8/10
Inside (SW)
Inside had been sitting near the top of my indie backlog for a long time. So when I finally got a Nintendo Switch, it felt like the perfect time to dive in handheld, headphones on, lights off.
From the very first moment, the atmosphere just grabs you. It’s dark, creepy, and quiet in a way that makes your skin crawl but in the best way possible. It doesn’t scream horror, but it constantly makes you uneasy. There’s this lingering tension that never really goes away, and that’s exactly what makes it so memorable.
Despite all the bleakness, the animations are surprisingly charming. Every little movement your character makes is smooth and full of personality, which makes the world feel even more alive… or maybe dead inside, but alive in a weird way.
The puzzles themselves? Simple, but fun. They don’t try to outsmart you, but they do make you feel clever. It’s more about the flow than the challenge, and that works really well here. You’re never stuck for long, and the game keeps its pace tight and focused.
Its story doesn’t explain itself and that’s kind of its deal. There’s no dialogue, no text, no backstory laid out for you. You just exist in this world, and things get progressively weirder, darker, and more disturbing. It’s clearly designed to make you feel uneasy, to keep you guessing, and to leave you asking, “Wait… what just happened?” The story doesn’t hand you answers, and honestly, I think that’s intentional. It wants you to sit with the discomfort and come to your own interpretation.
Sum up, Inside is short, weird, beautiful, and genuinely unsettling. It ends before it ever feels too long, and playing it on a handheld device somehow made the experience even more personal for me. It’s definitely one of those indie titles that sticks with you long after the credits roll. If it’s been sitting in your backlog for a while like mine, I definitely recommend giving it a shot.
"8/10"