INSIDE review

Let's start with an onstensibly pretentious question - what is art? Well, here's a simpler way to look at it - anything that is designed to evoke emotion or thought, but has no other tangible value. Things have gotten pretty complicated and muddled, with a cornucopia of artforms. A particularly persistent trend has become the infiltration of written or spoken language into every medium there is.

INSIDE will have none of it. For the four hours it takes to complete this game, there is not a single word of dialogue. If you do not die, there's not a single cut. Come to think of it, there's very little in this game - it's absolute minimalism.

It has been a common criticism for many games - there's just too much going on, and a lot of it is no good. INSIDE strips away every excess there is, and what is left is quite simply - a pure audiovisual treat.

Of course, it's not really purely audiovisual. There's definitely brilliant, profound storytelling here. As mentioned earlier, there's no exposition whatever. You have to experience the game for yourself and understand what it means. This type of storytelling has always been far more potent than films or books which are basically formulated on the concept that the viewer is told what is going on. Not so with INSIDE - the player is absolutely respected to understand and form their own opinion. This also leads to interesting divergence in interpretations between different people, often betraying their personalities and beliefs.

Gameplay consists of puzzles that are completely intertwined into the narrative. So often, games' narrative and its gameplay are at complete odds. Not so here. The gameplay is the narrative, and the narrative is the gameplay. It features extremely clever, yet always accessible puzzles. It's so immaculately designed, it always keep the player focussed and immersed, yet never gets too challenging.

Similarly perfectly choreographed are tvarious "chases". Every time, you survive by the skin of your teeth. One would think that was a co-incidence, but it's some kind of magical game design that keeps you on the edge of your seat every single time!

And then there's the sheer beauty on show. Whether it be the world design, the visuals, the sound. Everything is stripped down to the finest detail, to assault your senses with no quarters held.

The end result is a pure, unadulterated experience of rare beauty. You will have to play this game and feel it for yourself.

INSIDE has not a single word of dialogue, no cuts, no faces, no identifiable characters or names, no exposition, no lavish graphics, no combat, no bombastic soundtrack. Heck, there is no interface (or tutorial) at all!
Yet, INSIDE is one of the finest games ever made.