Gamescom2015: Hands-on with In Between - the puzzler set inside a dying man's psyche

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Video games take place in space and in parallel dimensions and in war-torn cities and fantastical fantasy worlds.

But one of the more interesting mobile games I got to play at Gamescom last week was set inside the psyche of a man with lung cancer. Not your average setting for a puzzler, right?

For the more part, In Between is about flipping and twisting gravity to turn walls into floors and floors into ceilings, so your main character can get through the mazes in his own mind.

But you'll quickly realise that as the main character stumbles through the stages of accepting his own mortality, new mechanics are introduced.

During anger, there are big burning balls of hostility you must avoid. In the bargaining phase you play alongside your doppelgänger, as you must work with yourself to overcome the challenges at hand.

In another, darkness will consume you if you don't look at it. That's denial… maybe? The goofy puzzle mechanics don't always fit perfectly with the painful human emotions of accepting death.

These inventive gravity-flip puzzles are sandwiched between bits of story. Little playable cutscenes where your character revisits moments from his life.

Also, during puzzles you'll sometimes see the dull beige backgrounds melt away as you play to reveal bold, arresting scenes. It's quite a stunning visual style.

In Between is certainly one to watch. It's coming to mobiles and consoles, courtesy of Headup Games, later this year.