Something has to, because there are (refreshingly) no on-screen or spoken instructions whatsoever. Deaths are frequent and can seem unavoidable and unfair at first, but they’re actually lessons that teach you both what to do and what not to do. Inside’s gameplay is similar to Limbo’s simple but atmospheric 2D puzzle-platforming. When you end up in a one-man submarine, searching for answers deep inside this base, it is only the beginning of the mystery. As you break into Inside’s militaristic complex and plumb its strange depths for the roughly three brisk, well-paced hours it takes to complete the campaign, it continually changes in both look and gameplay in unexpected ways. Nothing I can say will prepare you for the vague, wordless events of Playdead’s physics-based puzzle platformer, but without spoiling it, it seems virtually impossible to not be shocked by what transpires. Camera work is also laudable the perspective only ever shifts slightly, but from scene to scene you’re always in the optimal viewing position for what’s happening on screen, and there’s always a visual reward anytime the camera moves closer in, pulls further out, or changes angle. Gray paints a lot of the scenery, but splashes of color – often red – are used as a bold contrast that draws your eye where the designers want it to go. You can see him stumble after he jumps and sticks a running landing. Inside Game Explained: What Really Happens During Inside’s Ending You can hear the boy breathing hard after he’s been running for a while. I often stopped just to admire my surroundings, taking in the subtly detailed animations, moody lighting, boldly contrasting color palette, and even the eerily unsettling sound design. Everything appears to have had an artist’s full and undivided attention.

Every frame appears to have been meticulously crafted and polished several times over, from dust particles hovering in smoky air to raindrops splashing down in a bog to golden sunlight beaming onto your unnamed, red-shirted boy avatar through a window. Even though it is mechanically a 2D puzzle-platformer, Inside is quite simply one of the most beautiful and subtly detailed games I’ve ever played.

Free for mac download Inside Out