The sense of isolation in the dark, subdued, drab environments are the driving factors of Limbo’s overall product, so much that it may deviate the fact that it could easily take you one short afternoon to finish. But Limbo is such a classically unique game full of contrastive, almost game-changing, designs that it rarely feels like a waste of time, or money. Letting the length, or lack thereof, of such a brilliant game sway your decision is foolish when you actually consider how fantastically well designed and executed every facet of its entirety is.
Limbo is a magnificent work of art; every aspect is portrayed in some of unique, abstract way that it may feel out of place for a video game on the Xbox 360. The entire visual blueprint is a black, monotone design with no colour whatsoever. Bare, yes, but striking at the same time—I don’t remember every seeing something this unique. The characters move with phenomenally smooth animation while being projected off the background like a classic black and white filmstrip.
But the clever visual design is only one straw in the hay stack. Limbo’s gameplay mechanics are as conventional as they come but are used in such a fun way that it makes some games feel too complicated when compared. Limbo never feels like it’s holding your hand, nor does it feel like it’s giving too much of a challenge. Basically, Limbo feels like a game made for anyone, and it succeeds in a way I never thought would contrive.
Figuring out all of Limbo’s two button control style is very easy when you consider that it, no joke, only features two button commands—‘A’ for jumping, and ‘B’ for grabbing and dragging objects. Your main objective is to run to the right, solving puzzles and dodging other obstructions that get in your way. Puzzles usually arrange from pushing boxes to a certain spot, hitting switches and dodges obstacles like falling rocks. But it does all of this in a way that never feels like it’s punishing you even after you die 4 or 5 times on one puzzle alone—it gives you a great sense of accomplishment when you finally figure it out.
Limbo is ridiculously seamless. There are no load screen, level finish screens, nothing. You just run to the right until you come to the end, even if the end may come too soon. Sadly, Limbo may come off as too unconventional for some. There’s no voice work, no dialog, no narrative; it’s just you and the depths of the forest. There’s no sense of direction, nor is there a sense of what is right or wrong (other than dying, of course). Unique, for sure, but does it make the game better? In many cases I felt that the unorthodox nature of Limbo is one of its main draws.
The unrelenting aspects of Limbo's gruesome trek through the surreal, haphazard forest is surprisingly violent. Deaths can sometimes be strikingly grotesque when you're ready for something completely different. The forest that engulfs the majority of the game is full of many different blood thirsty objects of murderous intent, whether it be a giant spider that slowly stalks you, or "Lord of the Flies"-style children hunting for their next prey.
It’s quite easy to commend all of the things that Limbo does right, because, well, it does do a lot of things right. The only real misstep is the lack of time it’ll take you to see the abrupt end. But with such an amazing ride through a surprisingly gruesome romp, you will definitely feel good about giving away for fifteen dollars. Don’t worry—these fifteen dollars are well worth it.