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Playdead's INSIDE spoiler thread.

Aurongel

Member
...Very special game this, could've been a goty contender if it wasn't for The Witness.

I'm thrilled that the two most obvious contenders for GOTY at this point are both crazy ambient puzzle games set in mysterious environments.

Gaming in general for me is at its best when my favorite games of the year are all vastly different from eachother. It showcases what makes this medium so good.
 

Creamium

shut uuuuuuuuuuuuuuup
On my replay and I love how some of your minions in the mining section don't wear pants

I'm thrilled that the two most obvious contenders for GOTY at this point are both crazy ambient puzzle games set in mysterious environments.

Gaming in general for me is at its best when my favorite games of the year are all vastly different from eachother. It showcases what makes this medium so good.

Yeah 2016 has been a great year for this diversity. I'm looking at my 2016 games beaten and there's so many great indie and bigger releases already.
 
So what exactly is the awe-inspiring, mind blowing revelation at the end? I really have to stop giving into critics' hype because when the credits started rolling I felt like I'd been had. Can't remember the last game I played that ended so abruptly with no payoff.

Too much water 7/10
 

Lunar FC

Member
Loved this shit from start to finish. The blob section was just gross and amazing. Game is everything and more I could of expected from a limbo followup.
 
So what exactly is the awe-inspiring, mind blowing revelation at the end? I really have to stop giving into critics' hype because when the credits started rolling I felt like I'd been had. Can't remember the last game I played that ended so abruptly with no payoff.

Too much water 7/10
See, you're thinking the awe-inspiring moment was the literal end, when in fact that moment happened twenty minutes earlier. Perfect payoff, built over 3 hours of tension and an atmosphere of weakness and constant death and oppression. The payoff being the turning of the tables, with the added bonus of incredible animations and Cronenbergian body horror.
 

watership

Member
I love the questions this game brings up, and how most of them are unanswered. The shock wave sequence. The bathysphere and the underwater wrecks/habitats. The worms. I want to know more.. but do I? I think knowing more would ruin it.
 

TheYanger

Member
I'm not sure someone could legitimately say "What was the cool thing everyone was talking about at the end?" after playing it, like, that has to be a troll post. Whether you liked the game or not it's impossible not to understand that becoming a fucking human blob out of nowhere and suddenly breaking all of the conventions the game has given you prior is pretty obviously a major shift at the end of the game.
 
The shock wave sequence might be my favorite of the year so far from any game - I really wish that part was expanded on more. It was either some kind of apocalyptic event or some kind of super weapon, and it's probably the sequence that made me the most intrigued about the world of the game.
 
The shock wave sequence might be my favorite of the year so far from any game - I really wish that part was expanded on more. It was either some kind of apocalyptic event or some kind of super weapon, and it's probably the sequence that made me the most intrigued about the world of the game.
Also interesting how it's localized to only a single area. It's not like the shockwaves are some world-ending apocalypse, because there's an intact world that is completely unaffected by the shockwaves. Also the testing and machinery there make it seem like the shockwaves are totally intentional, since they have walkways and shutters designed to protect against them while moving around. Plus the crash test dummy room
 
Also interesting how it's localized to only a single area. It's not like the shockwaves are some world-ending apocalypse, because there's an intact world that is completely unaffected by the shockwaves. Also the testing and machinery there make it seem like the shockwaves are totally intentional, since they have walkways and shutters designed to protect against them while moving around. Plus the crash test dummy room

Everything else in the game points towards the growing/control of human beings. I assume the worms at the beginning have something to do with it, either they're the start of the humans or are used for control, etc. Except for that one part. It lets you know that something else is going on, and it's so intriguing.
 
I can't figure out whether the people being controlled and the kid are dead or not.

It seems really likely that the people being controlled that you come across are animated corpses. That explains why they don't have to breathe underwater and more importantly aren't affected by falling from heights.

But after the playable character is able to breathe underwater, he does still "die" from falling from a height. Maybe just a random inconsistency that was left in to facilitate the puzzle where you land on the pile of people at the bottom of a pit? But everything else seems so thought out that that doesn't seem likely.

Also confused about the playable character's motivation, I originally assumed he was trying to save a loved one from being experimented on, but if the controlled people are corpses than that doesn't really make sense. I guess it's impossible to know whether the kid had prior knowledge of the blob.

I think it would have made more sense to play as an older character, maybe a scientist who disagreed with the morality of the project. On the other hand, maybe we're playing the son of someone who spoke up and was silenced.

Either way, it was quite a ride. I actually found a the beginning a little boring after the initial part where you're hiding, but around the time you first encounter the kids in the water it completely grabbed me.


Really interesting to read everyone's theories. Besides what I mentioned above the big thing that bothers me is why all of the water kids want to kill aside from the one who luckily assists you. Part of me thinks that some decisions were made more for the sake of a spectacle than adhering to a coherent story.
 
He's definitely not dead. You can hear him breathing for the rest of the game

As for motivations, I think the easiest one is that he's being drawn to the blob against his will. Even the game's description hints at that, "finds himself drawn"
 
He's definitely not dead. You can hear him breathing for the rest of the game,
He initially freaks out when he wakes up under water though before realizing he can breathe. Maybe he's just breathing based on habit? His muscles obviously still work.

The corpse theory makes sense to me to because it provides an explanation for the water, if you're performing experiments on people and are worried things may go south flooding the room is a good way to contain them. On the other hand I don't get why the corporation would simultaneously be developing mind control and underwater breathing as separate things.

Maybe though.

He's definitely not dead. You can hear him breathing for the rest of the game

As for motivations, I think the easiest one is that he's being drawn to the blob against his will. Even the game's description hints at that, "finds himself drawn"
Oh ok, I haven't read that description.

Makes sense to me that a scientist who doesn't agree with the project is behind it then. Maybe the hatch in the cornfield is an abandoned lab someone snuck off to in order to come up with a way to stop the experiments.

At the beginning it seems that those people were specifically searching for the kid though, which I guess makes sense if the company caught wind of the plan, but somehow seems off to me.


I've heard a few people say on podcasts that the game has no replay value and I think they're insane, I can't wait to play through again and see what else I pick up on.
 
He's definitely not dead. You can hear him breathing for the rest of the game

As for motivations, I think the easiest one is that he's being drawn to the blob against his will. Even the game's description hints at that, "finds himself drawn"

I read a theory that the secret ending hints at the boy being controlled by the blob to free him.

Now, that doesn't make much sense, because it seems like the scientists watching you enter the blob tank at the end are almost CHEERING for you. It's hard to tell when the people in the game start being a danger and start not caring much about you.

I think there's definitely still more to the game - There's a reason there are more numbers above certain orbs on the lightboard. We know why 2 is lit up, obviously, but I don't think I've heard anything about the others?

Also, I used a guide for the last three orbs I needed. I believe they were 2, 11, and 13. There's only one of them that I feel stupid for missing - You totally wouldn't know 2 was there unless you read a guide.
 

cackhyena

Member
See, you're thinking the awe-inspiring moment was the literal end, when in fact that moment happened twenty minutes earlier. Perfect payoff, built over 3 hours of tension and an atmosphere of weakness and constant death and oppression. The payoff being the turning of the tables, with the added bonus of incredible animations and Cronenbergian body horror.

Yep.
 
Well after reading more of the thread the theory that the blob is compelling the kids is pretty convincing, but then why are the people at the beginning trying to stop you? Maybe they're not with the company?

But there are definitely dogs in the company that will kill you. Where does the kid come from?

Does anyone have a screen of the mock-up of the final scene? I missed that, sounds pretty crazy.
 
Does anyone have a screen of the mock-up of the final scene? I missed that, sounds pretty crazy.

This one?

6XYMvo1.jpg
 
Some folks were talking earlier about the children scattered throughout the game -- there's a row of them seated in the final "trap" area almost like they're on a field trip (all in a row, cross-legged). Brightened for clarity:

 

sikkinixx

Member
Beat it a little bit ago. Promptly deleted it. I gathered a twist was coming from the way people had danced around it (GB talked about the last bit turning things on their head) but turning into a Katamari ball was very unexpected yet *totally* unfulfilling. Skimming through people's theories and none of them that I have read makes me feel any better, more satisfied, or more "ahhhh okay." The game built up all this great tension with the creepy drone people, guards, dogs always *right* about to kill me only to make me literally laugh out loud at the blob and then again splattering some dude during one of the falls.

Gorgeous style can't sway me from the feeling that the game was basically me holding the stick to the right for half the game, slowing galavanting across (admittedly beautiful) areas with only the most simple puzzles to break it up. If it weren't for the optional achievement puzzles (I quite liked the one with the dogs and the torch and also the one with the submarine and the drone) I would be even more disappointed. The puzzles rarely built upon themselves for more than a few steps and while I know if I actually counted the time spent this wouldn't be true but it *feels* like I spent more time running back and forth from missing a jump or whatever than it actually took to complete what each situation was asking of me. No real experimentation is needed. No culmination of all components in some lengthy trial to provide the feeling of accomplishment. The first chunks of the game and the underwater thing that eats you is significantly more nerve wracking and challenging than the third act.

Frankly I'm mad at myself for spending $20 on something I could have watched a Let's Play of and got the same amount out of.
 
Some folks were talking earlier about the children scattered throughout the game -- there's a row of them seated in the final "trap" area almost like they're on a field trip (all in a row, cross-legged). Brightened for clarity:

What. The. Fucking. Fuck?

That end sequence is like a fine wine. Just gets better with age.
 
Beat it a little bit ago. Promptly deleted it. I gathered a twist was coming from the way people had danced around it (GB talked about the last bit turning things on their head) but turning into a Katamari ball was very unexpected yet *totally* unfulfilling. Skimming through people's theories and none of them that I have read makes me feel any better, more satisfied, or more "ahhhh okay." The game built up all this great tension with the creepy drone people, guards, dogs always *right* about to kill me only to make me literally laugh out loud at the blob and then again splattering some dude during one of the falls.

Gorgeous style can't sway me from the feeling that the game was basically me holding the stick to the right for half the game, slowing galavanting across (admittedly beautiful) areas with only the most simple puzzles to break it up. If it weren't for the optional achievement puzzles (I quite liked the one with the dogs and the torch and also the one with the submarine and the drone) I would be even more disappointed. The puzzles rarely built upon themselves for more than a few steps and while I know if I actually counted the time spent this wouldn't be true but it *feels* like I spent more time running back and forth from missing a jump or whatever than it actually took to complete what each situation was asking of me. No real experimentation is needed. No culmination of all components in some lengthy trial to provide the feeling of accomplishment. The first chunks of the game and the underwater thing that eats you is significantly more nerve wracking and challenging than the third act.

Frankly I'm mad at myself for spending $20 on something I could have watched a Let's Play of and got the same amount out of.
I mean, if you were expecting a puzzle platformer, I could see why one would be disappointed. The game isn't one. It's a cinematic platformer. The puzzles are more means of world-building and such than being brain-twisting challenges.

Personally, the fact the game constantly moves to new ideas rather than sticking around and reiterating/building upon a mechanic is one of its great strengths.
 

Lo_Fi

Member
Thought about it some more and I think I've realized why I think the game will be appealing to people who don't normally play games.

Most of the puzzles are very elegant. They make sense in a real-world way, you're using real-world knowledge to solve them. The ones with the dogs and tricking them to go one way or the other, while a bit "game-y", has some sort of real-world logic to it. You didn't have to learn how those dogs act in the game, it's just a simple fact of life that if you trick something like a dog into going onto the other side of a fence then you will have more time to do what you need to do while they run around it.

The ladder one where you have to tip the ladder is another one that doesn't require you to be literate in games - you just have to tip a ladder like you would in real life. I imagine the part where you're in the line and have to perform basic maneuvers would have button prompts if it was done by another studio. But they respect the player and expect you to pick up on what you need to do. I felt like I was performing those actions to trick the enemies into thinking I was a drone, I wasn't doing it out of some simple avoidance of a failure state. They give you so few tools/objects per puzzle that they were able to make every "verb" for the objects make sense in a real-world or believable sort of way.
 
Thought about it some more and I think I've realized why I think the game will be appealing to people who don't normally play games.

Most of the puzzles are very elegant. They make sense in a real-world way, you're using real-world knowledge to solve them. The ones with the dogs and tricking them to go one way or the other, while a bit "game-y", has some sort of real-world logic to it. You didn't have to learn how those dogs act in the game, it's just a simple fact of life that if you trick something like a dog into going onto the other side of a fence then you will have more time to do what you need to do while they run around it.

The ladder one where you have to tip the ladder is another one that doesn't require you to be literate in games - you just have to tip a ladder like you would in real life. I imagine the part where you're in the line and have to perform basic maneuvers would have button prompts if it was done by another studio. But they respect the player and expect you to pick up on what you need to do. I felt like I was performing those actions to trick the enemies into thinking I was a drone, I wasn't doing it out of some simple avoidance of a failure state. They give you so few tools/objects per puzzle that they were able to make every "verb" for the objects make sense in a real-world or believable sort of way.


That's the way I thought of it too. If I failed a puzzle i quickly went to the idea of "if I was in this situation, what would I do?". That logic almost always results in a solution with this game. It's brilliant design, not obtuse puzzling that's difficult just for the sake of it. This game establishes real world rules and sticks to them for the duration.

I actually disliked the ending to start with, but here I am a few hours later and I'm still contemplating the whole thing and feeling equally unsure and uplifted by it. That's the sign of something special.
 
When you break through the first room as a blob I swear you hear a baby crying, implying a woman has just given birth. What if that lends credence to the fact this was all planned and perhaps the birthed baby is you in a continues testing loop.
 
When was the last time a game inspired this kind of debate about what it all meant?

Playdead has my money on Day 1 for whatever they do next.
 
Some folks were talking earlier about the children scattered throughout the game -- there's a row of them seated in the final "trap" area almost like they're on a field trip (all in a row, cross-legged). Brightened for clarity:
I thought I saw kids there. Couldn't make it out properly though. Very creepy

Also people totally were expecting you. And they weren't oblivious to the boy either. When you're standing next to the window with the others, the two guys next to you look down at you and then look at eachother before turning back to the window. As you're pulling the cart, one of them does a little glance back at you before looking at the window again

I don't think the escape was expected, but the testing and ending was. Just another iteration in a research experiment.
 
Why are all the monstrosities always underwater? The mermaids, the misshapen bodies, LIMB-O, all of them are always underwater. The Observers even to go so far as to levitate water midair solely for the purpose of submerging the misshapen bodies in water while allowing them access to the machines (as we do see one of them fiddling with a machine that appears to have broken.)

There is a strong water theme with this game. All the important narrative elements involve water in some way. Your rebirth and ascension both take place in water. Even the posters here instinctively want LIMB-O to reach the ocean; the player is left feeling incomplete because they haven't gone into the water. Why?

As an aside, this is my biggest complaint with the game: water levels suck, and this game is one long water level.
 

sikkinixx

Member
I mean, if you were expecting a puzzle platformer, I could see why one would be disappointed. The game isn't one. It's a cinematic platformer. The puzzles are more means of world-building and such than being brain-twisting challenges.

Personally, the fact the game constantly moves to new ideas rather than sticking around and reiterating/building upon a mechanic is one of its great strengths.

I wasn't really expecting a brain-twisting challenge, except maybe from the optional bits which I figured would be quite complex, but I was expecting to be more engaged with the game. The overwhelming majority of the puzzles take a few seconds to figure out what needs to be done and in some cases (like the dog/fence puzzle Lo_Fi mentions) are just the same action, a few times, that are just you running back and forth a few times.

Maybe it just comes down to the fact that the ending section didn't grab me in the least. I'm usually not annoyed by lengthly narrative/atmosphere building in games but Inside had the mix all wrong for me. Totally different game etc etc but a lot of people disliked the huge gaps between action in the Uncharted 4 but I was totally invested in it and I was happy to have those lulls.
 

CloudWolf

Member
Some folks were talking earlier about the children scattered throughout the game -- there's a row of them seated in the final "trap" area almost like they're on a field trip (all in a row, cross-legged). Brightened for clarity:

Goddamn. So yeah, the blob is definitely being played in the end (and probably the entire game). It's all part of the plan. Though I do have to wonder why they try to kill you in the beginning of the game; maybe they're testing if the blob can adapt to threats?
 
My three posts chronicling my observations during my second playthrough. A lot of screenshots
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=209439615&postcount=473
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=209443215&postcount=476
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=209531535&postcount=546

Some folks were talking earlier about the children scattered throughout the game -- there's a row of them seated in the final "trap" area almost like they're on a field trip (all in a row, cross-legged). Brightened for clarity:
Am I seeing things or is one of the kids wearing a red shirt? Maybe our kid is the most recent in a long line of kids who they have tested and trained to assimilate with the blob
 
I thought I saw kids there. Couldn't make it out properly though. Very creepy

Also people totally were expecting you. And they weren't oblivious to the boy either. When you're standing next to the window with the others, the two guys next to you look down at you and then look at eachother before turning back to the window. As you're pulling the cart, one of them does a little glance back at you before looking at the window again

I don't think the escape was expected, but the testing and ending was. Just another iteration in a research experiment.

I'm really split on this right now. On one hand it seems almost impossible to claim the escape wasn't expected given the mock-up of the final scene. Also as others have pointed out stuff like the button you hit with the long plank seem specifically set up as tasks for the blob to complete.

On the other hand, why would the scientists include the destruction of their office in the plan? Maybe they planned the puzzles as tasks for the blob to go through but didn't anticipate the destruction? But in that case it's kind of goofy that you just so happen to run into the puzzles while you're blowing through walls and falling through floors.
 

Diancecht

Member
Finished it just now.

Didn't like it one bit. Game never clicked for me. The whole thing feels like a cheap Cinema school script. Tons of symbolism going on but none of them are explained. You can't just dump vague shit and not explain any of them. What the fuck is up with the Ring girl? The fuck is up with the blob? Why are all these things happening? So many unanswered questions. Of course I am not saying that there should be a fucking text at the end of the game that explains all this but fuck dude, give me something.

I have never liked Limbo as well, I think this kind of stories make me feel like the developers think they are so edgy, cool and they have the greatest thought invoking hot shit on their hands. When I saw the "twist" and the end of the game I burst in to laughter to be honest.

Maybe I am just really fatigued after studying cinema and working in the industry and seeing these edgy script writers and storytellers come up with these kind of "cool" stories.

But I do give them full fucking credit on the art, sound and graphics departments. Perfect on those notes.
 

CloudWolf

Member
Also people totally were expecting you. And they weren't oblivious to the boy either. When you're standing next to the window with the others, the two guys next to you look down at you and then look at eachother before turning back to the window. As you're pulling the cart, one of them does a little glance back at you before looking at the window again

One of the things I noticed was at that one puzzle where you're looking at the boy from inside a test chamber (and the sound muffles), I think it was right after you see one of the "farmers" and a kid take away a box of drones. Anyway, I noticed that in the background you can make out scientists who are seemingly observing you while doing that puzzle. I shrugged it off as probably not that important, but in the light of the ending and the multiple theories going around, I think it's worth mentioning.
 
I actually disliked the ending to start with, but here I am a few hours later and I'm still contemplating the whole thing and feeling equally unsure and uplifted by it. That's the sign of something special.

Totally agree, finished the game on Thursday and I'm still sitting here thinking about it. Whenever a book/movie/game sticks with me like this and has me analyzing this much I know it is special. I feel like if you are observant enough that you will find some answers and that there is still so much open to interpretation. This level of story telling is not easy to achieve but Playdead hit it out of the park.
 
Just finished (both the "akira" ending and the "disconnect" ending). Great game !
Really enjoyed it.
Came here to see what was the general interpretation of the game as I have mine but it is still unclear...

In a nutshell, more than trying to explain what is going on exactly and if there really is a story (which, doesn't matter that much to me, it's always less important that the message that is being conveyed).... I think that Inside is just telling us to go outside.
Outside, in the open, but also, outside of a system...

I see the progression of the game as a collection of sets that, more or less, are a take on our world : a corrupted nature (pigs "that didn't make it to the market") and then you go deeper into a more technological environment where you encounter mind controlled workers and surveillance devices and you have to blend in with those workers... and then you have those human experiments (trying to produce better "workers" ? Playing "gods" ?).. and the world is literally upside down with water on the ceiling... etc...

It seems the message is : break free from all of this. That in the end, the only thing that we need is simplicity (it ends where it started, in the woods, in nature, with the sun which could be interpreted as a ray of hope, or, simply life)
The second ending is, well, if the first ending didn't convince you to go outside and you wanted to continue playing and did find every secret then : disconnect !
It's just the same message as the first ending but more abrupt...

Anyways, sorry for the rushed/confused impressions/interpretation but it is late here and I'm tired.
 

MOG728

Member
Read a theory that the boy is a representation of you playing the game. You are dropped into the world and told to move to the right. As you progress through the game you start doing more and more vile acts to keep the progression moving. You don't care what you are doing (killing, etc.) but you just need to keep moving to the right. Eventually it progresses to the point where you become the "monster" and are just trucking through the world. The elegance of the puzzles and moving as the boy are tossed aside as we become the monster just mowing through the level to reach the end of the game. We are consumed with reaching the end of the game. And the main ending is supposed to be the reflection of you taking a breath and reflect on everything that occurred. To come back down. The "orb" ending is supposed to represent you unplugging from the game world. Unplugging from the "computers."

Obviously no theory is going to be 100% correct but I do like the meta idea of it all.
 
Some folks were talking earlier about the children scattered throughout the game -- there's a row of them seated in the final "trap" area almost like they're on a field trip (all in a row, cross-legged). Brightened for clarity:


Thanks for the picture. What is kind of terrifying now is that there are 13 kids... And there are 13 metal orbs too. Do you think it is just a coincidence?
 
First off, I enjoyed the game. I think it looks great and the atmosphere is great and all, but why are you all trying to figure out the meaning after:


He isn't interested in telling a story. He wants to bamboozle us. "Fewer clues, more obfuscation!"
Fuck that.
Why not try to tell a good story? Isn't that the point of writing?
So whenever I felt there was something of interest in INSIDE, rather than trying to figure out what it means, just imagine he is chuckling over some obscure piece of bullshit he put in just to confuse you.

I am pretty sure the process went like this:
"How shall we end it?"
"Just have it at the beach there!"
"Why?"
"It'll keep them guessing!"
"But why? What does it mean?"
"Nothing, but it'll keep them guessing haha"

Life's too short for that shit.

Good luck with your theories but even the creator himself isn't interested in giving you a coherent story, so why even try?
 
This and Stardew Valley, the two games that are head and shoulders above every AAA full price game for me this year.

They collectively cost €30. And they are two of the best I've ever played. That's quite a deal.
 

dLMN8R

Member
First off, I enjoyed the game. I think it looks great and the atmosphere is great and all, but why are you all trying to figure out the meaning after:



He isn't interested in telling a story. He wants to bamboozle us. "Fewer clues, more obfuscation!"
Fuck that.
Why not try to tell a good story? Isn't that the point of writing?
So whenever I felt there was something of interest in INSIDE, rather than trying to figure out what it means, just imagine he is chuckling over some obscure piece of bullshit he put in just to confuse you.

I am pretty sure the process went like this:
"How shall we end it?"
"Just have it at the beach there!"
"Why?"
"It'll keep them guessing!"
"But why? What does it mean?"
"Nothing, but it'll keep them guessing haha"

Life's too short for that shit.

Good luck with your theories but even the creator himself isn't interested in giving you a coherent story, so why even try?

I mean, it wasn't difficult for me to piece together the basic elements of the story. I love the way it was told and am having fun with others in this thread speculating on the rest.
 
I mean, it wasn't difficult for me to piece together the basic elements of the story. I love the way it was told and am having fun with others in this thread speculating on the rest.

Fair enough. Just know that if there is an underlying theme the creator actively doesn't want yo to find it.
 
I still have a lot to think about this but here are a few thoughts I have:

-I think the title "Inside" is quite literal in this case. Here is the description on Steam: "Hunted and alone, a boy finds himself drawn into the center of a dark project". He is literally drawn inside the project.

-The people hunting him down in the beginning are the one's opposed to the project and somehow captured him. He escaped and is trying to get back.

-There is a strong water theme in this game. I feel like the world could be flooding(possiby something to do with the shockwaves) and the project is maybe trying to create people adapted to water. That one is mostly wild speculation, but it was a neat thought.

So many questions. I don't really understand the water on the ceiling, what's causing the shockwaves, or even the reason for making the giant blob monster. I understand the developer likes to be deliberately obtuse but it is fun to speculate and uncover the small details that hint at things.
 
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