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Game #4470
Hall of Belated Fame Inductee  Insight    View all Top Dogs in this genre
Interactive Fiction   Conventional

Rating: 6.25 (4 votes)

Insight box cover

Insight screenshot
Insight is a superbly written sci-fi thriller by Jon Ingold, one of the most celebrated IF authors today. While certain plot devices in the game are reminiscent of Andrew Plotkin's Spider and Web, Insight is far from being a "clone". The setup is similar to Spider and Web, except that your role is reversed: you are now the interrogator, not the interrogated. Your job is to interrogate and discover the truth about a scientist who is suspected of murdering his wife.

Set in an indeterminate future, Insight is a tightly designed game that takes place in only two locations: the interrogation room, and the lab where the victim died. Similar to Spider and Web, you will likely have to replay most segments several times to uncover facts (the "save, do something, fail, restore, apply lesson learned" gameplay). The game even has an explanation for that, although it comes off as half-hearted and not wholly satisfying. But unlike Spider and Web, Insight doesn't "rewind" the action whenever you find new information: you are free to travel back and forth between the lab and the interrogation room as often as you want, so the game feels more realistic and less directed than Spider and Web. Aside from solid writing that you can expect from Jon Ingold's games, Insight is full of plot twists, some of which make more sense than the rest, but all of which are at least interesting. Puzzles are fair – much easier than previous puzzle-fests from the same author (like The Mulldoon Legacy), and I like the balance between conversation-based puzzles (i.e. ask the suspect about the right things), and object-manipulation ones. All in all, fans of Spider and Web will likely enjoy Insight as well, although this game is not as clever. Highly recommended.

Reviewed by: Underdogs
Designer: Jon Ingold
Developer: Freeware
Publisher: Freeware
Year: 2003
Software Copyright: Jon Ingold
Theme: Mystery, Science Fiction
Multiplayer:  
None that we know of
System Requirements: Inform
Where to get it:   IF Archive
Related Links:  
Links:    
If you like this game, try: Spider and Web, Babel, Plant, The

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