Limbo could very well be one of the most stylish games released this year and it is causing quite a stir within press circles recently. The developers, PlayDead have created an atmospheric trip into the subliminal which looks absolutely breathtaking.
A few groans will have been uttered already when the word ‘looks’ was mentioned in the opening paragraph, but fear not because while the game is a master class in stylistic understatement it also remains addictive enough for even the most critical gamer.
Microsoft have been helping to promote the game saying that Limbo is based around a young boy who is trying to find his sister. While this sounds rather simplistic in nature, you will be pleased to hear that the experience is sublime and yet almost hallucinatory.
There are only a few foes to challenge in the traditional sense of the word, and most of the developers focus has been on the 3d spatial based puzzle solving which challenges laterial thinking. The character can jump, push, pull and move through a rich, detailed tapestry as he progresses down the path to the end.
While the young boy is on the hunt for his sister, Limbo is a game which lets you play in a free open world and the emotional connection to the persona on screen becomes quite profound later as you make connections with your own life and the journey that this little fellow is on.
The game as an overall concept piece is thrilling, but it is so hard to explain in a review, without the reader having experienced any of the ideas directly. Sometimes you meet other characters and your interactions with them form an emotional sensation which the game delivers in such a compelling manner. Everything is cast in monochrome graphics with such a detailed and artistic style that playing the game feels more like walking through a dream sequence than a traditional console game via a television.
So many key sequences remain in memory that I can still recall them a week later. A defensive gang of children, painted in a sorrowful and surreal way try to run from you while laying down traps. Instead of trying to mindlessly slaughter them all with an uzi, you transverse the traps and try to find them, in the hope of making a new series of friends.
While this sounds somewhat ideal for a younger audience, there are some adult oriented moments which could challenge a young child to think too deeply about death and life. A sequence in particular struck me as emotionally very trying- a dead boy’s body had to be used as a footbridge to navigate a pond setting. The game doesn’t reward you with a pat on the back, you are just left dragging the body over to the location and dealing with the implications of the decision yourself – who was this boy? was he like you? why is he dead? The developers have cleverly created such a surreal environment but they never force their own ideas into your head.
The puzzles never really proved to be a challenge, and clearly this was the intention, the whole experience would have been brought to an abrupt halt if the player got aimlessly stuck in some twisted, pixel perfect puzzle design.
If you do fail in various areas, then there are many checkpoints to retry again, all you deal with, is a little pause then a respawn at the previous location.
Some people will not like the game, because there is not a clear focus on a detailed and coherant backstory, you wander through the locations, dealing with various puzzles, all with the goal of reaching your final objective. How you get there, doesn’t often make much sense, but in the style of a childs dreamscape it manages to exude an aura of charm and appeal, right from the very start to the last haunting sequence.
It lasts for around three to four hours and I can honestly say that this was just as much an emotional rollercoaster ride as it was a charming and valued gaming experience. Playdead have clearly such an incredible future ahead of them that I can hardly wait to see what they release next. They have managed to conjure the feeling of a fully sentient … breathing, living deity with Limbo that I can only hope to imagine their next project.
