The title of the game is Inside, which leads me to believe that the game is a metaphor for what is happening in your body. For me, just like Limbo, the meaning is hidden in plain sight. On the surface, Inside appears to be about mind control and horrible corporations doing horrible experiments on people. “I was thinking to myself this could be heaven or this could be hell” and “you can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave” The band has even publicly said that every time the character walks through the door, there is a new version of reality.Īt the end of Limbo on the final puzzle, you manipulate gravity so that you can float past giant blades and when done correctly you pass through from life to the afterlife after falling to your death in the forest. Its been known to be about the in between.
One of the three main areas of Limbo is the giant hotel in the middle of the forest, which has to be a nod to Hotel California by the eagles, which has a much deeper meaning than many know. Could it be sloppy programming? Possibly, but playdead seem like perfectionists and a studio that would purposefully leave that in. You attempt the same escape again, only this time the spider still has your corpse impaled on one of his legs before he shakes you off to chase you down again. The inescapable nature of this world shows its matrix like qualities when the giant spider impales you. This world is filled with things that would give most young kids nightmares including spiders and drowning.
There are things that happen during the course of the game that echo this sentiment. Having never been to limbo, it’s to be assumed that it would be like a nightmare with some of your worst fears repeating until you escape.
On the most basic level, Limbo means the the place where souls go right before you pass on to heaven or hell. You and your sister both died in the woods. There is also no doubt in my mind that after playing Limbo more than once, you are dead. It was a bold choice that demanded your attention. This was the worlds first introduction to playdead and there is no better introduction than the title screen being black and white and Limbo occupying 80% of the screen. The amazing thing about art is that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and their impact will be different to every single person that plays them.īefore heading into comparisons, it’s important to talk about each game first. Nothing here is factual, as Playdead has never publicly explained the meaning of their games, leaving everything open to interpretation and thats what makes them so powerful. Some of these themes are also pretty uncomfortable to talk about for some people. Quick warning, there will be plenty of spoilers regarding both Limbo and Inside as it becomes impossible to compare and dissect what makes each game special without talking about their story, and deeper meanings, all which take place through events in the game without any dialogue. When it comes to playdead 1.0, what is better, Limbo or Inside? Spoiler Zone With the recent release of Somerville, it got a lot of people talking about playdead again and I found myself trying to figure out which game was better. A few delays and six years later, playdead released Inside, another 2D platformer dripping with atmosphere and deeper meaning.īoth games have a lot of similarities and are not only great games, but they are great experiences that transcend the medium. Limbo was an ultra stylistic, monotone platformer that was much more than what it appeared to be. Playdead took the gaming scene by storm in 2010 with the Xbox 360 exclusive Limbo that would open the door for indie games in the years that follow. Whatever game Arnt Jensen and the rest of playdead is currently working on now isn’t necessarily going to be worse or better because of these changes in personnel but it will be different. When a company loses this much of its core talent, it can’t just be replaced to form the same thing, it will be different. Their debut title, Cocoon, is due out in 2023 and in the words of the studio is Legend of Zelda meets Portal.Īccording to Dino Patti, when talking to GamesBeat in 2017, playdead was around 13-15 people when Limbo shipped as playdead liked to keep the team lean and contract out when needed. Jeppe Carlson who was the lead gameplay designer on both Limbo and Inside also left the company to found Geometric Interactive with fellow playdead programmer and composer, Jakob Schmid. Co-founder Dino Patti left after what was reported as creative differences with co founder Arnt Jensen and would eventually go on to co-found Jumpship with their debut title Somerville releasing at the end of 2022. Major pillars would begin to leave the indie Danish studio. Good things don’t last forever and after Inside shipped in 2016, playdead would never be the same again.
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