Today’s Game Pass addition is neither new nor a blockbuster, but that doesn’t stop us from grabbing you by the collar, looking intensely into your eyes and saying “play it now”. It’s the day that Inside arrives on the Game Pass service, and we couldn’t recommend it more.
Inside was developed by Playdead, who had released Limbo six years earlier to lofty critical acclaim. Much like that classic, Inside launched as a deeply dark platform-adventure with the emphasis on an innocent young boy trying to escape the world around them.
But while Limbo definitely had an effective atmosphere, it wasn’t what you’d call lavish to look at. That all changed with Inside, which is astonishingly artful. Its clinical laboratories, savage industrial areas and claustrophobic underwater areas dazzle and then live long in the memory. Even though Inside is six years’ old now, it still looks the business.
But what makes Inside such a must-play is the experience of playing it. There’s nothing spectacularly innovative about the gameplay – it’s got the same physics-based puzzles that Limbo has, and the platforming is about as lightweight as in a Little Nightmares, for example. But it’s the journey that Inside takes you on that will leave you ragged. We can say with confidence that it includes moments you both won’t expect and will never leave you, etching themselves on your retinas. It’s certainly not for the squeamish.
You don’t have to believe just us. Our original reviewer, Gareth Brierley, had this to say: “I love this game, I adore it and I wish more games could be like this. Maybe some won’t like it, some might find it weird, but no one can deny the talent on show here and what Playdead have achieved. The Game of the Year title for 2016 has a new front runner.”
All that remains for this unapologetically gushing little intro is to mention the game’s that are leaving the Game Pass service on July 31st: Dodgeball Academia (Cloud, Console, and PC), Katamari Damacy Reroll (Cloud, Console, and PC), Lumines Remastered (Cloud, Console, and PC), Omno (Cloud, Console, and PC) and Raji: An Ancient Epic (Cloud, Console, and PC).
We’re not too far away from hearing what August has in store for us with regards to Game Pass. An announcement from Microsoft will be given in the next few days, and you can be sure that we will keep you informed. For now, we know a few of August’s Game Pass releases based on previous announcements. There’s Turbo Golf Racing on August 4th, Two Point Campus on August 9th, Midnight Fight Express on August 23rd and Sam Barlow’s Immortality on August 30th.
Are you planning to hop inside Inside? Let us know in the comments or on our social channels.
