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The Inner Friend

Traversing a terrifying, multi-dimensional modern art exhibit for 2 hours can get tedious, but it never stops piquing your curiosity.
77%Game Brain Score
story, gameplay
optimization, grinding
87% User Score Based on 60 reviews
Critic Score 66%Based on 9 reviews

Platforms

PCPCXboxXboxXbox Series X|SXbox Series X|SPlaystation 5Playstation 5Playstation 4Playstation 4WindowsWindowsPlayStationPlayStationXbox OneXbox One
Buy Nowfrom $14.99
Buy NowGet on Steam$14.99

About

"The Inner Friend" is a third-person psychological horror adventure game that explores the player's subconscious mind. The game features various levels, each representing different fears and insecurities. Players must navigate through surreal landscapes, solve puzzles, and confront their inner demons to overcome their fears. The game has a unique art style and uses atmospheric sound design to create an immersive and intense experience.

Genres & Tags
Play Modes
The Inner Friend screenshot
The Inner Friend screenshot
The Inner Friend screenshot
The Inner Friend screenshot
The Inner Friend screenshot

87%
Audience ScoreBased on 69 reviews
story14 positive mentions
optimization2 negative mentions
  • The game features stunning graphics and a captivating soundtrack that enhance the overall atmosphere.
  • It offers a unique and thought-provoking experience, exploring childhood fears and traumas through surreal environments and puzzles.
  • The gameplay variety, including puzzles and exploration, keeps players engaged throughout the short playtime.
  • The game is quite short, typically lasting around 1.5 to 3 hours, which may not justify the full price for many players.
  • Some players found the puzzles to be too easy and lacking in depth, which detracted from the overall challenge.
  • The abstract storytelling and lack of clear direction can leave players confused about the narrative and objectives.
  • story
    51 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story of "The Inner Friend" is abstract and metaphorical, focusing on a protagonist confronting childhood fears through a visually driven narrative that relies heavily on symbols and cues rather than dialogue. While some players appreciate the depth and emotional resonance of the story, others find it confusing and lacking direction, particularly at the beginning. The game offers a unique horror atmosphere and engaging puzzles, but its narrative structure may leave some players wanting more clarity and guidance.

    • “Glad I checked this game out, and if you like surreal story-based games, this is a great pickup.”
    • “This game is pretty spooky for no jumpscares and has a very deep story hidden within the unique gameplay and puzzles.”
    • “The game is presented in a tension-building sort of horror format, and it incorporates a seriously unsettling atmosphere that tells its story through little words and mostly visual cues and symbols.”
    • “The secret/hidden ending seems to explain 90% of the plot in about 2 minutes, so anyone who finished the game without collecting all collectibles will want to track down the video of that to actually piece together what happened...more or less.”
    • “The events themselves have no real concrete structure to them or even dialogue to explain things away, but they have a story that can mostly be figured out by the player through visual cues and symbols.”
    • “It has a severely affecting storyline, and depending on who you are, what your past is, and how much you relate to this angst-ridden young protagonist, the wordless and purely visual plot structure will either make sense to you right away or leave you scratching your head in confusion.”
  • gameplay
    29 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay in *The Inner Friend* is a mix of walking simulator elements and light puzzle-solving, with some engaging chase sequences that evoke classic horror themes. However, many players find the gameplay rudimentary and repetitive, with a significant portion of the experience feeling like filler, leading to a perception that the game is overpriced for its limited content. Overall, while it offers some interesting mechanics and variety, it struggles to deliver a consistently compelling gameplay experience.

    • “The gameplay offers a good amount of variety throughout its nightmare-fueled story; creepy decrepit old hags chase you through hallways of mirrors with scissors in a scene reminiscent of the classic 'Clock Tower' villain in tense chase scenes, while ruined old antique classrooms hold progressively harder light puzzle solutions to solve.”
    • “While some of these sections are definitely a bit more obtuse than others (for me it was the light puzzles that felt tedious), they flow quite well and never overstay their welcome, with new interesting mechanics and scenes being thrown at you at a constant pace.”
    • “In short: the gameplay is simple but effective.”
    • “No gameplay at all, huge level with nothing in it.”
    • “It is a walking simulator for $16.99 and not even 2 hours of gameplay.”
    • “Ultimately there's nothing here gameplay-wise you haven't seen elsewhere.”
  • graphics
    25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game are generally praised for their quality and aesthetic appeal, with many users noting that they are visually striking and easy on the eyes. While there are some minor issues with lighting, the overall graphical polish contributes to an engaging atmosphere that enhances the storytelling. Players appreciate the combination of intriguing visuals and sound design, which effectively convey the game's psychological themes.

    • “It was very enjoyable and the graphics are great!”
    • “Visuals and audio are high quality and also incredibly interesting in how they help tell each particular story.”
    • “What you do come across is the psychological terror of childhood traumas and adolescent fears captured in set-pieces of obscure visuals, and absolutely chilling sound design to carry you through in the most unsettling of ways.”
    • “There's a fair degree of graphical polish here with some examples of poor lighting.”
    • “Now graphically the game is in the price range of 10-15 dollars but in terms of gameplay I feel 5-8 dollars is much more fair and would recommend it once it hits that discount.”
    • “In the settings you’ll find graphics (gamma, display mode, resolution, vsync, texture, shadow, effects and post process quality).”
  • music
    15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game is highly praised for its atmospheric quality, enhancing the overall experience with a solid soundtrack that complements the environment and story. While there are no voiceovers, the background music effectively engages players, contributing to a captivating ambiance. Overall, the music has received top marks from users, highlighting its importance in the game's appeal.

    • “The background music is very good and gives a nice atmospheric feel to the game.”
    • “+ great atmospheric music”
    • “The environment is interesting, the soundtrack is solid, and the story is great.”
    • “No voice over, no music to engage.”
    • “No voice over, no music to engage.”
    • “For audio, there is music and sound volume, keyboard and mouse (rebind keys, mouse sensitivity), controller and language (choice of nine different languages).”
  • atmosphere
    13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere of *The Inner Friend* is characterized by a deeply unsettling and tension-building horror format, relying on visual cues and symbols rather than dialogue to convey its story. Users praise the game's eerie sound design and background music, which enhance the spooky ambiance, while noting that the experience focuses more on evoking feelings of strangeness than on solving puzzles. Despite its strong visual and atmospheric elements, some reviewers feel that the game could benefit from adding more risk to its encounters to fully realize its potential.

    • “Lights flicker ominously and doors creak open while eerie mirrors crack and break leading to new ominous rooms. There are no cheap jump scares to speak of or gratuitous gore to come across, but the atmosphere and the building of tension makes 'The Inner Friend' feel completely spooky.”
    • “It's very atmospheric and more about feeling the strange than solving the simple puzzles.”
    • “The game is presented in a tension-building sort of horror format, and it incorporates a seriously unsettling atmosphere that tells its story through little words and mostly visual cues and symbols.”
    • “Lights flicker ominously and doors creak open while eerie mirrors crack and break leading to new ominous rooms. There are no cheap jump scares to speak of or gratuitous gore to come across and gross you out with, but the atmosphere and the building of tension makes 'The Inner Friend' feel completely spooky.”
    • “The inner friend was in much need of adding risk to its puzzles and encounters, if it hoped to create the eerie, unsettling atmosphere of which its subject matter and visual design are more than capable.”
  • optimization
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, the game's optimization is generally solid, with only minor hitches reported that do not significantly affect framerate or overall performance. Players have not encountered major issues in this regard.

    • “A few hitches in optimization, but nothing significant in terms of framerate drops.”
    • “Performance hasn't been an issue either.”
  • grinding
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players find the grinding aspects of the game to be a mixed experience; while some sections, like light puzzles, can feel tedious, the overall flow is maintained with a steady introduction of new mechanics and scenes that keep the gameplay engaging. Despite moments of tedium, the intriguing environment helps sustain player curiosity throughout.

  • replayability
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Reviewers generally agree that the game lacks significant replayability, as once players have completed the experience, there is little incentive to return.

    • “The only issue is that once you've experienced the game, I don't think there's much replay value.”
  • emotional
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players find the emotional aspect of the game to be both unique and thought-provoking, often describing it as touching and impactful. This blend of oddity and depth resonates strongly, leaving a lasting impression on those who experience it.

    • “It's weird, it's odd, it's thought-provoking, it's touching, and I absolutely loved it.”

66%Critics’ scoreBased on 9 critic reviews

Buy The Inner Friend

3h Median play time
3h Average play time
2-5h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 6 analyzed playthroughs

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