Limbo

Limbo is a game for Xbox Live Arcade which is part puzzle game and part platformer. The first thing you’ll notice about Limbo is it’s unique art style which you’re not likely to have seen ever before. The whole game is black & white with subtle shades of gray. Also there is virtually no music, and what little music is in the game is more along the lines of ambient musical stingers and drones usually to increase the already tremendous sense of forboding.

Story – From the game itself there is no apparent story, you’re just a boy who wakes up in the dark forest and you start to run to the right. From the XBLA description we know that you’re searching for your sister, but that is the only explicit story you’re given. Everything else is left up to interpretation, and internet message boards are filled with theories about how to decipher the scant clues the game gives you about the story past its face value. 

Gameplay – You’re going to die. A lot. Limbo is largely a trial and error game, but not in a frustrating way. There are dozens of ways that you’re probably going to die in this game whether it’s being crushed, drowned, decapitated, sliced, electrocuted, impaled, poisoned or a number more. It’s kind of disturbing especially because you play a kid, but for better or worse you become kind of desensitized to the violence. For me, it became kind of like playing Lemmings where you let him die because you want to see the different death animation.

Aside from running and jumping you’ll push blocks, pull levers to get your way through the game. Even in the most complicated puzzles there are very few things to work with, so it’s easy to eliminate possibilities for how to proceed in the game. In your first play through it’ll probably take a few hours to beat, but once you know how to solve all the puzzles the game can be beaten in an hour and a half or less. One of the achievements is for beating the game in one sitting with five or fewer deaths. 

Sound – Sound is very important to me which is why I often discuss it in game reviews probably as much as other reviewers discuss graphics. Limbo has phenomenal sound design and attention to detail. The sound design is great across the board from the soft footfalls in the grass, the deep thud of the spider leg hitting the ground, the slow metal opening sound of a bear trap, the cutting of a saw blade or bones breaking as you fall from a great height. The sound shows great attention to detail like when your head is partially submerged in water and you hear the sound muffled for the split second you’re underwater.     
 
Sound is one thing that can make or break the atmosphere of a game, and the sound here makes everything more believable and immersive. The saying in film school is that your video quality can look like absolute crap as long as your sound is good. Limbo looks and sounds great which elevates the whole package.     

Graphics – The graphics also should be applauded for their subtle depths and detailed animations. Do we need to see the silhouette of the boy’s intestines spewing out as he’s cut by a saw blade? Probably not, but it makes the game that much more relentless and immersive. The game is entirely 2D, but has great depth because of the parallax effects of seeing backgrounds in the forest, parts of the level with light, the intense darkness where you only see the boy’s eyes and moments where you only see the sparks of electricity or neon lights.

Clearly a lot of work went into giving Limbo depth in every environment in the game. Also there are great particle effects for things floating in the light or dust that rises from the ground after the boy jumps or debris from wooden boxes cut into shreds by blades. Coupled with the realistic physics, the graphics create a very natural environment. 

Rumble – The last component I think responsible for giving Limbo its tactile sensation is the rumble. The game has sometimes very subtle rumble effects that are almost imperceptible, but if they were removed you’d notice it missing. Jumping and landing on things makes the controller rumble ever so slightly. Also climbing ladders has rumble for each small rung you climb. Of course bigger events like the giant spider have rumble associated with them, but I think the smaller moments are the ones which ultimately make the difference.

Final Thoughts – Limbo is a great example of why I love downloadable games. It gives the opportunity for a relatively small company to make something new and unique which might be too much of a risk for a big budget game. Limbo should be played because you won’t find anything else like it. For $15 I think it feels a little bit expensive, but still worth it for the unique experience. My advice is wait until night time, turn off the lights and let yourself get totally pulled in by the experience of Limbo.