Review based on 100% completion of the game.

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Summary
INSIDE is a visually beautiful game that is best played on a quiet saturday evening. The game is probably anywhere from 4 to 8 hours, depending on how fast you solve puzzles and how fast you traverse the world. Are you stopping or slowing down to take in the scenery, or just sprinting from chapter to chapter. As with LIMBO, the plot is a bit convoluted, but the vibe of these games is that this mystery is part of the experience. Graphically and auditorily, this game is a masterpiece, the 2 work symbiotically in harmony; they blend together in near perfection. Gameplay-wise it's a typical side-scrolling adventure game, but the puzzles almost never take away from the immersion of the world. The fact that there are dozens of save-spots which you can access and go back to at any point without it overriding current progress make the gameplay experience extremely user-friendly.

Plot
First of all, I have to admit that I don't fully understand the plot of this game and even if I did, the storytelling that is done without there ever a word being spoken or written should be experienced first hand without any spoilers. At the end I felt like I didn't fully know what the plot or the take-away message was, but this is the type of game where that doesn't matter: "The journey is better than the destination" type. So you're dropped as a kid in a forest and make your way through forests, rural areas, urban area's, big indoor facilities etc. Who are you and why are you there? Who are all these people and why is what is happening in the world happening? These question will never be answered, but it's the type of game where you're icentivized to hypothesize yourself and just ponder about this world.

Gameplay
There isn't much to say here, if you've played LIMBO you'll know what to expect. If you've seen the media provided on the store page, you'll know what to expect. It's a side-scrolling puzzle adventure game. Without it being a platformer, you run and jump and interact with some objects to solve puzzles to continue, that's really the gist of it. The puzzles are interesting and fun, they are neither too easy nor too hard, some you'll instantly understand and others you'll have to scratch your head twice to overcome them. For 2 puzzles my lazy retarded ass couldn't figure it out so my partner had to bail me out. I will say this; I think that generally, LIMBO felt a bit more like going from puzzle to puzzle whilst the background decor changes, whereas here there is a HEAVY focus on the world and whilst traversing the world, the puzzles seamlessly integrate into the traversal. So in other words, the world and the gameplay feel like they blend together with more thought put into them, but as a result, I feel like overall the amount of puzzles feels slightly fewer than in LIMBO.

Graphics
The graphics are a solid 10/10. I don't know what the art-style is called, but damn it; it works. The rainsplatters, the fog, the light effects, the particles that float or drop feel like they have perfect real world gravity... I realize I'm not good at describing what about this game make the graphics stand out so well, but it is one of THE MOST beautiful games I have ever played and the audio perfectly fits what you see on-screen. Speaking of audio..

Audio
INSIDE has amazing subtle BGM. At 31, the days of techno raves are well behind me and these days I find myself more often listening to ambient music to wind down at the end of a day instead of regular music. This game fits that perfectly, my favorite by far is the Submarine sequence.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNIdZ1hJBaU
Beyond that the rest of the sound design really adds to the immersion, they thought of every little detail, without it ever becoming overbearing. Everything blends together well in a perfect symphony of BGM and SFX and for that, it's simply a perfect 10/10 for me.

Achievements
All 14 achievements are connected to finding 14 secrets in secret levels scattered throughout the game. They are by default missable, but considering you can - at any point - select what chapter to play, not hard to get. Collecting all secrets also opens up an interesting addition to the story, so it pays to go for all achievements.

Closing Statement
INSIDE is a relatively short sidescroller that delivers a visually beautiful experience with amazing sound and music. Coming from the developers of LIMBO, I expected a similar vibe and I was not only satisfied, the game exceeded my expectations. What worked in LIMBO has been perfected here, literally everything feels like it has been created with purpose and with the intent of making it blend together with the other aspects of the game in mind. Graphics, Gameplay and Sound, together they make for an immersive experience that will leave a lasting impression. These Danish developers are seriously talented and I can't wait for their next project, a 3rd person sci-fi adventure that has been in the making for quite some time and I really hope it will see the light of day, someday.

If you've played LIMBO, trying this game is a no-brainer. I only just tried it for the first time since I never heard of INSIDE, whereas I even played LIMBO's demo way back. LIMBO seems to me to have gotten a lot more hype at its time of release. INSIDE, however, is to me the better game of the two. Go pick it up if you were a fan of LIMBO and even if you don't usually play these sorts of games that don't involve a lot of action or combat (non here), wait for a sale and try it anyway, you won't regret it.