Why ‘Inside’ Is a Puzzle-Platformer You Shouldn’t Miss

Playdead’s moody puzzle-platformer Inside for Xbox One and PC may have you scratching your head by its close, then reloading to pick through its oblique vignettes in search of answers. I don’t think answers are at all what Inside is about, any more than I think they’re the object of a Quay Brothers or Jan Svankmajer film.

Inside is more about the craftsmanship behind wicked smart puzzle design nestled almost invisibly, and thereby brilliantly, within the familiar: running, jumping, climbing, shoving objects around, unlocking doors and so forth. This is a game about deftly positioning the extraordinary within the ordinary.

I’ve only shown the opening few minutes of Inside to avoid spoiling anything, so if you want a safe glimpse of the game along with my thoughts on why it works, you can take this as a condensed video version of my review.