Limbo

"Limbo" is a 2-D game in black and white and gray tones that might sound retro, but it uses modern game physics. (Please note that not all aspects of modern game physics are utilized in this game. It is not "Portal") It is a series of puzzles that become more complex as the game proceeds.

When you move the controls, you find that you are animating a small boy in silhouette. You are in a very atmospheric world, where the creepiness and tension are achieved by a combination of excellent art design and sound. There are also elements of humor to keep it light. It never devolves into horror. The focus is on the puzzle challenges, which must be solved before you can proceed on your (linear) way.

Sometimes simplicity is sophisticated. Less is more, they say. "Limbo" is thus attractive. And few puzzle games are as reliably entertaining and engaging.

I recommend it for puzzle gamers and anyone who might want to try a different twist on the puzzle experience.

I'm not a fan of old school 2d platformers. That's why I didn't play Limbo when it was first released. But I bought it on sale on PSN, and I was surprised by how much I liked it. The dark, colorless atmosphere is creepy and engaging. But the puzzle solving is what had me staying up late playing. I doubt I'll be playing it much in the future, but I enjoyed it while it lasted.

Take a game with no color, no dialogue, no 3D, and a musical score so subtle it might as well be ambient noise. In most cases that sounds like a terrible game, but Limbo pulls it off incredibly well. This indie release has received much deserved praise for its simplicity, yet very effective gameplay. I think this game masters one aspect incredibly well, and that is the sound of the environment. Heavy footsteps, loud electrical crackles, and scurrying spider steps all are done to perfection to a point where no background noise is necessary at all. 2-D sidescrollers have been done to death, but Limbo feels almost entirely original because of how it is presented. The plot is very simple and almost doesn't need to exist for this game to work. It is more about the tension, and players will be on edge the first time they play this game. The platforming, with some exceptions, is satisfactory. The game is a bit short, but much like Portal, this game is better because it is shorter, not overstaying its welcome. I did have a few gripes about some of the ludicrous amount of precision required for certain platforming sections, and some false paths will lead you to nowhere except certain death, but all in all it is a unique little platformer that I am glad is in my collection.

Beautiful minimalist physics-platformer from Play Dead studios.

The story is very open to interpretation, given there is no dialogue or indeed and character interaction at all. You play a young boy, chasing after a girl through a deadly forest, which later becomes a more industrial (though equally hazardous) landscape. The menacing giant spiders and trigger bear traps become rising waters and murderous children and finally electrified walls and gravity traps.

Control is minimal, the boy can jump, push, pull and press buttons, but that's about it. Despite these limitations, or perhaps even because of them, and the aesthetic style, "Limbo" is a joy to play. It's vicious, almost to the point of requiring precognition on your first play though - but it does have very regular checkpoints and the game restarts very quickly - it's the perfect amount of time to get your expletives out before the game goes again.

It is short, a playthrough can be done in about an hour once you really know what you're doing - but your first run, as you die repeatedly and work out the puzzles is more likely to take 7 to 8 times that. I received this copy free with my Playstation Plus account, but maybe had I paid more for the game I would be aggrieved by that. Though any longer and the game would probably start repeating itself and lose some of the appeal.

"Limbo" really is a key game in the history of Video games, as it helped kick in a renaissance for both independent titles and the physics Platform boom that continued through the 2010's. Make sure you experience it at least once.

It's worth your time, really. Limbo was exactly the first game ever made by PLAYDEAD. And guess what: the art, music, sound effects and puzzles astonished me more than ever. It's worth your time, just like I said. The reason I didn't add a 9/10 or a 10/10 is because it was too black and white and colorless. But the art is good. So why not give it a try, then?