LIMBO

           Genre               :  Arcade, Puzzle - platform
           Release Date  :  (Steam) 2 August 2011
                                        (Retail) 15 March 2012
           Developers     :   Playdead

A boy wakes up in a forest. Ahead of him lies fear, uncertainty, death ... and his sister.


A two-dimensional, side-scrolling adventure with a heavy emphasis on puzzle-solving, Limbo turns this time-worn gaming genre on its ear: It's presented in grainy, flickering black and white, with characters existing simply as dark silhouettes against soft-focus backdrops. No health meters, no maps, no dialogue of any sort and very little music. And yet it's stunning, beautiful and unforgettable.

This netherworld is a frightening, deadly place, but one that compels you to keep exploring to see what grim sight or mind-bending puzzle lies ahead. Death is frequent, and necessary ... the game's dozens of puzzles and traps can often only be overcome through fatal trial and error.


And yet as tricky as some of these puzzles are -- your little glowing-eyed avatar will meet one horrible demise after another as you figure out how to advance through each area -- Limbo is somehow never frustrating. Dying is simply part of overcoming each obstacle, with bear traps and giant spiders eventually giving way to multi-part mind-benders involving magnets, gravity manipulation and rotating environments.


Everything in this greyscale world adheres to a consistent internal logic, and objects are bound by physical properties like gravity, momentum and friction, all of which are key to solving puzzles. It's science mated with art in a beautiful way -- violent without being gory, scary without being horrific, melancholy without being depressing, difficult without being insurmountable. Like the cogs of a gear, everything in Limbo meshes perfectly with everything else.

The game has just one flaw: It's over too soon. Most players will complete Limbo in three to four hours, and while that might be exactly as long as it needs to be, it's hard not to feel disappointed when it's over. People who are not fond of ambiguous endings might also be put off by Limbo's final scene, but since the whole game is open to interpretation, that's just fine.


If you liked the intriguing puzzle-platformer Braid, the wordless but evocative Ico or the classic side-scroller Out of This World, you will love Limbo. But even if you've never heard of or played these games, Limbo deserves your time. Like a polished piece of obsidian, this a dark, shining gem.


BottomLine


A unique and beautifully designed experience, Limbo will make you think and feel. What more can you ask for from a video game?



Gameplay :

The player controls the boy throughout the game. As is typical of most two-dimensional platform games, the boy can run left or right, jump, climb onto short ledges or up and down ladders and ropes, and push or pull objects. Limbo is presented through dark, greyscale graphics and with minimalist ambient sounds, creating an eerie, haunting environment.The dark visuals also hide numerous environmental and physical hazards, such as deadly bear traps on the forest floor, or lethal monsters hiding in the shadows, such as a giant spider. Among the hazards are glowing worms, which attach themselves to the boy's head and force him to travel in only one direction until removed.

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The game's second half features mechanical puzzles and traps using machinery, electromagnets, and gravity. Many of these traps are not apparent until triggered, often with deadly consequences. The player is able to restart at the last encountered checkpoint, with no limits placed on how many times this can occur. Some traps can be avoided and used later in the game; one bear trap is used to clamp onto an animal's carcass, hung from the end of a rope, pulling it taut and allowing the boy to climb onto a ledge otherwise out of reach. As the player will likely encounter numerous deaths before they solve each puzzle and complete the game, the developers call Limbo a "trial and death" game.Some deaths are animated with images of the boy's dismemberment or beheading, although an optional gore filter blacks out the screen instead of showing these deaths. Game achievements (optional in-game goals) include finding hidden insect eggs and completing the game with five or fewer deaths.


Video :
LIMBO gameplay