I finished this one in a single. Which is an indication of both its length (around 4 hours) but also how gripping its story and presentation is.
Good puzzles, great music, fantastic visuals, and a deep and somewhat disturbing and touching story.
Good puzzles, great music, fantastic visuals, and a deep and somewhat disturbing and touching story.
This game provides an astonishing atmosphere and really hits your emotions.
Sadly, the performance on my Nintendo Switch was underwhelming and I had to deal with several performance issues and lags.
I would give 3 ½ stars, but the game looks too good to give it less than 4 stars.
Sadly, the performance on my Nintendo Switch was underwhelming and I had to deal with several performance issues and lags.
I would give 3 ½ stars, but the game looks too good to give it less than 4 stars.
This review contains spoilers
Inmost was not the game I was expecting it to be when I went into it, but that is not at all a bad thing. Based on the trailer I saw for the game going into it I expected another indie horror game with a pixel artstyle, what I got instead was a bleak, gripping story about recovering from loss and how events can be seen by different people involved in the process of it and how that evolves. This review is going to primarily talking about the story of this game, since it's the main part of the game that resonated with me, so if you have any interest in this game I would suggest you stop reading here and go play it instead since in my opinion this is a game you should experience the story of first hand. I would also like to mention that there is talk of pretty heavy themes within the game's story, and this review, so if you aren't in the best mindset it might be best to sit this one out. However before we get into talking about the story, I do want to go over the gameplay really quickly just because the context of it is needed to talk about the story.
The game has you constantly switching between three main characters, Elizabeth, Adam, and the Knight. Each character has a different gameplay style and it ties directly into the kind of story each character tells in your time as them. As Elizabeth you explore your house as you try to avoid your adopted parents. As such stuck to actions that only a child could really do such as climbing things and pulling them around to be able to climb up higher and reah new areas. Meanwhile Adam, an adult exploring a crumbling world, has his gameplay be more of a puzzle platformer where you have to avoid enemies and find ways to defeat them without directly fighting them while also trying to find a way to move ahead in the areas you've exploring. Finally, there's the Knight who is a nigh unstoppable walking weapon who just mercilessly cuts down as many enemies in front of him as he can on his quest to gather pain from other living beings to bring it to a mysterious being known as the keeper. Despite how different all of these sound both in terms of gameplay and storywise, they all do fit together well and work off each other in interesting ways.
That being said, the gameplay is never the most engaging. It all works well enough but it's not particularly good I feel on its own. The platforming for Adam is fine and is the most gameplay there is, Eliza's is almost a point and click adventure, and the Knight's is just mashing the attack button and using it to grapple to different platforms to get to more combat. The Knight's combat was definitely the least fun in my opinion but at the end of the day all three of the gameplay styles are serviceable, just not anything to really write home about.
From here I want to talk about each character's individual story before talking about how they all tie together to kind of try and emulate the way the game tells the stories, I'll be starting with Elizabeth's and then going down the list in the order I talked about them previously from here.
The story for Elizabeth's part of the game follows her as she adapts to her new home with her adopted parents. At first everything seems normal and she is just trying to play but her new mom seems to not even be able to look at her, which then turns into outright contempt and anger once Elizabeth finds a stuffed bunny toy hidden in the garage. Elizabeth turns this stuffed toy into an imaginary friend that she talks to and uses to think things through, which leads to Elizabeth spiraling into anxiety as the rabbit convinces her that her new parents are not as they seem. After her new mom has a breakdown where she screams at Elizabeth and leaves she and her new dad disappear all together, leaving Elizabeth alone in the house. She is convinced by the rabbit that her new parents had been kidnapping kids and she goes on a quest throughout the house to find out the truth, which ends with her finding a basement full of old children's toys that she had never seen before; that in her mind confirms her theory.
Elizabeth's story is very interesting to me because its main focus on how being brought to a new home can create some a lot of fear and anxiety in a child who doesn't know why they're there; on top of how those feelings can be expanded by an authority figure that isn't exactly happy that she's there in the first place. Seeing the anxiety grow and consume her in real time is really well written and accurate to how anxiety functions in real life, at least in my experience. Especially the way her anxiety transitions halfway through her story from worrying about the prospects of her fears being right to worrying about if she gets caught once she finally decides to take action and find out for herself. Anxiety isn't something that really goes away on its own in real life unfortunately, and seeing how it plays out in game was surprising and also really cool in that it felt like a very accurate and honest portrayal of it. Finding the toys isn't the end of the story however, as when she tries to escape the house after that discovery Elizabeth comes face to face with Adam.
During his sections of the game Adam is revealed to be a father who lost multiple people close to him. On a few occasions throughout his story it is mentioned a few times that three lives being lost lead him to where he is now. This is later revealed to be Adam's son, his daughter in law, and his granddaughter. Adam's granddaughter is revealed to have been lost when she committed suicide after never ending bullying from school, which sent her parents into a spiral that resulted in their deaths; which we will talk about more later. Adam's section is ultimately more gameplay than story for most of its time on screen, but that is mostly due to what Adam's roll in the story represents.
Adam's story is not actually happening. He isn't actually traversing this broken, decaying land in search of something like it's portrayed from the beginning of the game, rather it's Adam trying to navigate his way mentally through this very complex emotional situation he's in because of what's happened to his family. The desolate world he navigates essentially represents his emotional state as he tries to navigate the sudden loss of his remaining family and how its making him feel. This is further shown by how about halfway through Adam's sections he starts to be guided by a fox made of light, which up to this point is the first thing he has seen that differs from either the real people or the dark monsters that inhabit this world that Adam has found himself in. The Fox represents Adam's hope and desperation for an answer. He is following it as he grasps for answers and has to keep it alive against creatures a few times in order to basically keep his hope alive. The Fox leads him to a fountain that in turn turns Adam into a being of light like the fox, and he finds a flower of light there with another person of light. This flower will be touched on more in the Knight's section, but it is important here as Adam's section ends with him still being a person made of light that has been left alone with the flower. This ending for Adam is him coming to terms with what happened and what he has to do going forward. To get into how that is however, I will first have to talk about the Knight's story.
The Knight is an interesting character as he feels very different from both of the others in how he's presented and played throughout the game. For his part of the story the Knight is hunting down those with pain, which is represented in game as little glowing balls of light, and killing them in order to take the light back to the Keeper, who is a giant mysterious monster that demands his soldiers, such as the Knight, gather all the pain so he can consume it. A thing the game tries to emphasis is that people like the Knights who hurt others and take their pain cannot grow their own light flower like the one that Adam had at the end of his campaign, and due to that the Knight kills two light people and steals their flower. He then proceeds to give the flower pain repeatedly like he has been to the Keeper but the flower does not grow or bloom, and the game makes sure to remind us that this flower will never truly belong to the knight. The knight's story caries on like this where he continues collecting pain for the keeper but is slowly becoming more and more of a monster as the story goes on, becoming like the beings that he is destroying for the pain. After a moment where the Knight decides he no longer wants to serve the Keeper and is badly wounded he returns to the flower and instead of trying to force the pain he has onto the flower, he accepts the flower's pain instead. This allows the flower to truly bloom and grow, moments before the Knight is attacked once again by the Keeper. This entire story feels weirdly disconnected at first from the rest of the game, until you realize that the Knight isn't real.
The story of the Knight in Inmost is made up. It's narrated entirely by who we later learn is Elizabeth and it is a story based in her perceptions of how she thought her adoptive father was. This is why the story is so much more fantasy oriented than both Elizabeth and Adam's stories as well as why the Knight is the only one who feels like they fit in these strange fantasy environments, because like the environments the Knight himself is a fantasy. Too fully analyze this, we need to talk about how all three stories are woven together in the ending.
As I mentioned earlier Elizabeth became convinced that she had been kidnapped by her new parents, and she was actually right. Kind of. Her adopted parents were Adam's son and his daughter in law. This is revealed immediately after Elizabeth found the toy basement, and with it we learn that Adam's son after losing his daughter to suicide was out one night when he happend to find an appartment building that was burning down. Hearing a baby crying he ran into the building to help and found the baby alone with it's parents dead in the room. Adam's son saved the baby from the building and raised it as his own daughter in order to replace the one he lost. The moral questions this raises aside, Adam's wife was not happy about this at all. So Adam's son tried working harder and harder in order to get money to try and appease both his wife and new daughter with gifts. This is where the story of the Knight comes in. Elizabeth sees her new father as the knight, going around and taking from others and destroying their lives. The flower that he takes represents the connection between the two people who made it, that resulted in Elizabeth after he lost his daughter, his own flower. Which is why the game hammered in the idea that it would never truly be the Knight's flower so hard, because he was trying to recreate something that he had lost and had taken it from someone else in order to do it.
The Knight being killed by the Keeper also mirrors what happens to Adam's son in real life, that being killed by his wife. The person who wanted his pain as atonement for not being able to save their daughter and adopting a new one after she was gone. The wife then kills herself after her husband is gone in order to be with her daughter again, leaving Elizabeth alone. Which is where Adam reenters the picture. Upon hearing what happened to his son and daughter in law he tries to race to their house, and in doing so this is where his events of the game take place. Him navigating the broken and confusing world as he rushes to their home to find out if what he was told is true is where he tries to think through everything and creates the complex puzzles he has to work through during his sections of the game. Then, he meets Elizabeth.
When he gets there and sees Elizabeth for the first time is when he becomes the person made of light in his story. He is left alone with this flower that has been given to him, and he knows that he has to be the one to take care of it now that both the previous people with that flower are gone. Adam is accepting his responsibility and becoming the guardian of this flower that his son took because he wants to make things right. He is deciding to be there for her like he wasn't there for his son after his son lost their first daughter.
This game's story was a lot more impactful and just all around strong than I was expecting given what I thought the game was when I went into it, and I am thoroughly impressed with how they managed to tell this story. The fact that even the gameplay types each character has functions as a factor in how the stories are told feel incredibly well done, even if the gameplay at times isn't the most interesting. This game is truly something special in my opinion, and while it might not be the most engaging game gameplay wise, its something I recommend highly.
9/10
The game has you constantly switching between three main characters, Elizabeth, Adam, and the Knight. Each character has a different gameplay style and it ties directly into the kind of story each character tells in your time as them. As Elizabeth you explore your house as you try to avoid your adopted parents. As such stuck to actions that only a child could really do such as climbing things and pulling them around to be able to climb up higher and reah new areas. Meanwhile Adam, an adult exploring a crumbling world, has his gameplay be more of a puzzle platformer where you have to avoid enemies and find ways to defeat them without directly fighting them while also trying to find a way to move ahead in the areas you've exploring. Finally, there's the Knight who is a nigh unstoppable walking weapon who just mercilessly cuts down as many enemies in front of him as he can on his quest to gather pain from other living beings to bring it to a mysterious being known as the keeper. Despite how different all of these sound both in terms of gameplay and storywise, they all do fit together well and work off each other in interesting ways.
That being said, the gameplay is never the most engaging. It all works well enough but it's not particularly good I feel on its own. The platforming for Adam is fine and is the most gameplay there is, Eliza's is almost a point and click adventure, and the Knight's is just mashing the attack button and using it to grapple to different platforms to get to more combat. The Knight's combat was definitely the least fun in my opinion but at the end of the day all three of the gameplay styles are serviceable, just not anything to really write home about.
From here I want to talk about each character's individual story before talking about how they all tie together to kind of try and emulate the way the game tells the stories, I'll be starting with Elizabeth's and then going down the list in the order I talked about them previously from here.
The story for Elizabeth's part of the game follows her as she adapts to her new home with her adopted parents. At first everything seems normal and she is just trying to play but her new mom seems to not even be able to look at her, which then turns into outright contempt and anger once Elizabeth finds a stuffed bunny toy hidden in the garage. Elizabeth turns this stuffed toy into an imaginary friend that she talks to and uses to think things through, which leads to Elizabeth spiraling into anxiety as the rabbit convinces her that her new parents are not as they seem. After her new mom has a breakdown where she screams at Elizabeth and leaves she and her new dad disappear all together, leaving Elizabeth alone in the house. She is convinced by the rabbit that her new parents had been kidnapping kids and she goes on a quest throughout the house to find out the truth, which ends with her finding a basement full of old children's toys that she had never seen before; that in her mind confirms her theory.
Elizabeth's story is very interesting to me because its main focus on how being brought to a new home can create some a lot of fear and anxiety in a child who doesn't know why they're there; on top of how those feelings can be expanded by an authority figure that isn't exactly happy that she's there in the first place. Seeing the anxiety grow and consume her in real time is really well written and accurate to how anxiety functions in real life, at least in my experience. Especially the way her anxiety transitions halfway through her story from worrying about the prospects of her fears being right to worrying about if she gets caught once she finally decides to take action and find out for herself. Anxiety isn't something that really goes away on its own in real life unfortunately, and seeing how it plays out in game was surprising and also really cool in that it felt like a very accurate and honest portrayal of it. Finding the toys isn't the end of the story however, as when she tries to escape the house after that discovery Elizabeth comes face to face with Adam.
During his sections of the game Adam is revealed to be a father who lost multiple people close to him. On a few occasions throughout his story it is mentioned a few times that three lives being lost lead him to where he is now. This is later revealed to be Adam's son, his daughter in law, and his granddaughter. Adam's granddaughter is revealed to have been lost when she committed suicide after never ending bullying from school, which sent her parents into a spiral that resulted in their deaths; which we will talk about more later. Adam's section is ultimately more gameplay than story for most of its time on screen, but that is mostly due to what Adam's roll in the story represents.
Adam's story is not actually happening. He isn't actually traversing this broken, decaying land in search of something like it's portrayed from the beginning of the game, rather it's Adam trying to navigate his way mentally through this very complex emotional situation he's in because of what's happened to his family. The desolate world he navigates essentially represents his emotional state as he tries to navigate the sudden loss of his remaining family and how its making him feel. This is further shown by how about halfway through Adam's sections he starts to be guided by a fox made of light, which up to this point is the first thing he has seen that differs from either the real people or the dark monsters that inhabit this world that Adam has found himself in. The Fox represents Adam's hope and desperation for an answer. He is following it as he grasps for answers and has to keep it alive against creatures a few times in order to basically keep his hope alive. The Fox leads him to a fountain that in turn turns Adam into a being of light like the fox, and he finds a flower of light there with another person of light. This flower will be touched on more in the Knight's section, but it is important here as Adam's section ends with him still being a person made of light that has been left alone with the flower. This ending for Adam is him coming to terms with what happened and what he has to do going forward. To get into how that is however, I will first have to talk about the Knight's story.
The Knight is an interesting character as he feels very different from both of the others in how he's presented and played throughout the game. For his part of the story the Knight is hunting down those with pain, which is represented in game as little glowing balls of light, and killing them in order to take the light back to the Keeper, who is a giant mysterious monster that demands his soldiers, such as the Knight, gather all the pain so he can consume it. A thing the game tries to emphasis is that people like the Knights who hurt others and take their pain cannot grow their own light flower like the one that Adam had at the end of his campaign, and due to that the Knight kills two light people and steals their flower. He then proceeds to give the flower pain repeatedly like he has been to the Keeper but the flower does not grow or bloom, and the game makes sure to remind us that this flower will never truly belong to the knight. The knight's story caries on like this where he continues collecting pain for the keeper but is slowly becoming more and more of a monster as the story goes on, becoming like the beings that he is destroying for the pain. After a moment where the Knight decides he no longer wants to serve the Keeper and is badly wounded he returns to the flower and instead of trying to force the pain he has onto the flower, he accepts the flower's pain instead. This allows the flower to truly bloom and grow, moments before the Knight is attacked once again by the Keeper. This entire story feels weirdly disconnected at first from the rest of the game, until you realize that the Knight isn't real.
The story of the Knight in Inmost is made up. It's narrated entirely by who we later learn is Elizabeth and it is a story based in her perceptions of how she thought her adoptive father was. This is why the story is so much more fantasy oriented than both Elizabeth and Adam's stories as well as why the Knight is the only one who feels like they fit in these strange fantasy environments, because like the environments the Knight himself is a fantasy. Too fully analyze this, we need to talk about how all three stories are woven together in the ending.
As I mentioned earlier Elizabeth became convinced that she had been kidnapped by her new parents, and she was actually right. Kind of. Her adopted parents were Adam's son and his daughter in law. This is revealed immediately after Elizabeth found the toy basement, and with it we learn that Adam's son after losing his daughter to suicide was out one night when he happend to find an appartment building that was burning down. Hearing a baby crying he ran into the building to help and found the baby alone with it's parents dead in the room. Adam's son saved the baby from the building and raised it as his own daughter in order to replace the one he lost. The moral questions this raises aside, Adam's wife was not happy about this at all. So Adam's son tried working harder and harder in order to get money to try and appease both his wife and new daughter with gifts. This is where the story of the Knight comes in. Elizabeth sees her new father as the knight, going around and taking from others and destroying their lives. The flower that he takes represents the connection between the two people who made it, that resulted in Elizabeth after he lost his daughter, his own flower. Which is why the game hammered in the idea that it would never truly be the Knight's flower so hard, because he was trying to recreate something that he had lost and had taken it from someone else in order to do it.
The Knight being killed by the Keeper also mirrors what happens to Adam's son in real life, that being killed by his wife. The person who wanted his pain as atonement for not being able to save their daughter and adopting a new one after she was gone. The wife then kills herself after her husband is gone in order to be with her daughter again, leaving Elizabeth alone. Which is where Adam reenters the picture. Upon hearing what happened to his son and daughter in law he tries to race to their house, and in doing so this is where his events of the game take place. Him navigating the broken and confusing world as he rushes to their home to find out if what he was told is true is where he tries to think through everything and creates the complex puzzles he has to work through during his sections of the game. Then, he meets Elizabeth.
When he gets there and sees Elizabeth for the first time is when he becomes the person made of light in his story. He is left alone with this flower that has been given to him, and he knows that he has to be the one to take care of it now that both the previous people with that flower are gone. Adam is accepting his responsibility and becoming the guardian of this flower that his son took because he wants to make things right. He is deciding to be there for her like he wasn't there for his son after his son lost their first daughter.
This game's story was a lot more impactful and just all around strong than I was expecting given what I thought the game was when I went into it, and I am thoroughly impressed with how they managed to tell this story. The fact that even the gameplay types each character has functions as a factor in how the stories are told feel incredibly well done, even if the gameplay at times isn't the most interesting. This game is truly something special in my opinion, and while it might not be the most engaging game gameplay wise, its something I recommend highly.
9/10
This game was enjoyable, but seemed to try to add too many stories and components, making the story hard to follow and gameplay feeling incomplete.
I know pixelated 2D games have been done to death these days, but sometimes they really stand out. Inmost has detailed visuals, great animations, and an interesting and engaging horror theme and atmosphere that kept me sitting through until the end. While the story isn’t all that great, the message at the end of the game makes it all worthwhile.
You play as a few characters in this game. One is a middle-aged man, another is a knight, and the third is a little girl. You jump between the three as the story unfolds and each has a unique control scheme. The man can jump around and find objects to progress, the knight can engage in combat, and the little girl can’t jump, but must crawl her way around a house lifting objects to create steps and unlock the secret of this house. It keeps the game fresh and moving, but most of the game is played as the man.
The entire area is quite large that you explore and backtrack through. Climbing around the levels also requires dodging black matter that can attack you and there are even some intense chase scenes. You are solving puzzles, pulling levers, and switching, and like Metroid, you are also finding new objects to progress through the level. A crowbar, pulley, knife, pickaxe, and more are needed to progress along with the occasional key. The game was never too touch and I enjoyed how the game made me think a little bit. There is some clever level design here as I actually remembered where doors and entrances were as I progressed. By the end of this entire area, I actually memorized the entire thing and could backtrack anywhere with no issue or a map. That takes skill and I commend the developers for creating such a great map with memorable landmarks.
Playing as the knight, you can swing your sword and use a hook shot to get around, but you can’t jump. The enemies vary with numerous hits needed to defeat them, but overall these are easy areas. If you die you literally just respawn in the same spot so the game is very forgiving. As the little girl, you must walk around the house moving chairs, opening cupboards, and finding secret entrances in the house and I found it quite entertaining. Without giving too much of the story away there’s really not much here and it mostly makes zero sense. I know there’s something about a Soul Flower and the knight is trying to take them for himself and stealing other Soul Flowers is required to give to the Keeper which is a giant guardian type thing. It makes no sense honestly. Even at the final 15-minute cut scene I couldn’t really figure out what was going on, but without spoiling the very end the message is what counts the most and it was rather touching.
The visuals are great with lots of dark colors, great pixel art, smooth animations, and tons of atmosphere. The game is a treat to look at, and the music is amazing. There’s quite a bit of emotion in this game, and I just wish the story was a bit more comprehensive to make the whole package feel a little more complete. As it stands, Inmost is a great 2D platformer that takes around 4 hours to complete. It’s a small investment for a great ending and some fun and challenging puzzles and platforming. If you don’t like modern 2D pixel art games, this won’t change your mind, but for fans of Metroid and Castlevania, there’s not much to lose here.
You play as a few characters in this game. One is a middle-aged man, another is a knight, and the third is a little girl. You jump between the three as the story unfolds and each has a unique control scheme. The man can jump around and find objects to progress, the knight can engage in combat, and the little girl can’t jump, but must crawl her way around a house lifting objects to create steps and unlock the secret of this house. It keeps the game fresh and moving, but most of the game is played as the man.
The entire area is quite large that you explore and backtrack through. Climbing around the levels also requires dodging black matter that can attack you and there are even some intense chase scenes. You are solving puzzles, pulling levers, and switching, and like Metroid, you are also finding new objects to progress through the level. A crowbar, pulley, knife, pickaxe, and more are needed to progress along with the occasional key. The game was never too touch and I enjoyed how the game made me think a little bit. There is some clever level design here as I actually remembered where doors and entrances were as I progressed. By the end of this entire area, I actually memorized the entire thing and could backtrack anywhere with no issue or a map. That takes skill and I commend the developers for creating such a great map with memorable landmarks.
Playing as the knight, you can swing your sword and use a hook shot to get around, but you can’t jump. The enemies vary with numerous hits needed to defeat them, but overall these are easy areas. If you die you literally just respawn in the same spot so the game is very forgiving. As the little girl, you must walk around the house moving chairs, opening cupboards, and finding secret entrances in the house and I found it quite entertaining. Without giving too much of the story away there’s really not much here and it mostly makes zero sense. I know there’s something about a Soul Flower and the knight is trying to take them for himself and stealing other Soul Flowers is required to give to the Keeper which is a giant guardian type thing. It makes no sense honestly. Even at the final 15-minute cut scene I couldn’t really figure out what was going on, but without spoiling the very end the message is what counts the most and it was rather touching.
The visuals are great with lots of dark colors, great pixel art, smooth animations, and tons of atmosphere. The game is a treat to look at, and the music is amazing. There’s quite a bit of emotion in this game, and I just wish the story was a bit more comprehensive to make the whole package feel a little more complete. As it stands, Inmost is a great 2D platformer that takes around 4 hours to complete. It’s a small investment for a great ending and some fun and challenging puzzles and platforming. If you don’t like modern 2D pixel art games, this won’t change your mind, but for fans of Metroid and Castlevania, there’s not much to lose here.
Inmost did surprise me, as I’ve never experienced a disturbing and heavy weighing story in this format and it did really work well. Mainly because the sound design is superb (seriously, play this with good headphones on), but also because there is a lot of detail in the world building and animations. You play 3 different characters and all of them have a different skill-set, making the gameplay vary from a walking simulator, to a puzzler and also a bit of metroidvania. I don’t want to go into details about the story, because it builds up to a revelation by telling bits and pieces very subtly and drenched in symbolism, making it perfect to uncover it for yourself.
The game gives a trigger warning though, as the overall themes are emotionally taxing.
The game gives a trigger warning though, as the overall themes are emotionally taxing.
Vorab an alle Interessierten eine Content Warnung zu wirkich tiefgehenden Themen wie häusliche Gewalt, Suizid und etlich weiteres. Schaut lieber vorher mal bei doesthedogdie.com rein und passt auf euch auf.
Definitv spielenswert, habe mich aber noch nicht richtig sortiert, um mehr zu schreiben.
Darum nur für alle ebenso Verwirrten hier ein Video, das die Story nochmal auseinander dröselt und mir zumindest etwas mehr Klarheit verschafft hat:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nhlt2Mjd4vA
Definitv spielenswert, habe mich aber noch nicht richtig sortiert, um mehr zu schreiben.
Darum nur für alle ebenso Verwirrten hier ein Video, das die Story nochmal auseinander dröselt und mir zumindest etwas mehr Klarheit verschafft hat:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nhlt2Mjd4vA
Fantastic fantastic spritework, if you love sprite art this is an instant recommend. Gameplay's solid too, my only gripes being that death is tedious you'll always move a little too slow,the story has one bonkers aspect of it in the end, and the story and gameplay are pretty divorced outside the few peaks of story you get during gameplay, but the rest is solid.
While Cassandra Lee Morris is a good actress (she even portrayed Chihiro in the Persona 4 anime!) I unfortunately cannot take her seriously here due to this dreary sounding game narrated by Morgana but that's not really a fault of this game. Especially as you're being narrated to you play as Wavedash Knight just swooshing around. Guy doesn't even get a boss fight just mobs.
While Cassandra Lee Morris is a good actress (she even portrayed Chihiro in the Persona 4 anime!) I unfortunately cannot take her seriously here due to this dreary sounding game narrated by Morgana but that's not really a fault of this game. Especially as you're being narrated to you play as Wavedash Knight just swooshing around. Guy doesn't even get a boss fight just mobs.
I had no idea what this game would be or how it would play before going in which left me to surprised by all that if offers. The game has a very impressive atmosphere with the sound design, pixel art and soundtrack all work together to create a very melancholy but also calm setting. The game has a lot to say about pain and grief but I was left a little confused on how these themes tie into everything the game shows. Luckily the game is very short and worth going back to notice all the symbolism and beautiful art on display.
8/10
Una experiencia muy cortita y muy chula, muy bien narrada, que con sus limitaciones te hace sentir mil cosas. El pixel art es precioso.
damn, it's so sad she died of deadwife
Cool concept, controls do not work. Suggests a controller -- plug in an Xbox controller and it does not work. Then I get to the very first point in the game where the character is up against the window and I can't do anything, keyboard or controller.
Open to changing my rating if they patch this out.
Full disclosure: 16.1 hours on record were not playing the game, they were card idling.
Open to changing my rating if they patch this out.
Full disclosure: 16.1 hours on record were not playing the game, they were card idling.
Supongo que ¿bien? El apartado artístico me parece sobresaliente, el musical muy notable, sabe variar el gameplay y ofrece un mensaje claro al final, aunque se pierde de camino con una trama medio intrincada.
Die Produktionsqualität ist erstaunlich. Pixel Art, Partikeleffekte und Sound Design arbeiten extrem gut zusammen, um eine düstere Atmosphäre zu erhalten.
Zur Handlung möchte ich sagen, dass ich nicht so sehr Fan von der finalen Enthüllung, welche alles erklärt war. Irgendwie hat sich das Spiel davor nicht thematisch so zusammengefügt, damit das für mich funktioniert hätte.
Dafür ist das Spiel zuvor nicht genug mit der Thematik von Schmerz und Abweisung in die Tiefe gegangen, zumal Darstellung zuvor sehr Abstrakt war.
Zur Handlung möchte ich sagen, dass ich nicht so sehr Fan von der finalen Enthüllung, welche alles erklärt war. Irgendwie hat sich das Spiel davor nicht thematisch so zusammengefügt, damit das für mich funktioniert hätte.
Dafür ist das Spiel zuvor nicht genug mit der Thematik von Schmerz und Abweisung in die Tiefe gegangen, zumal Darstellung zuvor sehr Abstrakt war.
One of the worst puzzle-platformers I've ever played. The puzzles are simplistic and more about fighting the awful controls than they are brainteasers, the story is wayyyyy too melodramatic and is pretty distasteful with the subject material. The one good thing the game has going for it, the atmospheric graphics, is ruined on the Switch due to rampant FPS slowdown, screen tearing, and just way too much bloom, resulting in my feeling seasick and queasy... in a side-scrolling platformer. Just an awful, regrettable experience.
fantastic ost! i'm a little bias to pixel games because i just love them so damn much but the visuals here were amaaazing
+ great story
+ great story
I love how atmospheric this game is.
Un juego espectacular, donde el apartado artístico es una gozada. El desarrollo de la historia de este titulo es de lo mejor que he probado. Todo lo que te presenta es una autentica maravilla lo recomiendo al 100%
Very atmospheric Metroidvania game with a unique Dark souls-like story that is very mysterious and a cute pixel style. However, the actual Metroid elements were tedious and the combat was very poor. It tried many things but just didn't love up to concept.
cutting grass and breaking rocks produce human suffering
i pushed a cat down a ledge
Pros:
+ puzzle design in the veign of Heart of Darkness
+ moody color palette
+ multiple playable characters too keep gameplay fresh
+ large variety of context-sensitive animations
+ fitting sound design and music
+ multi-perspectival approach to the narrative
Cons
- glitches may hinder progress
- merciless platforming
- no hint system
- busy visual space with no indicators for interactions
- intransparent morality choices
- interface taken over from mobile release
- invisible collectibles with little incentive
- short runtime (which might be a plus)
Weird Moment(s): When you push a cat down accidentally and plunge her into an identity crisis, only to find out that you saved her from death.
Verdict: You can tell that the creators were in this with their heart and have a story to tell, but the difficulty and intransparent interactions made me abandon this. Also, you are never quite sure whether progress is hindered by glitches or an obscure puzzle that you can't figure out. The lack of a hint system then drives you to watch a YT Let's Play - which you might be better off watching anyway.
+ puzzle design in the veign of Heart of Darkness
+ moody color palette
+ multiple playable characters too keep gameplay fresh
+ large variety of context-sensitive animations
+ fitting sound design and music
+ multi-perspectival approach to the narrative
Cons
- glitches may hinder progress
- merciless platforming
- no hint system
- busy visual space with no indicators for interactions
- intransparent morality choices
- interface taken over from mobile release
- invisible collectibles with little incentive
- short runtime (which might be a plus)
Weird Moment(s): When you push a cat down accidentally and plunge her into an identity crisis, only to find out that you saved her from death.
Verdict: You can tell that the creators were in this with their heart and have a story to tell, but the difficulty and intransparent interactions made me abandon this. Also, you are never quite sure whether progress is hindered by glitches or an obscure puzzle that you can't figure out. The lack of a hint system then drives you to watch a YT Let's Play - which you might be better off watching anyway.
Pixel-art 2D cinematic platformer with beautiful animation, great atmosphere and sound design, and tight gameplay and pacing, the last of which is marred only a bit by some excessive backtracking (given the vaguely Metroid-esque structure that most of the game ends up taking, a map wouldn't have hurt here).
Narratively, though, it just doesn't come together as I'd hoped; while you spend most of the time playing as a middle-aged man, you'll also periodically get to play as two other protagonists (a young girl and a knight) in very different settings. and when it comes time for the devs to put all their cards on the table and reveal how these characters are connected, we get... a 20-minute, non-interactive cutscene that explains in detail how everything is connected, and explicitly lays out a parade of horrible, depressing events in its backstory that would have been better left implicit.
in short: loved this game for most of my time with it, and was prepared to recommend it enthusiastically to any fan of cinematic platformers, but the ending left a bad taste in my mouth, and I wish the developers had allowed more space for ambiguity and implication in their narrative
Narratively, though, it just doesn't come together as I'd hoped; while you spend most of the time playing as a middle-aged man, you'll also periodically get to play as two other protagonists (a young girl and a knight) in very different settings. and when it comes time for the devs to put all their cards on the table and reveal how these characters are connected, we get... a 20-minute, non-interactive cutscene that explains in detail how everything is connected, and explicitly lays out a parade of horrible, depressing events in its backstory that would have been better left implicit.
in short: loved this game for most of my time with it, and was prepared to recommend it enthusiastically to any fan of cinematic platformers, but the ending left a bad taste in my mouth, and I wish the developers had allowed more space for ambiguity and implication in their narrative
Existem determinados tipos de mídia que vão além do que consiste a soma de suas partes, além das características que vêm obrigatoriamente do meio em que são publicadas ou expostas. Essa, na minha opinião, é a parte mais bela da arte, quando consegue sair do técnico (onde muitas vezes nem é tão bem executado) e provocar uma transformação, uma reflexão, e até mesmo mudar um estilo de vida inteiramente a partir da transmissão de uma mensagem. Inmost não foi o primeiro jogo que me fez sentir isso, mas senti uma vontade de escrever um pouco mais sobre essa sensação após finalizar esse excelente trabalho da Hidden Layer Games e Chucklefish Studios. Justamente por não ser a melhor produção já distribuída pela Chucklefish, mas é a que tem maior impacto individual em quem joga!
Se você para para olhar Inmost do ponto de vista puramente técnico, como uma avaliação direta do que a "jogabilidade" oferece, ele tem defeitos, não vou negar. Os controles não são tão precisos, a sensação de controlar os personagens e seus pesos não dão aquela sensação gostosinha que estamos acostumados em outros jogos de plataforma, a movimentação pode ser muito lenta, tem alguns bugs leves que podem incomodar e as decisões de onde colocar o texto, sem contraste com o plano de fundo ou momento em que determinado evento do jogo está acontecendo, e talvez poderiam ter feito algumas escolhas com maior impacto para gerar diferentes finais (ou não, do jeito que está ficou bom também).
Ah, mas então por que eu estou dando nota alta para um jogo com tantos defeitos? Porque talvez seja errado olhar para Inmost como apenas um jogo. Eu nunca vi um jogo ter tanta maturidade e criatividade para retratar a dor, o sofrimento, luto, empatia e também o amor. Como alguém que está passando por um dos momentos mais conturbados em relação à luta contra a ansiedade, insônia e problemas familiares, posso afirmar que a mensagem final sobre encarar o sofrimento foi extremamente importante e impactante pra mim. Consegui me conectar de maneira bem pessoal com tudo e com certeza abriu novas perspectivas e novos sentidos para a minha vida.
Além disso, também não é como se o jogo não tivesse seus próprios méritos técnicos, com uma das animações em pixel-art mais lindas que eu já vi, que conseguem exprimir por completo as nuances e sentimentos que a temática e proposta exigem, e a sua narrativa é extremamente bem elaborada e coesa, com acontecimentos paralelos que vão se aproximando até chegar em um ponto em comum. No fim das contas, Inmost não é um jogo convencional, e talvez não seja do gosto de qualquer pessoa. Mas definitivamente vale a pena pelo seu impacto e capacidade de mudar uma vida, ou pelo menos a perspectiva pela qual alguém enxerga a vida. E não estou exagerando, foi exatamente isso que eu senti.
Se você para para olhar Inmost do ponto de vista puramente técnico, como uma avaliação direta do que a "jogabilidade" oferece, ele tem defeitos, não vou negar. Os controles não são tão precisos, a sensação de controlar os personagens e seus pesos não dão aquela sensação gostosinha que estamos acostumados em outros jogos de plataforma, a movimentação pode ser muito lenta, tem alguns bugs leves que podem incomodar e as decisões de onde colocar o texto, sem contraste com o plano de fundo ou momento em que determinado evento do jogo está acontecendo, e talvez poderiam ter feito algumas escolhas com maior impacto para gerar diferentes finais (ou não, do jeito que está ficou bom também).
Ah, mas então por que eu estou dando nota alta para um jogo com tantos defeitos? Porque talvez seja errado olhar para Inmost como apenas um jogo. Eu nunca vi um jogo ter tanta maturidade e criatividade para retratar a dor, o sofrimento, luto, empatia e também o amor. Como alguém que está passando por um dos momentos mais conturbados em relação à luta contra a ansiedade, insônia e problemas familiares, posso afirmar que a mensagem final sobre encarar o sofrimento foi extremamente importante e impactante pra mim. Consegui me conectar de maneira bem pessoal com tudo e com certeza abriu novas perspectivas e novos sentidos para a minha vida.
Além disso, também não é como se o jogo não tivesse seus próprios méritos técnicos, com uma das animações em pixel-art mais lindas que eu já vi, que conseguem exprimir por completo as nuances e sentimentos que a temática e proposta exigem, e a sua narrativa é extremamente bem elaborada e coesa, com acontecimentos paralelos que vão se aproximando até chegar em um ponto em comum. No fim das contas, Inmost não é um jogo convencional, e talvez não seja do gosto de qualquer pessoa. Mas definitivamente vale a pena pelo seu impacto e capacidade de mudar uma vida, ou pelo menos a perspectiva pela qual alguém enxerga a vida. E não estou exagerando, foi exatamente isso que eu senti.
Light platforming, puzzle, and Metroidvania elements go together with a surreal and haunting narrative to create a lovely one-sitting indie gem.
Joya indie donde las haya, interesantísima tanto desde el plano jugable como narrativo. Combinando géneros con una historia muy bien contada y con un muy poderoso mensaje final.
El gameplay se bifurca, a lo largo de tres diferentes historias y personajes, en varios géneros. Desde el metroidvania hasta los puzzles al uso, pasando por la acción, horror y las plataformas. Teniendo lo justo de cada cosa para no saturar pero tampoco de menos para que te quedes con ganas de más. A pesar de durar tres horas escasas, tiene un esqueleto muy bien pensado y excelentemente ejecutado.
En el plano narrativo, y sin entrar en spoilers, trata con suma delicadeza y respeto temas muy sensibles como la pérdida y los problemas mentales ocasionados. Termina siendo un poderoso mensaje a favor de paliar este tipo de casos y creo que esta es la mayor virtud de esta obra.
En definitiva, es un juego que nace con un cometido que termina cumpliendo y, por el camino, nos regala un indie de esos que se hacen un hueco en la memoria de todos los que lo jueguen.
El gameplay se bifurca, a lo largo de tres diferentes historias y personajes, en varios géneros. Desde el metroidvania hasta los puzzles al uso, pasando por la acción, horror y las plataformas. Teniendo lo justo de cada cosa para no saturar pero tampoco de menos para que te quedes con ganas de más. A pesar de durar tres horas escasas, tiene un esqueleto muy bien pensado y excelentemente ejecutado.
En el plano narrativo, y sin entrar en spoilers, trata con suma delicadeza y respeto temas muy sensibles como la pérdida y los problemas mentales ocasionados. Termina siendo un poderoso mensaje a favor de paliar este tipo de casos y creo que esta es la mayor virtud de esta obra.
En definitiva, es un juego que nace con un cometido que termina cumpliendo y, por el camino, nos regala un indie de esos que se hacen un hueco en la memoria de todos los que lo jueguen.
Inmost has amazing sound direction and a visual atmosphere, but with very little underneath.
It's an indie pixel-art puzzle platformer with dark and moody aesthetics that is more focused on storytelling than it is on the gameplay, which I feel is well-worn territory to the point where you likely already know if Inmost will be for you or not.
From chapter to chapter, you swap between three playable characters. A young girl who moves painfully slow and must solve simple puzzles in her house, an older man who moves slightly faster and must solve equally simple puzzles in a semi-Metroidvania-style environment and a swordsman who at least moves at a good pace but has simplistic and unengaging combat mechanics.
You get the occasional cutscene where a narrator will talk about how dark and twisted the world is in a way that I would have lapped up as a teenager but as an adult, it feels shallow and immature. I can't blame the game for this as there's a good chance I'm not the target audience. There are occasional attempts at humour that feel out of place and fall flat.
In all, Inmost takes around 4 to 5 hours to complete which sounds short but can still feel like a slog due to the slow movement and repetitive nature of the gameplay.
It feels as though this game was designed from an art and story perspective first and then had puzzles added to justify itself as a video game. Perhaps if it had fully committed to one direction, either as a mechanics-heavy exploration game or as a purely narrative-focussed adventure, it could have worked.
It's an indie pixel-art puzzle platformer with dark and moody aesthetics that is more focused on storytelling than it is on the gameplay, which I feel is well-worn territory to the point where you likely already know if Inmost will be for you or not.
From chapter to chapter, you swap between three playable characters. A young girl who moves painfully slow and must solve simple puzzles in her house, an older man who moves slightly faster and must solve equally simple puzzles in a semi-Metroidvania-style environment and a swordsman who at least moves at a good pace but has simplistic and unengaging combat mechanics.
You get the occasional cutscene where a narrator will talk about how dark and twisted the world is in a way that I would have lapped up as a teenager but as an adult, it feels shallow and immature. I can't blame the game for this as there's a good chance I'm not the target audience. There are occasional attempts at humour that feel out of place and fall flat.
In all, Inmost takes around 4 to 5 hours to complete which sounds short but can still feel like a slog due to the slow movement and repetitive nature of the gameplay.
It feels as though this game was designed from an art and story perspective first and then had puzzles added to justify itself as a video game. Perhaps if it had fully committed to one direction, either as a mechanics-heavy exploration game or as a purely narrative-focussed adventure, it could have worked.
This review contains spoilers
Inmost is a beautiful metaphoric story about a couple and their two daughters. The gameplay is relaxing and not really too much to learn, it's a simple game with a complex tale. I love when I'm clueless about everything and you're somewhat trying to puzzle everything together but it's almost impossible and then at the end, boom, suddenly everything makes sense. I think as someone who has lived with depression for many years, this game's dialogue spoke deeply to me. I think Inmost is an extremely underrated indie and should be talked about more.
pain