# Inside (video game)

**Inside** (stylized as INSIDE) is a 2016 puzzle-platformer adventure game developed and published by [Playdead](https://www.edgepedia.org/playdead), an independent studio based in Copenhagen, Denmark.

| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Developer / publisher | Playdead, founded in 2006 by game designer Arnt Jensen in Copenhagen, Denmark<sup>[2](https://playdead.com/)</sup> |
| First release | Xbox One, June 29, 2016<sup>[3](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/games/company/92760-playdead)</sup> |
| Later platforms | PC (July 7, 2016), PS4 (August 23, 2016), iOS (December 15, 2017), Nintendo Switch (June 28, 2018), Mac (November 16, 2020)<sup>[3](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/games/company/92760-playdead)</sup> |
| Critical reception | Metascore 93 ("Universal Acclaim") on Xbox One from 87 critic reviews; user score 8.3<sup>[1](https://www.metacritic.com/game/inside/)</sup> |
| Rating | ESRB M for Mature, with Blood and Gore and Violence descriptors; single player only<sup>[4](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/xboxone/805489-inside/data)</sup> |

## Gameplay and presentation

The player controls a boy moving through a 2D side-scrolling world, walking, jumping, and grabbing objects to solve puzzles and overcome obstacles, in the manner established by [Limbo](https://www.edgepedia.org/limbo-video-game).<sup>[5](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/inside-review/1900-6416458/)</sup> The game contains no text, dialogue, or instructions: gameplay must be solved by the player, and the story must be inferred.<sup>[6](https://gamingbozo.wordpress.com/2026/05/10/inside/)</sup> Time's reviewer described the plot simply as "You moving forward, mostly left to right, one conundrum at a time," with no combat, no heads-up display, no tutorials, and no on-screen button prompts.<sup>[7](https://time.com/4380020/inside-review/)</sup>

**Puzzle design.** The puzzles are loosely physics-based riddles that invite exploration and fine-tuning. Many depend on noticing disjointed objects or cues, such as what happens in the background while the player interacts with an object in the foreground; others require working out a sequence and executing it with precise timing.<sup>[7](https://time.com/4380020/inside-review/)</sup> Early puzzles teach basic mechanics, and later puzzles combine those mechanics in unexpected ways, often requiring the player to think several steps ahead.<sup>[8](https://www.playinsidegame.com/inside-gameplay/)</sup> The game also introduces new mechanics continuously, twisting familiar puzzle tropes such as pushing and pulling boxes into configurations that feel new.<sup>[9](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/191607-inside/reviews/163226)</sup>

**Atmosphere.** The game's tone is dark and unsettling rather than conventionally fun: [Game Informer](https://www.edgepedia.org/game-informer) called it the closest a reviewer had come to feeling watched and hunted in a video game, and noted it "feels wrong to call the game 'fun.'"<sup>[10](https://gameinformer.com/games/inside/b/xboxone/archive/2016/07/07/game-informer-playdead-inside-xbox-one-review.aspx)</sup> GamesRadar described it as not a horror game per se, but like a vivid nightmare the player is compelled to share with others.<sup>[11](https://www.gamesradar.com/inside-review/)</sup> The route moves from dark woods to an abandoned city to a sprawling laboratory complex, and the absence of traditional music for most of the game makes the rare moments of score feel monumental.<sup>[12](https://www.slantmagazine.com/games/inside/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[8](https://www.playinsidegame.com/inside-gameplay/)</sup>

## Development and technology

It was announced at E3 2014.<sup>[14](https://www.neoseeker.com/inside-playdead/)</sup>

The game was built in the Unity engine, with audio relying on Wwise integrated with Unity and connected to animation and gameplay.<sup>[15](https://blog.playdead.com/articles/inside_presentations/inside_publications.html)</sup> Playdead staff gave several public technical talks on the game. At GDC 2016, graphics coder Mikkel Gjoel and visual effects artist Mikkel Svendsen presented "Low Complexity, High Fidelity: The Rendering of INSIDE," detailing techniques used to achieve high visual fidelity within the game's strict, simplistic aesthetic, including local shadowed volumetrics, a robust water-rendering system, and lighting authored as separate diffuse, specular, and bounce-light entities.<sup>[16](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/programming/video-how-playdead-rendered-the-unique-visuals-of-i-inside-i-)</sup> Other talks covered temporal reprojection anti-aliasing, reaching stutter-free 60 fps while continuously loading and unloading assets, and audio feedback loops between game and sound.<sup>[15](https://blog.playdead.com/articles/inside_presentations/inside_publications.html)</sup>

## Release history

Inside was released first on [Xbox One](https://www.edgepedia.org/xbox-one) on June 29, 2016, followed by PC on July 7, 2016 and [PlayStation 4](https://www.edgepedia.org/playstation-4) on August 23, 2016.<sup>[3](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/games/company/92760-playdead)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[17](https://time.com/4436580/inside-playstation-4/)</sup> An INSIDE / LIMBO Double Pack followed for PS4 and Xbox One on September 12, 2017, the iOS version arrived on December 15, 2017, the [Nintendo Switch](https://www.edgepedia.org/nintendo-switch) version on June 28, 2018, and the Mac version on November 16, 2020.<sup>[3](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/games/company/92760-playdead)</sup> A collector's edition from iam8bit followed in December 2019.<sup>[4](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/xboxone/805489-inside/data)</sup>

## Reception

The game received universal critical acclaim. On Metacritic the Xbox One version holds a Metascore of 93 based on 87 critic reviews, with 100 percent positive and zero mixed or negative reviews, and a user score of 8.3 from 2,085 ratings; the PC version scored 91 and the PS4 version 91.<sup>[1](https://www.metacritic.com/game/inside/)</sup> At launch, Xbox Wire reported it was one of the highest-rated Xbox One games on the site, with an average score of 92.<sup>[18](https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2016/07/01/inside-launches-on-xbox-one-to-critical-acclaim/)</sup> A comparative tally put Inside's critical average at 91 against Limbo's 83.<sup>[19](https://www.vdgms.com/opinion/limbo-vs-inside-1)</sup>

**Awards.** It received seven BAFTA nominations in total, including Best Game, Audio Achievement, and Music.<sup>[20](https://static.bafta.org/uploads_pre_202411/baftagames1617nominationsrelease.pdf)</sup> It finished seventh in the 2016 Game of the Year race with 14 GOTY awards from media outlets and reader votes worldwide.<sup>[21](https://www.metaawards.org/game/inside/)</sup>

**Criticism.** Not all reviews were unreserved. [PC Gamer](https://www.edgepedia.org/pc-gamer) scored it 76, arguing that the game has only a handful of ideas spread thinly across its roughly five hours, and that because traps, ambushes, and surprises are central to its design, there was little urge to replay it.<sup>[22](https://www.pcgamer.com/inside-review/)</sup>

## Legacy

Inside is widely regarded as one of the best indie games ever made, and its influence shows in later side-scrolling games: the developers of the cyberpunk beat 'em up Replaced cited Inside, the Batman Arkham series, and [Uncharted](https://www.edgepedia.org/uncharted) as key inspirations for their platforming.<sup>[23](https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/gog-delisting-playdead-limbo-inside-july-2025)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[24](https://www.gamesradar.com/games/platformer/replaced-is-a-side-scrolling-cyberpunk-beat-em-up-that-wants-to-feel-like-a-playable-movie-we-were-heavily-inspired-by-games-like-inside-the-batman-arkham-series-and-uncharted/)</sup> In 2025, Limbo and Inside were removed from the storefront GOG, with no confirmed reason given, amid a legal dispute between co-founders Arnt Jensen and Dino Patti.<sup>[23](https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/gog-delisting-playdead-limbo-inside-july-2025)</sup> Playdead has continued work on a third game in the years since Inside's launch.<sup>[23](https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/gog-delisting-playdead-limbo-inside-july-2025)</sup>

## References

1. [INSIDE Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/game/inside/)
2. [Playdead, official site](https://playdead.com/)
3. [Game Companies, PLAYDEAD, GameFAQs](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/games/company/92760-playdead)
4. [INSIDE Release Information for Xbox One, GameFAQs](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/xboxone/805489-inside/data)
5. [Inside Review, GameSpot](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/inside-review/1900-6416458/)
6. [INSIDE, GamingBoZo](https://gamingbozo.wordpress.com/2026/05/10/inside/)
7. [Review: 'Inside' Is a Masterful, Elliptical Puzzle-Platformer, Time](https://time.com/4380020/inside-review/)
8. [Inside Gameplay, Inside Game](https://www.playinsidegame.com/inside-gameplay/)
9. [INSIDE Review for PC, GameFAQs](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/191607-inside/reviews/163226)
10. [Inside Review: An Engaging Interactive Nightmare, Game Informer](https://gameinformer.com/games/inside/b/xboxone/archive/2016/07/07/game-informer-playdead-inside-xbox-one-review.aspx)
11. [Inside review, GamesRadar+](https://www.gamesradar.com/inside-review/)
12. [Review: Inside, Slant Magazine](https://www.slantmagazine.com/games/inside/)
13. [Inside Review Roundup, GameSpot](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/inside-review-roundup/1100-6441313/)
14. [INSIDE, Neoseeker](https://www.neoseeker.com/inside-playdead/)
15. [INSIDE Presentations, Playdead Blog](https://blog.playdead.com/articles/inside_presentations/inside_publications.html)
16. [Video: How Playdead rendered the unique visuals of Inside, Game Developer](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/programming/video-how-playdead-rendered-the-unique-visuals-of-i-inside-i-)
17. ['Inside' Is Going to Rectify a Major Shortcoming on August 23, Time](https://time.com/4436580/inside-playstation-4/)
18. [Playdead's Inside Launches on Xbox One to Critical Acclaim, Xbox Wire](https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2016/07/01/inside-launches-on-xbox-one-to-critical-acclaim/)
19. [Limbo vs Inside, VDGMS](https://www.vdgms.com/opinion/limbo-vs-inside-1)
20. [British Academy Games Awards 2017 nominations release, BAFTA](https://static.bafta.org/uploads_pre_202411/baftagames1617nominationsrelease.pdf)
21. [INSIDE, 14 Game of the Year awards (2016), MetaAwards](https://www.metaawards.org/game/inside/)
22. [Inside review, PC Gamer](https://www.pcgamer.com/inside-review/)
23. [GOG is delisting two of the best indie games ever, Windows Central](https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/gog-delisting-playdead-limbo-inside-july-2025)
24. [Replaced is a side-scrolling cyberpunk beat 'em up inspired by Inside, GamesRadar+](https://www.gamesradar.com/games/platformer/replaced-is-a-side-scrolling-cyberpunk-beat-em-up-that-wants-to-feel-like-a-playable-movie-we-were-heavily-inspired-by-games-like-inside-the-batman-arkham-series-and-uncharted/)

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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Video games and digital play › Games and gameplay › Individual game titles › Individual Xbox-platform game titles*

*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*

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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license