Limbo ★★★★★
Limbo is a harrowing yet strangely beautiful and elegant game, albeit in a fairly morbid way. The player takes control of a young boy as he makes his way through a hostile environment in search of his sister, able to jump and pull objects to complete puzzles and advance through stages. It’s a very basic premise (the plot really is as straightforward as described) but it works so fantastically well that to change it would take away Limbo’s main strength: its simplicity.
The protagonist is constantly under threat of dying, whether it’s from bear traps, giant spiders, spike pits or any of the other traps and enemies that litter the landscape. This is no kid’s game either. Each death is extremely sudden and graphic; a bear trap will cleanly decapitate the boy and being crushed will leave the child as a stringy paste. It’s very dark, and it happens a lot.
A game where the protagonist dies very frequently sounds as if it would become frustrating, but Limbo doesn’t. For some reason it’s always a joy to play no matter how difficult some of the puzzles can be, and dying is more of a process of discovery than a sense of error or failure. This may be because of the very generous checkpoints, meaning that it only takes a second or two to return to the same location.
It’s a really impressive feat that PlayDead have made a game that draws a player in emotionally despite a lack of dialogue, real explanation as to why the character is there, and an absolutely minimal use of sound. There is no music at all, and the only sound is of water dripping from pipes, traps being set off and leaves being crushed underfoot. The subtlety of sound creates an atmosphere pretty unique in the gaming world.
The art style is simple yet amazing, perfectly complementing the use of sound and atmosphere of the game. The game’s levels are two dimensional though there is a sense of foreground and background in the environments, and everything is shades of black and white. Even the young boy players take control of is a silhouette, with two white dots for eyes.
Limbo isn’t a particularly long game, taking only about five or six hours to complete, but it’s better to finish with the player wanting more than to outstay its welcome. I would have loved to continue the adventure further but had it become stale I wouldn’t have left with such strong feelings about the game. With no breaks between areas it’s quite possible to experience Limbo in one sitting, and the secret white ‘eggs’ hidden throughout the game extend its lifespan should the player want to explore.
The ending comes abruptly, perhaps appropriate given the solemn, unguided nature of the single player, and will stay with the player for some time. It’s a brilliant way to finish a journey so fantastic in its atmosphere and playability, and so unique in its beautiful art style, use of sound and storytelling techniques. It’s an incredibly simple game but I can’t recommend it enough.
Originally published at gameshud.net on October 18, 2013.
