Review: Limbo

It’s the eerie black and white puzzle-platforming adventure that has gamers buzzing. Right in the middle of the summer gaming drought, Playdead is getting ready to unleash Limbo to the Xbox Live Arcade community. It looks unlike any other title we’ve seen before. An eerie grey shaded puzzler with morbid humour thrown in for good measure. But is the gameplay itself as good as the game looks? Let’s just say you’re in for a treat.

The Story

Limbo doesn’t start out with a fancy cinematic introducing the story. White font on black screen with the simple instruction to press start is all you’ll get. That’s it. Developer Playdead must assume everyone knows what the game is about because if you play through from beginning to end you really won’t have a good idea about what’s going on.

The underlying story is your sister has disappeared. You’re trying to find her. That’s it. Simple story. Enough said. Time to play.

The Gameplay

Limbo is a side-scrolling puzzler adventure. You explore a deliciously creepy black and white world full of strange creatures, traps and puzzles as you try and find your sister.

Your character (who doesn’t have a name) can run, jump and manipulate objects. Holes must be jumped, crates must be moved and levers must be pulled to make your way through this strange world. But you’re not alone. Other creatures also live here and you’ll run into them every so often. Some will help you, others will try to kill you. It doesn’t take long to figure out you are the most vulnerable soul in this world.

The puzzles in Limbo can be tricky, but they aren’t impossibly hard to figure out. This isn’t Myst or Riven here folks. It may take you 10 minutes or so to figure out some of the trickier puzzles, but at no point did I throw my controller down in frustration. All the puzzles are well designed, the sign of a good game.

While the game is kinda cute (in an eerie way) I do want to warn parents there is some dark humour peppered throughout the game. This mainly has to do with the death scenes. Quite often you’ll see your little head get chopped off and a little black fountain of blood spurts from your neck. Other times you’ll watch as your neck breaks after falling down a large ravine. It’s kind of fun to watch in a sick way. I know, I’m morbid.

The Graphics and Music

I absolutely love the look and feel of this game. While everything is in shades of grey, the world is quite beautiful. Bulrushes and tall prairie grass often blow in the breeze in the foreground just out of focus, while fog and steam rises up in the background. Even the more industrial backdrops are beautiful with ultra bright sparks from grinding metal wheels light up the grim atmosphere. This game stands out among all others in terms of unique presentation.

As for the music, Limbo really doesn’t have much of a soundtrack. Most of the time you’ll just hear your footsteps as you run through the world. Sometimes the silence will be broken by the sound of a mysterious creature which you may or may not encounter on your adventure. Music is introduced every so often but typically during a heated moment where split second thinking is required in order for you to survive. It’s well played out and beautifully designed.

The Downsides

No explanation of background story. Not only that, when you do come to the end of the game… it just ends. Roll credits. As I previously mentioned you are expected to know what this game is about from the get go. If you begin to play without reading anything about this Xbox Live Arcade title then you will be lost as to what is going on. True, you don’t need to know the story to play but it sure makes the experience that much more enjoyable.

My other disappointment has to be the game’s length. It’s just too short! You can easily whip through this game in 3 to 4 hours. Of course it will take you longer if you get stuck on the numerous puzzles. For a game I enjoyed so much, I was very sad when it came to such an abrupt end.

The Bottom Line

Limbo is one of the most enjoyable and solid XBLA titles I’ve played in a long time. The entire package is so well put together. The puzzles are smart, the gameplay is a blast and the look and feel of the game is unlike any other. I just wish it lasted longer! But the ultra-tough achievements do give you reason to go back and play again but I definitely wish Limbo lasted longer. So close to a perfect score.

The Good

Amazing art style
Clever puzzles
Beautiful soundtrack (when there actually is music)

The Bad

Too short
There’s a story here?