LACONIC: Boy in red, running from the hunters, running to his fate. Atmospheric science fiction terror adventure from the fellows who gave you LIMBO. Wonderfully crafted. Definitely a game to witness, if not buy.

MORE WORDS: I read the reviews of the games I try to write up, sometimes. And all too often I find myself questioning what it is other people look for in experiences like these. There's a camp that calls the journey to the finish line "nothing", "boring", while another camp praises the "minimalist" nature and how "dark" it is. And all I can feel is that those words are inadequate. Words are inadequate. The old saying about picture to word ratios is amplified thousandfold here, and INSIDE reminds me that "games as stories" is a realm we have yet to fully drown ourselves in.

Maybe you're looking for difficult puzzle and platforming sections, like in its predecessor LIMBO? Unfortunately, that's not really part of the package. My mom was able to beat this game. She's used a controller for 3 hours tops in her entire life. (She loved it, by the way, thank you for asking.) No, the puzzles and perils are less of a hard brick wall to climb over as they are brambly bushes for you to push through. Your forward momentum is an almost guaranteed thing.

Are you looking for a timesink? Then do move on. This is going to take at most 4 hours. A single dedicated evening. Or two to three working adult afternoon chill sessions. There's not a lot to see here in terms of quantity.

That being said, the quality? The craftsmanship? The amount of care the team who worked on this put in? It's amazing. A good sixth of it just flows right by you as you focus on not getting your throat torn out by dogs or choked out by masked turtleneck men, but the slower segments are where things really shine. There's two areas in quick succession that I adore (those who have played, I will simply say 19 and hope you understand) that I like to boot up to see again, just because I want to. Admittedly, that's a me thing, you probably won't draw as much enjoyment out of this as me, but still, it's a good indicator of quality to me when I like something that much.

I don't like that this review is becoming sections of critique, so I'm going to start wrapping up, but I have to mention the sound design. I can't tell you in words. Words, as I said before, are inadequate. I do not feel qualified as a sensory being to tell you about these sounds. All I can say is that they are very creepy and very, very effective. For further information and a view into the mad genius behind the wavelengths, there's an article on Gamasutra which details the involvement of an actual human skull for the recording process.

Final thoughts... It's expensive. I get it. But think of it like a quality steak dinner. Delicious. Maybe not worth it for all of us. Maybe you don't like steak. Maybe you don't like being the hunted, crouched low behind a broken pod as two men with flashlights quietly approach your hiding spot, shutting blast doors behind you to ward off the water creature that once was human, hiding in the shadows as the lights which mean a fate worse than death scroll across the floor. Maybe you don't like a story of control, of fear, of dark science, all told wonderfully without a single written word...

That's okay. I don't hold it against you. Watch a Let's Play or longplay or something. But if you're willing to dive in, certainly do.

LACONIC: Boy in red, running from the hunters, running to his fate. Atmospheric science fiction terror adventure from the fellows who gave you LIMBO. Wonderfully crafted. Definitely a game to witness, if not buy. MORE WORDS: I read the reviews of the games I try to write up, sometimes. And all too often I find myself questioning what it is other people look for in experiences like these. There's a camp that calls the journey to the finish line "nothing", "boring", while another camp praises the "minimalist" nature and how "dark" it is. And all I can feel is that those words are inadequate. [i]Words[/i] are inadequate. The old saying about picture to word ratios is amplified thousandfold here, and INSIDE reminds me that "games as stories" is a realm we have yet to fully drown ourselves in. Maybe you're looking for difficult puzzle and platforming sections, like in its predecessor LIMBO? Unfortunately, that's not really part of the package. My mom was able to beat this game. She's used a controller for 3 hours tops in her entire life. (She loved it, by the way, thank you for asking.) No, the puzzles and perils are less of a hard brick wall to climb over as they are brambly bushes for you to push through. Your forward momentum is an almost guaranteed thing. Are you looking for a timesink? Then do move on. This is going to take at most 4 hours. A single dedicated evening. Or two to three working adult afternoon chill sessions. There's not a lot to see here in terms of quantity. That being said, the quality? The craftsmanship? The amount of care the team who worked on this put in? It's amazing. A good sixth of it just flows right by you as you focus on not getting your throat torn out by dogs or choked out by masked turtleneck men, but the slower segments are where things really shine. There's two areas in quick succession that I adore (those who have played, I will simply say [b]19[/b] and hope you understand) that I like to boot up to see again, just because I want to. Admittedly, that's a me thing, you probably won't draw as much enjoyment out of this as me, but still, it's a good indicator of quality to me when I like something that much. I don't like that this review is becoming sections of critique, so I'm going to start wrapping up, but I have to mention the sound design. I can't tell you in words. Words, as I said before, are inadequate. I do not feel qualified as a sensory being to tell you about these sounds. All I can say is that they are very creepy and very, very effective. For further information and a view into the mad genius behind the wavelengths, there's an article on Gamasutra which details the involvement of an actual human skull for the recording process. Final thoughts... It's expensive. I get it. But think of it like a quality steak dinner. Delicious. Maybe not worth it for all of us. Maybe you don't like steak. Maybe you don't like being the hunted, crouched low behind a broken pod as two men with flashlights quietly approach your hiding spot, shutting blast doors behind you to ward off the water creature that once was human, hiding in the shadows as the lights which mean a fate worse than death scroll across the floor. Maybe you don't like a story of control, of fear, of dark science, all told wonderfully without a single written word... That's okay. I don't hold it against you. Watch a Let's Play or longplay or something. But if you're willing to dive in, certainly do.