Game Review 2: Limbo

Limbo is a creepy black and white game with haunting imagery and eerie puzzle solving situations. It focuses primarily on building an intense and mysterious atmosphere as you, a boy who wakes up in a lonely world having no idea how you got there, traverse your way through Limbo. The visuals, sound and gameplay all harmonise together to create a haunting and memorable gaming experience. Having no cut scenes or loading times, the puzzle platform game quickly sweeps you away into it's disturbing and sombre world.

Space:

The look and feel of Limbo is incredibly atmospheric and eerie. Based in black, white and various shades of grey, the game truly conveys the feeling of being lost in a strange faraway place disconnected from reality. Although a 2D platform game, it's background does gives the sense of 'depth' to the environment, with bridges and trees in the distance slightly lighter and blurrier in appearance. The closer you get to them, the sharper they come into focus, almost as if you're dreaming them into existence as you walk.

Goals:

Your goal is to get the hell out of there! Pretty soon into the game you realise Limbo is a dangerous place for your little shadow boy. Whether it's bear traps, swinging boulders or giant spiders... the entire forest is out to get you. The first half of the game is more focused on exploring the forest and encountering it's various - terrifying - inhabitants, including other wild children who want you dead as much as the giant spiders do! The second half of the game is far more puzzle solving based, and involves a lot less interaction with other living creatures.... making you become less invested in your character/ the story as a result.

Mechanics:

Limbo involves a lot of simple mechanics. Running, jumping, grabbing, box pushing and lever pulling etc etc... Similar to Little Big Planet. Since it's a puzzle game, it's more focused on moving things around, seeing what they do as a result and exploring the space.

Conclusion:

The eerie atmosphere created in Limbo is fantastic to experience and hard to forget long after the game is finished. Although towards the end, the emphasis on puzzles over interaction with other characters leaves us slightly detached, the beginning forest scenes filled with spiders and wild children remain hauntingly vivid in the players memory. The overall black and white look of the game, combined with it's simple style all add to the beauty of this platform game. Would highly recommend to anyone interested in gaming, Limbo is truly an experience everyone should try.

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