Review cover InnerSpace (Nintendo Switch)
Official GBAtemp Review

Product Information:

  • Release Date (NA): January 16, 2018
  • Release Date (EU): January 16, 2018
  • Release Date (JP): January 16, 2018
  • Publisher: Aspyr
  • Developer: PolyKnight Games
  • Genres: Adventure
  • Also For: Computer, PlayStation 4, Xbox One

Game Features:

Single player
Local Multiplayer
Online Multiplayer
Co-operative
What secrets lie within?

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PolyKnight Games is a small independent studio based in Dallas. With a portfolio of game jam titles and student projects behind them, InnerSpace serves as their first big step into the industry—but is it enough to leap beyond the realm of mediocrity and secure their space as a studio to be remembered?

First Impressions

Starting the game up, I found myself immediately unimpressed. Not by the graphics, nor music; but by a loading screen that felt endless. While it demonstrated an interesting attention to detail in giving you something to do while you wait, I couldn't help but feel the game would be poorly optimised. After all, games of much larger scale have taken far less time to load. It's by no means a deal breaker, but at just under 90 seconds from starting the game to the main menu loading, it feels uncharacteristically long. It left an impression.

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The main menu itself remains simple and clean, a clear reflection of the menus and UI design as a whole. Stylistically, I struggle to fault it. It feels alien, and yet intuitive—a tone befitting the world itself. Pair this with the mellow sounds of the Inverse pulsating in and out of the background, and you have an image of the world already built up before starting the game. A world both alive and empty; unknown, yet somehow familiar.

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Welcome to the Inverse

After a short introduction to the Inverse, you are powered up and ready to go. Before meeting your maker, you are thrown into an empty chamber in order to learn how to pilot the Cartographer, your vessel for the game. This tutorial does well in teaching the player the essentials of movement, but went a little too quickly for my liking. I can certainly understand wanting to throw the player into the game as early as possible; to force them to learn while doing. That said, it took far longer than the allotted tutorial time to break habits built from more than a decade of playing Pilotwings. Despite InnerSpace operating via two analogue sticks and shoulder buttons, I found myself reaching for the face buttons to accelerate and decelerate far more often than I should have. To this end, I would have appreciated a degree of customisation, if only to bridge the gap slightly for players such as myself more familiar with other control schemes.

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Once past the tutorial, you… Well, you meet your maker—the Archaeologist. Having rebuilt you from relics of the Inverse, this strange submarine friend is eager to learn more of the world you both occupy. With your ability to fly, and the Archaeologist's vast understanding and thirst for knowledge, you journey through the Inverse in an attempt to discover its secrets, its relics, and perhaps even a way out.

Rumble Radar

These secrets and relics aren't always necessarily out of sight, but when they are, the game does a good job in telling you something is near. Enter HD Rumble! The premier feature of the Switch's Joy Cons, a feature so sparingly used many forget its existence. InnerSpace is largely no exception to this; I struggled to notice its inclusion for a large majority of my play time. This came not from a shoddy implementation, but from integration so beautifully crafted, I believed it simply another part of the game.

Shown above is a snippet of gameplay recorded alongside a microphone to try and show the full experience of playing the game. While barely distinguishable to begin with, a radar blip becomes prominent as I approach a relic; this blip coming from the controller in oppose to the system itself. It truly impresses me the developers put such care into this particular version of the game, especially considering InnerSpace is not an exclusive Switch title. The use of rumble is interesting in how it doesn't stand out. It feels as though it was put in to enhance the game, in oppose to using it because it's there; a downfall to many a Nintendo console gimmick. This attention to detail in crafting an environment in which to enjoy the game is something I would be impressed with for any studio, let alone a startup such as PolyKnight.

Restricted Freedom

Throughout the game, I felt a degree of power in deciding the progression. You have the option to explore every crevice and cavern of the Inverse, looking to further the Archaeologist's research and your own understanding of this confusing world; but you also have the option to continue all the same. It strikes me as the kind of freedom prized by a caged bird. You have the freedom to do or do not within the bounds of the Inverse, but you remain within those bounds with the Archaeologist. You can choose to travel a path of ignorance or enlightenment to your surroundings and, from my experience, the latter proves plenty more satisfying. The fragments of story, of lore, all feel earned in oppose to simply given. The satisfaction of doing what you know you never had to drives you to continue.

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Review image Review image Review image

Verdict

What We Liked ...
  • The best use of HD Rumble seen to date
  • Stunning, twisted environments
  • Worlds built through discovery and a wanting to learn
What We Didn't Like ...
  • Some long loading screens
  • No control customisation
8
Gameplay
Flying through the warped worlds feels fun with relatively intuitive controls. While they could be a little sensitive at times, the major flaw came from my familiarity with other games of a similar feel.
8
Presentation
The worlds have an interesting combination of light and darkness intertwined to create mysterious tones without appearing overly dull to the player. Where it is vibrant, it shines beautifully; and where it is dark, it lures you in, making you want to delve deeper.
9
Lasting Appeal
Of all the unexpected things to leave an impression, the use of rumble stood out to me. That aside, InnerSpace puts forward a lasting and compelling narrative that pays out exactly what you put in.
8.8
out of 10

Overall

Should you want a relaxing game of exploration and discovery, where each crevice and cavern hides a secret to be found, InnerSpace is for you. A marvel of perfectly blended themes, music, and gameplay—standing out for the attention to detail put in. I look forward to seeing what else PolyKnight Games is capable of.
E
I hope the game is good
cuz this is the first I've heard of it
 
pokemon is like fifa: same old annual garbage with a facelift. 7.8 is generous!
If you had to pay a microtransaction for each Pokemon you caught, then maybe it'd be as bad. Nobody knows how to fuck up a game like EA does, though.
 
Picked this up last night but haven't had a chance to play it yet. The trailer looked really good so I knew it would be a day one buy for me. Looks like Starfox 64 in some ways, along with a new Ecco the Dolphin kind of feel.
 
Picked this up last night but haven't had a chance to play it yet. The trailer looked really good so I knew it would be a day one buy for me. Looks like Starfox 64 in some ways, along with a new Ecco the Dolphin kind of feel.
I get that vibe too with a bit of Journey mixed in!
 
Ultimately, I find some happiness in knowing I am in fact, not IGN. I really enjoyed this. It excelled in what it was trying to be and is deserving of what I scored it in my opinion.
 
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Review cover
Product Information:
  • Release Date (NA): January 16, 2018
  • Release Date (EU): January 16, 2018
  • Release Date (JP): January 16, 2018
  • Publisher: Aspyr
  • Developer: PolyKnight Games
  • Genres: Adventure
  • Also For: Computer, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Game Features:
Single player
Local Multiplayer
Online Multiplayer
Co-operative

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