INMOST
- August 21, 2020
- Chucklefish Games
- 4h median play time
Haunting and striking in equal measure, Inmost strikes a balance between narrative and platform-puzzler that mostly succeeds for the entirety of its short running time.
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Reviews
- Beautiful pixel art and stunning visuals that create an immersive atmosphere.
- Engaging and emotional story that tackles heavy themes of pain, loss, and love.
- Great soundtrack and sound design that enhance the overall experience.
- Gameplay can feel slow and clunky, with some frustrating controls and mechanics.
- The story can be confusing and requires a lot of interpretation, with a lengthy exposition dump at the end.
- Short playtime (around 3-4 hours) may not justify the price for some players.
- story1,315 mentions
- 37 % positive mentions
- 58 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The story of "Inmost" is a deeply emotional and intricate narrative that explores themes of pain, loss, and love through the perspectives of three distinct characters. While many players praise its beautiful pixel art and haunting soundtrack, opinions vary on the clarity and pacing of the storytelling, with some finding it confusing and reliant on a lengthy exposition at the end. Overall, the game is celebrated for its ability to evoke strong feelings, making it a compelling experience for those who appreciate story-driven gameplay.
“The storyline is heart-wrenchingly beautiful and brought me to tears, while the musical score resonates deeply with me.”
“This game walked me from slight sadness and admiring the beautiful graphics to full-on despair, crying and wailing while still admiring the game. Storytelling 10/10, the whole game you know nothing and it's, in my opinion, ideal to set the dark and mysterious aura.”
“The story definitely covers some really heavy themes but it's incredibly well presented and I would 100% recommend playing this game if you're up to experiencing a messed up but actually astonishing story.”
“There's hardly anything there in terms of gameplay, so I'm assuming it's 100% story-driven, but I could barely play 20 minutes before turning it off due to how slow it is and constantly having to go back and forth with extremely slow-moving characters. I had no interest in the story whatsoever because of how slow the pacing was.”
“This is a story pretending to be a game only to wrest control from you, in the end, to tell its story irrespective of whether you care how the story unfolds or whether you care at all for its narrative.”
“The story is incoherent and utter misery from start to finish, with characters it's hard to like or have sympathy for.”
- gameplay420 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 61 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Inmost" is characterized by its simplicity and focus on storytelling, often taking a backseat to the narrative experience. Players navigate through various mechanics across three distinct characters, each offering different gameplay styles, including puzzle-solving and light combat, but many reviews note that the gameplay can feel slow, clunky, and at times tedious. While the visuals and emotional depth of the story are praised, the overall gameplay experience is often described as lacking in challenge and engagement, making it more of a narrative-driven experience than a traditional game.
“The gameplay is captivating and pulls you into the story effortlessly.”
“Gameplay-wise, this controls well and I had no issues running the game on a pretty low-end mini-PC.”
“The gameplay is engaging and will surprise you.”
“The gameplay is pretty slow and clunky, but everything else is very good.”
“When you reach the end of the gameplay section, you don't even have to do something specific; you just reach a part where the story takes over fully and unloads 20 minutes of story on you with a dramatic fight where you can only watch and not do anything.”
“The gameplay is hardly related to the story, which stays vague even after finishing the whole game.”
- music245 mentions
- 64 % positive mentions
- 34 % neutral mentions
- 1 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim for its emotional depth and ability to enhance the storytelling experience, with many reviewers praising the beautiful soundtrack and atmospheric sound design. The combination of melancholic melodies and expressive sound effects complements the stunning pixel art, creating a captivating and immersive atmosphere. While some noted occasional repetitiveness in the tracks, the overall consensus is that the music significantly contributes to the game's emotional impact and aesthetic appeal.
“The storyline is heart-wrenchingly beautiful and brought me to tears, while the musical score resonates deeply with me.”
“The music is gorgeous, the animations and sound effects show a lot of love, and the combination of pixel art with high-definition lighting and particle effects is mesmerizing.”
“The soundtrack is simply stunning.”
“It's basically a bunch of pixel graphic cut scenes with sappy music.”
“Music was bad, core story was bad, controls were bad, puzzles bad, pacing bad, tedious gameplay.”
“If you want anything from a game aside from neat pixels and adequate music, look elsewhere.”
- graphics238 mentions
- 61 % positive mentions
- 36 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their stunning pixel art and atmospheric design, effectively enhancing the emotional storytelling. Many reviewers highlight the beautiful visuals and sound design, which create a haunting yet captivating experience, although some note issues with graphical glitches and a lack of gameplay depth. Overall, the art style is considered a standout feature, contributing significantly to the game's impact and appeal.
“Beautiful pixel art with scenic and cinematographic shots.”
“A sad, frightening, yet very touching story, beautifully presented with stunning graphics, highly expressive sound, and captivating music.”
“The graphics and art direction work together immaculately.”
“Garbage ugly graphics.”
“More like a tear-squeezing 'sad' graphic novel masquerading as an old school 8-bit game.”
“I haven't enjoyed the visuals too much as the combination of 8-bit graphics (pixel art resolution was below 320x200 and massive pixels looked ugly on my 27'' screen) and high-quality particle effects at a much higher resolution were always creating a dissonance for me.”
- emotional238 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -1 % neutral mentions
- 1 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of "Inmost" is widely praised, with many players describing it as a heart-wrenching and beautifully crafted narrative that evokes deep feelings of pain, loss, and hope. The game's stunning visuals and haunting musical score enhance the emotional experience, often leading players to tears by the end. While some found the story overly sentimental or tedious, the majority agree that it offers a profound and touching journey that resonates long after the game is completed.
“The storyline is heart-wrenchingly beautiful and brought me to tears, while the musical score resonates deeply with me.”
“Inmost is a heart-wrenching story of unspeakable loss, suffering, hope, and love.”
“This game was beautiful, it was well thought out, but most of all... it was emotionally evoking.”
“The story was incredibly boring and failed to evoke any emotional response.”
“I felt no connection to the characters, making the emotional moments fall flat.”
“The narrative lacked depth, leaving me emotionally unengaged throughout the game.”
- atmosphere154 mentions
- 69 % positive mentions
- 29 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its captivating blend of mystery, melancholy, and beauty, enhanced by stunning pixel art and an evocative soundtrack. Players are drawn into a richly detailed world that effectively conveys emotional depth and tension, making for an immersive experience that lingers long after gameplay. While some find the narrative confusing, the overall ambiance and artistic presentation are consistently highlighted as standout features that elevate the game's storytelling.
“The atmosphere, full of mystery and melancholy, keeps you glued to the screen from start to finish.”
“The visuals and soundtrack of this game are amazing and really provide an effective atmosphere to add to the experience.”
“The atmosphere is amazing, does the spooky thing rather well, especially while playing certain characters.”
“It's all atmosphere and mystery, but lots of confusing nonsensical narration that basically means nothing and has very little effect on the eventual resolution.”
“The game largely relies on its atmosphere and story to carry it.”
“There are gameplay elements but they take a back seat to the story, art, and atmosphere.”
- grinding36 mentions
- 8 % positive mentions
- -3 % neutral mentions
- 94 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game is widely criticized for its tedious and slow-paced gameplay, particularly during segments involving the child character and the knight. Players often find themselves frustrated by long animations, repetitive tasks, and a lack of engaging mechanics, leading to a feeling that the game drags on unnecessarily. While some appreciate the story's emotional depth, many agree that the gameplay experience is marred by its overall tedium.
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“The story is not captivating and the story animation is very long which you can't skip; usually with games like this, the clip after a major story progress should be rewarding to watch, but nope, it was unnecessarily long and tedious.”
“The game was so tedious overall that the almost 3 hours I played to beat it felt like 6 hours, and a game should never make a player feel like this, especially for 20 bloody bucks.”
“What potential it had in the first 20 minutes quickly dissolved into tedious, slow, and often repetitious puzzle design as well as a pretentious and confusingly told story that tries to be emotional but comes off as overly sappy.”
- replayability25 mentions
- 12 % positive mentions
- 72 % neutral mentions
- 16 % negative mentions
Overall, the game has been criticized for its low replayability, with many reviewers noting its linear gameplay and short duration of around 3-5 hours. While some players may find value in collecting achievements or hidden items, the consensus is that the lack of substantial content and story-driven focus limits the incentive to replay. Many recommend waiting for a sale due to the high price relative to its minimal replay value.
“Good replayability if you are into achievements and perfection.”
“Collectables give some replayability, but experiencing the story again is the main reason to replay this game.”
“This game is very short and doesn't have much replay value.”
“Very linear gameplay with virtually no replayability.”
“The game is short, but it does give players a replayable experience.”
“Once you find all the pain fragments, zero replay value.”
- humor12 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game effectively blends humor with its darker themes, featuring genuinely funny moments and quirky characters, such as a hilarious rabbit and an adorable toy bunny. Players appreciate the balance of humor and melancholy, with some darkly comedic elements that provide levity amidst the game's emotional depth. Overall, the humor enhances the experience, making it both entertaining and thought-provoking.
“The game has touches of genuinely funny humor, and the world's atmosphere is absolutely fantastic, with excellent pixel art and lighting.”
“Sadness and fear are sometimes diluted with a pinch of humor; the toy bunny was adorable.”
“But it also has a sense of humor (some of it pretty dark) with some things that legitimately made me chuckle.”
- stability12 mentions
- 8 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 92 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's stability is marked by frequent bugs and glitches, particularly with gameplay mechanics like object interaction and character movement. While some players experience soft locks and graphical issues, many still find the game enjoyable despite these technical shortcomings. Occasional freezes and achievement bugs have also been reported, but they do not significantly detract from the overall experience.
“Overall, the game is mostly bug-free, with only a few instances where events like dialogue or NPC actions didn't trigger.”
“The story is good, but the gameplay is fairly mediocre and quite buggy when picking up objects and glitching through the ground.”
“Moreover, when I try to start a new game, it glitches at the same point (tale about the flowers), making it impossible to proceed.”
“Whilst it is no doubt a beautiful visual and aural treat, soft lock glitches and inconsistent world rules hold it back.”
- character development3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is praised for its atmospheric depth and impactful narrative, enhanced by chilling horror elements in both design and music. Reviewers appreciate the strong emotional messages conveyed through the characters, making the experience not only engaging but also meaningful.
“I completely recommend it be played, not just for the narrative, but for an atmospheric sense of character development and an important message for those who need it.”
“Horror elements send shivers down your spine, both in character design and the ambient music.”
“I love the style and adore the character design to death.”
“The character development feels shallow and lacks depth, making it hard to connect with the protagonists.”
“I found the character arcs predictable and uninspired, which detracted from the overall experience.”
“The lack of meaningful choices in character development left me feeling disconnected from the story.”
- optimization3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization received mixed feedback; while the music was praised, some users experienced occasional freezes and stuttering, which they attributed to their own hardware rather than the game's performance.
“The music of this game was amazing; my only complaint is the occasional freezes or stuttering I experienced, but I'm going to assume that was due to my hardware.”
“It felt like it was trying hard to be profound but came off a bit too much like a high-school drama class performance for me.”
