Luckily Inside (PS4) didn't stay exclusive to the Xbox One for too long, I'd managed to avoid any coverage or story details for the few months it was exclusive and was delighted that it is a game which benefits from ambiguity. Much like it's predecessor Limbo it's a physics heavy platformer which doesn't give much away. Where its been improved though is that each section and puzzle is perfectly utilised so that actions don't become repetitive or mechanics become too fiddly. More like Journey it's a game which is exceptionally good at constraining ideas to just the right length. The moment one of the many puzzles got just hard enough was invariably where it ended. The game is truly surprising in places and it's awesome how much the game gets out of a side scrolling platformer, with only two button inputs as well! Every once in a while I had a tendency to overthink what I should be doing and the answer would be right in front of me, what's remarkable is that in the short space of the game I never got frustrated or bored. Especially with the section of clockwork machinery near the end, it felt extremely rewarding when completing this bit. The story is pretty ambiguous like the game itself, but I took quite a bit from it, even without doing that it's an exciting crescendo toward what happens at the end with lots of clues toward what's actually going on.
It looks as good as anything I've played in the last year, the subtitle use of colour and light throughout is great, and where it's built on Limbo is adding an array of characters and beasts which move as fluidly as the protagonist. On top of a short story, about three hours, there are secrets to find with the promise of an alternative ending. On my first play through I found two of them so am excited to explore for some more. I've found writing this without going into the specifics of the game as hard as some of the puzzles later on, it is though the most pleasing game I've played in a long time and one I'm sure I'll return to soon.
Apart from that a cheap copy of Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games (DS) stopped me playing Pokémon Go on my commute this week. It's okay, some of the sports are fun, especially the archery and shooting but others rely too much of the stylus inputs (I assume later handheld versions calmed down on this) which range from being no fun to making my frantic swiping of the screen make me look like the sort of person to avoid sitting next to on a train. I broke the 100m world record as Sonic though, that was appropriate.
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