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[Stiler]

To me the thing is all about control. Throughout the game we see the boy mind controlling the "husk" people when he needs to use them to get where he needs to go.

Then the first ending we see the "blob" as being the one who was in control of the boy all along and driving him to come and set it free.

The secret ending however shows the deeper ending, about the control being not of the blob, but of you, the player.

By unplugging it at the end and the game ending you lose control over him and thus he is free, to what end? You don't know, because you aren't in control anymore.

I loved the game, just as much as limbo if not more.

 

[McFadge]

One tiny problem with the boy is being controlled ending, which could be excused, is when we come across the instance of controlling someone who then controls someone else. At this part of the game, when it comes time to disconnect, the whole chain gets disconnected. You command the guy to disconnect, but it also causes you to disconnect. If the boy was being controlled, wouldn't the person controlling the boy be disconnected too whenever we exit the helmet?

Now, this could be excused by saying that the main controller is sitting down, or that the helmet isn't on their head, or that its such a minor detail that it wasn't considered for the deeper plot. It was just something I thought of which I hadn't seen discussed anywhere else and I thought I'd bring it up.

 

[Stiler]

One tiny problem with the boy is being controlled ending, which could be excused, is when we come across the instance of controlling someone who then controls someone else. At this part of the game, when it comes time to disconnect, the whole chain gets disconnected. You command the guy to disconnect, but it also causes you to disconnect. If the boy was being controlled, wouldn't the person controlling the boy be disconnected too whenever we exit the helmet?

Now, this could be excused by saying that the main controller is sitting down, or that the helmet isn't on their head, or that its such a minor detail that it wasn't considered for the deeper plot. It was just something I thought of which I hadn't seen discussed anywhere else and I thought I'd bring it up.

To me I think the idea of control isn't simply limited to the helmets per se.

As you see throughout the game, early on how the little chickens follow you around the farm area. How the fish in the water follow you around as you swim. Then how the human husks follow you, first via the helmet, but then near the end they follow you out of sheer will with no helmet on your head at all.

There are many forms of "control," like the pig with that "worm" thing.

Perhaps the entire point of the game wasn't that WE, as the player were in "control" but rather the game itself was, it guided us to play it and complete it, we followed the directions because we, just like the scientist and all of the background npc's, were compelled to see what the boy/blob would do.

 

[blame space]

you guys ever think about, like.. are we playing with the game, or is the game playing with us?

 

[IronRinn]

Don't know if anyone mentioned this but I'm playing through it now for the alternate ending and I just noticed that in the room with the clock near the end that overlooks the giant room, the clock shows the same time as my system. Not a huge revelation but just a random little detail.

 

[UraMallas]

blamespace on that good kush and alcohol.

 

[JuxJuxJux]

I went back and played a few scenes over again, and during one particular level, I was surprised to see this:

Link.

I didn't see anything else like this in the game, and was wondering if anyone else had. Could the facilities you're running through be failed attempts at creating a LIMB-O that are flooded and left behind once the experiment has proven to be a misstep?

 

[IronRinn]

The people watching you when you get to the blob definitely seem to want you to meld with it (at least some of them). If you swim towards them the one guys shakes his head and points at the blob. I think some other people point at it, too.

Edit: Man, this shit is no less crazy a second time around.

 

[CitizenCope]

There's been some talk about it but not as much as I'd thought with that damn model of the final scene. I have no bright ideas but did these scientists not only work on mind control but reading peoples(the blobs) mind for the future?
They knew it would end up there but they just didn't know how?

 

[blame space]

I definitely think there are parallels to our own reactions to the game within the game.

 

[Cuban Legend]

you guys ever think about, like.. are we playing with the game, or is the game playing with us?

DUDE WOAH

 

[SirNinja]

I was kind of hoping the blob of people would break apart as it rolled at top speed down the forested mountainside, and that the boy would be returned to the exact spot where he started. (Maybe this time the boy would stumble upon something different after walking a few feet, and the game would cut to black at the point, like Limbo.) It was kinda weird that the blob just rolled down to the coast and that was it.

Of course, this is one of those games that's much more about the journey than the destination. And what a journey it was...

you guys ever think about, like.. are we playing with the game, or is the game playing with us?

Yes.

 

[Salty Catfish]

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

There's definitely a red shirt and it looks like they all might be wearing different brightly-colored shirts -- very interesting as I don't think any of the other humans in the game wear colored clothing (to contrast with the red of the protagonist).

Why do the chicks and fish flock towards the boy the same way the people do before he even gets the control power?

Someone suggested earlier that if he was an escaped test subject, he may have had some very weak mind control abilities.

 

[IronRinn]

Ok, alternate ending achieved.

Now I don't know what to fucking think about the story. Gonna have to ponder. Game is still fantastic. Got through with only two or three deaths (all due to impatience).

 

[NexusGamer]

I find myself torn between the game's literal and metaphorical themes

I was on-board with all the mind control stuff, it's very philosophical etc

But then the second half of the game completely changes things as it became a literal interpretation of fantastical events... you become aqua-man... you become a blob...

So to me it's a game of two halves and two conflicting messages. The references to modern society and how we're all drones goes out the window (literally) when you start controlling a monster for ~20 minutes.

So in the end I am not satisfied with either setting presented by the game

 

[ghibli99]

The message I get of the game is that we all need to look at our lives and determine if we are making our choices, or if we're being coerced/controlled into our choices. It is sometimes better to be dead and free like the blob (OUTSIDE) than controlled and minimized (INSIDE).

The blob represented people coming together to combine their strength to wield power over the elite, and break free from the shackles of control. But it came at the cost of its life.

I *really* like this interpretation of the game, and it brings together a lot of the random, scattered, conflicting thoughts and feelings I had after getting both endings. Thanks for putting into words what I could not.

 

[Salty Catfish]

Random thought on the alternate ending: if we assume that it's a meta commentary and that the computers represent us, the players, it would make sense that finding all achievements would result in a disconnection from our drone as at that point the game and the player's role are complete.

 

[exmachina64]

Not sure why people are reaching for both a literal and figurative story to latch onto. Not everything has to be a metaphor. That's the thing about visual storytelling. It's taking visual cues to piece together a bigger picture. But how many times have you seen someone say something like "well, Mad Max Road Fury was a great statement on Mexican workers fleeing the workplace!"

That's a brilliant interpretation though.

 

[KAOS]

Loved the game but didn't care for the original ending. Would've of wished to see the boy escape from inside the blob. To me the whole game was about the enslavement of humans through mind control at an experiment facility. There's clearly a have and have not society existing in the game. The blob is a culmination of human resistance to the experiment.

When it breaks free it breaks free from... Inside the facility!

 

[ekim]

So right before you become the blob you can climb up a ladder and go to a set piece with grass to the right of the blob tank. Can you do anything there? Is there a second ending? Just finished it.

 

[PREC0GNITIVE]

I just finished this... I am going to need a little while to digest it but my god what a masterpiece.

On a side note I think if I can get a smooth no-deaths run, animation-wise you wouldn't be able to tell this wasn't just some kind of animated film.
Also atmospherically it is top-to-bottom gorgeous in its melancholy.

 

[Zvonimir Boban]

So right before you become the blob you can climb up a ladder and go to a set piece with grass to the right of the blob tank. Can you do anything there? Is there a second ending? Just finished it.

Yeah, first you need to disconnect all of the hidden glowing sphere things.

The next part is something I'd never have worked out without looking it up but I won't spoil anything.

 

[demonic790]

There is definitely a definitive story in the game. I love all of the theories, but I find that Playdead has given its community just enough to ascertain at least a bit of a concrete conclusion.

I believe this entire journey to be a test. It is entirely pointless to feel as though you are a saviour or rescue boy. Each action taken is already overseen by the facility. They wish for the boy to arrive at his destination. Any conflicts he faces on the way are strictly there to help him adapt to and fight against in his environment. It's all a test for the boy to ultimately reach his experiment conclusion.
He needs to be intelligent in order to maneuver the blob. That is why he is consistently facing trials.

My primary reason for believing this to be true lies in the glass dome you land in when falling through the facility as the blob. Many community members have already brought this sequence up. After all, it is quite strange that there is a sculpture in the facility which resembles the exact scenery found in the last scene. It is also curious that there is a light shining on the very same spot in which the blob finishes his roll down the hill and onto the shoreline.

Something, however, that I have not seen yet is the discussion of scale. We understand how large the blob is. Quite tall, though not entirely hulking. When rolling down the hill, he appears just as if not as tall as the tress which engulf him. This is where I think things get interesting. I don't truly believe the blob ever escaped the facility. I don't believe he was set free, nor do I believe that the facility was afraid of the beast when it broke from its "imprisonment". It was all a test. An intelligence test. And the blob, with the help of the player (who I believe to be a "member" of the facility), completed it successfully. There was never any freedom. The entire plot was a facade. A fake impression meant to make players believe they succeeded in freeing the beast, when in fact they simply moved their subject to another larger and more spacious prison cell for testing. It's not outside. You're still inside. Locked.

 

[oti]

you guys ever think about, like.. are we playing with the game, or is the game playing with us?

 

[Roussow]

Considering the clues indicating that the entire blob escape was a setup, Given the possible deaths of many workers, and the definite death of the company president (I've heard you can let him live, but if you kill him it's the most overt death in the game that isn't from the player character) -- do we think those death(s) were by design? Was the setup so elaborate that every person in the facility was also being mind controlled off-site in an advanced capacity -- In the same way our character was drawn (or driven directly) to the facility. How far did the ruse go?

 

[Salty Catfish]

I went back and played a few scenes over again, and during one particular level, I was surprised to see this:

Link.

I didn't see anything else like this in the game, and was wondering if anyone else had. Could the facilities you're running through be failed attempts at creating a LIMB-O that are flooded and left behind once the experiment has proven to be a misstep?

This is exactly what I think as there is also an underwater area you pass that looks almost exactly like the area immediately outside of the blob's containment tank (the examination rooms that look right out of a hospital). They may have been flooded as a failsafe to kill or contain out of control research subjects, possibly including the underwater girls as well.

 

[Lan Dong Mik]

My God!!! Wow. Just beat it. The last 20-30 minutes of this game was one of the most insane gameplay sequences I have ever been through. I am completely blown away. The animation of that blob while it's just wrecking havoc on the facility was mindblowing. It felt like with the workers of the facility helping you at the end had me so confused. Reading the flooding theories in this thread though, I would have to agree, it's all for a greater purpose.

 

[SMG]

Random thought on the alternate ending: if we assume that it's a meta commentary and that the computers represent us, the players, it would make sense that finding all achievements would result in a disconnection from our drone as at that point the game and the player's role are complete.

I haven't read much online discussion and only found out about the alternate ending while peeking my head in for the first time so maybe my thoughts are way off base but;

The experiential nature of the storytelling is a clever way of only letting the player draw conclusions based on the preservative of the boy. He is running, is panicked and being chased. We assume that for those reasons and the normal video game narrative structure that we are/the boy is the good force in the world.
Time after time groups are shown to be victimized on an industrial scale, pig carcass piled high being the first.
This draws our sympathy and strengthens are feelings that those we are outrunning are ruthless and cruel, But then not long after we have to use chicks as ammo to get a hay bale off of a beam.
Keep in mind that the alternative end means you never do this.
Throughout the game we instinctively hate the opposing force while ourselves exploiting those weaker than us to solve puzzles.
So the alternative ending is the only way to be true to that feeling of indignation about what is happening to the innocents.


You could say Inside is what Abe’s Oddysee would be if you couldn’t save the mudokons but were required to sacrifice them.

 

[Creamium]

I haven't read every post in the thread, but are there any theories as to the blob's origin? Is it just a bunch of slaves they experimented on, or is it a mass of runaways like the kid?

 

[CloudWolf]

I haven't read every post in the thread, but are there any theories as to the blob's origin? Is it just a bunch of slaves they experimented on, or is it a mass of runaways like the kid?

It was probably created by the scientists. The kid is clearly being controlled by the blob and the secret ending implies that the blob itself is controlled by a computer.

 

[SMG]

It was probably created by the scientists. The kid is clearly being controlled by the blob and the secret ending implies that the blob itself is controlled by a computer.

Never though of it like that. So the boy doesn't take over the blob, the boy just became part of the blob.
When it comes to themes of control and exploiting power the blob makes sense since its when the player can kill and most will do gleefully. But as far as the story goes its harder to suss out.

The experiments else were point to parasites that need to be in water to live, and we see the human husks chained up with those things in them close to the blob. Maybe the parasite wants a giant mass of human as a placid immobile food source and things went wrong?

 

[Fudo Myo]

I just finished this game and HOLY FUCK this is now one of my favorite games of ALL TIME. I. LOVED. IT. Every damn second. It’s perfect. I’m a huge fan of creepy horror – this game feels like David Cronenberg made it.

Some AMAZING moments:
- When the chicks are following you – something so sad about that scene
- When you first pull that worm/slug/parasite out of the pig. First real WTF? moment
- When you first put on the mind control helmet. I thought I was just jumping on a hanging light to climb up. Then WHAT. THE. FUCK!?!
- When you get the submarine. “You mean I get a submarine!?”
- When that swimming boy thing cracks open your submarine. Soooo good.
- When you get the ability to breath under water. I went from “goddammit” to WHAAAAAA!?
- And obviously, when you join the protoplasmic mass – and then get to CONTROL it!
- When, as the proto-blob, you fall on the scientist in an explosion of red, I was literally screaming YES! YES! YES! And then when you drag the wooden beam through it, I was like, “It better make a track through the blood or I’m gonna be pissed” – and it did. More FUCK YEEES!

I fucking LOVE this game and I will praise it to the skies and demand that everyone play it. SOOOOO FUCKING GOOD!

I gotta replay it and get more orbs – I only got, like, six.

I haven't read this thread; I'm going to go back and it read it now before I play some more, so sorry if I'm gushing where others have already gushed.

 

[Gabe3208]

Great gameplay, great atmosphere that sucks you deeper and deeper into wanting to find out WTF is it all about.

With that being said, I wish these kinds of games would get a genre of their own so that I could decided whether to invest in or not. While I loved the gameplay, and the attention to detail they have to many many parts in the game, I am NOT a fan of "you can decide/theorize what the overall story/ending is about." I hate it in movies, and I especially fucking hate it in games.

I would've liked if Steam would've shown this as the tags for this game:

Adventure, Indie, Atmospheric, Dark, Puzzle, Singleplayer, Platformer, Puzzle-Platformer,Action Horror, Psychological Horror, Stealth, 2.5D, Story Rich, Dystopian, Mystery, Great Soundtrack, Short, Sci-fi, No true ending as you make of it what you want

Then I would've probably resorted to just watching a "Let's play" of it, I'm just not into the whole "make of it what you will" with stories.

I say a 9/10 for great theme and gameplay though.

 

[Final Verdict]

Great game!

Thing that stuck out to me the most was how seamless and minimalist it was in it's design.

You only used like two buttons and one joystick through the whole game and yet they were able to create so much gameplay.

There weren't any jarring cutscenes to deal with, just a few scripted bits that flowed perfectly out of and then back into gameplay.

And no cluttered UI

I think that some of the action sequences with the dogs,fish boy, and eventually the blob were my favorite parts.

Still not sure what to think about the message, but there are a lot of cool ideas in this thread!

 

[Stoze]

Great gameplay, great atmosphere that sucks you deeper and deeper into wanting to find out WTF is it all about.

With that being said, I wish these kinds of games would get a genre of their own so that I could decided whether to invest in or not. While I loved the gameplay, and the attention to detail they have to many many parts in the game, I am NOT a fan of "you can decide/theorize what the overall story/ending is about." I hate it in movies, and I especially fucking hate it in games.

I would've liked if Steam would've shown this as the tags for this game:

Adventure, Indie, Atmospheric, Dark, Puzzle, Singleplayer, Platformer, Puzzle-Platformer,Action Horror, Psychological Horror, Stealth, 2.5D, Story Rich, Dystopian, Mystery, Great Soundtrack, Short, Sci-fi, No true ending as you make of it what you want

Then I would've probably resorted to just watching a "Let's play" of it, I'm just not into the whole "make of it what you will" with stories.

I say a 9/10 for great theme and gameplay though.

I definitely get where you're coming from, but I think if you look at the developer and their previous work or read some early impressions, you could definitely get a sense that's what this game was going to be.

Typically though I find it hard to believe that people would get half-way through a game like this and still expect a concrete, cathartic ending. Same goes with games like The Witness or Hyper Light Drifter, coincidentally both of which came out this year (and both of which I adored). It's hard to explain why exactly that is, but INSIDE relentlessly uses "show, don't tell" in an abstract fashion from the get go and communicates that it's not going with a traditional narrative structure. You shouldn't expect that ending to go against that.

...In complete contradiction with all of this though, I do think if you read impressions of people's excitement about the ending and perhaps haven't played LIMBO, you could interpret that as meaning it would have an expository or big story twist at end in the regular sense. Any prior expectations of a game like this can totally change the way you percieve and view it. Case in point, by reading or not reading the sentence long description on Steam or Xbox for both LIMBO and INSIDE, you can get a totally different interpretation of the game. It's certainly a tricky thing in that regard, and all in all I can understand why people don't like stories presented in this fashion because of how much expectations come into play. Personally though I'm glad we are seemingly getting more of these kinds of games.

 

[rmafort]

Does the blob melt at the end? I thought so, and waited to it melt until it becomes the boy again haha.

 

[Salty Catfish]

Does the blob melt at the end? I thought so, and waited to it melt until it becomes the boy again haha.

I don't think it melted but I do think it diminished in size somewhat as it took blows from falls and various pieces started to fall off. Though as it was rolling down that hill, I was also expecting it to shrink until only the boy remained.

 

[draughn101]

Just to drop in another impression as my mind tries to come to grips with that story...

This is one of the best games I have ever played.

Graphics are unbelievable
Story is completely engrossing
It's equal parts fun/exciting/scary/thrilling in the most natural and organic way
The puzzles are great and never feel like a chore
The seamless nature of the game amazing
Animations are lifelike

Im making my wife play it now, or I'd be doing my second play through immediately.

 

[byropoint]

Sound design, art direction and animation are incredible in this game, so is the story, in fact the whole game is amazingly good, absolutely loved it. Bravo Playdead!

edit: don't have a lot of to say about the story itself yet as I've just finished the game and I'm still processing everything that happened, just wanted to share how much I loved the game.

 

[robotrock]

Just finished (both the "akira" ending and the "disconnect" ending). Great game !

Why didn't I realize this

 

[Draft]

Most alarming sound cue of 2016 must be that mermaid getting closer and closer. Very stressful. Overall I feel like the worst part of INSIDE is the water sections go on for a bit too long, and even that's not a huge knock. I was done being chased through the water maybe half an hour before being upgraded into an aquatic boy, and then another 30 minutes of swimming. More relaxed swimming, but still.

 

[Superflat]

Why didn't I realize this

That was the first thing I thought of lol

AKIIRAAA

TETSUOOOO

 

[blame space]

is there anything past the second turbine blade??

 

[x Dredgen Yor x]

So right before you become the blob you can climb up a ladder and go to a set piece with grass to the right of the blob tank. Can you do anything there? Is there a second ending? Just finished it.

What's this? Any photos/videos?these feels like a secret?

 

[draughn101]

is there anything past the second turbine blade??

Good Q. I didn't check...

 

[Salty Catfish]

is there anything past the second turbine blade??

Nope - I checked and it's a dead end and you get sucked back into the turbine for your troubles.

 

[blame space]

damn that's cold

 

[petethepanda]

I sincerely hope I wasn't the only one picturing one of the Akira-monster voices yelling "Kobe!" as you throw the flaming box up over the sprinklers.

This was awesome. Jumping back in to see what I missed. I only got six of the... thingies, I didn't realize I had missed so many (based on the number of achievements at least).

 

[Skel1ingt0n]

Just finished it. Played it in two sittings. About 3 hours on Friday, and an hour today. Used a Polygon guide for two of the puzzles (one toward the beginning, and one in the middle).

Never really cared for Limbo. Got about 2hrs into it on mobile, but it was just boring to me. I admit, probably played it in the absolute worst possible way. So, when the reviews for INSIDE hit a couple weeks back, I was impressed, and said "fuck it," and gave it a preorder on Steam.

First things first:

-I love the artstyle; just gorgeous throughout, and I love super sharp, clean lines
-In addition to the art, the lighting was also fantastic
-And of course, dat sound design. Best I've experienced in a 2D platformer
-Incredible atmosphere

-I can really appreciate a game with very simple controls - 2 buttons and a joystick
-Clean UI
-No nonsense: no cutscenes, no filler, no exposition, no pacing issues

-Some very intense moments/enemies, specifically the fucking DOGS, man... and the mermaid things


Not so liked:

-Puzzles were decent. Many were easy to figure out once you understood what was happening, but difficult to get to that point. Hard to describe, but this game was unique in that I didn't have trouble with the puzzle; I had trouble determining what the end-goal was. And none of them really flowed together. I didn't feel like they grew bigger or more intensive... just different. I never felt I was taking what I learned earlier and using it in a different way, except for the launching boxes.

-Some of the platforming was a little off. I don't know - whether it was timing a jump, or having the groups of mindfreaks launch you, I never felt like I was in complete control of the boy... I sometimes had to fight to get the character to do what I intended


... but mostly, I'm disappointed by the complete lack of conclusion. I very much like open-ended stories. I love the idea of piecing together the repercussions of the story as a community. But this gave me what felt like nothing at all. I've read some guesses in here - and that's the thing, if we're being honest, any single one of them could be 100% wrong. I know I'm in the minority in this thread - but I was really amped in that last 45 minutes... but nothing came. I couldn't wait to figure out the big twist. And if not a twist, and least why I'm here. Why I'm hunted. What the tests are for. Where the rest of the world is. Why there's mind control. Where the facility is. Who built or is running the facility. Whether I escape. What I become. Etc, etc. I know many say I should have expected no clean conclusion... and to be honest, I didn't. I figured it would be slightly interpretive. But I figured I'd get some answers. Disappointed that I didn't, and that dings it hard for me.



Overall, I'll be generous and give it a 7/10. I loved just about everything... except the actual gameplay and, well, playing it.

Wasn't a game for me. But not every game can be. I can definitely see some real talent from Playdead - no doubt. Their art design in this space is very, very special. But I don't think I'll touch INSIDE again, nor do I think it would come anywhere near my Top Games of 2016 list.

Glad you're all enjoying it, though! I'll definitely be perusing more impressions and theories as they come.

 

[demonic790]

Anyone else notice the silhouette of a creature during the rebirth section? Once you hit the bottom of the water, there is an odd looking and still slightly mobile creature just in front of the camera. One of those mind control machines still connects to it. It looks to resemble the same blob you control at the end, only that it is unfinished. Perhaps disregarded as a failed experiment and left at the bottom of the old facility with the other tried experiments? I think they've tried to create the blob many times. This is one of those failed attempts.