Playdead's INSID‪E‬ 12+

I started playing this game a while back, and it’s been a very interesting experience. This is about as indie as a game can get, which means dark themes, creepy stories, mostly grey backgrounds with red accents and ominous music. Overall, I would say that this is a fun, challenging puzzle game with great atmosphere, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes indie games.
But there’s a catch. The controls are absolutely infuriating at times, completely ruining the experience. I went on a half-year long hiatus from this game, because the controls were so terrible, and they were preventing me from solving a seemingly simple puzzle. When your character is just walking around, they’re fine, but when he needs to run, that’s when the flaws really start to show. It is sometimes physically impossible to make him run fast enough without taking your finger off the screen and stopping entirely, which usually results in him getting caught, and don’t even get me started on the water levels.
This is a fantastic game, but don’t buy it on the App Store. Get it on Steam, or wherever else they sell it where you don’t need to use a touch screen to move. Yes, it is a lot more expensive on those platforms, but the reason all of these computer/console games are so cheap on mobile is because it makes for an overall worse experience with these ultimately inferior control systems. So yes, you should get this game. Just don’t do it here.

This game was so bizarre, and so beautifully rendered. It was very fun, but very short. I’m used to putting some time into games, so I can enjoy a campaign over several weeks or months, but I finished Inside in two sessions, in about 2-3 hours, total. I’m not the kind of gamer to replay games, and this title has little to no replay value. There is only one mode, and one difficulty setting. The puzzles are relatively easy to solve. I only found myself stuck twice, and each time only for a few minutes. I used a Steelseries Nimbus controller, but without that the controls would’ve been frustrating. You swipe left and right to move (like a virtual stick) but to jump you have to swipe up, and to interact with objects you tap/hold. This scheme seems simple enough, until you reach a part where a precision jump is required, or you must interact with an object in a precise time frame.

Pros: good graphics and sound, unique environments, puzzle are fun to solve, intriguing story/feel.

Cons: Very short for a $7 game, touch controls can be mildly frustrating, (SPOILER ALERT) No dialog or backstory and inconclusive ending. If you were hoping the intriguing setting would be explained in the end, you’ll be let down.