Playmind’s The Inner Friend was just ported for a console release recently, and I got the chance to play the complete game on the PlayStation 4 after having received a review copy of the game. Before you judge The Inner Friend as the typical horror game in the genre, you might have to reconsider after give it a try. Why do I say this? Well, there is more to relate in the story with childhood fears, and learning to move on from each terrifying memory of the past. It would be naive to say that we never grew up with fears, no matter how ridiculous they may seem.
To begin with, the game is quite minimalistic as there is nothing to say, nothing that points at what to do, nor where you are supposed to be heading. The initial cutscene shows a man lying in bed and either quivering in pain or having a nightmare in his sleep. The cutscene transitions to you, as the protagonist, who is a small mannequin type looking child, with cracks all over his body, indicating how broken he is. This boy spawns in a room, which immediately gives a hint that it is your room, and that you are just a ghost in it.
A crack on the wall makes it pretty obvious that you are supposed to go inside it. Lo and behold, you run through this tunnel and exit out into a dreamy world with multiple buildings floating in the sky, while you can control the boy to fly and land over any of the structure. Inside every building or structure is a square white portal on the floor. The portal looks very inviting and will then take you to your childhood memories. In this case, it is one of the first fears of the boy. I quickly learned that you don’t need to worry about which building or portal to enter, as the story is linear and it will take you to where it supposed to go, no matter which portal you choose.
The first memory, which I think everyone can relate to, is where you enter the somber and dimly lit hallways of a school. Navigating through doors of each class, you don’t have to guess where to go next as any corridor you enter will have an obvious path ahead that is impossible to miss. Each level, memory, fear, or whatever you want to call it, features a sort of puzzle which admittedly are pretty easy and not something that will test your skills. However, the school level is where you face the first fear, which in this case is the zombie looking creature that I can only presume is the teacher sitting on the desk, controlling other sad looking boys that resemble your own character.
The monster or zombie, in this case, is just sitting at the teacher’s desk, with red beams of light that block your path. The puzzle is pretty easy and obvious where you have to knock the books onto desks to block the path of the beams. Moving ahead, you navigate through the hallways of the school, reliving every corner you remember as a child. Every level also has your childhood objects, which you can think of collectibles that you can pick up and place them in your room once you return back after clearing a level.
The second level is where you enter a women’s hair salon. This was also one of the levels which was the most terrifying for me, considering that there is a zombie chasing after you with sharp scissors. As far as the horror aspect of the game goes, this is the only terrifying level you will face in the game, where the rest is more about how fears differ from people to people, or in this case a child to another child. The levels continue with what you can expect could be the childhood fears of a boy. After the salon level, you enter the museum with some more puzzles where you have to avoid laser beams. This follows by more levels like the hospital with gas-masked patients with toxic gas and fumes coming out from them, and lastly, a deserted mall with a terrifying-looking creature that lives in it.
In the end, the story of The Inner Friend is what I think is the best feature. Props the developers for accurately portraying the visuals, looking at every fine detail, and displaying a unique way of letting the player step into the mind of another human. It really changes the perspective when you actually relive someone else’s fears and find distant similarities. The story does best to emotionally connect with a person, and understand what it is like to be in their mind. For me, The Inner Friend is more of an eye-opener when I was just expecting some horror game. It is highly recommended for everyone to understand how small things like childhood fears can be hard to move on from.
Final Verdict
The Inner Child is not only about reliving a boy’s childhood fears, but it is also about how each and every fear manifests itself into the head of a little boy right up to his adulthood, where the fear still thrives and lingers in the deepest and darkest corners of the mysterious mind. It is also about learning to face each and every fear, accepting them as a part of you, and move on to decide whether you want to stay this way or change yourself. That is what the inner friend is here to do, face the fears together, and come out the other side safely. I am very happy to have played this indie game, which albeit is quite brief, but has a story to relate to and to remember. If you are interested in giving The Inner Friend a try, you can get the game on PlayStation Store here.
Final Score: 8.5/10
