An adventure of the mind, Limbo captivates with thought, puzzles and immersing sound effects amongst an eerie surreal atmosphere.
"Just an innocent boy taking a leisurely stroll through Death Forest."
Limbo is described as the "in-between" of worlds. Not Heaven, not Hell, but somewhere in the middle. Limbo is a game of few words, well literally no words, but the atmosphere speaks for itself. A monochrome reality, where the sun is scarce and shadows move in unsettling ways. In some areas, the only light visible is the reflection in the characters eyes. Limbo offers you no answers. Who are you? Why are you here? What is my goal, where do I go? These are the questions you might ask when you start Limbo, and after finishing the game, I still don't know the answers. But I really don't mind. My adventure into Limbo was brief, I completed the game in just under 4 hours, but it left a lasting impact. The game's visuals are so unique and bring so much beauty to such simple graphics and animation. A color version of this game would look terrible, instead the grayscale visuals are charming and creepy simultaneously. In gameplay terms, I would describe Limbo as a "survival platformer". The entirety of your understanding quickly becomes "Just keep going right, and do not die." The puzzles can be quite erm, puzzling, at times, especially as you push further into the game. Later game puzzles have you meticulously hitting levers, scaling ladders, avoiding traps and timing perfect jumps under very small time constraints. The puzzles were always fun though, and you always feel accomplished when completing them. The game takes you everywhere from flooded forests to old mineshafts and all of these are fully realized in the black and white tones. At your disposal, is nothing, aside from a short and long jump. The puzzles are mostly straightforward, your goal : reach that ledge, or make it past that spinning saw.
"With the exception of your character, it seems everyone in Limbo is bald."
You will die, a lot, in this game. Not because it's particularly hard, but because most of the puzzles are trial and error based, and death is usually the first couple solutions to them. Approaching a dark area for instance, a blade may swing down and kill you. This may seem cheap the first time, but the second time around you know what to expect. Unexpected kills make up the majority of your deaths, but fortunately, there is a checkpoint after every puzzle, and respawn is instant so you're not waiting every time you die. The sound adds depth and a level of surreality to everything. Simple lever pulls echo through the darkness and add the ever present feeling of abandonment. Limbo leaves you feeling completely deserted, with giant spiders and brain leeching slugs around every turn. Even the glimpse of another human will get you excited as much as it will scare you. Limbo is as simple as a platformer can be. Run, jump, push, pull, grab, swing, repeat. But even these simple things can become complex in Limbo. Throughout he game are various hidden trophies too, inspiring another playthrough. Limbo never tells you this obviously, and it wasn't until about an hour in that I found my first one, no telling how many I missed never knowing they were there. Although, as such a short game, I can't find one good reason not to play through Limbo again.
"The visuals and atmosphere of Limbo sets it apart from every other platformer"
Limbo stands out from the myriad of other
platform puzzlers with it's unique visuals, simple
mechanics, immersive audio and well thought out puzzles. The lack of any story may be of some hindrance, but in ways makes the game that much more engaging, pushing you forward to discover the answers. Limbo is a wonderful way to spend a night of gaming and I'll be revisiting the eerie land many times.
Pros : Beautiful Visuals/ Nice Sound FX/ Entrancing atmosphere
Cons : Abrupt ending/lack of direction/very short
- Darrell
Limbo is described as the "in-between" of worlds. Not Heaven, not Hell, but somewhere in the middle. Limbo is a game of few words, well literally no words, but the atmosphere speaks for itself. A monochrome reality, where the sun is scarce and shadows move in unsettling ways. In some areas, the only light visible is the reflection in the characters eyes. Limbo offers you no answers. Who are you? Why are you here? What is my goal, where do I go? These are the questions you might ask when you start Limbo, and after finishing the game, I still don't know the answers. But I really don't mind. My adventure into Limbo was brief, I completed the game in just under 4 hours, but it left a lasting impact. The game's visuals are so unique and bring so much beauty to such simple graphics and animation. A color version of this game would look terrible, instead the grayscale visuals are charming and creepy simultaneously. In gameplay terms, I would describe Limbo as a "survival platformer". The entirety of your understanding quickly becomes "Just keep going right, and do not die." The puzzles can be quite erm, puzzling, at times, especially as you push further into the game. Later game puzzles have you meticulously hitting levers, scaling ladders, avoiding traps and timing perfect jumps under very small time constraints. The puzzles were always fun though, and you always feel accomplished when completing them. The game takes you everywhere from flooded forests to old mineshafts and all of these are fully realized in the black and white tones. At your disposal, is nothing, aside from a short and long jump. The puzzles are mostly straightforward, your goal : reach that ledge, or make it past that spinning saw.
You will die, a lot, in this game. Not because it's particularly hard, but because most of the puzzles are trial and error based, and death is usually the first couple solutions to them. Approaching a dark area for instance, a blade may swing down and kill you. This may seem cheap the first time, but the second time around you know what to expect. Unexpected kills make up the majority of your deaths, but fortunately, there is a checkpoint after every puzzle, and respawn is instant so you're not waiting every time you die. The sound adds depth and a level of surreality to everything. Simple lever pulls echo through the darkness and add the ever present feeling of abandonment. Limbo leaves you feeling completely deserted, with giant spiders and brain leeching slugs around every turn. Even the glimpse of another human will get you excited as much as it will scare you. Limbo is as simple as a platformer can be. Run, jump, push, pull, grab, swing, repeat. But even these simple things can become complex in Limbo. Throughout he game are various hidden trophies too, inspiring another playthrough. Limbo never tells you this obviously, and it wasn't until about an hour in that I found my first one, no telling how many I missed never knowing they were there. Although, as such a short game, I can't find one good reason not to play through Limbo again.
platform puzzlers with it's unique visuals, simple
mechanics, immersive audio and well thought out puzzles. The lack of any story may be of some hindrance, but in ways makes the game that much more engaging, pushing you forward to discover the answers. Limbo is a wonderful way to spend a night of gaming and I'll be revisiting the eerie land many times.
Pros : Beautiful Visuals/ Nice Sound FX/ Entrancing atmosphere
Cons : Abrupt ending/lack of direction/very short
- Darrell
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