"Terminal case of ambiguitis" is my new catchphrase.

Although I personally love this game and have given it some very high praise myself, I really enjoyed hearing your argument for a different perspective on it. It was super well thought out and structured (similar to the rest of your content, dog bless) but I've accepted that this game is just not for everyone, and for valid reasons. I realize that sounds super condescending, but I just mean it's something that relies VERY heavily on just a couple aspects: the presentation and world-building. If neither of those aspects outshine the very basic gameplay and plot details given to the player - you're gonna have a bad time. Even though I personally had a pretty magical, enchanting time with the game, I can now fully understand why someone wouldn't. Love your videos, always enjoy catching up on your channel. Now excuse me while I go watch your 3+ hour video on Uncharted and The Last of Us.

The game doesn't exist. It was a dream your son had while he was napping. You were *Inside,* experiencing it.

14:24 - Once you hear "with the man in the pickup truck that CHEW CHEW," you can never unhear it.

"The game's surrounded by more perfect tens than Taylor Swift in a mirror maze." Joseph, you're great, you know that?

Honestly if I wanted to play a game where I control a pink blob monster running through a dystopian factory setting, I'd rather play Kirby 64

This game and Limbo are just pure vibes for me, especially Inside. I will never forget playing this game in the middle of the night by myself in one sitting, genuinely so terrifying and awesome.

I have a theory on why this game was praised so much, or at least, why I initially praised it so much: for starters, it's got great art direction, using simple geometric shapes and solid colors combined with a great use of depth and scale to create a cold, industrial, brutalistic world that's both huge and claustrophobic at the same time. That part in the bathysphere where you break through the floorboards and enter an underwater chamber so massive you can't even see the floor is positively _haunting._ So at least it has that going for it. Second, while the game does fail to answer pretty much all the questions it asks, up until the very ending it kept me going simply because I wanted to know more. The mystery and the facility kept getting deeper and deeper, and I had to know what it all meant. But once you turn into the Biggest Ball of Flesh in Minnesota and flop down on the beach, I was still left wondering what happened, so I tried to piece it all together, reading loads of theories and coming up with my own, and thinking _what does it all _*_meeeeean?_* But after reading the same theories over and over, I realized that this game didn't have any answers, and I was just trying to find the answers so I didn't feel cheated.

The theory about thr blob mind controlling the kid all along is interesting, IF they allowed you to play a different kid every time you die, it would give trial and error at least a bit of context save for some inconsistencies.

Hey thanks for watching. I'm sitting here fretting over the title of this one so I wanted to add a couple of things. The "Inside Joke" is a pun related to how many 10/10 ratings the game got, and how I feel like I'm not a part of a joke because I don't understand them. I am NOT calling the game a joke. Despite its simplicity and short length, it's very well put together. I was probably too negative because of the insane praise statements the game received. I still should have added some points to balance what it does well. A few more minutes wouldn't have hurt the video length. That's my bad. The snippets of review quotes don't look that great in the video. They looked a lot better when I was editing the video on my end. I tried to fix it and produced the video a second time, but it's only a little better. I probably should have made them even smaller, but I wanted them to be readable. And I didn't want to weaken them by adding them onto my usual slides. No Man's Sky is up next.

It's weird because when I played the game I didn't think much about the gameplay or the puzzles, I was pulled in by the atmosphere and art style, I was wondering what the hell was going on which is what kept me playing to see what would happen. Hearing it explained out I agree with the issues you had with the gameplay, but the difference as to why I liked the game and you did not I think just comes down to personal taste. I loved the setting and surrealism and the horror vibes and thats what kept me into the game, whereas for you (I assume in part because you're a critic and would look more closely at these things) the gameplay stood out more to you and you saw those issues first. So its odd but I agree with you completely as to why, in your view, it wasn't a good game, while at the same time I still like the experience I had with it. Oh and I also agree that the praise for the game is a bit overblown. It was a great game sure, but I'd have given it an 8.5 or something, it was memorable and interesting but I've played much better games even so.

Love contrarian views on games that I love. I never noticed the puzzle repetition when I played. I was just completely absorbed by the atmosphere, mysterious story telling and sheer bizarreness of it. I smiled the whole time I was playing because I was realising how absorbed I was. If I wasn't taken with the mystery and atmosphere I may have thought more along with your findings.

I love your videos but I think this is the first one that feels almost entirely subjective to a fault. I know it's a cliche to say you just "didn't get it," but I'm being completely genuine with that statement. I love this game and for all the reasons you don't. I love how quiet and atmospheric it is, I love the puzzles being simple for the sake of pacing, and I love that the story has just the right amount of ambiguity. I do think the praise for the game is completely overblown. But that happens all the time (Fallout 4) and it's nothing to get upset about. Games this strong in atmosphere don't come around often and that's why they get singled out for high praise even though it doesn't offer anything mind-blowing in terms of mechanics. The main reason I love this game and so many others appear to as well. Is because of it's atmosphere and it's mood. I really couldn't care less that the puzzles are simple and arguably repetitive, because I'm so engrossed in the atmosphere of the game that the mechanics are all just background noise to me. I honestly think these games are at their worst when they are trying to be a serious puzzle game. Running around for 5 minutes trying to figure out a solution takes me out of the experience and instead I feel like I'm playing a game instead of being immersed in the world. If all I wanted from games was mechanics, I'd be playing Tetris. Sometimes I want games to be immersive sims first and foremost and "video games" second.

Great video man. You've quickly become one of my favourite content creators on KZfaq. Keep them coming.

The taylor swift joke was 10/10

Inside was pretty to look at, and the ‘world building’ was neat, as I am a sucker for apocalyptic(?) dystopian settings. But so much of it wasn’t explained, certain concepts like the grunge girl in the water felt oddly out of place, and that ending left me like ‘... that’s it?’ It was a huge escalation, only to literally deflate like you said. It wasn’t satisfying. It’s been years, but I still think back on this game and shake my head.

I disagree with nearly everything you assert: I wasn't ever bored, I _like_ the lack of penalty to dying (it made it far more fun than if it had a higher penalty, _which isn't the point_ ), and I liked the puzzles, too (which were at least somewhat more the point). I've played tons of puzzle games (most to "completionist levels"), and this one was just fine in that area. (Yes, I played LIMBO, too, which I also enjoyed. And, I don't remember its deaths being particularly penalizing either, btw.) I think that by far the greatest strength of INSIDE is the "experiential atmosphere" it sets via tone, scene, non-verbal cues, sound effects, and music. (I do agree, though, that the specific example you gave---the dogs running back and forth as you crawl over the fence repeatedly---was good to have require no more than the three planks being pulled off.)

"Ambiguitis" That is the word I was looking for for all these kinds of games. Though Little Nightmares did a much better job and has a less severe case.

i actually really enjoyed this game... it was one of the most memorable gaming experiences i have had in a long time if i may go further. may be because I'm not really an avid gamer and perhaps i enjoyed the story/thematic elements much like a movie.

maybe you need to take an adderoll and unplug all the distracting tech and give it another play through. playing inside is kinda like listening to Tool, its got some reallylong and complicated sections, but the slow pace is chock full of creative atmosphere and storytelling always building itself up for something monumental.

Joe, excellent work on all your videos. I'm busy making my way through them.

I think Inside suffers from "allegory for the sake of allegory". Inside's story does not work as a story alone, as there's very little to it, and a lot of it doesn't make sense from a pure story-perspective (for example the water creature suddenly making you able to breathe underwater). The world is intriguing, but trying to understand it from a non-allegorical perspective is futile, as it's clearly meant to be an allegory and little else. You're for example not meant to understand the giant shockwave-machine's meaning in the world. Why was it made? What's the purpose of it? None of that matters. But if you for example view the world as an allegory for the human body, the pulse-machine is clearly meant to represent the heart. A great storyteller creates a story that works as a story. Digging deeper to find allegorical meanings can be perceived as optional. Actually, an example of a game that does this well is Dark Souls. You can totally get the story or world of Dark Souls without digging for allegorical meaning. But if you do, there's so much depth that can be applied to it all.

"It's too cool to tell you a story, you have to find some pieces and imagine your own." You said it! Boy am I sick of media that follows that cop-out trend. Don't get me wrong, I love some movies/games that don't have a clear plot. But it's incredibly lazy when creators use ambiguity as a shallow gimmick to impress you, or as a substitute for actual meaning. Literally anyone can write an ambiguous ending; it isn't clever or creative.

Just found this channel and I greatly enjoy these vids, I appreciate the more critical approach you take to the games you play while still maintaining a humble and calm disposition. In a way, it helps me become a better storyteller in the writing I do and helps me become more aware of what makes good gameplay in the games I play (not to mention it helps me become a better critic of such artistic mediums). Keep it up.

Another great video. I appreciate how articulate you are about explaining why you do or don't like something.

I honestly believe that the intended experience was taking in the creepy atmosphere and dystopian imagery throughout the game, I do like Inside because frankly I’m a sucker for these types of aesthetics (the gray imposing crumbling cityscapes, futuristic sadistic technology, general misery felt throughout the game and the bow tie of a secret conspiratorial overarching secret government/apocalypse project, seen by the massive sonic blasts in the one section, the whole underwater horror aspect and even the secret collectibles that theorise that there is something even larger than what you actually experience throughout the linear story progression.) But that’s the thing, not everyone can jive with these aesthetics or atmosphere, a lot I suppose find it boring or drab, some might just generally be uninterested. But I can agree that the ending for the game is almost disappointing, it all builds up tension to this climatic finish which is a pretty good WTF? moment for the game that truly pushes the surreal ideas it presents, but not only does it putter out of steam for a very flat ending credits reveal but it compromises the semi-realistic horror it had been building with the science experiments, the human puppets, the underwater creature/human coupled with the intense, foreboding and frankly imposing and intimidating vistas in the game of huge structures only there to juxtapose your comparatively minor existence as this small child with no set goal or path except continue pushing forward, a child who was literally just dropped into the game the moment you press start. I find it very effective in that sense of tension and horror of dystopian, depressing futures. But it pays off to nothing all that special and I want to hope for an even better sequel set in the similar world but completely detached from anything that happened in the first, solely because I find the tone and atmosphere of the game to just be encapsulating.

I'm three videos of yours in after accidentally discovering you while searching for Lady Gaga's "The Witness" (three guesses which video I found first) and you're RAPIDLY skyrocketting to my list of favorite game reviewers/talkers. You have a lovely voice and you are extremely well spoken; your comments are thoughtful and precise, concise most of the time and long-winded where necessary. I really like your content. Solid work.

Watched several of your videos in the last few days, got to say you do an amazing job with your analysis. Great to have someone who takes a truly objective in depth look at these games without blindly buying into what anyone else has told you you should think about a game. Thanks

This game actually reminds me a little bit of illness. I didn’t actually play this game, but I did watch people play it on KZfaq several times, and that at a time of my life shortly after I had suffered a huge loss due to cancer. I think the heavy focus on tone over story or theme makes it possible to relate it to any experience that reflects the dark, sad, kind of inevitably hopeless feeling that the game evokes. The game starts in the forest, which is dark and scary, and immediately cut with violence and threat, but there is a general sense of freedom and anticipation. The area around the barn is suddenly safer and the sun in the background, although it seems far and cold, reflects a certain sense of hope. However, it is in this area that you start to learn about the fucked up mechanics of the game and the universe it takes place in, as you go deeper into the machine. The rest of the bulk of the game takes place within the closed space of the factory. It is back to the dark, menacing atmosphere of the forest, but now you know what kind of game this is, and you definitely do not feel free. The concept of a straight left-to-right scroller implies progression, but also an inescapable future, all within the claustrophobic confines of the factory. It’s called “Inside,” after all. The entire game has a sense of threat, of being within a body that wants you dead, a world that is turned against you, and has somehow turned against humanity itself, bending it under its will and depriving people from their humanity. The sporadic, surprising deaths keep you on your feet, aware that there is never a truly safe space, making it kind of impossible to relax. There is definitely a sense of a power way beyond your control being what ultimately defines your future; a desperate desire to escape it, by any means necessary, in any way possible, yet the subconscious knowledge that it’s inescapable. Probably one of the most compelling moments for me was the area with the radiation. The flashing light is almost divine or godly, coming from far behind, that third dimension that is inaccessible in this scroller world, and where all of the answers seem to be hidden. You see it come and wipe everything clean, bringing a huge deafening roar which silences every other sound and a light that makes everything around you into nothing but a shadow. But it’s painfully clear that you need to protect yourself from it, as any minimal exposure to it will destroy your body entirely. At the end, the boy turns into a bloated, deformed version of himself, which just bursts into anywhere it goes, destroying everything in its path, blindly trying to make its way out. And then, when it finally comes out, it rolls down the hill, and when it’s finally fully immobile, the sun shines again and it brings peace and freedom again. I really saw part of what I went through with my family member’s cancer here. The first days, when we’d just found out, seemed scary and shocking, a sudden threat had been added to our lives. But the future was definitely not set in stone, and the flickering light of hope still kept shining in our brains. However, the more we got into the healthcare complex, the more we learned at hospitals, the more the feeling of hope started to recede. We knew more, but we were had nowhere to go, we felt the mechanical development of the disease come almost exactly as anticipated, and always with a thirst of blood. It was her body turning against itself with all of the strength the human body can. Always with another new threat coming out from under the shadows, ready to attack, reminding us that we had to be alert, always something to make the going more uncomfortable for her. This stage was prolonged however, there were ups and downs, moments where she was practically fine, and moments where she definitely wasn’t. It’s almost as though this was the main bulk of the gameplay, the moment where you’re expecting the game to develop, where you make it part of your everyday life. The part with the flashing lights really made me think of the chemo though. I know chemo isn’t radiation; they are two different ways of treating cancer, but whatever. The point is they came once a week, with that sort of regular interval with which the radiation bursts came in the game. And it seemed so powerful, so blindingly powerful, and so strong. Like it could get through anything. It’s where you’re placing so much of your hope. What seems to destroy the user almost to death, but is actually making them better, that sort of raw, all-consuming power that destroys anything in its way indiscriminately. The way the game uses sound and light in this area is so compelling, and to me it had an almost spiritual effect on me. It’s kind of awe inspiring… But anyway, that moment passes, and you’re back to the same. At some point the game is undoubtedly coming to an end. You’ve managed to take control of the rogue cells at some points, juggling them all over the place, doing anything you can to be in control. But in the end, the cancer achieves its “ultimate form”, and starts destroying anything in its way. It’s painful and disturbing. It seems opposite to nature, perturbing on an essential level. But when the end finally comes, you can feel how the stress relieves itself. You’re tumbling down the mountain, destroying and subsequently being destroyed by the trees and rocks. But when the final relief comes, you can kind of feel the burden loosen up, and a sense of peace finally comes. I’m not saying the game was designed with this in mind at all, I still sustain that the focus of tone is the main focus of the game. But that’s exactly what lends the game to be received the way I received in that moment in my life. Making you spend time in that dark state of mind, but giving you a clear sense of progression, it has a certain therapeutic effect, or at least it did with me. Anyway, sorry for the impromptu essay, I just felt like putting in my two cents, because this game somehow managed to leave a very lasting impression in my life, for whatever that may be worth.

Right around 19:35 the blob pushes a table which phases right through one of the running men. Never noticed that before.

Really well done video. To me, the slowness and missing explanation was great in building the athmosphere of the game. I don't always need everything explained or think everything through completely on the sideline. I can enjoy going with the flow, having a vague feeling of what this is about instead of a flawless logical explanation. I think this is true for many other people, and this makes the game very enjoyable.

For me, the tension in the game was simply in completing a puzzle as soon as possible. Also, some of the questions you asked were easily answerable, the people were helping the monster at the end because they were leading it to the trap, for one example.

Very well done video. For me, this game was one of my favorites of 2016 for a few reasons.....It was gorgeous, it had great sound design, the puzzles were satisfying even though I agree they werent super varied, and the game just oozed vibes. I was constantly holding my breath and thinking about what I was seeing. I found it intense and thought provoking. I also loved it because it felt like interactive art to me. Some games just feel like wastes of time but this one did not it felt like I was discovering something.

So I watched this video and was like; I guess I can do without played "Inside" I ended up "acquiring" a copy and started playing it; and I just loved it. Despite everything you pointed out, the game just felt ... like something special. So I just went ahead and bought it. Maybe it's the mood I'm in or whatever; but so far this game has been a joy to play.

I think pretty much everything has been said already in the comments below, on both sides of the argument. But I'd like to point out that (and I'm guilty of this too on occasion) when a game, or movie, or any entertainment property ends up getting almost universal acclaim, there is bound to be a vocal minority that will dislike it. Why? Because for whatever reason, we as a species like to tear down what is considered great. Or at least some of us do. People feel the need to be different or go against the grain, explain why they "don't get it" for 24 minutes. I mean really, you went on and on and on and on and on about trivial and minor gameplay issues when this game isn't even about the gameplay at all. It's about one thing and one thing only: "Atmosphere". It's less of a game and more of an experience, and what's wrong with that? Look, I respect your opinion as a reviewer as I try to with anyone that gives their 2 cents on a piece of art, but in this case I whole heatedly disagree. To me, the game is fantastic and was worth every penny I paid. I just didn't need a 24 minute video ripping apart an experience I adored to sour my love for the game. But hey, that was my fault for watching I suppose. No hard feelings though, the video was well done either way.

Your voice and delivery of everything is so calm and beautiful it should be boring, but it's not. I keep watching thirty minutes to an hour of content that never fails to be entertaining! There is no channel out there on KZfaq that can keep my attention like yours. Your channel is amazing, keep up the fantastic content!

It feels pretty good to know there are some reviewers that think that Inside is very overrated. My personal theory is that it's a very casual indie that basically plays itself (always go right, try to solve some easy puzzles, repeat 20 times) with some hints at what many people think makes a good story. Doesn't explain anything, makes the world grim and distopian. Just a good appetizer than tries to be smart and serious more than anything else. This shouldn't feel like a good game unless you haven't played any decent narrative driven game in the past.

IM NOT CRAZY IT ISN’T JUST ME !!!

I enjoyed playing but quit about halfway through, so I can understand some areas of this video. My only complaint of the video is "if you are a drone, why can you control other drones?" *shows footage of the *drone* boy making a drone attach to another controller to control a third drone vicariously through the second drone*

15:15 I'm 25 years old and sometimes I still get that feeling.

I personally love this game, mainly because of the mystery it creates and for the strong atmosphere. The amount of ridiculously hard to spot easter eggs and hidden secrets in this game is mind blowing. There's bunch of people contributing their findings at Steam community section of this game and the rabbit hole just keeps on getting deeper, so definitely worth a check for all the ones interested about the mysteries of this game.

My overly long response to the written script, just reposting it from twitter to youtube. "My response to your script from someone with similar feelings about the game. First of all I think that trial and error gameplay is fine. It's not brilliant, but its fun just for the gore of it and I can't say I ever was bored. As long as you don't think about it too hard. I do agree, however, that puzzles are too inconsistent. Anyway I mostly want to talk about "story". I agree with you almost entirely and want to add a couple of things. The game is very "cinematic" but not order 1886 "cinematic" and I like that, but the tone is all over the place. I really liked the start of the game for the oppressing tone. It was almost like a black and white war movie about a Jewish boy or something. Side note: you said that it wasn't oppressing because your are not in danger, but for me its about the same level of suspension of disbelief as a conventional movie. I don't enjoy a lot of action scenes in movies because the main character is immortal pretty much, but I am in the minority and I try to enjoy the movie regardless. Inside is kinda the same way, but yeah it deflates if player gets stuck. Pacing is vital for that stuff. Then it shifts gears to that oppressing dystopian world with ruined cities, mind controlled people, masks and stuff like that. The WW2 allegory was still strong in my mind at that point. But then it shifts gears again and it stays like that pretty much until the end. Wacky abstract puzzles, over the top gore, over the top half-life 1-ish mega-structures with unkownn purpose. It was still interesting in a LOST kinda way, but I felt like the tone from the beginning was wasted. And the ending... I still don't know what happened. It's another tone shift and instead of payoff to all that mystery it gives you The Blob. Over the top bodyhorror, borderline comical puzzles, deaths and murders of random people and just pure Fucking madness. I was drawn to the screen for sure, but any serious stuff up until that point was deflated. I have few theories about why blob in the game: 1. Devs are hack frauds con artists who didn't know what they were doing (unlikely). 2. It is a very subtle and deep high art allegory that I dont get and that's why I am confused (also unlikely). 3. It's a meta thing about art. I will focus on theory #3. Kinda like what you said about witness and Blow Fucking with us. Devs made an artsy critically acclaimed game and in the follow up, they were just messing with people while disguised as high art. Think about it that way, game takes itself somewhat seriously and builds up mystery LOST style, but in the end instead of answers you get a "Fuck your answer and tone, here's a giant blob monster." they kinda say "gotcha, it isn't art and we tricked you into being invested in our schlock." I can't shake the feeling that was the case. Just them intentionally building up to nothing to Fuck with the internet. Imagine if citizen Kane ended with grand hotel Budapest style sled chase. It would totally deflate everything up until that point. Anyway, if you are still reading, I hope you found it interesting, cheers."

I just noticed that the guy who chases you at the beginning also trips on the log, which would explain why you have a bit of time to hide by the caravan

I found Inside reminiscent of Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee.

Oh I remember this video... The one that made me no longer trust youtube game reviews.

7:28 Remember that part from Streets of Rage 3 where you're running away from a tractor? Well, apparently, in 2016 this was considered perfect game design, on par with inconsistencies in game's rules.

i grew up pretty much alone...i've always been sensitive and overly emotional...i also have a big interest in conspiracies and exploring the unknown. this game was like a love letter to me as a gamer. the game took me on a journey of the senses...the graphics/presentation paired with the sound design made this game worthy of a high scoring review. i get your opinion and understand you...i think. i'll be brave and say that i don't think this is a game that suits you psychology...you're hyper detailed and intelligent and kinda logical. you might be a dreamer and a sensitive soul but, to be honest, you certainly don't show these traits in your videos so...i feel your more in the logical/science/fact mindset rather than the dreamer/sensitive mindset which i feel the game was made by and maybe for... I've played through this game so many times and it still gives me tingles...the design is just sublime...i'm surprised to hear someone so critical but i do understand the mind quite well so can only put it down to differences in upbringing/surroundings and so on...art is very similar. i find people who have been through a lot of trauma look at art differently. it all depends on how sensitive we are. the more sensitive we are....the more we relate to others art who have also been through the same "things." I hope that makes some kind of sense to someone :) x

recently discovered your channel, and just wanted to say (while I disagree with this particular video, I LOVED inside) that I love your critiques. you kept me up until 4am the other night after I found your series on Bloodborne and dark souls 3. Really looking forward to your Bloodborne lore/story critique.

I think you could have talked more about the things you liked about the game. It's kinda weird to hear you say "I liked the game, I'd give it a 6/10" then shit on it for 20 minutes haha. I still liked your review and think a lot of it was valid and made sense; but if you asked me what I thought you'd give the game out of 10 (and you didn't flat out say near the beginning) I would have thought a 2 or 3.

I can't really descripe why I love Inside that much. Maybe its the earie setting and the visual storytelling of it and usually the puzzles left me with a satisfying "Aaah, ok" moment. I do appreciate your opinion on it as I appreciate all your opinion pieces, it certainly made me think why I love Inside and why it wouldn't click with other people. Keep up the amazing job

The issue with the illusion of repetition is highly subjective since I thought the exact opposite. I found the conflict mechanics were dwelt upon in the right amount and not recycled too frequent that they overstayed their welcome. And while one can say that the fundamentals behind those are the same, the literal circumstances that contextualize these situations are varied in practice that it comes across as an incremental evolution of the said mechanic instead of the exact same puzzle. However, I would have to agree with the reliance on death for progress. There are indeed some sections where trial and error has be done in order to properly succeed. And this undermines some of the momentum the game expertly builds upon.

I do not agree with this at all but I admire the well crafted analysis.

Can you do one of these videos for Horizon: Zero Dawn?? I love how in-depth you get, its fantastic

All the things you criticize here remind me a lot of Another World and Flashback - which are games I loved. So I may try this one.

I haven't played the game but from your review I thought it was too long and overstayed it's welcome but then you say you completed it in your son's nap. Color me confused. How long would you have expected it to be given your critiques? How would you have 'fixed' it?

I'm happy I found you. I thought I was the only one who didn't appreciate the vague purposefully underdeveloped plots in recent games that everyone seems to be buying into because 'oh so deep so many interpretations'. I want real endings, otherwise it seems like I've wasted my time searching for answers to questions that don't have answers.

I think the game just doesn't align with your tastes or doesn't lend itself to your style of criticism, which could be considered a fault on the games part since its a video game. I adored the game. Genuinely adored it. Your opinions are valid, of course, and even though I disagree with you I appreciate seeing an inverted look at the game and especially a breakdown of how it fares under the critical eye as a game and not just a work of "art". I really enjoy your work and look forward to seeing more.

The perfect 10s come from a deep insecurity a lot of games journalists have about the medium. Instead of embracing games as a unique medium that offers its own kind of experiences, they feel bad that they are reporting on such an unestablished medium, and want to justify it by promoting games that they think are "grown up". This is why there's so much love in games journalism for walking simulators, even though they aren't well liked by their audiences- they oftentimes try to feel grown up by emulating what successful works in other mediums do, which ironically makes them actually very juvenile. Look at the full slogs of "Dear Esther" or "Gone Home", both of which are barely games, desperately clinging to narrative gimmicks to try to impress those who see games as childish. It's a deep disrespect of video games as a medium, which while I doubt most gamers have thought about it like that, they almost certainly feel it when playing these "games". There's a reason most people find these kinds of try-hard art "games" distasteful, and it's because those kinds of games seem almost embarrassed to have gameplay, preferring to replace meaningful player interaction with "adult" elements from more established mediums.

At the end you say the game doesn't have anything going for it outside of its great visuals. I feel like you're doing a great disservice to the game and to yourself as a reviewer to completely and blatantly glossing over the masterful audio of the game. It's one of the best, if not the best indie sounding game out right now. It's regarded in the audio world as an audio masterpiece, both from a design standpoint as well as an implementation systems and technical standpoint, and it cleaned house in many audio awards based on that. Every footstep, every grab of a chain, every scrape of wood, every groan of metal that sounds like a dying animal, the water sounds, the explosions, the ambiences, etc were carefully curated and designed by one of videogame's most revered sound designers. I really enjoy your reviews, even if I disagree with this one. But it really disappoints me when a reviewer cares so little about a game's audio that it never even gets a passing mention at any point in time. Graphics are important, and I get why they get so much time in the spotlight, but audio is 50% of the experience.

Really like your videos, Joseph Anderson. I really like how much time you put in to reviewing things and providing your thoughts. I have a genuine question for you: you seem to not like the stories in games like Inside and Dark Souls; what kind of stories do you like and what do you think makes a story great?

I feel like you have to approach inside like you would a lynch film, its a wacky cinematic trip down meatball avenue. (at least for me) I feel this game (and games in general imo) is just really subjective and it all boils down to what you're looking for in a game. and this game clearly didn't have it for you. This was still a great video, don't take it the wrong way its still interesting to see a different view of the game through a more systems/mechanical lens. lots of people in the comments are thinking critics are pretentious just cause they liked the game lol.

I see this game as a Kafkaesche story about alienation and envirement, and I think its beautiful and fun. For me most things you complain about (like crafted suspense and ambiguous story) is what makes me love it so munch. Its art and game. Hope you can now, at least, simpathyse with those that liked this game.

It’s the sounds and plops every movement is satisfying i don’t remember the story at all i just remember how it feels but unlike other story based games i think death just pissed me off like i would miss a little bit of the ledge and stop cause literally what was that i did it and for me it held/crashed a lot but i have a horrible device

Hey Joseph Anderson ! I found your channel through this video and I've been avidly going through all your videos since. Your stuff is really good ! It's interesting because I actually loved Inside when I played it, I was completely seduced by the atmosphere and the general ambiance. I was also not really counting on the story as I found Limbo didn't really deliver in that respect, and so as a comparison I was pleasantly surprised by the story aspect of Inside. I thought they gave way more information on the universe and what was going on than in Limbo and was thus satisfied (I had done both the regular ending and "hidden ending" by the time I saw your video). However upon watching your video I had to agree with every single point you were making (it's true, the gameplay is repetitive and not that amazing in retrospect) and they do not ultimately deliver on the story as they didn't strongly commit to one strong narrative solution that could bring satisfying closure. This felt even more acute as I just finished the Talos Principle. Amazing game by the way, would absolutely love to see you make a video on it if you so feel inclined :). Without giving away any spoilers Talos promises a lot in terms of story and remains very mysterious for a really long time before getting to the final reveal. And bam, then they really deliver. This helped me see what you were saying about Inside's lack of a clear conclusion. Anyway, long story short, love your stuff, loved Inside and still had to agree with you on everything. Thank you for your hard word, and I'll keep watching and liking !

I only finished this game 2 days ago having not really known about it before hand. After completing it i was very impressed and was/am in the 10/10 gang but this video review is spot on. Cheers mate

I had a very different experience playing Inside. For most of my time with the game I was fully engrossed. It was like I was on the same wavelength as the game. Death was rare for me, at least at first. A lot of the "trial and error" for me was passed on the first try. It made those moments I died feel more meaningful because the game had already proved to me that I can avoid them if I focus. The long stretches of walking or running forward were for me an opportunity to gaze at the gorgeous visuals. What really brought everything together for me was the animation. Like, in the torch section, I didn't mind the "threat management " because it was an excuse to see how the fire twirls around and the direction of the light changes each time The Boy turns. It might be easy to guess the I'm an artist. That also impacts how I perceive the "game's" "story", as I'm more used to enjoying a piece of media in how it warps my mind than what I can actually understand from it. That was worded poorly, sorry. Another thing is that thanks to the game being so gosh darn simple mechanically along with its abstract themes, grotesque concepts, inspired visuals and straightforward interface (no bugs, no graphics settings, no control options or inventory), it was a perfect candidate for being the first real game for my artist friend. I'm so happy to say they managed to finish it, as I had almost given up on getting them acquainted with this artform. I really love your videos, JA. I haven't watched all of them yet, and I'm already considering supporting your Patreon. You kind of remind me of Yahtzee Croshaw of Zero Punctuation fame, if he would focus more on the critique than the comedy and actually considered other people's opinions. It looks like Inside was for me what you said the uncharted series can be for a lot of people. For me the magic was almost never broken, but I accept that this wasn't the case for you at all.

Very in depth critique. I just found your channel and subscribed, awesome stuff

Yhatzee thought inside was pretty meh as well and he loved limbo, so I don't think you're alone in "not getting it"

Sounds boring, but damn, does it look good. I'm happy I got to see some of the visuals but don't have to slog through it myself.

A lot of people say that he didn't get the game, because he wasn't immersed in the story, or atmosphere. The problem is that it's hard to get immersed, when what you are doing is repetitive, boring, and frustrating. It's hard to get immersed in the story. The game leads you to many questions, but doesn't answer them. It makes you craft your own story, that you're comfortable with, instead of presenting one to you that actually makes sense. The problem isn't that the plot doesn't make sense, but that there really is no plot to analyze. It's so loosely connected, and self contradicting. Like when the monster gives you water breathing, or when you unplug yourself even though it's been shown you are not a drone. You can always find explanations to these illogical events, but they always end with more questions that can't be answered without enough evidence. It feels more frustrating to analyze the narrative, then rewarding. All game deaths feel like the game is just randomly punishing you for playing the game. Trial and error can be fine, but when it lacks any depth it is frustrating. A key part in trial and error is also being go around it by spotting clues that could've lead you to a solution. The best way to describe the puzzles is repetitive. Too many recycled ideas, and very few interesting ones at that. This is what takes people out of the atmosphere. Even then though, is the atmosphere that good? I would argue no, because it has to be combined with gameplay to actually be good. Otherwise it's just a backdrop to a boring game. An overpriced back drop as well. You are either going through boring puzzles, or looking at spooky set pieces while thinking about how frustrating the game play section was. Maybe this should've been a movie or just a walking simulator with gameplay, because for me and many other people, the game ruins any atmosphere with bad puzzles and chase sequences. The tension, and atmosphere is lost because of repetition of game deaths, and annoying gameplay. Atmosphere can only be experienced when combined with gameplay, or else it is lost. Inside is a video game. It is on a video game distributing platform. It's under the adventure games tag. The game itself was made by PLAYdead studio, a self proclaimed video game development studio. Even they call both Limbo and Inside video games on their page in steam. It has to be critiqued as a game, and it is simply a bad game.

hey new fan here joseph! really been enjoying and binge watching all of your shiiz, but this is the first video of yours that i come across where i feel funny about it. Like it's different from all your others. It feels as if the review is not as objective as it should be.... & i know most people or you might feel like, "oh, but who's to say how a review should be? or how much part subjectivity and part objectivity should a review contain?" well, I think that's all preference to whomever it's being directed at. I'm speaking relatively to the standards and expectations that you've given me and most likely many of your other viewers. Idk man, I didnt even know there were people out there that disliked limbo to that extent. I think it was a masterpiece :c i respect your views, and opinions and such joseepphhh, but this makes me so sadssss :cccccc

Watching this review 2 years later. This game is a masterpiece, is still the feeling I get. It's an art piece, and like any art installation it will not suit everyone's taste.

I think playing any game without expectations will always give you a better experience since you're surprised by the good parts instead of expecting them. I genuinely enjoyed this game when I first played it because of this, and I presume other reviewers had the same experience? Hype will inevitably disappoint..

Hey Joseph - I'm a big fan of your videos and this one is no exception. :) One thing I do want to look at more closely, however, is your argument that some kind of limited lives system would make the game more tense. While I agree that this is technically true and this is a very common strategy, I think it's important to note that tension created that way is external to the game, and thereby immersion-breaking. If you're worried about running out of lives or restarting part or all of the game, you aren't worried about the things that your character is supposed to be afraid of. You're worried about things that are outside of the game's world. While you make it clear that you don't think the best fix is to just slap limited lives on the game in its current state, I don't think limited lives would be the right fix in any state. The best-written case I've seen made for this argument is by Shamus Young, and he's trotted it out a few times: www.shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/?p=1828 and www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/video-games/columns/experienced-points/6715-You-Don-t-Scare-Me and a little bit in www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/video-games/columns/experienced-points/14776-Horror-Games-Are-Not-Scary I also discuss it myself a bit at the end of my own video about why Legend of Kyrandia: The Hand of Fate shouldn't have killed the player character: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/o7JiapaGmrnRcqs.html Anyway, thanks for this and all your other videos. I'm proud to be one of your Patreon supporters. :)

This is why I enjoy your videos. You were able to articulate what I feeling when I completed this game. I enjoyed it, it was entertaining (got it on sale), but was so confused by the time the credits rolled.

This game reminds me of something ed mcmillan said in indy game the movie. When he first started developing games he made a game and made it artsy without meaning and so tons of people would be like "what do you think it means" or try to figure out what it meant and when asked ed would just reply "well what do YOU think it means" when in reality it meant nothing. This struck me as that kind of thing where they leave so much ambiguity just so that the people playing it can feel intellectual and come up with their own meaning when in reality it means almost nothing. Like they made the game just knowing that people go "oooooooh you were "inside the whole time and now your finally outside" and then their friend goes "but how do you know that you are truly outside now" and first friend goes "woah mind blown".

I've seen you complain about death being "meaningless" in other games too, but what exactly do you want? If the game gave you too much of a set back no doubt you'd call it "tedious".

I personally think what you describe as "boring" I see as great use of atmosphere, the quiet factory allows you to be immersed and really feel like you are in the world playdead created. While I don't agree with your critique, I understand where you are coming from.

Hi just wanted to know if anyone knows any other channels that do the same thing that this channel does. Very Long videos reviewing or talking about games or tv shows or anything similar. Thanks

Usually I agree with your opinion in many points, but not this time. Yes, the "story" is a mess, every interpretation I've heard contains either logical errors, or cherry picks details. But the gameplay is genius, and not boring at all. Inside uses only a few controls, starts with minimal interactions then combine those, each building on the previous ones, then introduce new mechanics just because it becomes too boring. Not every puzzle game needs to be hard, especially not when it is focused around a motion on straight line, creating an atmosphere via the constant moving of events in the background. Its the same with the trial and error approach. You say its cheap with infinite lives, but for me watching the kid get torn, get shot, drown etc over and over again made me hate this world. Not the game. Its world. With all inhabitants. Which turned my default reaction for turning into a nonhuman blob from frightening to satisfaction. Finally I can reverse the roles and be the aggressors. I was in the mood at that point that I enjoyed killing them, chasing them, destroying everything in my way.

The game creates a convincing illusion of a tangible reality within itself. It *feels* real. That's why it's so magnetic. Additionally, it's less of a game and more of a thrill ride through a haunted house.

I think this game prioritizes “art” over “game” and whether or not that works for you really depends on taste. It works for me

Now you've got me thinking about Gris, another 2D puzzle platformer with admittedly basic gameplay and an abstract story that's told entirely through the way the game is presented rather than any concrete information. Except I love Gris, partly because the art style is way more appealing to me, and partly because the intended message of the game is... more obvious? At least I believe so, since everyone seems to come to the same conclusion of what the game's about. I think the abstraction also works more to its favour, since its "story" is just the emotional experience of moving through the stages of grief. It's more akin to an interactive painting, which I know sounds pretentious as hell but I really appreciate the experience that game gives me.

So many puzzle have the same core solution.. Portal : excuse me? Death is minor inconvenience Most games : yes

why does everyone think the 'blob' is free at the end?

In words of Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw - We once saw the word 'intrigue' written on a shithouse wall, and that's about as far as we understand the concept.

I was expecting to disagree but I found this all quite agreeable. I liked the aesthetics, but ultimately it felt lacking in polish.

Jim Sterling is a parody himself.

Awesome Review!! Love these in-depth analysis of video games

I like hearing critiques with solid backing to their points. I know you aren't telling me to dislike the game, but saying you don't even understand how other people can enjoy it to the extent that they do seems purposefully inflammatory.

what do you mean you have to explain "why" a game is 2D/3D? I don't understand why that needs a special reason.

Have you done any more videos on games that provide this "meta" experience

For me, the mystery of the puzzles added to the atmosphere of the world. A pervasive hopelessness coupled with despair, made even stronger by the sound of heavy machinery in place of music. The super smooth and liquid animations and sometimes even clumsy movement added to the vividness of the main character. Also all the violent death animations really brought home the brutality of this world. However, there were areas where I was disillusioned and pulled out of the experience. When it came to the "long haired unknown entity with a grudge who enjoys murder" and "people hanging by rope but they're underwater and the water's.... ON THE ROOF?!". It was just seemingly in the realm of being random to be random. All in all I loved the game, both the first and second time through. It allows you to ask questions, the many why's, without having to enforce a narrative through expository dialogue. I read it as strongly anti hive mind, and though anarchist, it was also very stoic. It's not a new concept by any stretch of the imagination, but the way it was told was welcomed. Just as the last of us's story beat for beat was a tired mess, all the half beats and details in between kept it fresh and interesting. I see how Inside can turn a lot of people off from itself, it's not for everyone, clearly. The puzzles that aren't used as part of action sequences can feel detrimental to the overall pacing, and some of the sets can be too reliant on clichés. Just as I'm not surprised when people don't like it, I don't find it strange when they liken it to Limbo, or even say it's better than its predecessor. My enjoyment came with the lack of a goal. There wasn't a family member I had to find or save, a place I had to go, a guy I had to kill or avenge. It didn't facilitate an environment where I waited or looked for clues towards that ending, it was more of a "What does this mean and where will it take me next.". I recently found your channel(meaning 4 hours ago), and I have to admit this is some of that good good content right here. Well researched, and even when it comes to games you have issues with, there's a level of nuance not often found in other reviewers. I can really see the love and care you put into your videos. Thanks for the privilege of watching your mastapieces

So, I’m very late to this but I just finished the game. I’ve been looking at theories on both Inside and Limbo and I wanted to comment on this one because there is something in this review that struck me (and I’ve run across to a greater or lesser extent elsewhere). There is a point in this video where the reviewer spends a great deal of time just listing out questions from the game that he felt were never answered. Now, I’m a fan of The Prisoner, which, if you’re not familiar, was a television series from the 60’s. My mom hates it. I once told her that The Prisoner tends to be less about what is literally happening in the plot and more about the thematic ideas, how the exploration of those ideas makes you feel and think. To an extent it’s less about the answers the filmmakers are given you and more about the questions you end up asking yourself. To use another example, the film Eraserhead by David Lynch has also been discussed at length. The last I heard Lynch had stated that he had still never heard anyone with the idea he had written the movie with. And he hasn’t told. I think that Playdead probably knew what the story behind these games were, but they made them intentionally vague because sometimes the answers are less important than the questions you end up asking yourself.

Jeff Gerstmann is one of the few people who also didn't get or like this game very much as did I.

how long did it take you to complete this game? took me 5 hours and I don't think I'm a particularly fast gamer

I've noticed in several of your videos you talk about how you feel death in some games is meaningless and as an amateur game designer I was wondering if you'd elaborate a tiny bit on what you feel gives death in games meaning.

I think of all the perfect 10s kind of how I think about the Academy Awards. Sometimes the work that receives the most praise does so not because it's genuinely the best but because it is important enough to be made an example of. Inside is a decent game with a lot of flaws, but what it's trying to do is such a departure from the current stale state of the industry that it needs to be on game of the year lists to make a statement that there's more to video games than combat, and that setting can be crafted through subtle things like character animations and lighting rather than narration. Your analysis is always spot on, and I think a more nuanced and fair approach to games is important. It's why I love this channel, and this video specifically. This is just my two cents on why Inside was given such high praise. Not because Inside is spectacular, but because it's goals are spectacular.

So I started and finished this game today before watching this review. I agree with your favorite parts. (Soundwave room and gathering followers.) Also agree that the game wasn't as tense as it could have been due to having unlimited lives. (Though I still thought some parts were pretty tense) After I finished the game, I sat wondering why so many people raved about it so much. Though hearing your explanation of the story and seeing the secret ending helps make a little more sense out of it. I probably would have liked it better if I didn't have such high expectations. Sound design and visuals were excellent though.