When you first download Limbo, its noir art style and dot-eyed child protagonist is likely to push you one of two ways. You’ll either be drawn in by its Tim Burton sensibilities, or be turned away by its apparent pretentiousness. So is Limbo a game for high society pompous gamers, or genuinely something special?
Behind the monochrome visuals, Limbo is a pretty standard side scrolling platformer with required lateral thinking. Whilst none of the puzzles are strikingly difficult, they do require some genuine thought and are always designed very well. Actions are carried out with complete simplicity, with the player’s only abilities being to move around, jump and pull or push items (generally boxes). All objects are impacted by forces that bring in some nice physics-based puzzle gameplay. The effect is most notably used to strength during the central chapters, where entire levels spin around the character, requiring constant attention to be played to the centre of gravity and predicting what items will be affected by it next.
It isn’t until you have been playing Limbo for a few hours that the best uses of the mechanics reveal themselves, and it is easy to be underwhelmed in the first hour or in the playable trial. But by the end of this adventure (a fair six hours), you’ll have experienced some truly stunning elements of play.
Across the world of Limbo, you’ll experience a variety of settings. Most impressive are those present in the early stages of the game, set in forest environments, where dangers include giant arachnids and bear traps. There also appears to be a small clan of other children who are horrifically brutal towards the player, setting up traps and luring him into killer situations. The game certainly pulls no punches when it comes to death; with decapitations, impalements and crushing aplenty. Death can be something creepily distressing considering such horrific fates are being inflicted upon a protagonist no older than ten years. And death is something you’ll encounter with great frequency; the game often presents puzzles without warning and you’ll die instantly. Fortunately the game auto saves before each puzzle so there is little to replay between deaths, but these occurrences do force a trial and error approach that may not be to everyone’s taste.
The art style does much justice then to the creepy and unsettling feel of the game, and certainly emphasises the atmosphere. This is much aided by the use of sound, which is an expert blend of effects work and ambient tracks. The overall result is the most atmospheric world since BioShock’s Rapture, which turns a fairly standard side-scroller into something special. Whilst the puzzles are fun and interesting to suss out, it’s certainly the art and atmosphere that make Limbo a joy to play.
Unfortunately, Limbo finishes on a little of a low note. The end is abrupt to say the least, and the absence of dialogue makes the final sequence slightly perplexing. It’s somewhat unsatisfactory, which comes as a disappointment after some other websites highlighted how excellent the conclusion was. Replayability is limited considering the extreme linear nature of the game and the puzzles only having single solutions. Whilst there are eggs to collect to unlock achievement points, unless you’re completely love-struck by the game’s style, there’s little reason to come back for more.
Verdict: Limbo is an excellent example of ‘art house’ gaming when it comes to visuals and audio, but underneath its glossy exterior is a fairly standard yet solid puzzle platformer. Certainly worth your time, but doesn’t quite live up to its (perhaps unfair) expectations.
