---
title: "INSIDE: Walkthrough, Secret Orbs and Achievements Guide"
game: "INSIDE"
game_url: "https://qna.gg/games/inside"
author: "Qloud"
author_url: "https://qna.gg/players/Qloud"
topics: ["Walkthroughs", "Cheat sheets", "Secrets", "Farming", "Achievements", "Endings", "Puzzles"]
summary: "A spoiler-light route through Playdead's INSIDE, tips for the puzzles and chase scenes that kill most players, and how to find the hidden orbs and reach the secret ending for 100% achievements. Researched September…"
url: "https://qna.gg/g/inside-walkthrough-secret-orbs-and-achievements-guide-520bbf46"
published: "2026-09-27T17:51:09.407Z"
updated: "2026-09-27T17:51:09.407Z"
source: "QnA.GG"
---

# INSIDE: Walkthrough, Secret Orbs and Achievements Guide

A spoiler-light route through Playdead's INSIDE, tips for the puzzles and chase scenes that kill most players, and how to find the hidden orbs and reach the secret ending for 100% achievements.

*Researched September 2026 — current as of the final Steam build (last patch 23 November 2016, which removed Denuvo; the Mac version followed in 2020). No further updates are expected.*

## Quick Start

1. **Death is cheap.** Checkpoints are frequent and usually a few seconds back. Dying is how you learn a puzzle's timing, so experiment.
2. **Two buttons do almost everything:** jump and grab/interact. Grab covers pushing and pulling crates, climbing, holding onto things and using devices.
3. **If you're stuck, look for what you can grab.** Nearly every puzzle is solved by moving an object, pulling a lever, or controlling someone else.
4. **Listen.** Sound cues tell you when patrols turn, when a shockwave is coming, and when something is chasing you.
5. **Use a controller if you have one.** The game was designed around one. A 2016 patch tweaked dead zones specifically so some puzzles weren't harder than intended.
6. **Don't worry about missing secrets on your first run.** You can replay any checkpoint from the menu afterward, and your orb progress is kept.
7. **The game is short** (roughly 3 to 4 hours), so a second run for the secrets is quick.
8. **Achievements are almost all about secrets.** Of the 14 Steam achievements, 13 are tied to hidden orbs and secret areas, and The Last One is for the secret ending.

## How INSIDE Plays

You control an unnamed boy in a 2.5D side-scroller. He can walk, run, swim, climb and grab. There's no HUD, no text and no inventory. Everything is environmental: crates, ropes, doors, levers, water, and later **mind-control helmets** that let you steer the zombie-like drones of the facility to solve puzzles you can't solve alone.

### Controls (concepts)

| Action | What it's for |
|---|---|
| Move | Walk, run, swim |
| Jump | Gaps, ledges, climbing starts |
| Grab / interact | Push and pull crates, climb ropes, pull levers, put on or take off helmets, hold ledges |
| Grab while in a helmet | Steer the controlled bodies' actions (jump, pull, push) |

On PC, check the controls menu for your keyboard bindings. Rebinding grab to a comfortable key helps a lot in the timing-heavy sections.

## Area-by-Area Walkthrough (spoiler-light)

This is an outline, not a step-by-step solution, so the puzzles still feel like yours.

### 1. Forest and road

Men with flashlights and dogs patrol. Stay in the shadows, wait for lights to pass, and **don't try to outrun the dogs in the open**. Look for fences, water or high ledges instead. When a vehicle's lights sweep, duck behind cover.

### 2. Farm

Crates, a barn, animals, and your first proper puzzles. Pay attention to the **pigs** and the **chicks**. Livestock is part of the solution more than once, and the farm buildings hide your first secret-area detours.

### 3. Town and the marching drones

Rows of blank-faced people march in time. **Copy their movement exactly** when you walk among them. Stepping out of rhythm gets you caught. This teaches the "match the pattern" logic you'll need later.

### 4. Factory, mind-control helmets

Helmets let you control groups of bodies. Use them to reach levers, build human ladders, and pull heavy objects. Tip: **you control everyone connected to the helmet at once**, so line them up before acting.

### 5. Flooded areas and the submarine

Swimming, a small submarine, and dark water. Something lives down here. **Keep moving in the water and head for lit areas.** In the sub, use the headlight and the pull mechanic to solve puzzles.

### 6. The shockwave section

A giant rhythmic shockwave blasts through the area. Count the beats and **only move when you're behind solid cover**. The rhythm is consistent, so learn it and move right after each blast.

### 7. The labs and offices

Scientists, glass tanks, and the path deeper into the facility. Several of the hidden orbs are near here, so scan every room.

### 8. The finale

The last stretch changes how the game plays completely. Don't look up spoilers for this part. Just keep going right.

## Hidden Orbs and Achievements

There are hidden **orbs** in secret areas throughout the game. Each is a glowing sphere with cables. Reach it and **pull the cable/interact** to switch it off, which unlocks an achievement. Switching off **all** of them unlocks access to the secret ending (see below). Secret areas are usually off the main path: behind a wall you can pull away, down a shaft that looks like scenery, or past a detour you'd normally ignore.

Steam achievements, ordered by how many players have them (roughly the order you'll reach them):

| Achievement | In-game hint | Global unlock rate |
|---|---|---|
| Left Behind | "Safe falling and hard landings" | 73.5% |
| Obscure Foundations | "Lies beneath the city" | 36.6% |
| Room for Reflection | "Hanging up" | 28.9% |
| Pack Mentality | "Pull together" | 25.4% |
| Friends in low places | "Dislodging derelict in the depths" | 23.6% |
| Unfathomable | "Take a deep breath" | 22.6% |
| Murky Waters | "Something's not right down here" | 21.9% |
| Field Research | "Unearthing secrets" | 21.1% |
| Office Space | "Do an elevator pitch" | 19.0% |
| Respite | "Dive back in" | 18.9% |
| A Tableau | "Skipping stones at the beach" | 18.8% |
| Wee Wee Wee | "They never made it to market" | 17.9% |
| Clockwork | "Shadows at noon" | 17.4% |
| The Last One | "It comes together" (secret ending) | 14.0% |

### How to hunt orbs efficiently

- **Finish the story once first.** Then use the checkpoint menu to jump back to specific areas.
- **Read the hints literally.** "Hanging up" and "Pull together" describe the action. "Take a deep breath" and "Dive back in" point to water. "They never made it to market" points to the farm animals.
- **Check the background.** Secret areas often start from something that looks like a wall or a dead end but can be grabbed or climbed.
- **Your orb progress saves across checkpoint loads.** You don't need a single continuous run.

## The Secret (Alternate) Ending

1. Switch off every hidden orb (all the orb achievements above).
2. Go back via the checkpoint menu to the **cornfield** area from earlier in the game.
3. A hidden **bunker** is now open. Go down into it.
4. Inside, you have to solve a final **input sequence** on a panel. The room's lights and patterns tell you what to do.
5. That opens the last room. What you do there triggers the alternate ending and unlocks **The Last One**.

This ending is short, cryptic and heavily debated in the community. It's best seen with no spoilers.

## Puzzle Logic Cheat Sheet

When you're stuck, run through this list. Almost every INSIDE puzzle is one of these:

| Pattern | What to try |
|---|---|
| Ledge too high | Drag a crate, pull a cart, or have controlled bodies form a step |
| Door or gate won't open | Look for a lever or a weight plate elsewhere on the screen, often behind you |
| Enemy blocking the path | Wait for its patrol loop, distract it, or use another creature to get it out of the way |
| Heavy object won't move | You need more pullers. Find a helmet or a group of bodies |
| Water blocks the way | Look for a way to drain or raise the water level, or a vehicle |
| Rhythm hazard | Count the beats before moving and move right after the hazard |
| Screen looks empty | Something in the background can be grabbed or climbed. Walk slowly and try grab on everything |

**Chase scenes:** these are scripted to be tight but fair. If you're dying at the same spot, you're usually a hair late on the jump or grab. Commit earlier, not faster.

## Common Mistakes to Avoid

- **Rushing chase sequences.** Most chase deaths happen because the player jumped early. Watch the ledge first.
- **Ignoring the rhythm** in the marching and shockwave sections. Both are pure timing puzzles.
- **Forgetting that controlled bodies are tools.** If a gap or weight seems impossible, you probably need more bodies.
- **Hunting orbs blind on the first playthrough.** Story first, secrets second is much more enjoyable.
- **Assuming a dead end is a dead end.** INSIDE hides its secrets in places that look like scenery.

## Advanced Tips

- **Checkpoint select is your best friend** for cleanup. Go straight to the area an orb is in rather than replaying chapters.
- **Hold grab early** on ledges and ropes during chases. The buffer is generous.
- **Underwater sections:** the boy has a limited breath window until later events, so plan routes between air pockets.
- **Performance:** the 27 July 2016 patch improved 4K support, fixed selecting the highest resolution on 21:9 displays, fixed missing shadows on some hardware and added Steam Link controller support. The 23 November 2016 patch removed Denuvo. Current PCs run INSIDE easily.
- **Trading cards** were added to the Steam version in September 2020.

## FAQ

**How long is INSIDE?**
About 3 to 4 hours for a first playthrough. Cleaning up all the orbs adds an hour or two with checkpoint select.

**Is INSIDE a sequel to LIMBO?**
No. It's Playdead's next game after LIMBO, with a similar style, but a separate world and story.

**Do I need to find all the orbs in one run?**
No. Orb progress carries across checkpoint loads.

**What does the secret ending mean?**
Playdead never officially explained it. Most interpretations are about control and who's really doing the controlling.

**Is there a demo?**
Yes. A free demo was released on the Steam store page in November 2016.

**Does INSIDE support controllers on PC?**
Yes, with full gamepad support (including Xbox One vibration on Windows 10, added in 2016). Keyboard works too.

## Sources

- [INSIDE on Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/304430/)
- [INSIDE Steam global achievements](https://steamcommunity.com/stats/304430/achievements)
- [INSIDE Steam news (patch notes, demo, Mac release)](https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/304430)
- [Inside (video game) on Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inside_(video_game))