Playdead’s Inside Launches on Xbox One to Critical Acclaim

In the days since its release, Xbox One fans across the world have fallen in love with developer Playdead’s dark and disturbing (you could even go with “disturbingly dark” or “darkly disturbing”) platformer Inside. The game’s heady mix of eerie environments, subtle-yet-challenging puzzles, and oppressively creepy atmosphere have clearly struck a chord with both fans and press alike. In fact, Inside is currently one of the highest-rated Xbox One games on review aggregate site Metacritic with an average score of 92!

The critics have had a lot to say about Inside, praising everything from the gameplay and puzzles to the visuals and sound design. In giving Inside 5 out of 5 stars on Giant Bomb, Brad Shoemaker remarked that “Inside gives the feeling that every surface, every animation, every light and pixel were placed and replaced until they all fit together just right.”

Like many of us who’ve played Inside, Game Informer’s Kyle Hilliard was grabbed from the very beginning. In his 9.75 out of 10 review on Game Informer, Hilliard said, “I was transfixed from its opening moments, and my desire to move forward only grew stronger as I made my way through Inside’s troubling world.” Of course, that feeling doesn’t go away, ever after you finish the game. “By the end,” Hilliard wrote, “I felt as though I had lived through someone’s horrible dream, and I couldn’t wait to do it all over again.”

EGM’s Ray Carsillo felt the same, particularly regarding the way Inside lets the player explore its unique world without providing much in the way of explicit answers or direction. In his 9.5 out of 10 review on EGM, Carsillo shared that, “You are told almost nothing at the start, but will come to explore a brilliantly designed, but dangerous world that will suck you in from the beginning and never let go as you fall down another expertly crafted rabbit hole from Playdead.”

Finally, Ryan McCaffrey from IGN gave the best advice of all in his 10 out of 10 review of Inside on IGN “Play it soon before anyone spoils a single big moment for you.”

We couldn’t agree more. This is a game that must be played to be truly appreciated.

Inside is available now for Xbox One, so grab it and get ready for the most unique gaming experience of the year.