The alternate ending represents you as the player controlling the boy. You can see a MC helmet in the background with a person attached, surrounded by monitors and a desk chair. That is you the player and it also makes it look as if you hung yourself. This echoes what the boy is doing. He is effectively killing himself to be free of the control. And that is how the hanging would be a metaphor for us being controlled by the game itself to experience the lab ending that was planned all along. As there is no free will in games, all the options and choices were at some point laid out before you, you take one of the already prefabricated timelines. And can do this over and over again. There is no way of getting out, besides turning the game off. In our actual world, so far this can be true as well. There is no way to tell if everything s random or was already preselected by a greater force, and the only way to see what is beyond is to die. Although it is twisted, dark and grim, it makes a wonderful point about our entire life.
I felt the same way about the ending and alternative ending, people usually want the secret ending in hopes of a more positive ending, but what if the most positive ending is to just shut down the game? I get that the video's theory is a good explanation in-game, but I feel like the game makers were trying to make a statement on video games in general. You control the main character, what makes him different from the drones in the game? He jumps when you say jump, he turns around when you want him to turn around. The entire game I was wondering, "why is he doing this? Why does he so desperately want to keep going?" and although the "hive-mind control blah blah" could be one suggestion, I think the meta explanation for it would be cause we want him to. We want him to go forward, so he does.
(late to the party) to help support your idea, the save states of nodes that you need to destroy are actually independent of your progress. That is, you can destroy them in any sequence, and their destroyed status is saved even if you beat the game and start again. The only time they all reset is if you choose the alt ending. In which you can just quickload your way through the levels and do it again. It makes me wonder if you play the entire game regularly, but quick load past the part where you drown (and get those water breathing implants, essentially plugging you into the mind-control system), if anything happens.
You're missing the most important part about the secret ending! *That the only way to achieve it is going through the game and disconnecting all 14 orbs. Meaning the very first play-through is actually an continuation of an ongoing experiment from the "farmer inside the hive-mind " ;by playing off of the scientist in white mask predictions that we've perceived throughout the game over again and AGAIN. Being the second go around that starts immediately after the credits have passed; is actually still apart of the games complete linear story and not just an alternate ending. Let me explain- Now that the hive-mind used the first boy to unplug the orbs(first play-through), he can then use the second boy(after credits) to turn off the system controlling the boys. Essential the games true ending is showcased within the bunker and is an given opportunity for the hive-mind, the boy and us the player to choose which fate we want for the rest of the human race that is trying to survive. Either continue the experiment in order for the human to survive or to stop the destruction of their own slave race creation or in other words slave lifes matter. Playing off the whole idea of mind control maybe the farmer isn't a farmer but a created slave that grew enough intelligence to do field research and decide a fate for himself and his race to prove they can be something more than expandable slaves and showing the hive mind as well that it is not as smart as it thinks it is by getting away each time only to be led back to its prison. anyways GREAT GAME and video. Show less REPLY
scene with the 19 zombies on the pressure plate. after freeing the three from the mine cart using the lever with the right timing, cross the bridge through shallow water and pull the wooden plank using the zombies as help. right in front of the large cart youve been using to get there.
I don't think there is a defenitive theory "to end all theories", the devopers deliberatly wanted an open game with an open ending so that every single player could come up with their own theory on what the game was about. There are too many holes in every theory for that theory to make sense, which is why the game is so good.
Why would the supposed military personnel/guards or whatever in the beginning kill the boy if it was planned? I believe he escaped and that's why they're after him. He most likely has more self awareness than the other humanoids, but maybe the blob contains the original scientist that deviated from the experiments. Somebody had to build the bunker in the cornfield, someone who had knowledge of the experiments. You can even see a picture of the hivemind in the room to the left in the bunker. Once they realized he was working to stop them, they threw him into the hivemind and he became part of the experiment. Maybe he's not controlling the boy, more like giving him guidance. But after the mermaid creature drags you under and attaches the cord to you, you're no longer alive. Correct me if I'm wrong, but you're not actually breathing underwater because you no longer breathe. Since you are now under the meatball's full control, after you pull the plug in the secret ending, you fall into the default state of the humanoids. Thanks for coming to my TED talk
I don't think you're getting it. The fact that the boy hides and evades them is part of the simulation: the boy must be truly convinced that he is in a dystopian mind control facility, and use his intelligence and wit to get through it and 'free' the blob, which the boy thinks will end everything. But the whole thing is a simulation, and the boy is neurally tied to the blob. The reason this is being tested is to see how powerful the mind control can get, to the point where even a small neural connection that draws this boy to the blob is enough, even though, aside from that, he seems to have full intelligence.
Could be. Kind of supports the fact how the gravity of water is reversed and the whole blob. The other thing, sadly, the mind-controlling and pig with worm should've also been realistic/reality or not? Maybe it's not a question about if it's our reality, but what the boy imagines *because* of the weird happenings the the game's reality.
That's probably a fake director, notice how his office seems out of place (conveniently placed next to the cafeteria where they knew the Blob's path would eventually lead to). I don't think offices of high-ranking/important figures should be located there.
@@gus251 That's where he/she will watch the experiment unfold (there were cameras hidden in the background or foreground later in the playthrough, but they're probably just for recording/documentation).
@@gelatinocyte6270 is no one gonna talk about how that fake director sacrificed himself for the real director's plans. That's just sad. but 10 out of 10 for acting of bieng afraid of the blob
@@renzezekieldivida3014 Exactly, this is why this experiment theory doesn't work. It's nonsense. Like saying "it's all just a dream" to avoid plausible explanations. But I'm afraid that this game does not have any plausible explanation. It's like a surreal piece of art, where logic can not be applied.
I'm getting tired of hearing that "definition of insanity" quote. It's a misquote of Einstein who ended the statement with, "-expecting different results". This is not a definition, but a statement. I get it. You watched the Far Cry 3 trailer.
So true, glad to hear it from someone else.. Insanity is a very limited and/or skewed vision of reality when compared to what is commonly accepted by society as standard reality. This of course can include the act of repeating an action expecting different results, but it is nothing but a detail in a whole, and damn I'm tired of kids repeating it like some higher truth.
Its not insanity though, It's Madness. The "definition" of madness is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results. its not exactly the definition but its still true
I don’t think the bot is a complete drone bc while he does seemingly know how to use the mind control things and to pull out the work from the pig, there is a point where the boy gets caught being out of place because he’s nervous and looks over at the dog. We didn’t do this and it seems like that’s part of his free will and fear. This is one of the very few points where he seems to have his own thoughts but overall I think he’s being controlled to go forward
When you get drowned then in my opinion you actually die as a boy and become the zombie thing or something, but you arent actually alive after that. The reason is becuase like the zombies you dont need to breathe underwater. You also control the other zombies without actually having a helmet, indicating to that the plug made the boy become some sort of mind control zombie thing. The only thing that is weird is that you break your legs and die when falling from a big drop, but thats because he isnt a developed zombie to work, but a regular boy, so he doesnt have stuff like hard bones for work. I dont want to cause any confusion its just my theory
I reckon. I mean, I’m all for theories but it’s a bit arrogant to claim that this theory is any deeper or more insightful than any other, let alone the theory to end all theories. This one is nothing special.
Wow! This is pretty much similar to what I thought myself of the game's story. But he doesn't seems to die in the alternate ending does he? He just sits there like he has nowhere else to go anymore. Sad. :( Good job on the explanation!
I would have added another ending After the credits, the blob perceives something: the child goes out and enters the water and the Mermaid (who survived everything and reached the sea) waits for him and gives her something taken from the blob Or the blob enters the water and there is also the mermaid who enters or exchanges with the child and then they exit In any case she emerges for a moment demonstrating now that she can breathe out of the water and into the light like the child, the two swim leaving everything behind Why the latter helped him is among the mysteries never clarified, they have black hair like him and know how to use cables... or the latter was controlled by the blob
+Resero Well done. Great vid. Your explanation/theory of the game to the point of the endings was so succinctly put to a degree I've not found on other, YT channels explanations about Inside, as a whole. If Playdead intended for Inside's vital elements and endings to be ambiguous enough for them to set up a sequel (especially the blob ending) then, I'm all for it.
I agree with most of the theory here expect the idea that the events have happened before and are repeating themselves. One of the biggest reasons I think this is at 5:22 of this video, where the CEO/Chief Scientist is killed. I know the vagueness of plot detail is to encourage the player to imagine their own scenarios - it's one of the best features of this game. But I just can't see a CEO/Chief Scientist KNOWINGLY put themselves in danger when their predecessor was killed. As for the diorama; poetic coincidence? Lots of organisations have diorama's of the surrounding area, especially near the cafeteria where the blob next rampages...
Right, the diorama might have been showing the building on the other side of the water in the diorama! The spotlight might be just forshadowing, the 'sun' or the plan all along.
I completely disagree with the whole “The blob is controlling the boy” Theory. I think we’re controlling the boy and him becoming one with the blob only occurs if we fail our mission as the boy. We’re meant to break all the mind control machines which in turn breaks the connection between us and the boy. I don’t think the scientists anticipated the blob becoming powerful and breaking out I think that was a backfire and they were trying to get out of the blobs way and trap us somehow.
what about the area where a painting of the ending is drawn where the blob lands as it tries to escape the facility? what about the area where there is a circle drawn exactly the size of the blob that was made before the blobs escape
If you go down to the bunker, where you see the second orb, you have to unplug I believe. It’s the bunker in the cornfield… There’s a picture room there. The red room and there’s a picture of the blob on the run in that room. Also, you go to… You end up at the fourth facility suggesting that this is the fourthexperimentation and attempt at this. You can see this by how dilapidated everything is in one, two and for the third one it’s a little less dilapidated and it looks extremely similar to number four… As if they had just done this not too long ago.
There’s some footage in this video of the game that I’ve not seen in the game? E.g the dogs barking at the boy when he’s holding a torch. Is this from an other ending or just secrets?
I think there's a bit more to this story and it's in the level design itself. We see deep, waterlogged chasms throughout the game but very little in the way of natural formations, it's all man made. So I think it's supposed to be in a world where global warming got so out of hand that sea levels just kept on rising, forcing humans to build on top of submerged architecture. This kind of explains the overall mind control (as things get more dire the decision is made to enslave anyone who isn't a scientist or engineer) but accounts for the mermaids perfectly, they're literally the result of experiments to turn humans into aquatic creatures. Having said that I have no idea what the blob is supposed to be/do
It is true i think that whatever happened was a sort of catastrophe that became a catalyst of the mind controlling starting (i definitely dont think its the parasite in the pig thats doing the controlling lmao, but instead humans or something) but im not exactly sure if its global warming, because the flooded areas are all where we find the sirens- so likely it was a previous testing facility to make the said sirens, and something broke, either a dam or some water pressure stuff, and flooded the place. Cause the beginning area doesnt seem flooded or scortched, just that facility area, so yea maybe its global warming but i dont think so. The chasms that are filled seem to have also been manmade, its likely we havent seen the actual outside world at all! Instead they live on layers and layers of tests and control, and until we see the top or the real outside, we will have no idea
If the Blob can control the boy, it can control any of the other slaves. Which means that it could rise up against its masters at any time. So why go through this experiment when it could overthrow the human race at a moments notice? I still haven't seen a satisfactory explanation for this.
As he says in the video, the boy seems more selfaware than the other people that's being mind controlled. He's speciall and probably choosen for the experiment. The blob maybe knows this and takes it to it's advantaged. To overthrow the human race wouldn't really be any use, bc then it's only the blob and then lots of slaves that the blob controlles, not so fun really. Instead the boy ends it all, the blob uses the boy to end everything which otherwise is a never ending circle.
+djhutchison I think the pawns brains aren't as fully there as the boys. The boys brain is able to be controlled by the blob (puzzles jumping swimming) then the boy can control the dummies who lack his abilities.
Suggestion on sound: the voice has a harsh popping when you speak. For users that have strong headphones that have base, this can be painful to hear. I sadly was not able to hear you without it being painful to my ears because these are the headphones I use. It sound like you have a studio mic, you can speak in your mic without facing your mouth directly into the mic but on the side instead or at a distance.
This is actually a really nice, fresh take on the story and having played through this numerous times now I agree with damn near all of it. I slightly disagree on the death / respawning part. I think it's the same boy; you just start over because starting at the very beginning is soooo 90s video games.
one question: if the blob controlled the boy and the connection is broken by unplugging the large orb... then why dies he only go to zombie slumber once he unplugs the last cable!? this would mean that the blob controlled that move, too. doesnt make any sense to me. furthermore, if the blob was that free a thinking mass... WHY NOT FREE HIMSELF!?
Good questions. Such is the meta nature of the game. The question of free will is just as valid as the question of free will in all our lives. In my opinion, it's the meta narrative and paradoxes that make this game brilliant. If the blob is controlling the boy and you're controlling the boy as the player, are *you* the blob or are you controlling the blob? More layers are added as the boy controls a zombie that's controlling another zombie. And ultimately we are all under the control of the "plot" designed by the game designers. And you could argue that they are merely controlled and influenced by the game influences and life experiences. It's a perpetual loop, a paradox of control - one that can be traced to all of our lives. So you're right in asking, but does free will even exist? This game will make your head spin trying to figure it out. Brilliant.
well its simple. the boy is you, since the blob cant free himself, youre freeing it and thats an act of humanitarianism. the question if free will exists doesnt really matter to me like some others, we have the experience of free will and thats what counts. you have the choice to free the boy or free the blob. you are the red heart of this dark fairytale. rushing towards this creature that is helpless.
There's also the question of if the secret ending is the 'true' ending... or just an added layer to a metaphor. I suspect the blob was controlling the boy as means to escape is the basic simple story and that additional layers are more like metaphors piled atop metaphors existing in parallel as opposed to direct relationships... the bot was controlled by the blob to escape... and the boy is also controlled by YOU which the alternate bonus ending is indicating... neither being 'wrong'
It's mad that you wouldnt do the alternate ending until you'd played through once and got the orginal ending, learning the truth about the boy and blob. Hence why after learning this, you'd make the decision to do the alternate ending, powering the boy down. Because YOU are the blob.
From what I can make of it, the free will IS shutting down the device, but at the end of the day, he was still connected to it, so shutting it down, shuts him down. His mind was part of it, just not a controlled part.
Why wouldn't someone be therefore to gaurd the powersource? And why would that be the only work force he would be aware of the fact that someone could just come and power everything up? I'm sure we are the one's controlling the boy in fact I'm pretty sure we're the only reason the game is still on I think inside want's us to get out more?
Because I recently replayed inside I suddenly thought of something. I am absolutely undocumented or thought this through on a large scale. I believe you play - dead. Inside is what happens before you enter limbo. The girl in the water is your sister and she recognizes you that's why she helps you on a later stage. The glass breaking in limbo reminded me on how the huddle breaks out. How your sister gets there you'll discover in their new / upcoming game In the diorama you can see a shape in the water that looks like one of those capsules, this is how you enter the world in their upcoming game. All the clocks in the game are in real time as you play. I believe this means there is a bigger power controlling what happens. Devoted? Maybe your sister joined a clan, got infected by their belief or methods (Scientology like stuff), this caused a ripple effect (maybe caused by an equinox and so your sister disappeared. The boy saw this happening and went looking for her. But you actually both are dead caused by that event. The shock wave in inside and gravity in limbo & inside are methods by the organisation/clan to experiment with raising the dead in hope to create a stronger, obedient life form again on the planet as all life dissipated, and thus in inside they created an experiment with you "the boy" a strong subject that survived as he traveled through the capsule you see in the diorama. Which to me makes "some" sense as the new concept art for their new game shows meteor impact and an ice covered world. I believe the boy crashed in the inside world (once again as seen in the diorama) To make things even more ridiculous I believe their next game will have seven letters in the name ....... inside limbo - will form a sentence. (I think of: equinox, closure, devoted, witness, analogy, crashed... ) all makes sense somehow. Anyhow it's fun to speculate or make connections that might not be there :) Wait a minute, the boy connected with the mind control helmets and later unplugs himself. So don't be too hard on me with this not-well thought trough theory.
I wondered that too, but then I thought maybe they just don’t care. If they’re willing to kidnap people and kill them, why not let a few office workers die. There’s nothing in the game that would suggest they are important to the actual experiment. There’s other guys dressed up for the office who came to see the blob, but maybe that guy didn’t want to see it so he stayed behind in his office. I assume the office workers were unaware of the experiment, and they already had others planted their to help out, who were told not to tell other people so they could sell the blob a false sense of security. If the blob managed to kill some people it might assume that it’s actually making an escape. If there was no panic, the set up might be too obvious and the blob wouldn’t have taken the bait. But that’s just my guess.
My theory is that they want the blob to think that everything is actually real, but its all an experiment, and that is not really the CEO, its just a random worker that was told to stay there,but knew no details. Its makes no sense for him to be the actual CEO, cuz that office is right next to the cafeteria.
so this is my theory the boy finds himself in the environment. he is not being controlled by anything because there isn't a timer in the game. the boy is free to stand still and meditate for hours in the game if he wanted. So, he is not being controlled in any manner. Next, we know something bad happened. Maybe the experiment on pigs went wrong or maybe there was a natural disaster that killed the pigs, something bad happened. The company is in the business of mind control. This is evident with the line of people. The shockwaves were both an experimental weapon and an actual weapon used to kill anybody who left the line. The mermaid with the long hair, the first one worked for the company. The second one was part of the revolution. People outside the company work for it but as you go inside, there are people who want a revolution. The second mermaid has a device that let's you breathe under water. She is part of the revolution and so is everybody else afterwards because they help the boy and blob instead of killing him/it The company is involved in all kinds of experiments including using humans for energy as batteries. The blob was an experiment (gone wrong). The blob is desperate for anything it can include to help itself be free. The wires keeping the blob in place meant the mind control device was successfully keeping the blob in place and happy The blob finds happiness under the sun's rays.
There is another alternative ending which is after you get back to the second facility (at corn field) and where supposed to have this alternative ending above, you should remove the door and unplug just the first cable. (if you remove the second the everything looses power including the boy and so that ends). Instead removing the latest cable go back up to back to the spaceship (last facility with the light panel where before there was one light still on)
Copied from oooodaxteroooo's comment: "scene with the 19 zombies on the pressure plate. after freeing the three from the mine cart using the lever with the right timing, cross the bridge through shallow water and pull the wooden plank using the zombies as help. right in front of the large cart youve been using to get there." It's an optional area to get one of the beacons.
Is crazy how there are so many theories out there about a hole bunch of thing to me . Even tho this is all up to you to decide how you see the ending. But this is exactly what I got from the game. Why do we play video games when we could be doing much more with our lives like making a difference weather is spending more times with your family friends kids etc. inside tell me that playing video games is just like any other drug out there and by unplugging your self or continuing to play video games your making the choice to free your self from your addiction and make more with your time then play your life away or stay plugged in because gaming is your only scape we mentally have. So is funny how the game is about escaping but we never really do escape. No matter what you do in a game you are being told what to do and were to do it. So you’re being controlled. On another hand in real life you go to your 9-5 and are being told what to do and when to do it. So you are really never in controlled. So do we really have free will after all?
This "everything is an endless cycle" idea has been around game theories since the days of the very first plot theory in gaming, that of the original Silent Hill. I have no idea why people are so in love with it. Other than it being existentially romantic, and a lazy way out of a mysterious plot, there is nothing in the game to support this. Just as there is nothing else to support anything anyone has to say about it. What is clear is that mind control plays an important role, and that the hive mind PROBABLY is in control of the boy to set itself free from its prison. The diorama was a nice touch, but to say that it hints at an endless cycle is quite a stretch. It may mean anything. For me it's just a scale model of the synthetic environment the game is taking place in; perhaps everything is an artificial landscape designed for any unknown reasons, who knows, maybe after a natural catastrophe, or to house the scientists and their families. It's a mystery. Theorizing is fun, but thinking that you've got the game's plot all figured out and your theory will end all theories is, quite honestly, pretty stupid.
This is less of a theory and more of a recounting of events. You didn't explain anything, just said the same thing 56 different ways. 🙄. Skipping the like button on this one. Master the art of saying nothing at all while talking forever.
![Limbo - Full Game Walkthrough 100% (Longplay) [2K 60FPS]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/jOaYtPgMO9c/mqdefault.jpg)
![Limbo - Full Game Walkthrough 100% (Longplay) [2K 60FPS]](/img/tr.png)
The one issue I have with the game is that you can't commit suicide at the incinerator as the blob
fr
Why would anyone wanna die like that?
It honestly would probably be really hard to burn that massive human flesh. And maybe some of the humans in the blob don’t want to burn.?
The alternate ending represents you as the player controlling the boy. You can see a MC helmet in the background with a person attached, surrounded by monitors and a desk chair. That is you the player and it also makes it look as if you hung yourself. This echoes what the boy is doing. He is effectively killing himself to be free of the control. And that is how the hanging would be a metaphor for us being controlled by the game itself to experience the lab ending that was planned all along. As there is no free will in games, all the options and choices were at some point laid out before you, you take one of the already prefabricated timelines. And can do this over and over again. There is no way of getting out, besides turning the game off. In our actual world, so far this can be true as well. There is no way to tell if everything s random or was already preselected by a greater force, and the only way to see what is beyond is to die. Although it is twisted, dark and grim, it makes a wonderful point about our entire life.
you are a god
I felt the same way about the ending and alternative ending, people usually want the secret ending in hopes of a more positive ending, but what if the most positive ending is to just shut down the game?
I get that the video's theory is a good explanation in-game, but I feel like the game makers were trying to make a statement on video games in general. You control the main character, what makes him different from the drones in the game? He jumps when you say jump, he turns around when you want him to turn around.
The entire game I was wondering, "why is he doing this? Why does he so desperately want to keep going?" and although the "hive-mind control blah blah" could be one suggestion, I think the meta explanation for it would be cause we want him to. We want him to go forward, so he does.
In my opinion, that't not at all what the alternative ending represents. I stuck with a more literal ideology. However, everything is just a theory.
(late to the party) to help support your idea, the save states of nodes that you need to destroy are actually independent of your progress. That is, you can destroy them in any sequence, and their destroyed status is saved even if you beat the game and start again. The only time they all reset is if you choose the alt ending. In which you can just quickload your way through the levels and do it again. It makes me wonder if you play the entire game regularly, but quick load past the part where you drown (and get those water breathing implants, essentially plugging you into the mind-control system), if anything happens.
You're missing the most important part about the secret ending!
*That the only way to achieve it is going through the game and disconnecting all 14 orbs.
Meaning the very first play-through is actually an continuation of an ongoing experiment from the "farmer inside the hive-mind " ;by playing off of the scientist in white mask predictions that we've perceived throughout the game over again and AGAIN.
Being the second go around that starts immediately after the credits have passed; is actually still apart of the games complete linear story and not just an alternate ending.
Let me explain-
Now that the hive-mind used the first boy to unplug the orbs(first play-through), he can then use the second boy(after credits) to turn off the system controlling the boys. Essential the games true ending is showcased within the bunker and is an given opportunity for the hive-mind, the boy and us the player to choose which fate we want for the rest of the human race that is trying to survive. Either continue the experiment in order for the human to survive or to stop the destruction of their own slave race creation or in other words slave lifes matter.
Playing off the whole idea of mind control maybe the farmer isn't a farmer but a created slave that grew enough intelligence to do field research and decide a fate for himself and his race to prove they can be something more than expandable slaves and showing the hive mind as well that it is not as smart as it thinks it is by getting away each time only to be led back to its prison. anyways GREAT GAME and video.
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When I became the blob I just couldn’t stop laughing. Until the end and it made me sad because I knew I was still trapped.
Lol
I expected something hard, but you become invincible and it's just chill
LAUGH ????? - SOMETHING WRONG WITH YOU ?
I don't remember the scene where the boy has a torch and where the dogs are trying to get him. is there a secret area you go to for that?
Yea me either
+Jacob Cummings yes. It's an area before the sonic wave explosion area, where you have to collect 19 (?) mens to open the door.
scene with the 19 zombies on the pressure plate. after freeing the three from the mine cart using the lever with the right timing, cross the bridge through shallow water and pull the wooden plank using the zombies as help. right in front of the large cart youve been using to get there.
+oooodaxteroooo Thanks a bunch! that part was really Intense!!
Me too
I don't think there is a defenitive theory "to end all theories", the devopers deliberatly wanted an open game with an open ending so that every single player could come up with their own theory on what the game was about.
There are too many holes in every theory for that theory to make sense, which is why the game is so good.
No hater but you should get a microphone pop filter.
yes pls, is freaking annoying
Why would the supposed military personnel/guards or whatever in the beginning kill the boy if it was planned? I believe he escaped and that's why they're after him. He most likely has more self awareness than the other humanoids, but maybe the blob contains the original scientist that deviated from the experiments. Somebody had to build the bunker in the cornfield, someone who had knowledge of the experiments. You can even see a picture of the hivemind in the room to the left in the bunker. Once they realized he was working to stop them, they threw him into the hivemind and he became part of the experiment. Maybe he's not controlling the boy, more like giving him guidance. But after the mermaid creature drags you under and attaches the cord to you, you're no longer alive. Correct me if I'm wrong, but you're not actually breathing underwater because you no longer breathe. Since you are now under the meatball's full control, after you pull the plug in the secret ending, you fall into the default state of the humanoids.
Thanks for coming to my TED talk
I don't think you're getting it. The fact that the boy hides and evades them is part of the simulation: the boy must be truly convinced that he is in a dystopian mind control facility, and use his intelligence and wit to get through it and 'free' the blob, which the boy thinks will end everything. But the whole thing is a simulation, and the boy is neurally tied to the blob. The reason this is being tested is to see how powerful the mind control can get, to the point where even a small neural connection that draws this boy to the blob is enough, even though, aside from that, he seems to have full intelligence.
Could be. Kind of supports the fact how the gravity of water is reversed and the whole blob.
The other thing, sadly, the mind-controlling and pig with worm should've also been realistic/reality or not? Maybe it's not a question about if it's our reality, but what the boy imagines *because* of the weird happenings the the game's reality.
why would the blob kill the main director of the plant if these experiments were being repeated
That's probably a fake director, notice how his office seems out of place (conveniently placed next to the cafeteria where they knew the Blob's path would eventually lead to). I don't think offices of high-ranking/important figures should be located there.
Gelatinocyte if anything he would probably be miles away in another plant
@@gus251
That's where he/she will watch the experiment unfold (there were cameras hidden in the background or foreground later in the playthrough, but they're probably just for recording/documentation).
@@gelatinocyte6270 is no one gonna talk about how that fake director sacrificed himself for the real director's plans. That's just sad. but 10 out of 10 for acting of bieng afraid of the blob
@@renzezekieldivida3014 Exactly, this is why this experiment theory doesn't work. It's nonsense. Like saying "it's all just a dream" to avoid plausible explanations. But I'm afraid that this game does not have any plausible explanation. It's like a surreal piece of art, where logic can not be applied.
I'm getting tired of hearing that "definition of insanity" quote. It's a misquote of Einstein who ended the statement with, "-expecting different results". This is not a definition, but a statement. I get it. You watched the Far Cry 3 trailer.
So true, glad to hear it from someone else.. Insanity is a very limited and/or skewed vision of reality when compared to what is commonly accepted by society as standard reality. This of course can include the act of repeating an action expecting different results, but it is nothing but a detail in a whole, and damn I'm tired of kids repeating it like some higher truth.
Thanks for the educated opinion AZ. A rarity on here to the point that I've taken to deleting comments in order to avoid the egregious rhetoric.
Thanks and likewise. Well, it's the internet, where everyone can talk but very few have something to say. This become painfully obvious on YT.
I can't express to you how much I needed this comment in my life
Its not insanity though, It's Madness. The "definition" of madness is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results. its not exactly the definition but its still true
I don’t think the bot is a complete drone bc while he does seemingly know how to use the mind control things and to pull out the work from the pig, there is a point where the boy gets caught being out of place because he’s nervous and looks over at the dog. We didn’t do this and it seems like that’s part of his free will and fear. This is one of the very few points where he seems to have his own thoughts but overall I think he’s being controlled to go forward
The "Inside Theory To End All Theories" has a lot of holes, doesn't it?
When you get drowned then in my opinion you actually die as a boy and become the zombie thing or something, but you arent actually alive after that. The reason is becuase like the zombies you dont need to breathe underwater. You also control the other zombies without actually having a helmet, indicating to that the plug made the boy become some sort of mind control zombie thing. The only thing that is weird is that you break your legs and die when falling from a big drop, but thats because he isnt a developed zombie to work, but a regular boy, so he doesnt have stuff like hard bones for work.
I dont want to cause any confusion its just my theory
a boy and his blob
the inside theory to sound very similar to all the other inside theories
I reckon. I mean, I’m all for theories but it’s a bit arrogant to claim that this theory is any deeper or more insightful than any other, let alone the theory to end all theories. This one is nothing special.
Wow! This is pretty much similar to what I thought myself of the game's story. But he doesn't seems to die in the alternate ending does he? He just sits there like he has nowhere else to go anymore. Sad. :(
Good job on the explanation!
Yup, he sit exactly like the drones when you disconnect the helmet.
Like real life
4:07 what part was that where he has a fire torch with dogs around him? I dont remember that part at all
It was a secret in the game:3
one of the more satisfactory theories I've heard
I would have added another ending
After the credits, the blob perceives something: the child goes out and enters the water and the Mermaid (who survived everything and reached the sea) waits for him and gives her something taken from the blob
Or the blob enters the water and there is also the mermaid who enters or exchanges with the child and then they exit
In any case she emerges for a moment demonstrating now that she can breathe out of the water and into the light like the child, the two swim leaving everything behind
Why the latter helped him is among the mysteries never clarified, they have black hair like him and know how to use cables... or the latter was controlled by the blob
+Resero
Well done. Great vid. Your explanation/theory of the game to the point of the endings was so succinctly put to a degree I've not found on other, YT channels explanations about Inside, as a whole.
If Playdead intended for Inside's vital elements and endings to be ambiguous enough for them to set up a sequel (especially the blob ending) then, I'm all for it.
I agree with most of the theory here expect the idea that the events have happened before and are repeating themselves. One of the biggest reasons I think this is at 5:22 of this video, where the CEO/Chief Scientist is killed.
I know the vagueness of plot detail is to encourage the player to imagine their own scenarios - it's one of the best features of this game. But I just can't see a CEO/Chief Scientist KNOWINGLY put themselves in danger when their predecessor was killed.
As for the diorama; poetic coincidence? Lots of organisations have diorama's of the surrounding area, especially near the cafeteria where the blob next rampages...
Right, the diorama might have been showing the building on the other side of the water in the diorama! The spotlight might be just forshadowing, the 'sun' or the plan all along.
I think you meant "the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result".
Nicely put! I fancy this theory.
Well done - I've thought of it in a similar way, but you guys have summed it up pretty nicely.
I completely disagree with the whole “The blob is controlling the boy” Theory. I think we’re controlling the boy and him becoming one with the blob only occurs if we fail our mission as the boy. We’re meant to break all the mind control machines which in turn breaks the connection between us and the boy. I don’t think the scientists anticipated the blob becoming powerful and breaking out I think that was a backfire and they were trying to get out of the blobs way and trap us somehow.
what about the area where a painting of the ending is drawn where the blob lands as it tries to escape the facility?
what about the area where there is a circle drawn exactly the size of the blob that was made before the blobs escape
If you go down to the bunker, where you see the second orb, you have to unplug I believe. It’s the bunker in the cornfield… There’s a picture room there. The red room and there’s a picture of the blob on the run in that room. Also, you go to… You end up at the fourth facility suggesting that this is the fourthexperimentation and attempt at this. You can see this by how dilapidated everything is in one, two and for the third one it’s a little less dilapidated and it looks extremely similar to number four… As if they had just done this not too long ago.
There’s some footage in this video of the game that I’ve not seen in the game? E.g the dogs barking at the boy when he’s holding a torch. Is this from an other ending or just secrets?
I think there's a bit more to this story and it's in the level design itself. We see deep, waterlogged chasms throughout the game but very little in the way of natural formations, it's all man made.
So I think it's supposed to be in a world where global warming got so out of hand that sea levels just kept on rising, forcing humans to build on top of submerged architecture.
This kind of explains the overall mind control (as things get more dire the decision is made to enslave anyone who isn't a scientist or engineer) but accounts for the mermaids perfectly, they're literally the result of experiments to turn humans into aquatic creatures.
Having said that I have no idea what the blob is supposed to be/do
It is true i think that whatever happened was a sort of catastrophe that became a catalyst of the mind controlling starting (i definitely dont think its the parasite in the pig thats doing the controlling lmao, but instead humans or something) but im not exactly sure if its global warming, because the flooded areas are all where we find the sirens- so likely it was a previous testing facility to make the said sirens, and something broke, either a dam or some water pressure stuff, and flooded the place.
Cause the beginning area doesnt seem flooded or scortched, just that facility area, so yea maybe its global warming but i dont think so. The chasms that are filled seem to have also been manmade, its likely we havent seen the actual outside world at all! Instead they live on layers and layers of tests and control, and until we see the top or the real outside, we will have no idea
BUUT HEY, THATS JUST A THEORY
all i know is that this game was crazy awesome to play. Some Pink Floyd would be a good music soundtrack for this game.
I definitely agree with the Pink Floyd songs. Nice suggestion!
That would just ruin what is already perfect in this game - it's theme and ambience.
Steve Stell *cue the wall*
If the Blob can control the boy, it can control any of the other slaves. Which means that it could rise up against its masters at any time. So why go through this experiment when it could overthrow the human race at a moments notice? I still haven't seen a satisfactory explanation for this.
Hmm... I don't know about that. I thought part of the theory surrounding the Blob, was that it was being used to keep the slave population in check.
As he says in the video, the boy seems more selfaware than the other people that's being mind controlled. He's speciall and probably choosen for the experiment. The blob maybe knows this and takes it to it's advantaged. To overthrow the human race wouldn't really be any use, bc then it's only the blob and then lots of slaves that the blob controlles, not so fun really. Instead the boy ends it all, the blob uses the boy to end everything which otherwise is a never ending circle.
+djhutchison I think the pawns brains aren't as fully there as the boys. The boys brain is able to be controlled by the blob (puzzles jumping swimming) then the boy can control the dummies who lack his abilities.
Blob cannot control boy
Suggestion on sound: the voice has a harsh popping when you speak. For users that have strong headphones that have base, this can be painful to hear. I sadly was not able to hear you without it being painful to my ears because these are the headphones I use.
It sound like you have a studio mic, you can speak in your mic without facing your mouth directly into the mic but on the side instead or at a distance.
Even some sort of pop filter would work too
You're beautiful, marry me?
You can marry my drawn avatar, sure.
a pop filter can help with that.
He just needs to eq out the sub to fix most of it
The ending had me pissed lol. Second ending wasn’t too bad I guess.
This is actually a really nice, fresh take on the story and having played through this numerous times now I agree with damn near all of it. I slightly disagree on the death / respawning part. I think it's the same boy; you just start over because starting at the very beginning is soooo 90s video games.
one question: if the blob controlled the boy and the connection is broken by unplugging the large orb... then why dies he only go to zombie slumber once he unplugs the last cable!? this would mean that the blob controlled that move, too. doesnt make any sense to me.
furthermore, if the blob was that free a thinking mass... WHY NOT FREE HIMSELF!?
Good questions. Such is the meta nature of the game. The question of free will is just as valid as the question of free will in all our lives. In my opinion, it's the meta narrative and paradoxes that make this game brilliant. If the blob is controlling the boy and you're controlling the boy as the player, are *you* the blob or are you controlling the blob? More layers are added as the boy controls a zombie that's controlling another zombie. And ultimately we are all under the control of the "plot" designed by the game designers. And you could argue that they are merely controlled and influenced by the game influences and life experiences. It's a perpetual loop, a paradox of control - one that can be traced to all of our lives. So you're right in asking, but does free will even exist? This game will make your head spin trying to figure it out. Brilliant.
well its simple. the boy is you, since the blob cant free himself, youre freeing it and thats an act of humanitarianism. the question if free will exists doesnt really matter to me like some others, we have the experience of free will and thats what counts.
you have the choice to free the boy or free the blob. you are the red heart of this dark fairytale. rushing towards this creature that is helpless.
There's also the question of if the secret ending is the 'true' ending... or just an added layer to a metaphor. I suspect the blob was controlling the boy as means to escape is the basic simple story and that additional layers are more like metaphors piled atop metaphors existing in parallel as opposed to direct relationships... the bot was controlled by the blob to escape... and the boy is also controlled by YOU which the alternate bonus ending is indicating... neither being 'wrong'
Blob cannot control boy
that says alot. thanks!
It's mad that you wouldnt do the alternate ending until you'd played through once and got the orginal ending, learning the truth about the boy and blob. Hence why after learning this, you'd make the decision to do the alternate ending, powering the boy down. Because YOU are the blob.
The game is like real life
This theory would be more obvious if the boy controlled the husks then one of them looks familiar looking to him.
What
what makes you think that the boy has free will?
From what I can make of it, the free will IS shutting down the device, but at the end of the day, he was still connected to it, so shutting it down, shuts him down. His mind was part of it, just not a controlled part.
Why wouldn't someone be therefore to gaurd the powersource? And why would that be the only work force he would be aware of the fact that someone could just come and power everything up? I'm sure we are the one's controlling the boy in fact I'm pretty sure we're the only reason the game is still on I think inside want's us to get out more?
I love this game
Same
1:30 oh you mean the water grudge-children
Because I recently replayed inside I suddenly thought of something. I am absolutely undocumented or thought this through on a large scale.
I believe you play - dead.
Inside is what happens before you enter limbo. The girl in the water is your sister and she recognizes you that's why she helps you on a later stage. The glass breaking in limbo reminded me on how the huddle breaks out.
How your sister gets there you'll discover in their new / upcoming game
In the diorama you can see a shape in the water that looks like one of those capsules, this is how you enter the world in their upcoming game.
All the clocks in the game are in real time as you play. I believe this means there is a bigger power controlling what happens. Devoted?
Maybe your sister joined a clan, got infected by their belief or methods (Scientology like stuff), this caused a ripple effect (maybe caused by an equinox and so your sister disappeared. The boy saw this happening and went looking for her. But you actually both are dead caused by that event. The shock wave in inside and gravity in limbo & inside are methods by the organisation/clan to experiment with raising the dead in hope to create a stronger, obedient life form again on the planet as all life dissipated, and thus in inside they created an experiment with you "the boy" a strong subject that survived as he traveled through the capsule you see in the diorama.
Which to me makes "some" sense as the new concept art for their new game shows meteor impact and an ice covered world.
I believe the boy crashed in the inside world (once again as seen in the diorama)
To make things even more ridiculous I believe their next game will have seven letters in the name
....... inside limbo - will form a sentence. (I think of: equinox, closure, devoted, witness, analogy, crashed... ) all makes sense somehow.
Anyhow it's fun to speculate or make connections that might not be there :)
Wait a minute, the boy connected with the mind control helmets and later unplugs himself.
So don't be too hard on me with this not-well thought trough theory.
You should have proof read it
You nailed the theory man.
Explain, why would they want him to kill the man in the office?
I wondered that too, but then I thought maybe they just don’t care. If they’re willing to kidnap people and kill them, why not let a few office workers die. There’s nothing in the game that would suggest they are important to the actual experiment. There’s other guys dressed up for the office who came to see the blob, but maybe that guy didn’t want to see it so he stayed behind in his office. I assume the office workers were unaware of the experiment, and they already had others planted their to help out, who were told not to tell other people so they could sell the blob a false sense of security. If the blob managed to kill some people it might assume that it’s actually making an escape. If there was no panic, the set up might be too obvious and the blob wouldn’t have taken the bait. But that’s just my guess.
My theory is that they want the blob to think that everything is actually real, but its all an experiment, and that is not really the CEO, its just a random worker that was told to stay there,but knew no details. Its makes no sense for him to be the actual CEO, cuz that office is right next to the cafeteria.
@@TheIceFlowe i was thinking every person you see is actually one of mindless drones, just a bit more advanced then the ones the boy can control
so this is my theory the boy finds himself in the environment. he is not being controlled by anything because there isn't a timer in the game. the boy is free to stand still and meditate for hours in the game if he wanted. So, he is not being controlled in any manner.
Next, we know something bad happened.
Maybe the experiment on pigs went wrong or maybe there was a natural disaster that killed the pigs, something bad happened.
The company is in the business of mind control. This is evident with the line of people.
The shockwaves were both an experimental weapon and an actual weapon used to kill anybody who left the line.
The mermaid with the long hair, the first one worked for the company. The second one was part of the revolution.
People outside the company work for it but as you go inside, there are people who want a revolution.
The second mermaid has a device that let's you breathe under water. She is part of the revolution and so is everybody else afterwards because they help the boy and blob instead of killing him/it
The company is involved in all kinds of experiments including using humans for energy as batteries.
The blob was an experiment (gone wrong). The blob is desperate for anything it can include to help itself be free.
The wires keeping the blob in place meant the mind control device was successfully keeping the blob in place and happy
The blob finds happiness under the sun's rays.
there are FOURTEEN of those brain things?? I thought I was clever for finding five or six of them...
Next video: The Theory to end the theory ending theories.
It's funny how you think that 'people' in game are 'people'. This is a visual representation of the first successful A.I code.
If they let out other boys that would explain the numbers on the ground and the replicated rooms
Freaking awesome.
Oh man that's deep
THIS A PROPER STORY
Very good. 👍🏻
There is another alternative ending which is after you get back to the second facility (at corn field) and where supposed to have this alternative ending above, you should remove the door and unplug just the first cable. (if you remove the second the everything looses power including the boy and so that ends). Instead removing the latest cable go back up to back to the spaceship (last facility with the light panel where before there was one light still on)
STOP MESSING WITH US
4:04 when is this part? never played it
Copied from oooodaxteroooo's comment: "scene with the 19 zombies on the pressure plate. after freeing the three
from the mine cart using the lever with the right timing, cross the
bridge through shallow water and pull the wooden plank using the zombies
as help. right in front of the large cart youve been using to get
there."
It's an optional area to get one of the beacons.
Is crazy how there are so many theories out there about a hole bunch of thing to me . Even tho this is all up to you to decide how you see the ending. But this is exactly what I got from the game. Why do we play video games when we could be doing much more with our lives like making a difference weather is spending more times with your family friends kids etc. inside tell me that playing video games is just like any other drug out there and by unplugging your self or continuing to play video games your making the choice to free your self from your addiction and make more with your time then play your life away or stay plugged in because gaming is your only scape we mentally have. So is funny how the game is about escaping but we never really do escape. No matter what you do in a game you are being told what to do and were to do it. So you’re being controlled. On another hand in real life you go to your 9-5 and are being told what to do and when to do it. So you are really never in controlled. So do we really have free will after all?
4:28 actually, there is a fifteenth orb in the secret room.
question:
what's the name of the opening of the video?
pop filter ftw!!111!
DOES ANYBODY KNOW HOW TO GET PASS THE HAY BARN WITH THE LITTLE BIRDS🐦?
samsarah and the godhead.
Nice video and all but there's a thing called pop filter for your microphone. I suggest you to use one.
What evidence do you have that it is an endless cycle lol, that seemed to be complete conjecture
Ah, yes, the definition of insanity again. You know the definition of stupidity? It is citing Far Cry 3 for the definition of insanity.
I KNEW IT!!!!!!
Thia was the best
Lol y'all will never know the story.
can you tell me?
Jack Bergens too long to explain :3
Playdead'z INSIDE Boi make a video about it, i already sub to wait
Jack Bergens But I'm not going to make a video about it. Lol
+Playdead'z INSIDE Boy
Well then that explains it lol.
The theory is great but you're sitting way to close to the mic
Invest in a pop filter.
This "everything is an endless cycle" idea has been around game theories since the days of the very first plot theory in gaming, that of the original Silent Hill. I have no idea why people are so in love with it. Other than it being existentially romantic, and a lazy way out of a mysterious plot, there is nothing in the game to support this. Just as there is nothing else to support anything anyone has to say about it. What is clear is that mind control plays an important role, and that the hive mind PROBABLY is in control of the boy to set itself free from its prison.
The diorama was a nice touch, but to say that it hints at an endless cycle is quite a stretch. It may mean anything. For me it's just a scale model of the synthetic environment the game is taking place in; perhaps everything is an artificial landscape designed for any unknown reasons, who knows, maybe after a natural catastrophe, or to house the scientists and their families. It's a mystery.
Theorizing is fun, but thinking that you've got the game's plot all figured out and your theory will end all theories is, quite honestly, pretty stupid.
No
This is less of a theory and more of a recounting of events. You didn't explain anything, just said the same thing 56 different ways. 🙄. Skipping the like button on this one. Master the art of saying nothing at all while talking forever.
dude get a pop filter for the popping sounds in audio.
I dont approve
702nd 👍
i dont agree with this theory
Worst childish theory of em all...