Infinite Inside review

Maze Theory has put out some good games over the years, taking on some big franchises like Doctor Who and Peaky Blinders. With Infinite Inside, the developers have focused on their own story and ideas, building a unique puzzler that lets you play at your own pace. On Meta Quest 3, the mixed reality technology opens up an engaging and peaceful approach to storytelling, immersing you in a world fully realised in VR, while at the same time offering up inventive ways to solve the various puzzles and enjoy journeying through its labyrinthian worlds.

After a mysterious plinth arrives in your living room, you’re tasked with piecing together artefacts and solving the mysteries of each of the different worlds. With every new conundrum, new mechanics open up and the magic of Infinite Inside starts to show. You walk around the plinth, opening compartments and finding shapes that can be pieced together, and once you’ve found all the parts, it bonds and shrinks, turning into a key that can be plugged into a panel. This is just the opening section, but things get more and more involved, and after seeing how this world begins within your own environment, you’re teleported into full VR.

This is when Infinite Inside is at its best. You pick up a model of the explorer, shrinking you down and teleporting you into the plinth. The game goes full VR and you have to solve various environmental puzzles by finding further pieces of an intricately designed item, spread across various rooms and hallways. To move through these labyrinths, you use you hands to teleport between orbs, turning and traveling, soaking in the mysterious environments. They begin to get larger with more ground to cover, but each one is filled with clues as to who the explorers were.

Jars of cookies, notebooks filled with drawings, record players and chess boards. These clues open up a wider narrative, and through these objects you start to feel more connected with the greater story. The music is wonderful, offering up a beautiful score for these dreamlike worlds. Everything feels familiar yet strange, like having those dreams where you know where you are but can’t put your finger on exactly where you’re standing. I was immersed in these worlds, and as tricky as it can be, the answers are never too far away despite plenty of travelling back and fourth through the environments.

Infinite Inside gives you that same feeling Monument Valley or Journey did while playing. You’re relaxed and immersed, solving intricate and intelligent puzzles while remaining fascinated by what you’re seeing. The hand tracking is excellent, especially when some of the puzzle pieces are small and need precision in order to connect to another. It was in the third world where I started to become grateful for how carefully this technology has been utilised, and it rarely falters the further you get.

Although mixed reality isn’t present in the SteamVR and PSVR 2 versions, I was impressed by how it worked on Meta Quest 3. You’ll need a large area for when walking around the plinths because some of them have secrets on every single side of it. The detail on offer is always welcoming, with ideas feeling fresh every step of the way. Maze Theory has crafted something simplistic and creative, making use of the technology without throwing everything but the kitchen sink at it. You’re given time to breath, time to explore, and time to be in awe of the mysteries around every corner without being overwhelmed by the various challenges you’ll face.

Infinite Inside transports you into an enchanting web of labyrinthian worlds, where ideas aren’t overwhelming. Each plinth offers something different, where nothing every feels stagnant or repetitive. The clues regarding the secret society and mysterious explorers are revealed through environmental storytelling, and each find is revealed alongside some smart puzzles. The hand tracking is implemented very well, and travelling through each new world feels exciting. Not all VR games leave you feeling this impressed, but I fell in love with its fundamental yet detailed mazes, and I would recommend this to anyone searching for an engaging puzzler.