If we ever happen to meet some day, I feel it’s only fair to warn you that if you’ve not played Inside, we simply can’t be friends. (I’m going to recommend that if you’ve not heard anything about the game, resist the urge to research it right now. In the event that you choose to play it, go in knowing as little as possible about it.)

True to the comic, I’m not quite sure how to express this game. I could gush about the fluid animation, or the art which manages to be both simple yet deep and immersive at the same time. That the puzzles, while maybe not the most difficult I’ve ever come across provide really nice “a-ha” moments without dragging the gameplay to a crawl. I still feel like those words don’t quite capture the absurdity of the experience.

And of course I can’t discuss any of the actual happenings in the game, because discovering them with fresh eyes, and being bewildered and amused by it is, I feel, so important to the game’s structure.

So instead I’ll say this: Inside is $20 ticket to a 3-5 hour game experience that you will likely remember for the rest of your life. Not all of it, probably, but I’d be willing to bet there are at least a few moments that will stick with you, if for no other reason than a giddy “what the fuck just happened?”