Inmost (Nintendo Switch) Review

The themes present in Inmost aren't going to be for everybody. It is without a doubt a defining factor, and worth mentioning from the off, that it deals with some fairly dark subject matter. Commonly, when dealing with similar themes, a piece of media will skirt around the topic indirectly or have some kind of saccharine element that'll round off the edges.

This opinion is perhaps coming from a western perspective (and this title, incidentally, was developed in Lithuania by Hidden Layer Games), but that certainly isn't the case with Inmost. It can be unsettling at times, depressing even. And although it does paint a bleak picture for the most part, it also has moments of humour and action that balance the narrative. Really it is this narrative, and the presentation of which, that is the principle reason to play Inmost.

The main plot device revolves around three characters, and three distinct play styles in the knight, the wanderer and the girl, respectively. There's almost a Kingdom Hearts-ian kind of vibe going on with the plot. It often waxes lyrical about how all of these protagonists all carry a pain in their souls, and about how the pure-hearted are growing secret flowers or something or other. With the promise of seeing what the nature of this pain is as well as revealing the mystery of how these stories all relate to one another, keeps one compelled right up to the concluding moments.

It should be said here that the light and darkness thing does come off less literal and more of an allegory than it does in Kingdom Hearts, instead taking more likely stylistic influence from titles such as Limbo, Inside and Another World. This influence can also be seen in the pacing, as well as the gameplay and how it deals with fail states. A lot of credit goes towards it's soundtrack design for setting a great tone throughout, as well as excellent world building that makes Inmost feel unique unto itself.

The wanderer sections comprise the largest portion of gameplay, and are the main meat on the bones of this adventure. These sections consist of navigating through an interwoven, and tightly designed map, solving puzzles and collecting key items to progress. The platforming can be stiff at times, however this isn't too much of an issue as puzzling takes a primary role, versus making pixel-perfect jumps.

There is no attack action to speak of, instead eschewing that for the ability to interact. There are enemies on the map, but you must always deal with them more indirectly, and that usually requires some thought - think along the lines of the "getting past the goat" puzzle in Broken Sword… but much less annoying. The other two characters break up these segments. The girl plays slower, and it is an all-around more suspenseful and drama-ful involvement as you explore the secrets of a creeptacular house, whereas the knight is a faster and more action packed play style, giving the ability to attack foes directly.

Both are welcome shifts of gear, and serve to mix up the story at key junctures. The knight sections can get a little repetitive, and would have benefited from an additional mechanic or two during progression, though thankfully this issue is mitigated by no one section overstaying its welcome. Engaging set pieces are sprinkled throughout all of this as well, which additionally supports the pacing, and serves as an exciting and engaging spectacle. As for how it performs on the Switch, it does have some issues, but nothing that will ruin the experience. Frames can stutter here and there in both docked and handheld modes, and there are noticeable load times between chapters that you'd hope wouldn't have been required.