Inner Chains

Jeez, what did I just played? Amazing design and abysmal gameplay come together in this product. Grab it on sale.

This is a situation where I need a "Thumbs in the middle button".

Inner Chains left me not really interested to see more after about an hour of play. The main problem is the rhythm of the game which just seems too slow at times and doesn't keep your attention. Hence why I chose a thumbs down in the end.

THE BAD:
The story feels like it's not really there. You get told a lot of concepts and see a lot of artisitc cinematics and designs but you don't know what to do with it. Gameplay has bad pacing, as I already explained and feels very simplified compared to the visual design.

THE GOOD:
World design is some of the most impressive things I've seen in a game (no matter the budget). It's weird, turns you on your head and leaves you not knowing what you'll see next while also following a strange yet familiar logic for things to visually make sense. I would love to explore a semi-open world in this settings, it's memorable, really is.
Intersting and not too complex mechanics and puzzles which let you think a bit don't leave you feeling stuck.

Final verdict:
Wait for sale and play if you have extra time. The visuals and some basic premises are quite cool and something to remember but the lackluster story and gameplay leave you wanting more from this interesting design you see.

I would be interested in a sequel with similiar ideas that extends the gameplay and story if it ever comes though!

Inner Chains is a first-person horror shooter set in a dark, biomechanical world inspired by the works of H.R. Giger and Zdzisław Beksiński. It thrusts you into a nightmarish realm where a forgotten civilization struggles for survival against a rogue biomechanical ecosystem. The storyline weaves a dark narrative of humanity’s desperate fight for freedom. Combining the oppressive atmosphere of Metro with the grotesque horror of Painkiller, the game captivates with its surreal environments. Although I encountered a couple of bugs, the plentiful checkpoints made it easy to continue without frustration. The rich visuals and engaging story make Inner Chains a unique and memorable adventure for fans of atmospheric shooters.

Scorn 2: Electric Boogaloo with extra jank. It's pretty short and has some bugs here and there but overall it's still interesting and worth getting on sale.

Yes, indeed there is a lot wrong with this game. Narration is pure gibberish, it's not worth following or trying to understand. Shooting is far from perfect and optymalization should be better.

But, the atmosphere and level design are spot on in this game. Combined with no tutorials, no uix, it is really unique stuff. That's kinda adventure game like Scorn and it is quite easy to finish, gameplay while not great it is also not bad. Sometimes you can use some traps in a creative way. So if someone is into grim and dark worlds than this is totally must play.

You cannt skip freaking lame cutscenes, because you can't
Amazingly annoying and lame

great looking game but the game play itself is cheeks, its extremely annoying how slow you are forced to walk through the game.

I really like this strange little game. It's got H.R. Giger-esque graphics. It's all about exploring, so far there hasn't been much combat, other than some "boxing" against a few characters. But I just love exploring this bizarre world. I like that there is really no instruction, it's up to you to figure out what to do. I can't wait to see what's next, but I'm stuck trying to figure out what I have to do to proceed, but that's all part of the fun. Watching the trailer for it, i can see that weapons will become a part of the game. I'm only about 1.7 hours into it. It's a very different sort of game.

I bought this game on a whim during the Spring Sale last week, because It looked like It could be a decent Horror game and unfortunately, this Is one of those very few purchases, that even though It was cheap, I genuinely regret.

Inner Chain's presentation of this abstract, kind of post apocalyptic world Is genuinely good at first glance, It's a very visually full experience, but one that's marred by a very vague, close to non existent story, bland gameplay and technical issues.

All we get as far as story goes, Is a narration at the start of the game, beginning of each chapter and a few times at specific points throughout the game. There are murals throughout the game that help fill In some of the lore, but you have to unlock "letter collectibles" In order to decipher the language and read the text. In theory, It sounds cool, In practice, It's tedious and only hampers the already almost non-existent storyline.

The gameplay Is a mix of Walking Simulator and FPS, I was excited at the prospect of a FPS In this already cool looking game, but the gameplay Is dull and bland, you got 3 guns that you acquire as you progress Into the game. a Shock/Lightning gun, a Flamethrower and what appears to be a kind of Nail Rifle. The world Is littered with sentient traps/fauna that you can often lure enemies Into to make things easier as well as disable/kill with your weapons, which at least gives the player options In how to tackle many areas of the game, but In execution, the guns often feel underpowered (why does a headshot not immediately kill a human enemy? why does shocking enemies not stun/stop them?) and the open ended levels, while cool, can sometimes turn Into mazes.

Finally, maybe other people have had better luck, but running this game on a 2080s and Ryzen 5 1600 at 4k, while playable, I rarely achieved steady 60fps, usually staying around the 45-50 mark. This usually wouldn't bother me too much, but this game came out 7 fucking years ago, cmon!

I can't recommend this game at all, not even during a sale.

Simple but enjoyable dungeon FPS. The graphics are impressive (think Succubus with more guns but less nudity). Limited ammo means you have to think carefully how to proceed, try to lure enemies into the traps works well. This is the kind of game I enjoy. Recommended.