I went into INSIDE pretty optimistic after liking Limbo. Two hours later I finished it, wondering what the hell went wrong. I feel like almost everything about the game is bad.
The controls were clunky, yet they demanded precise platforming to solve the puzzles. Puzzles consisted of uninteresting gimmicks, which once discovered, always required you to repeat the gimmick a few too many times. Couple that with the clunky controls, and you die frequently, leading you to have to repeat the gimmicks EVEN more than was already too much.
The art is very clearly lovingly handcrafted and detailed, but the overall style is bland, and the soundtrack is fittingly bland as well. The world lacks cohesion, and feels very much like a series of video game levels without any context for why they are there. The game tries for subtlety and ambiquity in it's presentation, but completely fails and delivers a disjointed, non-sensical, and painfully un-fun experience. Maybe I just don't "get" it, but I don't think there is anything of substance there to "get".
It's been fantastic watching Brad and Dan slowly realize how deep and awesome this game is! I can only hope for more elusive target videos and for continued "quick look"-ing of season 2 and beyond.
Kwilco's comments