INMOST
- August 21, 2020
- Chucklefish Games
- 4h median play time
Impressive efforts with a few noticeable problems holding them back. Won't astound everyone, but is worth your time and cash.
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Get on itch.io Store"INMOST is a single-player horror platformer with a hauntingly atmospheric pixel art world, offering an emotional and intimate story of loss and hope. Play as three different characters and utilize unique gameplay styles to solve puzzles, avoid traps, and escape evil. The game features stellar graphics, perfect music, and a 3-5 hour experience, intended to be played in a single-sitting on a dark, stormy night."
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Reviews
- Beautiful pixel art and stunning visuals that create an immersive atmosphere.
- A deeply emotional and impactful story that resonates with themes of pain, loss, and love.
- Engaging gameplay with a mix of puzzle-solving and platforming elements that keep the experience fresh.
- The game is quite short, typically taking only 3-4 hours to complete, which may not justify the price for some players.
- The story can be confusing and requires careful attention to fully understand, with a heavy exposition dump at the end.
- Controls can feel clunky and slow at times, leading to frustration during gameplay.
- story2,630 mentions
- 37 % positive mentions
- 58 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The story of "Inmost" is a deeply emotional and complex narrative that explores themes of pain, loss, and love through the perspectives of three interconnected characters. While many players found the storytelling to be beautifully crafted and impactful, some criticized its pacing and clarity, noting that the plot can be confusing until the end, where a significant exposition reveals the connections between the characters. Overall, the game is praised for its stunning visuals and haunting soundtrack, making it a compelling experience for those who appreciate story-driven gameplay, despite some frustrations with gameplay mechanics.
“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.”
“Inmost is a heart-wrenching story about pain, grief, and trauma that uses gameplay to convey its message and manages to turn a bleak narrative into a spark of hope.”
“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.”
“Whenever you reach an important milestone puzzling through the castle, the story about the young girl kills the pacing and momentum, and her slow movements make it really hard not to just hit escape and do something else.”
“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.”
- gameplay840 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 engage with three distinct characters, each offering unique mechanics, but many reviews highlight the gameplay as slow, clunky, and at times tedious, with a significant portion of the experience consisting of cutscenes rather than interactive elements. While some players appreciate the atmospheric visuals and emotional depth of the story, others find the gameplay lacking in challenge and engagement, leading to mixed overall impressions.
“The gameplay is captivating and pulls you into the story effortlessly.”
“Gameplay is engaging most of the way through.”
“The gameplay consists of three characters with different mechanical sets; a point n' click, a puzzle platformer, and a power fantasy leaning combat focused character.”
“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 most important thing about the game should be gameplay, which is boring and super short.”
- music490 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 that the music can be repetitive, the overall consensus is that it 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 super captivating and really reels you into the story.”
“The soundtrack is near perfect in conveying the emotions of the game.”
“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.”
- graphics476 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 captivating and immersive experience, although some note that the gameplay can feel secondary to the aesthetic. Overall, the art style is considered a standout feature, contributing significantly to the game's dark and poignant themes.
“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.”
“On-rails story game with horrible pixelly graphics that make it impossible to tell what characters are supposed to be.”
- emotional476 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of "Inmost" is widely praised, with many players describing it as a heart-wrenching and deeply touching experience that evokes strong feelings of pain, loss, and hope. The game's narrative, combined with its stunning visuals and haunting musical score, creates an immersive atmosphere that resonates with players, often leading them to tears. While some found the emotional impact overwhelming or overly sentimental, the majority agree that it offers a profound and meaningful journey worth experiencing.
“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 about pain, grief and trauma that uses gameplay to convey its message and manages to turn a bleak narrative into a spark of hope.”
“This game was an emotional roller coaster from start to finish.”
- atmosphere308 mentions
- 69 % positive mentions
- 30 % neutral mentions
- 1 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of "Inmost" is widely praised for its captivating blend of mystery, melancholy, and immersive design, enhanced by stunning pixel art and a haunting soundtrack. Players are drawn into a richly detailed world that evokes strong emotions, with many noting the game's ability to create a gripping and atmospheric experience that lingers long after play. While some found the narrative confusing, the overall ambiance and artistic elements are consistently highlighted as standout features that elevate the gameplay.
“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.”
“Whether you're navigating a dark forest, exploring eerie caverns, or confronting nightmarish creatures, you're immersed in an atmosphere thick with tension and melancholy.”
“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 atmosphere is very dark, creepy, and tragic; I would not recommend it to those of weak hearts or who are in pain, but may you know even if it's heartbreaking, it speaks about hope and love.”
“The game largely relies on its atmosphere and story to carry it.”
- grinding72 mentions
- 1 % positive mentions
- 4 % neutral mentions
- 94 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game has been widely criticized for its tedious gameplay, characterized by slow character movements, long animations, and repetitive puzzle design. Many players found the pacing frustrating, with segments feeling drawn out and lacking engaging mechanics, leading to a sense of monotony that detracted from the overall experience. While some appreciated the story's emotional depth, the overwhelming sentiment is that the gameplay fails to deliver a rewarding experience, making progression feel laborious.
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“Yeah, the story is touching, full of symbolism and blah-blah-blah, but it is so tedious to progress in this game.”
“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 this game 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.”
- replayability50 mentions
- 6 % positive mentions
- 78 % neutral mentions
- 16 % negative mentions
The game has been widely 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 limited replay value in collecting achievements or hidden items, the overall consensus is that the lack of engaging content for multiple playthroughs makes it less appealing for those seeking a game with high replay potential.
“The game is short, but it does give players a replayable experience.”
“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.”
“Very linear gameplay with virtually no replayability.”
“The replay value is rather low since the main drive is the story and if you know the solution for the puzzles, the gameplay a second time around is surely no longer interesting.”
“Considering this length and lack of replay value alone, Inmost's price seems extremely high.”
- humor24 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game effectively blends humor with its darker themes, featuring genuinely funny moments that provide relief from the overall creepiness and emotional depth. Characters, particularly the toy bunny, deliver humorous dialogue that enhances the experience, while the expressive pixel art and atmospheric design complement the humor beautifully. Overall, the humor is well-placed, adding a unique charm to the game's poignant narrative.
“The game has touches of genuinely funny humor, and the world's atmosphere is absolutely fantastic, with excellent pixel art and lighting.”
“But it also has a sense of humor (some of it pretty dark) with some things that legit made me chuckle.”
“The story is creepy and humorous and deep and heart-wrenching.”
- stability24 mentions
- 8 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 92 % negative mentions
The game's stability is frequently criticized due to various bugs and glitches, particularly with gameplay mechanics like object interaction and character movement. Players have reported issues such as soft locks, graphic glitches, and untriggered events, which can hinder progress. Despite these problems, many still find the game enjoyable and worth playing, suggesting that the overall experience is not severely compromised by the stability issues.
“The game is mostly bug-free, with only a few instances where events like dialogue or NPC actions didn't trigger.”
“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.”
“Achievements are a bit buggy and won't load for some, from what I've read on the forums and through my experience as well.”
- character development6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The character development in the game is praised for its atmospheric depth, enhanced by effective horror elements in both design and music. Reviewers highlight the importance of the narrative and the emotional messages conveyed through the characters, making it a compelling experience. Overall, the character design is highly appreciated, contributing significantly to the game's immersive quality.
“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.”
- optimization6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
Overall, players have noted that while the game's music is exceptional, there are occasional performance issues such as freezes and stuttering, which some attribute to their own hardware rather than the game's optimization.
“The music of this game was amazing, my only complaint being the occasional freezes or stuttering I'd get, but I'm going to assume that was from my hardware.”
