There's that special type of indie game that doesn't try to be bigger, faster, or more fun than the competition, but simply deeper. Inmost is a short, atmospheric 2D adventure that doesn't care about your mood. In three to five hours, it will manage to drain you more emotionally than some RPGs in fifty. It's not a platformer you play to relax, it's a game you finish, then sit in silence and stare at the monitor.
Three faces of darkness
The story unfolds through three different characters: an old man, a knight and a little girl. Each of them carries their own piece of tragedy, and the mechanics that accompany their roles are symbolic. The old man moves slowly, exploring abandoned buildings, looking for objects and trying to figure out what happened. The girl lives in a world of fear, horror and powerlessness, and the knight brings a bit of dynamism and represents what we all want to be when things go downhill. At first this all looks like some existential philosophizing, but as the story goes on, the pieces of the puzzle start to fit together and you realize what's really going on.
Pixels with soul
The pixel art graphics look great, perfectly combining the creepy and emotional feeling at the same time. The color palette is restrained and effective, from dark gray to various shades of blue Light and shadows have their own personality, working together like an orchestra, with everything breathing and resonating. The music is minimalist, underlining what you already know, that something is wrong, with a crescendo when things get more dramatic and worse. I highly recommend using headphones.
The gameplay is a bit slow
Gameplay is the weak link of the game. The platforming is decent, but nothing special. The controls don't always react the way you want them to, so you can get unnecessarily stuck in some places. The puzzles are mostly clear, but sometimes it happened to me that I asked myself "now what?" until I realize that I forgot to click on the black spot in the corner of the room.
Short, but not without a trace
Inmost is not for everyone. This is more of an experience than a game. A short punch in the stomach that you can't avoid, but you can't forget either, like a dream that you only partially remember, in a fog. If you are looking for something cheerful, light and bright, avoid this game. If fall you want something deep, that will touch you and break you emotionally from the inside, stay. The ending, like everything before it, is difficult and ambiguous. Some will get it and some won't. However, everyone will feel it. Pixels shouldn't be this emotional, but they are. And thank them for that.
A copy of the game was provided by the publisher Chucklefish for review purposes
