Inmost is a poetic dive into trauma, horror and loss with a focus on exploration. Though a short experience, the pacing and visuals vary enough to make the game feel long and short all at once.
The game is a 2D platformer, similar to pitfall but with the visual style that balances cute and dark evenly. The pixel work here is enhanced with some visual effects like smoke and lighting, but the control of color in combination with the music create a distinct horror feel. The creatures you will encounter are non specific and using the environments is how you will deal with them, when you have to. The overall mood is reminiscent of a Haunted House where the deeper you go, the closer you get to answers and flirt with madness.
Without spoiling too much, the game jumps between three characters who have a range of movement options and speeds to work with. The goals vary between each. An older man is making his way through a castle, avoiding creatures of darkness, finding tools to help solve puzzles and unlock doors. This will be the bulk of the gameplay and where the seeds of the story are planted. You will play as a little girl who is exploring her own home with a very cynical stuffed rabbit at her side, all the while avoiding the attention of others. She is limited by her strength and height mostly and is more grounded in reality. The final character is the very opposite; a knight armed with a sword and grappling hook who dashes through enemies and zips through levels at high speeds. His story is narrated and wrapped in dark fantasy.
Metaphor lay everywhere in the narrative, and to speak too much on it will give it away. The details really matter here, in the visuals and the level design. There is a strong mix of environmental and spoken storytelling that ties it all together, but I had a hard time stringing the story together up until the very end. The conclusion is immensely satisfying, if a bit long winded, but wraps up nicely and gives context to a lot of the pain we see our characters endure. This game is not for the sensitive, as the warning up front conveys, but the visual style gives a cushion against the violence.
It’s refreshing to see a take on psychological horror that knows when to be subtle. There were a few bumps I ran into as far as controls went. I played on my Mac through Apple Arcade and not until I connected a controller did I realize there were extra movement options like dashes and rolls that would have helped me in certain sections. The game doesn’t provide any information in game to tell you how the controls are mapped, but this may differ on iphone or the console releases.
As I mentioned before, the story can be a bit difficult to track, but the gameplay and puzzle solving was enough to keep me engaged and see it through. It’s not a large time commitment but by the end of the game, I was emotionally drained. I needed some sunshine for sure. The length of the game also meant that I could recall the metaphoric aspects and make those connections in the moment rather than having to look back at notes or take the time to look into it. They were clearly evident.
Inmost is very much worth playing if you have an afternoon or two available to you. It’s pushing the envelope on how to examine trauma through games and uses its pixels with consideration and purpose. If you have apple arcade it’s a no brainer, as this platform continues to show its value and Chucklefish continues to publish thoughtful and artful work.
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