InnerSpace Review: Dancing Through the Sky

Every now and then a game comes out that creates a sense of calm within you. It’s not often I’m playing something that will keep me relaxed as my wife is stressing out over our pregnancy, as we are just a few weeks away from birth. Even rarer is a game that does that and instills a sense of accomplishment at the same time. And yet, PolyKnight Games nails both of those feelings while you have to put forth little effort.

When I think of flying in games, it’s either something so effortless and natural like the recent AER, or something that feels so unpolished and painful you don’t want to play like the much less enjoyable Oure. In this case, we’ll be somewhere between the two with a persuasion toward the former, with a bit of underwater travel for good measure. But rest assured that everything works how you’d expect in InnerSpace.

The game starts with a bit of lore, and is then followed by a tutorial that will teach you all the basics you’ll need for your exploration. Once you’re given control in the world of the Inverse, you’ll be treated to an assortment of environments that are almost reminiscent of M.C. Escher as you twist and turn while the environment does the same and always appears to be right side up (or upside down). Luckily, the game doesn’t make you wander aimlessly, as it provides little way-point type launchers for you to stop and get your bearings. These provide a way to look around without the pressure of the controls to see if there are any collectibles nearby, or perhaps something in the environment you can interact with. If there’s nothing, you can at least fly to the next one of these points with ease. But I recommend flying about and finding things naturally, as you’re bound to see a glowing light that will guide your attention.

The colors used in the game are absolutely extraordinary, and the way they work with the environment and soundtrack means they serve a much greater purpose than solely looking different from the other offerings on your preferred online game store. In addition to flying, you’ll be swimming after collecting one of the initial relics. As you progress through the game you’ll come across many relics that not only serve as storytelling devices, but ways to improve your abilities while traversing the different parts of the Inverse you unlock. The relics are handled in a way you may expect from a walking simulator, but in a much more user friendly way. Instead of simply allowing you to inspect a 3D modeled object, you’re walked through a set of steps and animations that are ultimately much more interesting than the normal pick up and rotate mechanic that has become commonplace.

On top of relics, you’ll be able to collect wind, which is much easier to come by than relics. Wind serves as the main collectible in the game, and will allow you to use the relics you come across, which means further progression of the game. The amount needed is never more than you’d probably obtain from general exploration, so you won’t have to worry about grinding out the acquisition of these collectibles like you would with experience in an RPG.

Something you may not expect from a general exploration game that involves some minor puzzle solving as you move about the environment would be the bosses you encounter. Calling these encounters “boss fights” may be a bit much, as these often just involve flying into certain things at the right time, or chasing something for a period of time, but they break up the gameplay nonetheless and give something unique to each level you come across. The levels also make use of sound cues depending on where you are in the environment and what’s going on – the general swelling feeling of it would make anyone feel excited as something big is about to happen.

Since this game is pretty much all about flying or swimming, the game needs to perfect those mechanics. While they seem solid initially, you’ll soon find yourself running into walls and sand and whatever else the level has as you try to collect everything and destroy each of the breakable objects. Now this could certainly be worse, as the game does a good job of getting you out of those situations quickly, but the nature of the levels often leaves you confused as to where you are once you’re past it, and you need to get your bearings again. I also found myself struggling with flight after certain upgrades; you’d think this would be the opposite in a game where you’re making your vehicle better.

With beautiful scenery, lots to collect, and a good amount of lore to take in, InnerSpace is a wonderful little title if you’re looking for something to kick back with at the end of a hard day and relax. Perhaps most impressive is that this is PolyKnight Games’ first professional title. Having a debut like this, we can’t wait to see what they do next.

8 out of 10

Pros

  • Pastel Aesthetic
  • Open Exploration
  • Interesting Story

Cons

  • Occasional Flight Issues

InnerSpace was developed by PolyKnight Games and published by Aspyr Media. It launched on PC, PS4, NS, and X1 January 16th, 2018. The game was provided to us for review on PS4. For more on InnerSpace, check out the game’s official site.

 

Here at GBG we use a rating method that you are more than likely familiar with – a scale of 1 to 10. For clarification, we intend on using the entire scale: 1-4 is something you should probably avoid paying for; 5-7 is something that is worth playing, but probably not at full price; 8-10 is a great title that you can feel confident about buying. If you have any questions or comments about how we rate a game, please let us know.

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