Limbo Review

Vidja Gamers Review: Limbo 

Developer: Playdead
Release Date: July 21, 2010

Cost: 1200 Microsoft Points

Thoughts

Limbo is a very dark game, and while it may look childish it has a very dark humor to it. The character you control is a child and he undergoes every visceral death scene imaginable. The death scenes in this game range from being crushed in between a bear trap, dismembered by monstrous spiders, impaled by spikes, being sliced in half by saws, and did I mention death by blowguns? 

Presentation

The story in Limbo is very vague, if there is even supposed to be a story. The game's description says that your character is uncertain of his sister's fate and so he enters limbo to find her. I would have had no idea that this was the actual story of the game if I had not read this description before playing it. Knowing the story behind the game has no impact on playing the game itself. Your character awakes in a forest setting and as you progress through the level you realize that things seem out of place, especially when you run into your first bear trap. While at first it appears the only inhabitants of Limbo are giant spiders you will soon find other humans who want you dead, which just adds to the mystery of this game. 

Graphics

Limbo has a very unique visual aesthetic and almost seems to be an art-form in itself. There are only two colors in the game; black and white. The color is contrast is done extremely well, and having only two colors adds even more to the game's puzzle elements, since traps blend in so well with the background. The background and foreground art changed throughout the game and add more depth to the game which make it seems like Limbo is it's own world. While the artwork may seem simple and the shading of the game even simpler, it is done with a polish that few other games can deliver.

Audio

The music in this game is amazing, or should I say “lack” of music. There are very few portions of this game where music plays and for the most part you will find yourself wandering through limbo in an eerie silence. The ambiance of the background sound effects, such as rain falling or a mine cart's wheels rolling on a track , add an even deeper level to this game on top of the great visuals. The world really seems to come to life, and I could feel the tension building in the game as the game progressed and the puzzles got harder, since the most distinguished noises in the game came from traps which would cause a cacophony of destruction.

Gameplay

At it's core Limbo is a platforming puzzle game. You progress through each of the 24 chapters in a linear fashion. Slowly making your way from one side of the stage to other while solving a myriad of puzzles along the way. Puzzles are solved by pulling objects through the level and with carefully timed jumps, as these are the only two actions that can be performed in the game. I must give forewarning to be prepared to die while trying to solve Limbo's puzzles, because you will be dieing frequently. Dieing in Limbo doesn't really have any harsh forms of punishment since the checkpoint system is done really well and you generally start at the beginning of the puzzle that you died at. The early puzzles in this game mainly involve spotting traps and avoiding them with well timed jumps, but at the end you will be using gravity switches that you will have to use to move boxes and yourself around the map so that you can reach higher areas. With a little patience and some quick reflexes you will have a great time solving this game's puzzles.

Summary

Limbo is a short game and will last the average person three to four hours, and while it's not a game that you'll be playing over and over I expect to replay it at least once more to collect the “secret eggs” hidden throughout the levels which unlock achievement points. Limbo is a game with simple design, a simple control scheme, but it delivers an elegant experience and I'd recommend it to anybody who would like to try something new on Xbox Live Arcade or anybody who loves a good challenge.

Rating 4.5 out of 5