LIMBO Review
Played on Xbox One (base)
Developed by Playdead
Released 21st July 2010
Playdead has become quite notorious in the gaming industry by being insanely popular, with just 2 games in their catalogue. The reason for this is that Playdead has created incredible exemplars of video games as an art form, and their first effort is no stranger to that.
Story
The ambiguity of the story in LIMBO is one of the weak points of the game. Yet while that may seem overly negative, it is not meant to be. The rest of this marvellous game overshadows the mystery-enshrouded narrative that LIMBO presents to the player. From waking up in a decaying forest, to the more robust, industrialised regions, the game is still a creative enigma that still requires some debunking, even 11 years after release. Pacing serves as a bit of an issue. The creature-feature danger within the first half boosts the enjoyment and overall experience of the game, while the second half dampens that experience by focusing too much on gameplay, and too little on the lifeforms that drive forward the perplexing focus of the game.
Gameplay
The gameplay of LIMBO is as head-scratching as its plot. The game is a labyrinth of enjoyable, albeit difficult, puzzles. Although the more lively first half contains more simplistic puzzles that posed a good balance of challenge and morbidity, the industrialised second half felt more annoying and confusing. While it's partly due to my own stupidity, the game is also to blame for its mixed combo of platforming, which is very minor and has the same athleticism as a young boy would: rapid climbing and small bunny hops. However, at times, the puzzles and platforming intersect and cause misery for me because perfectly timing drops from boxes or jumping over a saw blade or timing the gravitational pull for some dangerous jumps took more than just a couple of attempts. While sometimes it succeeded in presenting a great and interesting way to progress, other times it told me that the two should not mix again. The industrialised half also felt incredibly basic as a videogame and nearly broke the immersion for me. Despite the fact that some moments in the second half bought my interest in their great level design, other moments would shatter it.
Atmosphere
The atmosphere is stupendous. The soundtrack behind the game is so dense and suffocating in its deep rumbles which perfectly echo and mimic the game's disturbing and inconclusive themes. The minimal use of ambient sounds helps to create an eerie atmosphere that is truly uncomfortable in all the right ways. The simplistic black-and-white design is something I love in this game as it truly brings out the flair it so excellently displays. On a technical note, the game never falters and even manages to be as fluid as some of the newly released sidescrollers, even after more than a decade later.
Story- 7/10
Gameplay- 7.5/10
Atmosphere- 9/10
Good
An enigmatically-intoxicating game with some great puzzle moments.
