22 Games Like Inside
Our selection of games like Inside features other dark puzzle platformers that create unique atmospheres of mystery for you to explore.
From the same minds that brought you the popular and similarly dark Limbo adventure Inside offers a mostly monochrome adventure with platform mechanics. Playing as a nameless boy with a red shirt you’ll slide down a rough and rocky incline into a dark forest like world of the unknown. Filled with zombie like people, guards, vehicles and various creatures it is up to you to survive as you run and jump from location to location. As you progress you'll decipher the encounters you experience and broader storyline which concludes with one of the multiple game endings.
The puzzle platform elements of Inside are recognisable with a 2.5D approach that gives players the ability to walk, run, climb, swim and even take control of the bodies of others to overcome various environmental puzzles and avoid death. Players that take their time to slowly explore every inch of the Inside game world will also uncover a series of secret rooms that tie in closely to an alternative game ending.
The games like Inside here offer great platform experiences with minimalist, dark, dangerous or mysterious game worlds for players to explore as they solve a number of platform and environmental puzzle challenges.
Braid
Braid is an indie title that mixes the puzzle and platform genre with the unique element of time manipulation to create an interesting adventure of a daring princess rescue. Originally launched for Xbox 360 Braid was later ported to other platforms with the same core gameplay. In Braid players take control of Tim as he attempts to rescue the princess from a monster that awaits at the end of your puzzle adventure. The relationship between you and the princess is vague at the start of the game but...[Read Review]
Machinarium
Machinarium offers a unique and addicting puzzle adventure game across a number of platforms that utilises a point and click control scheme and a world without dialogue. Originally released for Windows in 2009 the game quickly expanded to mobile and console platforms allowing all gamers to explore the story adventure of Machinarium. You’ll start off solving puzzles in Machinarium but quickly get engaged in the story and almost forget that you are playing a puzzle game with the unique setting tha...[Read Review]
Never Alone
Never Alone (Kisima Ingitchuna) takes an interesting setting and transforms it into a compelling video game focused on story and puzzle gameplay across a total of 8 game chapters. With a strong atmosphere blending with puzzle and platform mechanics Never Alone tells an insightful story of Alaska Natives that itself had development input by Indigenous people. Following initial release the game has grown the number of available platforms while also releasing a single expansion pack, Never Alone: F...[Read Review]
Oscura: Lost Light
Oscura: Lost Light combines puzzle elements with some old school platformer mechanics to create an adventure that sees you moving across a dark setting to refresh the light that has been lost. Released in 2015 the game has similarities to Limbo released half a decade earlier although is much more than just a clone of this popular title. The game also serves as a prequel to other Oscura games (Oscura and Oscura: Second Shadow) by exploring the origins of the world and the fate of the lighthouse k...[Read Review]
Albert and Otto
Opting to take players to the heart of a pre-World War II Germany for a puzzle platforming experience is Albert and Otto. Not only is it quite possibly the only game in this genre to adopt such a setting it’s also the one game to feature a magical bunny. While this is where the uniqueness ends with fairly typical platform mechanics and a simple colour palette in a similar vein to Limbo Albert and Otto is a high quality offering and stands out nicely against the sea of puzzle indie titles t...[Read Review]
The Swapper
The Swapper is a puzzle game that is all about cloning yourself in an endless cycle in order to explore the eerie abandoned space station that you find yourself trapped within. With this dark atmosphere of The Swapper the visuals and atmospheric elements are just as strong as the unique core puzzle mechanics and adventure experience. In The Swapper players get the chance to explore a futuristic research facility and space station known as Theseus without much initial context and who, what, where...[Read Review]
And Yet It Moves
And Yet It Moves offers a unique platform experience and was put together by the indie developer Broken Rules. The game was released in 2009 for Windows and Mac. The origins of the game start back as a science project which after receiving a large number of game award nominations grew into a full game experience. The game is as unique as it is fun with players controlling their character through a variety of puzzles and dangerous environments. The core element that players use to solve these puz...[Read Review]
Year Walk
Playing as Daniel Svensson as he visits his lover Stina and engaging in the Swedish traditional of the year walking is an abstract adventure with light horror and puzzle elements appropriately named Year Walk. Designed for iOS and later coming to Windows/Mac and Wii U your journey sees you attempting to do the risky affair of a Year Walk after Stina warns you against it, having had her cousin die from such activity in the past. Said Year Walk requires players to take Daniel Svensson to head to a...[Read Review]
Monochroma
Bringing a cinematic treat from a basic colour palette is Monochroma, a title that is easy to write off as a Limbo clone but you’ll quickly discover its something just as deep in its own right. Taking you into an alternative universe your story revolves around the story of two brothers. With the younger brother injured early on in the piece this leaves the older brother to carry him through the madness and puzzles that lie in wait. The world that you’ll guide the brothers through is ...[Read Review]
Nightsky
NightSky brings you a puzzle adventure game mixed with some action elements to deliver a well paced game. The game focuses on creating on a visually intriguing experience through a unique world. NightSky was first released on the Windows platform in early 2011 and since its success has expanded to the Nintendo 3DS and eventually iOS. The game has received nominations for several awards and uses an experimental soundtrack with jazz foundations from musician Chris Schlarb. The game offers very sim...[Read Review]
Lost in Shadow
Lost in Shadow is a unique 2D platform game that has you trapped as your own shadow, limiting you to interaction with only the shadows of objects. The game was released in 2011 for the Nintendo Wii. In Lost Shadow you’ll be spending your time in the background of some impressive game environments as you only have control of the main character’s shadow. In your adventure you’ll attempt to climb the mysterious shadow tower while completing unique puzzles and fighting off other shadow beings. Playe...[Read Review]
Nihilumbra
Nihilumbra blends puzzles and platforming gameplay together in order to deliver an interesting and dark adventure game originally for iOS and now available on a range of platforms. Entering the game world as Born, a creature that comes from the nothingness that is the Void you’ll adventure out into the foreign land and advance through the story to understand yourself. The Void wants you back though and chases you relentlessly around the world, refusing to stop until you rejoin the nothingn...[Read Review]
Lume
Lume is an interesting take on the puzzle adventure genre and is set in a strange cardboard filled world that stands out from other adventures. If you are up for a unique experience that you can enjoy on either your computer or handheld device (iOS) then this paper world delivers plenty of adventure based discovery across several hours of game time. While short and a simple affair the appeal of Lume is its rewarding story premise and the unique art style that it employs. Many of these themes ret...[Read Review]
A Boy and His Blob
A Boy and His Blob for the Nintendo Wii revisits the 1989 NES adventure game with a refreshed look and refined gameplay which once again allows players to own a blob pet who loves to eat jellybeans. While fundamentally similar to the original the leap in hardware allows the Nintendo Wii edition to be a vastly superior re-imagining. Not content with limiting this experience to the Nintendo Wii the game was eventually ported to additional modern day consoles and computer platforms. Focusing on a s...[Read Review]
Closure
Closure is a puzzle and platform game which revolves around the concepts of light and darkness for its puzzle designs throughout the story. This light and dark focus also extends to the atmosphere with a mysterious world underpinning your adventure across an abandoned carnival, run down factory and the swampy forest. The mystery of these locations is significantly enhanced with a world that is entirely black and white and even more so when you come to terms with the primary puzzle mechanic of re...[Read Review]
Another World
Another World (or Out of This World in North America) was originally released in 1991 and is considered a classic in the platform and adventure genre for its innovation in cinematic effects on release. Since this original release the game has been brought to countless other platforms as a 20th anniversary edition that allows newcomers and original fans alike to once again step into the mysterious other world. In Another World players are Lester Knight Chaykin who is a young and widely regarded p...[Read Review]
Outland
Outland is a downloadable platform title for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 which available through their respective online portals amongst a Steam release version for computer based gamers. Marketing itself as a Metroidvania Outland sticks to the formula set by predecessors in this genre with a few additions and exclusions to make it a unique journey. One such refinement is the faster paced experience that plays out through the puzzle and platform level blend alongside consistent combat. Behind...[Read Review]
Vessel
Vessel is a puzzle game with steampunk elements that focuses on physic puzzles based around liquid. The game was released in 2012 and has proven to be popular among puzzle fans and the media for its unique mechanics and simulation of fluids. In Vessel players will be jumping into the shoes of M. Arkwright who is an inventor of Fluro, one of the core mechanics in your puzzle adventure. This Fluro was created in order to create liquid beings to perform labour tasks as it was shown to be more effic...[Read Review]
Limbo
Limbo is a 2D puzzle platform title that takes the genre into a darker setting than usual. Leveraging this dark setting to create an emotional tale of a young boy while also adding challenge and puzzle like elements to the otherwise basic platforming Limbo features fantastic and unique game design that you won’t soon forget. Creating this atmosphere primarily through visual presentation Limbo takes place entirely in a black and white game world. It’s similar to film noir style with the way...[Read Review]
Saira
Saira brings a 2D puzzle platform experience to your Windows computer and was released in late 2009. The game has multiple endings, unique art style and even includes a level editor within the game. Saira was developed Nicklas Nygren the same mind that has created many other similar puzzle based platform games such as the highly popular NightSky. In Saira you take control of a photographer who after a mysterious and tragic accident finds herself to be the only remaining person in the entire gala...[Read Review]
Typoman
Launched as a Wii U title and eventually brought to Windows/Mac Typoman offers up a dark aesthetic with a unique focus on spelt words as puzzle mechanics and to provide information to the player. Starting as a simple O and then rolling down the hill to form a human like shape from other letters. From here you’ll start to pick up the various mechanics (all linked to words) which will serve you throughout your journey. Said mechanics include picking up letters and moving them to spell words ...[Read Review]
Selma And The Wisp
Offering up control over a colourful wisp as you lead the innocent Selma through various environmental obstacles is Selma And The Wisp a game with basic platform elements, adventure and discovery around each map screen. Opening with Selma alone in her room with a monster under the bed the player guides the bright wisp to Selma, giving her hope amongst the darkness and a way to safety from the unknown monsters that stalk her. This is where your bond with each other begins with Selma following you...[Read Review]