtrack. The few tunes heard remain discreet and our ears are most often lulled by the ambient sound of the dark spaces visited. Whispers of the wind, metallic rattling, distressing distant sounds, the voluntary economy of sound design is all in the service of the heavy atmosphere of the game. The title does not hesitate to give a good place to silence in order to reinforce our immersion. Tested on Xbox One and PS4, the technique does not overshadow the project. Fluid, quick to load, aesthetically simple but endowed with rare elegance, Inside is a game that you can feel refined during many internal test sessions before it is put on the market.
The most grumpy can blame him for his rather short lifespan of between four and five hours when I play the game the first time. This is undoubtedly the price to pay to maintain this level of excellence without falling into repetition or stifling the emotional crescendo of this headlong rush.
The notes
+ Positive points
A dark, enigmatic and captivating atmosphere
Oiled game mechanics based on ingenious puzzles
A steady rhythm, riddles that are renewed every moment
Superbly animated, elegantly staged, a model of its kind!
Beautiful minimalist soundtrack
This memorable finale!
Negative points
Uh ... what to say?
You loved dying in Limbo, you will love to die in Inside! For their second game, the Danes from Playdead give us an experience that transcends the concept established by its predecessor. If Limbo told us in his own way the story of a boy ready to make any sacrifices to save his sister, Inside shines its spotlight straight on his dystopian universe populated by puppet figures, large abandoned industrial spaces and situations as sordid as 'panting. A fast-paced 2D platform where each element finds its place in a legitimate way without ever sinking into recycling. A little gem of darkness to discover urgently!
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