Mixed reality titles are starting to make their way into the mainstream and one of the latest releases in that genre, Infinite within, has piqued our interest. Read on for our full review.
A few months ago I played the demo for the game from App Lab and was impressed by the expansive potential This title could bring. Now that I’ve had a chance to review the full version, it’s time to analyze how well Infinite Inside holds up to that potential when looking at factors like gameplay, graphical and sound quality, controls, and comfort options.
What is it: An innovative puzzle game that seamlessly combines VR and MR gameplay with an immersive story experience.
Platforms: Apple Vision Pro, Quest, Pico with VR/MR – Steam & PSVR 2 is VR only
Date of publication: July 12, 2024
Developer: Maze theory
Price: $12.99 (free if you played the App Lab demo – details here)
Gameplay: An intricate dance of realities
In the core, Infinite Inside is a first-person adventure that subtly dances between our real living spaces and a maze-filled virtual reality. The core gameplay of Infinite Inside remains centered around navigating intricate labyrinths and searching for lost puzzle pieces as a quiet story unfolds, seamlessly blurring the lines between virtual and mixed reality.
One of the interesting additions to the game is the multifaceted 3D puzzles. Solving these challenges requires both spatial awareness and logic, which provides a difficulty curve that feels well-designed and thought out. This attention to detail ensures that the puzzles are difficult, but not a point of friction.
Collecting puzzle pieces in the virtual world and then bringing them back to interact with in your own living space is an innovative approach that we’re only now seeing in other titles like ASTRA, another great mixed reality experience that sees players descend on planets to collect elements that they then take back to their ship for analysis.
Another interesting aspect of the gameplay in The Infinite Inside is the silent narrative that is created around you. The game relies on the subtle mix of on-screen text and pantomime elements to tell a story that is revealed as the player solves puzzles and obtains necessary keys that unlock additional chapters. Infinite Inside expertly combines all of these elements into an experience that feels both challenging and satisfying.
Graphics and sound: a feast for the senses
Maze Theory has created richly detailed environments in the Infinite Inside, with high-quality textures and lighting that enhance the immersive feeling. The level of artistry on display here is commendable, and the attention to the smallest details does not go unnoticed.
Mixed reality – Virtual reality
While it looks good in both Mixed Reality and Virtual Reality modes, Infinite Inside could be a real head-turner if it took advantage of the extra horsepower that headsets like the Quest 3 offer. It’s immediately apparent when playing on Quest 3 that the gorgeous graphics are marred by some serious aliasing. This game has some hard angles as part of its architecture and a lot of contrast between light and dark areas, so the aliasing is really noticeable in most scenes. Our review was conducted on the Quest 3, but your results may vary on other headsets.
I reached out to Maze Theory CEO Ian Hambleton to ask about this, and he told me that while the game won’t be optimized to take full advantage of the extra graphical power that Quest 3 offers at launch, Maze Theory is exploring the possibilities of this in a potential Quest 3-only update after launch. Hambleton also said that this would be heavily dependent on testing.
With the art style of Infinite Inside, the game takes on a semi-realistic look that sits somewhere between realism and surrealism. The overall look of the game complements the story and the use of good lighting and shadows also helps to create the immersive atmosphere. This further enhances the magical feeling when you move from mixed to virtual realities.
The visual fidelity of Infinite Inside is impressive, and the sound design also deserves a mention. The use of ambient sounds and a relaxing musical score contribute significantly to the immersive experience that Infinite Inside offers.
Control Schedule and Comfort: Mixed Blessings
As for comfort, Infinite Inside nails it for VR beginners during its virtual reality sequences by mitigating motion sickness through node-based teleportation. While node-based teleportation is great for those prone to VR sickness, it’s not for more advanced players like myself who prefer traditional unrestricted methods of locomotion while playing in VR.
Maze Theory said they tested artificial stick-based locomotion, but “it lost a lot of the magic.” Hambleton added that they “might even introduce a move counter, so players have to complete this in as few moves as possible.”
One thing that has improved in the full release compared to the demo is object interaction. While it’s still a bit tricky at times in the launch build, I sometimes found myself unable to grab puzzle pieces or simply fly away when playing the demo. This seems to have improved a lot now, and I saw very little hand stuttering during my review playthrough.
Conclusion
Infinite Inside is a great addition to the growing number of new mixed reality experiences we’ve been seeing lately. It features intricate mazes and satisfying puzzles that rarely feel too hard or too easy, and it’s all delivered with smooth transitions between VR and MR elements. The occasionally temperamental object handling could do with a little more polish, but Maze Theory’s ambition meets convincing execution here, and I think it’s one that most puzzle fans will enjoy.
UploadVR uses a 5-star rating system for our game reviews. You can read a breakdown of each star rating in our guidelines for assessment.