LIMBO presents itself as 2D atmospheric puzzle game that puts you in the shoes of a protagonist child stuck in a nightmare. For this particular Video Games Source review I played through this ambient arcade platforming puzzle game via STEAM on my PC. Upon starting LIMBO you're thrusted into the game's opening act with no warning. You see a boy wake up who's whites of his eyes are only visible. What I found peculiar about my PC copy was the fact you can't do any "PC" stuff to LIMBO regarding graphical settings. You can, and I did use my Xbox 360 gamepad for the playthrough which worked like a charm. I was still surprised that this game doesn't allow you to tweak the resolution or graphics in anyway. It was ported from the console first so maybe that has something to do with it.
I initially perceived LIMBO was a nightmare. Its a beautiful nightmare of some sort that has captured a young boy. You along with the young boy are confused while being thrusted into LIMBO. You never truly learn why until the very end of the game where you meet the young girl you were searching for. LIMBO doesn't tell its story with CGI, voice acting, cutscenes or in-game cinematics. This game doesn't really have a story per say. The story is you escaping the nightmarish trap of LIMBO which is done through gameplay. For some reason I actually enjoyed the story even though it tells its story through different means. It was as if I played a story and when I finally got to the end, the story ended.
Sound design is much like the visual's effect on LIMBO's presentation. There is no loud brash music in this game. No gunfire or sirens. The sounds you hear are soft and atmospheric like bugs buzzing, frogs croaking and crickets cricking etc. Its all about atmosphere in this game. You hear wind gusts and rain along with lightning and thunderstorms. Orchestra tunes on occasion start up when something exciting happens in-game which compliments the situation nicely.
Where should I even begin about gameplay? First of all its fun and addicting. In LIMBO your goal early on is to solve simple puzzles and reach the next chapter of the game. Puzzles early on are centered around you pushing and pulling objects to get the desired effect. Like using a beartrap to injure a giant spider that is stalking you. Physics are accurate and very important along with rhythm. Using light and memorizing where and when to leap was also big for me during my playthrough. Puzzles run the gambit regarding imagination. I had to use water, electricity, gravity in the later puzzles. Many times in LIMBO you will ask yourself "why did this huge rock just crush me?", that is OK. LIMBO forces you to think and prepare. Besides, checkpoints are liberally laid out so close to puzzles dying really isn't an issue and won't make you backtrack too much. Gameplay at times has a clear adventure vibe even with the puzzle focus gameplay.
Replayability is probably the only real weakness of LIMBO, its short. Its not super short though. It does last a couple of hours. It depends on how adept you are at puzzle games I assume. After you played through LIMBO there really isn't much else to do. You could replay different chapters at anytime if you choose. There were 40 chapters in all. Some longer than others obviously.
I know I am late to this party however I must say LIMBO is a breath of fresh air regarding 2D puzzle games. This is one arcade game you must try even with its low replay value. Thanks for reading.
8.5/10
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