As children, many of us have dreamt of an experience where we’d fly off into an imaginary world, full of vibrant colors and all of it was ours to explore. There was no rule as to how high you could soar or how fast you could dive, it was essentially your playground and everything within it was yours to own. That majestic feeling of freedom as you sway side to side in the calm breeze, the lights glisten in your eyes and the wind plays its own unique melody. Well, it seems that all of this can now be truly experienced in real time via InnerSpace, the latest 3D exploration title from the team at PolyKnight Games. InnerSpace allows players to fly around peacefully in an open world, while helping to gather data about a mysterious ancient civilisation that once owned the land. It’s quite rare to see titles like these nowadays and to be honest, we wish more of these titles existed. We had the likes of Flower and Flow, which used real time environmental physics to create a truly immersive world for players to dive into, which really helps to ease the mind body and soul. InnerSpace is that breath of fresh air that we all need, especially during a time when everything is moving at such a fast pace that it often times feels hard to keep up. What was originally a PC related title now embarks on a new adventure on Nintendo’s Switch, and creates a totally rejuvenating experience.

Much like other open world exploration titles like the ones we mentioned, InnerSpace allows you the freedom to do whatever you want, however you want and for as long as you want, without feeling bogged down by timers. You’re an aircraft who must discover lost ancient artifacts, talk to the ancient deities who came before you, and bring them back to the archaeologist in order to uncover more secrets about the world you’re situated in. The missions themselves are interwoven with the entire experience of flying around and so, you never have this feeling of having to go from point a to point b. Everything is open for you to explore and so all that truly stops you from really enjoying the experience is yourself. Be enchanted by all the beautifully designed levels while flying around and collecting orbs in order to upgrade your plane. InnerSpace is like a lucid dream in where everything around you is all within your grasps, and you’re totally in charge with everything that happens as it happens.

The gameplay of InnerSpace isn’t overwhelming in any way, so anyone can simply jump in and start their journey however they see fit. The tutorial does a great job of explaining the mechanics and controlling your plane, and doesn’t steal your attention away. Other games tend to separate the tutorial from the gameplay experience but InnerSpace combines the two so that way, you’re constantly immersed within the game and never lose sense of what’s going on. Sadly, there’s no voice acting in the game so that kind of felt a little disheartening but on the contrary, since you’re in control of what’s happening you’re basically writing the narrative. All of the words can be read in your mind much like a story and you moving around in this majestic world is just an extension of those words. Whenever you feel real drained from work or perhaps you just need some time away from the things around you, InnerSpace becomes an outlet for you to just simply empty the mind and let the game carry you anywhere.

The simple melodies within the game are endearing and are stimulating in their own right. The music isn’t overbearing to the point of robbing you of a peaceful journey, but it’s not too silent to the point where the adventure just feels like traveling through a void. It’s a nice balance of energetic highs and soothing lows, all combined to take away all of that stress and just allow you to become part of the universe. We’re not saying this game will turn you into some zen master after a few hours of playing, but it certainly acts as a nice antidote to help soothe any inner pains that trifle with your thoughts in the everyday hustle and bustle. InnerSpace helps you to focus more on the moment itself rather than coming up with plans to do other tasks that may rob you of the current experience you’re having. It’s all a nice streamline of events that just flow together beautifully and don’t detract you. We, of course, ran into some bugs while playing, one of which was getting stuck in buildings and the game randomly resetting us, or music cutting in and out during certain moments. Were these game changing in any way? Unless you’re really paying attention to them then not really, since you tend to forgive the flaws and keep flying around looking for something new to discover.

The game did crash on us more than half way through the game which was a little random, but hopefully the devs can fix that issue to eliminate any frustrations. InnerSpace isn’t a very long game but it feels long because there’s no timer attached to your adventure. You literally could fly around in the same world for hours on end just trying to collect everything you see, and that in itself is what makes InnerSpace very fun. It’s certainly not going to be a game for everyone we’ll just point that out now, but for those who are looking for something different and far from the norm, then take a spin with InnerSpace.

In the end, despite some minor bugs that could easily be fixed and slight dizziness that we experienced in the beginning, InnerSpace really feels complete. We imagine that with a VR headset that the game would be immensely better but with all the drifting and camera shifting that’s happening, it may cause some discomfort over time. On the Switch’s handheld mode it really plays flawlessly and on TV mode, everything pops out more. We do recommend playing on handheld mode because you could just pop in your headset, lie down in your bed and just float away into space for hours, letting all of your uneasiness drift away. The boss battles aren’t really boss battles but in a way, sort of a conversation with them as you learn more about each deity and their duties pertaining to the ancient civilisation. Also, once you “defeat” the boss, you’ll be able to summon it as your little travel buddy and that’s pretty cool. It’s quite unique and nothing we’ve experienced thus far in a video game, so shoutouts to the team on that.

If you’d like to see InnerSpace in action then be sure to check out the videos above, and of course follow us on Twitch to see more! Also, if you haven’t already be sure to keep up with us via Twitter, where we post a wide array of articles from game reviews, anime news and more! There’s plenty to look forward to here at Honey’s Anime so if you’d like to be a part of the community then don’t hesitate to show some love on our social media. InnerSpace drops on the Nintendo Switch January 16th, so if you enjoyed this review and would love to support PolyKnight Games then be sure to pick this up via the Nintendo eShop!
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