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Playdead's INSIDE spoiler thread.

I got some heavy climate change/sea level rising vibes from all the infrastructure that seems to be sinking into/under the ocean. I got power source or power plant vibes more than weird weather vibes from the shockwave area. Whatever, it's all designed to be vague! I love it!
 
I'm so happy I got to experience the game before the Internet ruins all the genuine surprises. As that final sequence is so bonkers how is it not going to be spoiled?

Yes. My mind was just blown. Never in a thousand years would I have even imagined that I would ever played as a Cronenberg flesh thing in a video game

Ditto. I feel kinda sad for people who are going to have to wait until the PS4 or "other devices" get this game- it will be tough to avoid the end sections being put on media blast after whatever nebulous "safe period" ends for spoilers.

The final act of this game is what ties the whole experience together. I would think that going into this, knowing how the last act carries out or at least parts of it, will lesson the entire game as opposed to going into entirely blind.
 

Zach

Member

danowat

Banned
OK, so what the fuck was that all about then?

I guess it's a metaphor for life, you struggle but no matter what, you'll die, even if you escape the struggle.

It's some sort of dystopian world? Alien tech? Mind control? People as cattle? Solent green? the witch/mermaid thing?

I don't know, mind blown a little.
 
Just finished, so confused. And I found lots of the "secrets" too.

I'm in the minority in that I was very excited to play this game for years, but ultimately underwhelmed now that I've played it mainly from a narrative sense given how obtuse it is when it comes to story. Maybe I expected more of an explanation, and I'm searching for one? Hence, coming here to discuss!

Art direction, sound design, puzzles all were good. It's just the story, which is so key to a shorter game like this, that's nagging at me..

Edit: Oh, and did anyone find the hidden alternate ending? I don't think I did, going to probably watch a video to see what happens there.
 

JTripper

Member
OK, so what the fuck was that all about then?

I guess it's a metaphor for life, you struggle but no matter what, you'll die, even if you escape the struggle.

It's some sort of dystopian world? Alien tech? Mind control? People as cattle? Solent green? the witch/mermaid thing?

I don't know, mind blown a little.

If one chooses to look at it that way, I do like how you start as just a boy in plain clothes but at the end you're this indistinguishable being and the boy you once were is seemingly gone from the surface as a result of the tough journey.
 

danowat

Banned
If one chooses to look at it that way, I do like how you start as just a boy in plain clothes but at the end you're this indistinguishable being and the boy you once were is seemingly gone from the surface as a result of the tough journey.
Exactly, the 'struggle' will change you.
 

Alienfan

Member
The real twist at the end of the game is that it's running on Unity. Inside is absolutely beautifully rendered (and secretly has the best hair physics in a game) on top of flawless performance.

Between Inside and Ori and the Blind Forest I'm impressed by what devs have done with Unity.

Wait Ori is unity?! :O
 
Just read earlier pages, saw the alternate ending. That has me thinking even more than the original ending, when he curls up like the "mind-controlled" beings.

The part I can't reconcile in the game is when the water-witch girl drags you down and then you somehow can breath underwater now. Was she really trying to help and she gives you that "power" basically? I guess that's how I interpreted it.

Also, lots of you talking about the fire crate and sprinkler puzzle. The second I grabbed the crate and saw those pipes (didn't realize what they were at first), I started tossing it up and over then catching it to see if it would unlock an achievement or something. Little did I know that's the exact strategy I'd need when it was on fire..!
 

Spoo

Member
Maybe it's been explained, but does anyone have any idea of what the part is near the back half of the game where the player sees giant doors opening in the background and presumably a father and child? Are all of the weird mutated bodies "toys" or something in this world? I get that there's some big experiment going on, but there was also a sense of 'manufacturing' going on; that it was some kind of strange business delivering goods.

Right track? Wrong?
 

op_ivy

Fallen Xbot (cannot continue gaining levels in this class)
am i the only one that got to the furnace, expected that to be the end and got sad, gave a hard swallow then tried to climb in?
 

TheYanger

Member
Just read earlier pages, saw the alternate ending. That has me thinking even more than the original ending, when he curls up like the "mind-controlled" beings.

The part I can't reconcile in the game is when the water-witch girl drags you down and then you somehow can breath underwater now. Was she really trying to help and she gives you that "power" basically? I guess that's how I interpreted it.

Also, lots of you talking about the fire crate and sprinkler puzzle. The second I grabbed the crate and saw those pipes (didn't realize what they were at first), I started tossing it up and over then catching it to see if it would unlock an achievement or something. Little did I know that's the exact strategy I'd need when it was on fire..!

Don't think she 'gave' you anything, you get attached to the power cable or whatever and seems like it shocks him back to life or, idk what. I assume from that point on he's actually dead/zombified/controlled. hence the no breathing and ability to control without a hat.
 

Tall Paul

Member
I'm confused, was it not obvious that, that was going to happen? I immediately walked by that because it was clearly a trap, but, there was no way to avoid it so I figured it was a plot moment (which it was).
I think it's because in this case I didn't walk past it (usually in games have a proper look around before committing to the obvious) so I just went right into trying to get it and the fall felt like they caught both the blob and the player, it did in my case anyway.
 

Zach

Member
Maybe it's been explained, but does anyone have any idea of what the part is near the back half of the game where the player sees giant doors opening in the background and presumably a father and child? Are all of the weird mutated bodies "toys" or something in this world? I get that there's some big experiment going on, but there was also a sense of 'manufacturing' going on; that it was some kind of strange business delivering goods.

Right track? Wrong?

Hmm...
holy
conspicuous consumption commentary
, Batman
?

am i the only one that got to the furnace, expected that to be the end and got sad, gave a hard swallow then tried to climb in?

Yeah, some of us talked about that earlier. I guess this was a common thing. I wonder if the devs predicted this...

In hindsight, kinda weird that LIMB-O didn't catch on fire/trigger a death scene by trying to climb in. Was it possible to die in that final segment? I don't believe I died now that I think about it.
 

danowat

Banned
Yep me to...it felt right at the time I just thought it had to happen.
Put it out of its misery.

I'm not sure I buy the idea that the boy was trying to save the blob, was he not just trying to progress (at least what he thought was progression) even though he may not have had a goal?, you can't stay still, you have to keep moving.

I am suprised more hasn't been said about how visually accomplished the game is, I think it's monochrome aesthetic belies just how many special little details are going on, it's really good, the lighting, the particle affects, the world feels palpable and rich despite its oppressive and over bearing nature, almost to point of it feeling a little....grubby?
 

Grisby

Member
I'm thinking it's gonna be hard to come up with a cohesive consensus because of stuff like this:

ZvDQ8cy.jpg


Also makes it seem like a simple LIMBO continuation (same protagonist) is off the table. But who knows?
I wonder what the strongest interpretation was?
Well after that, he was able to control the hivemind without the helmet. Also notice that the cable had the similar orange light that the control helmets did

iQGRx4X.jpg
ZUjaL1M.jpg
Yeah, I noticed that.
 

Spoo

Member
Hmm...
holy
conspicuous consumption commentary
, Batman
?

Could be, though it also would have a pragmatic reason for existing; since with all these remote-controlled 'bodies' being produced, some of them could be used as slave workers, others childrens' toys, etc.

Maybe the thought is, these things aren't sentient? Or maybe that's just what people think.
 

JonnyKong

Member
If I had to choose I'd say my favourite part of the game was being able to swim freely with all the fish swimming after you. It was just so simple and beautifully done.

Obviously the human ball thing was a highlight, in particular when you had to squeeze the entire thing through a small hatch in the ground. The animation was fantastic.

Also, I loved the look of the zombie type clones who follow you around because I swear you can see some of them wearing white y-fronts.
 

RiccochetJ

Gold Member
If I had to choose I'd say my favourite part of the game was being able to swim freely with all the fish swimming after you. It was just so simple and beautifully done.

Obviously the human ball thing was a highlight, in particular when you had to squeeze the entire thing through a small hatch in the ground. The animation was fantastic.

Also, I loved the look of the zombie type clones who follow you around because I swear you can see some of them wearing white y-fronts.

I think my favorite part was down in the mines with the 20 person puzzle. I love the mechanics of that area and the animations of the drones as they lift you up and when they catch you.
 

Dabanton

Member
The sheer shock when your clothes get sucked off and you enter that hold was amazing then you see that mass of moving flesh. I was thinking do I have to destroy this thing? Then you pull off it's holds and realise you have to join with it. So Videodrome. 'The new Flesh'

The feeling when that glass breaks and you start rampaging. So damm good.

And I'm still going with the theory that he boy was breaking in rather than escaping. I mean when I think back he had plenty of chances to escape but he looked like he wanted to go deeper into the facility.

From the small flashes of the world it looked like this was just a normal job to many of the humans you came across at least the ones in the facility.
 

LiK

Member
I just finished it and it was amazing, I have no idea what happened tho. The whole blobby thing gave me Akira vibes.

Gotta give props to the puzzles. They were easy to solve mainly because the solutions made sense. I didn't need a guide at all like I did with Limbo. They really did a fantastic job.
 

op_ivy

Fallen Xbot (cannot continue gaining levels in this class)
If I had to choose I'd say my favourite part of the game was being able to swim freely with all the fish swimming after you. It was just so simple and beautifully done.

Obviously the human ball thing was a highlight, in particular when you had to squeeze the entire thing through a small hatch in the ground. The animation was fantastic.

Also, I loved the look of the zombie type clones who follow you around because I swear you can see some of them wearing white y-fronts.

for me its easily the blob destruction crashing through the labs, office spaces, and cafeteria and seeing the reaction of all the workers.
 

whalesex

Neo Member
I've noticed a number of people bringing up movie's and the writers/ directors associated with them to compare to this game. However, I haven't seen mention of Shane Carruth, known most prominently for Primer and more recently, Upstream Color. I saw so many interesting parallels between this and Upstream Color, which if you haven't seen, do yourself a favor and watch.

I'm a bit of a Shane Carruth super fan because they guy writes, directs, acts, and even makes the music for his own movies. Simply a fascinating person and I would be completely surprised if the Playdead devs haven't been influenced by him.
 
What a game and will be hard to knock off the top of my GOTY list.

Might have missed this, but anyone have a thought on why the scientists seemed to be in a tizzy to get to the window to look at the man-blob even before you got there?

As you move towards the end, there were several scenes of men running and I first thought that they seemed to be running away from some unseen danger. As you get close to that window, a man seemingly in a panic runs past you and knocks over a bunch of folding chairs (while giving you a quick glance). Then, as you reach the window, a golf cart races up and screeches to a halt with a couple more men who scramble to the window.

I wonder what is prompting them to go there? Do they know you are coming?
 

tayls129

Member
Moments I'll never forget:
1. When the pig comes back to life and lumbers at you, then you pull the snake out of its ass. Horrifying.
2. Racing frantically through the water to avoid the terrifying ghost girl thing. Worst fears realized.
3. The room with water as the ceiling and half finished people hanging from wires.
4. When the half finished people are under your control and some are just lumps of flesh and tumors, rolling after the group.
5. Smashing though the glass of the experiment cell as the blob and having people run while water pours out.

Horror-inducing, brilliant game. Just an absolutely masterpiece in my book.
 

kneePat

Member
And those shockwaves...man, the force and visuals of those impacts elevated that whole sequence

v7fRnvp.gif

The sheer violence during these shockwaves when you die is extremely powerful and moving. Also props to the sound design top to bottom. Such an amazing experience.
 
The sheer violence during these shockwaves when you die is extremely powerful and moving. Also props to the sound design top to bottom. Such an amazing experience.
The shockwave part unnerved me more than anything else, but I think it was mainly due to the amazing sound design for that whole section. Best word I can come up with for it: visceral.
 

Montresor

Member
Wow, Polygon's Inside video mentions that there are secret hidden puzzles that you can totally miss across multiple playthroughs

Here's one mentioned; https://youtu.be/L_z2GpICAXA?t=777

Did anyone encounter that?

What do you mean with "did anyone encounter that"? Do you mean the part where the narrator in the video says "There's a puzzle where you wave a torch at creatures"? If you mean the torch stuff, then that's a puzzle you encounter when going after one of the collectibles. You get a torch, and then you have to make a long trek leftward towards a collectible. But there are up to four dogs (two on each side) that keep hounding you, and you have to keep turning around and waving your torch at the dogs when they get to close. Once you get to the collectible, you can pull it / break it apart and that scares the dog - they leave you for good after that.
 
What do you mean with "did anyone encounter that"? Do you mean the part where the narrator in the video says "There's a puzzle where you wave a torch at creatures"? If you mean the torch stuff, then that's a puzzle you encounter when going after one of the collectibles. You get a torch, and then you have to make a long trek leftward towards a collectible. But there are up to four dogs (two on each side) that keep hounding you, and you have to keep turning around and waving your torch at the dogs when they get to close. Once you get to the collectible, you can pull it / break it apart and that scares the dog - they leave you for good after that.
Oh, cool, yeah, I meant the part with the torch. I didn't know getting the orbs could actually get that complicated. That's cool.
 

Montresor

Member
The shockwave part unnerved me more than anything else, but I think it was mainly due to the amazing sound design for that whole section. Best word I can come up with for it: visceral.

The shockwave part is my favourite part of the whole game. And you fucking nailed it bruv, regarding sound design.

When you first get to that room outside the shockwave section, the thumps are very very faint. You keep travelling rightward and the thumps get louder and louder. And you have absolutely no idea what is causing those thumps. You have to solve a 15-to-30-minute long mind-control puzzle, with thumps rhythmically beating around you, gnawing at you, before you finally open the door and realize what's happening outside.

It's such a beautiful section. Partly because of the sound design. Partly because it made me expect a huge monster was making slow, lumbering stomps outside. Partly because once you actually get outside, the shockwaves were very reminiscent of a test site/town for a nuclear weapons test (the way the lamp posts and other debris shook with every shockwave reminded me of that). And also because of the sheer brutality when a shockwave actually hits you.
 

Montresor

Member
Here are my favourite screenshots I took in the game. Unfortunately some screenshots have a huuuuuuge black crush problem. It's mystifying to me. I had to delete some great moments because of this. But I think these screenshots truly encapsulate the sheer beauty/opression in this game, and highlight exactly why this may be the best game of the gen for some (well it is for me at least).

 
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