Released On: Xbox LIVE Arcade Developer: Playdead Studios
It’s been a very long while indeed since any Xbox LIVE Arcade title managed to leave me quite so utterly flabbergasted, but Limbo honestly takes the biscuit; to be perfectly blunt, it just doesn’t seem fair for one team to be as ludicrously talented as Playdead. While Limbo may be a fantastically engaging platform-puzzler, however, it’s greatest achievement could actually be as a masterfully eerie horror instead. A brilliantly melancholic atmosphere, cringingly gory head-scratchers and supremely edgy design more than keep your heart in your mouth from opening to curtains, and it’s this surprising turn of direction that makes the game so absolutely gripping and distinctive.
Seriously, I dare you to put it down once you’ve started.
Coated in a layer of splendidly gorgeous monochrome and packing some fantastically old-school sentimentalities throughout (don’t expect any hand-holding here), Limbo is something incredibly unique - from the moment your forlorn and lonely little character wakes up in the woods alone and with no explanation of how he got there or even where he is, it’s nigh on impossible not to be left speechless by the distinctive and haunting noir look sported by this ambitious title, or to be completely drawn in by an atmosphere that is literally choking on malice. Tall, looming trees fade into mists of grey and black behind you, shadows boil and smother caves full of chasms and traps and gallows, watchful, tribal figures stalk you through the undergrowth while laying pit-falls to ensnare you, lakes and rivers billow across the screen to draw the eye away from the monstrous horrors stalking just out of sight… it feels as if you’re playing through a Tim Burton sketch, with equal measures of creepiness and charm to match. The sound design only helps to cement this feeling of Gothic-candy, too; the ni
gh-on comprehensive lack of backing-music or sound-effects beyond the essential ramps up the tension threefold, and a dearth of the traditional audio-cues keep you on your toes in the biggest sense possible.
Of course (and somewhat ironically), all this actually turns out to be massively advantageous to the player in the end, as you’ll need your head well and truly in the game if you want to make it past some particularly difficult puzzles scattered across the experience, or if you want to survive the platforming ahead that will require some incredibly quick reactions. While I won’t spoil any of it for you here, suffice to say that the trials within Limbo are massively intelligent, thrilling and fantastically thought-provoking in equal measure, and - as far as production values go (from the unbelievably smooth animations to a thoroughly comprehensible control scheme) - claim this title a clear five stars.
Nevertheless, better still would be Limbo’s real throwback to traditional gaming roots.
Right from the off, Limbo is a title that very much favours brain over brawn, and only trial, thought and error (along with good lashings of common sense) can get you through to the other side. And trial and error is by far and away the best description for it; make but one wrong move and it could end up in a slew of deaths more hideous, unforgiving and cringing then any you’ll have seen in a platformer before. Super Mario, this is not. Ever seen a little boy decapitated by a bear-trap or skewered (head first) upon the end of a giant spider’s talon? Well, expect to here. If you’re squeamish, you may want to look away now.
Far from being frustrating, though, this is all rather exhilarating; you see, Limbo is all about the testing of yourself, of fun at it’s most basic level and of the immense reward of success. If you’re of an older generation of gamers then this might remind you of why you fell in love with games in the first place, and - if you’re a bit younger - you’ll probably see what many modern games are currently missing in the process.
Sadly, nothing is perfect; the good news, on the other hand, is that this title is so damn close that you probably won’t care that much anyway. Even though Limbo is a little on the short side and ends rather too abruptly for such a well polished game (imagine the last chocolate of a box being whipped away just as it touches your lips - it’s that frustrating), and even though it sports a rather obese price-tag for what is essentially a 4-5 hour game at a hefty 1200 Microsoft points, hey, it’s probably better to have a short, stunning title than a long and dull one that loses steam half-way, and even with such a weighty price tag there’s still a lot to love about Limbo regardless, undoubtedly making it the best 1200 Microsoft points you’ll have ever spent.
The Bottom Line
To sum up, Limbo is easily one of the best Xbox LIVE Arcade titles out there right now and one of the prettiest and most inventive platformers anywhere else; words completely fail to convoy how impressive it is, and although I could wax lyrical about it all day, I’m sure that I would still miss something regardless. In short, go do yourself a favour and download it - you won’t regret the decision.
Rating: 92%
(Fantastic)
