Similarly, The Swapper features a similarly dark and quiet setting, this time aboard a damaged space station. As your character runs ever-forward, the lack of distraction often accentuates the small sounds and notable sights that you encounter along the way. Inside’s powerful and creepy tone is at least in part established through the haunting and eerily silent world. With its quiet and deliberate pacing, and the mystery of figuring out what’s really going on, Kentucky Route Zero will tap into that same sensation of wonder and bewilderment that Inside nails so well.
That’s why we’d point you towards Kentucky Route Zero, a point and click adventure that is as much about understanding yourself as it is about progressing the narrative. Inside has some clever puzzles, but its thoughtful thematic concepts and evocative setting are also a big part of its appeal. And like Inside, Fez features a second layer of puzzles beyond what seems like the end of the game, many of which reach to a new layer of critical examination and discovery. Both games delight in subverting expectation, and challenging players to think in new ways. While its brightly colored visuals and lush world may seem in stark opposition to the grim environs of Inside, the two games share much in common.
And like Inside, its final minutes are not what you expect. With its post-modern repackaging of familiar video game conceits like Mario’s rescue of the princess, and sparse but elegant puzzle design that twists expectation, Braid is a thoughtful and ultimately painful meditation on the nature of life and love. Jonathan Blow’s stellar puzzle/platformer set the stage for many indie games to follow. While many of the themes are different, Limbo’s black and white aesthetic, surprising puzzles, and vulnerable boy protagonist all make this the clear next choice if you’ve already fallen in love with the developer’s latest game.
In many ways, Inside is an evolution of many of the gameplay, visual, and audio concepts first explored by the studio in its previous game. This one is perhaps obvious, but if you haven’t been plugged into Playdead’s previous work, you should track down a copy of Limbo right away.
Here are ten great games that scratch at least some part of the same itch. While we wholeheartedly encourage a replay or two, at some point you’re going to want to move on to something else. Its recent release has led to almost universal praise, but it’s also a brief game that only takes a few hours to complete. But all too soon, it’s over, and you still want more! Few recent games evoke that sensation more than Inside, the dark and dreamlike adventure from Playdead. You wait with excitement for a long-anticipated game, and luckily it’s everything you hoped it would be.
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