Limbo

Limbo starts off without giving any context of purpose to the player. This lets you experience the game from a raw standpoint that allows you to really associate with the protagonist.

Limbo is presented in a minimalist art style whose entire colour palette is entirely black and white. I doubt the game would have resonated on such a level with me if it was displayed in any other way. The use of black and white certainly adds to the creepy atmosphere of limbo with everything in both the foreground and background shown as silhouettes. The silhouettes and action occurring in the background will often foreshadow future levels and can also be interacted with through your actions in the foreground.

Limbo does not include a soundtrack or music of any kind. Instead it makes us of ambient environmental sounds, which are major part of the Limbo experience. This game should be played with the stereo cranked up to hear every little detail such as the spider crawling above you on the ceiling, upcoming saw blades, and the spooky sounds of the forest.

Limbo is a puzzle solving side scrolling platformer that makes use of several different elements such as gravity, electricity and failure punishable by death. In Limbo you will die, a lot. There are two types of puzzles that will confront you during the course of the game; puzzle solving and timing puzzles.

When confronted with each timing puzzle for the first time, more often than not you will die. This will be caused by ill timing, a surprise trap, or missing the mark.

Death is well handled by not being too much of a setback. There are check points directly before each puzzle and mid puzzle checkpoints for the longer ones. When you die you will usually respawn five seconds before your death, allowing you to quickly attempt a different solution to get past the puzzle.

Death is also the cause of the game's shock value. Unexpected silhouetted deaths are often hilarious and disturbing, causing me to jump in my seat and then laugh out loud.

The bigger problem solving puzzles may require some additional brain power and time in order to conquer them. They often introduce new game mechanics and will make use of several different elements in order to solve the puzzle.

Both types of puzzles are well paced with one another, creating a style of quick reflexes and methodical thinking. The puzzles evolve in difficulty and variety as you progress towards the end of the game.

Limbo creates a fascinating and evocative world filled with deadly creatures, creepy children and death. You truly feel alone as you traverse through the nightmare-scape of Limbo and the entire game world seems to be bent upon preventing you from progressing and providing inventive and horrifying ways to kill you.

The only single criticism I have of the game is its length. Limbo is quite short coming in around 3-5 hours, depending on the length of time you spend with each puzzle. There is even an achievement for beating the entire game in one sitting without accumulating too many deaths. With the variety of other games that will be released with the summer of arcade lineup, Limbo may prove to be too short of a game for some gamers to justify spending fifteen dollars on. I do recommend Limbo as a game you should be playing and it will be no doubt be one of the standout games I play this year.