Surreal vibes within Milk Inside and Milk Outside games

If you like surreal and introspective experiences, you have got to try Milk Inside and Milk Outside. This post should give you a little taste of these experiences and perhaps convince you to give it a shot. This post will not contain spoilers, so that if you do wish to try these games, you can have a proper experience.

Though, I’ve got to mention that the actual titles of these games are “Milk inside a bag of milk inside a bag of milk” and “Milk outside a bag of milk outside a bag of milk” but I will call them “Milk Inside” and “Milk Outside” respectively to keep it short and sweet.

The main premise of Milk Inside is to help a girl buy a bag of milk. The game, however, is not about the story, it’s about the execution. You share a wordview with this girl and you can quickly notice that the visuals are pixelated and red. The visual environment is then accented with droning and atmospheric sounds.

The distortion of the outside world gives a good taste of the protagonist’s inner world. And, to make things more exciting, you are the voice that aids the protagonist’s actions. It’s like playing part in someone else’s inner monologue.

And that’s basically the premise of Milk Inside. It gives such a distinct mixture of reality and grotesque imagination. This is not something you can label with either fantasy or something realistic, it’s both. It’s relatable and unrelatable at the same time. And this is why I love it.

This game has left me with a distinct aftertaste and I have enjoyed this peculiar experience that it gave me. So, if you are into these kinds of experiences, you should definitely grab a copy of Milk Inside.

However, this post is also about Milk Outside which is a sequel to Milk Inside. Milk Outside continues the idea spawned by the initial title. Milk Outside’s visuals are now more detailed and comprehensible, yet it still packs a punch like Milk Inside.

During Milk Outside you get a better view on the protagonist’s inner world. There’s even a little point and click segment where there’s more freedom in interaction which feels a bit less constraining than the visual novel format. If you have fallen in love with Milk Inside, you will definitely enjoy the extended experience that the sequel provides.

Also, the games are rather short. I finished Milk Inside in about 15 minutes and Milk Outside in about 45 minutes on Steam Deck. So, the total playtime is about 1 hour. Doesn’t take a lot of time but the experience will surely leave a mark.

That’s it for the Milk series. A brief but powerful pair that should give you a distinct experience.