A common point of criticism from many reviewers was that the high cost of the game relative to its short length might deter players from purchasing the title. However, some reviews proposed that Limbo had an ideal length. Prior to its release, the title won two Independent Games Festival awards, and following release, had strong sales compared to other Xbox Live titles. The primary character in Limbo is a nameless boy who awakens in the middle of a forest on the "edge of hell" the game's title is taken from the Latin limbus , meaning "edge" [1] who then begins to seek out his missing sister.
The boy continues traveling further until he encounters a girl. Upon his approach, she stands up, startled; the game abruptly ends on this point. The player controls the boy for the entirety of Limbo.
Typical of most two-dimensional platform games , the player can make the boy run left or right on the screen, jump, climb up short ledges or up and down ladders and ropes, and push or pull objects. The game is presented through dark, greyscale graphics and with minimalist ambient sounds, creating an eerie, haunting environment. Later parts of the game feature puzzles and traps involving more mechanical aspects, such as machinery, electromagnetism, and gravity.
Many of these traps are not apparent until triggered, often killing the boy. Should this happen, the player restarts at the last checkpoint they passed; there is no limit on how many times this can occur.
However, the player can often avoid these traps and then use them to their advantage later, such as using a bear trap to secure the base of a rope, allowing the boy to climb up to a ledge that was otherwise out of reach. Because these traps are not known until the player activates them, the developers called the game a "trial and death" game as the player will likely encounter numerous deaths before they solve each puzzle and complete the game.
Limbo was originally conceived around by Playdead's game director Arnt Jensen, according to Playdead partner Dino Patti and lead designer Jeppe Carlsen. The first goal was to create a specific mood and art style. Jensen wanted to create an aesthetic for the game without resorting to highly-detailed three-dimensional models, and instead directed the art towards the minimalistic style as to allow the development to focus its attention on the gameplay.
Finally, the final game was to present no tutorial text to the player, requiring players to learn the game's mechanics on their own. Jensen started working on the art design of the game in , and by had prepared an early trailer demonstrating the game's premise. According to Patti, Playdead felt these changes would deter the game from the integrity of Jensen's original vision.
Limbo was designed to avoid the pitfalls of major titles where the same game play mechanic is used repeatedly. Carlsen stated that the puzzles within Limbo were designed to "[keep] you guessing all the way through". Early playtesters would have no idea of how to solve certain puzzles.
To improve this, they created scenarios prior to troublesome spots that highlighted the appropriate actions; for example, when they found players did not think about pulling a boat onto shore to use as a platform to reach a higher ledge, they presented the player with a box-pulling puzzle earlier to demonstrate the pulling mechanic.
Early designs of this puzzle had the bear trap on the same screen as the spider, and Playdead found playtesters focused too much on the trap. The developers altered the puzzle to put the trap in a tree in a prior off-screen section when facing the spider; the spider's actions would eventually cause this trap to drop to the ground and become a weapon against the spider.
Carlsen stated that this arrangement created a situation where the player felt helpless when initially presented with the deadly spider, but then assisted the player through an audible cue when the trap had dropped, enabling the player to discover the solution. Limbo was released on 21 July on the Xbox Live Arcade service as the first title in the yearly "Summer of Arcade" promotion.
Limbo has received universal acclaim, comparing it favorably to previous minimalist platform games such as Another World , Flashback , Heart of Darkness , Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee , Ico , Portal and Braid. Reviewers asserted this length-to-price ratio was the largest drawback for the game and would be a deterrent for potential buyers. The independent developers questioned the need to quantify that ratio, and noted that it only seems to be used as a factor in judging video games and not other forms of entertainment such as films.
Limbo was generally praised for its simplicity of controls and its puzzle design. Limbo 's graphical and audio presentation were exceptionally regarded as unique and powerful elements of the game. The monochrome approach, coupled with a film grain filter, focusing techniques, and lighting was compared to both film noir and dreamlike tableaus of silent films, allowing the visual elements of the game to carry much of the weight of the game's story.
Reviewers found the sound effects within the game critical to the game's impact. Sam Machkovech, writing for The Atlantic , called the sound direction "far more colorful and organic than the fuzzed-out looks would lead you to believe". IGN's Hatfield concluded his review of the game stating "Very few games are as original, atmospheric, and consistently brilliant as Limbo". The game's story and its ending have been open to much interpretation, [11] purposely left vague and unanswered by Playdead.
The game's lack of direct narrative such as through cutscenes or in-game text was a mixed point from reviewers. John Teti of Eurogamer considered the game's base story to be metaphorical for a "story of a search for companionship", and that the few encounters with human characters served as "emotional touchstones" that drove the story forward; ultimately, Teti stated that these elements make Limbo "a game that has very few humans, but a surplus of humanity".
Other reviews disliked the lack of story or its presentation within Limbo. Justin Haywald of 1UP. Haywald had contrasted Limbo to Braid , a similar platform game with minimalistic elements but that communicated its metaphorical story to the player through in-game text. Codex Gamicus Explore. Main Page All Pages. Gamepedia support Report a bad ad Help Wiki Contact us.
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Limbo's ending: what does it all mean? The many theories. Gaming Age. So while Limbo isn't quite the mind-blowing experience others have made it out to be, I think its unique visual style is certainly worth checking out. User Reviews. Write a Review. Positive: 39 out of Mixed: 7 out of Negative: 3 out of In this day and age of frenetic, adrenalized gunplay, twisting and weaving plot-lines, overwrought character development and a bombardment of In this day and age of frenetic, adrenalized gunplay, twisting and weaving plot-lines, overwrought character development and a bombardment of on-screen displays, hints and information, LIMBO is truly a breath of fresh air.
Or rather, a thick, deeply atmospheric dream-like fog. With no on-screen HUD, no prompts, no introductory cut-scenes and no real idea who this little boy is or why he has just woken up in this eerily beautiful black and white world, we are given no choices but to progress and explore what lies ahead of us, and for him.
It is a magic, yet slightly disturbing feeling, akin to the confusion one senses for those first brief moments after awaking from a particularly vivid and surreal dream of ones own. Death is a part of life, and you'll witness death first hand many times as you traverse the world of LIMBO. The deaths are quick, yet quite brutal to witness, and even though there is no significant penalty to dying, you realize after only a few minutes that the boy is indeed very fragile.
So your movements become cautious, you want to study the seemingly insignificant ground before you step forth. Animations are smooth as silk. As for the sound, if you don't have a surround sound set-up, I recommend headphones, as it can be vital to anticipate what lies ahead via subtle audio cues.
If you are playing through tv speakers, I guarantee you after 10 minutes you'll catch yourself leaning ever towards the screen- not because of poor audio. Rather, the immersion will pull you in. Rarely have I experienced such a game. LIMBO deserves to be recognized as true art. Without the use of quotation marks. The sense of loneliness and despair is very real. Limbo is really dark but also incredibly poetic. Yes indeed it's a die and retry game, sometimes a bit frustrating but pretty immersive.
Really original compared to the other games on the market. Thanks PlayDead! A beautiful experience, from start to finish.
The puzzles are ingenious, the ambient music will touch your soul, and the art direction is A beautiful experience, from start to finish. The puzzles are ingenious, the ambient music will touch your soul, and the art direction is stunning. You will die Limbo is a must-own title, and it ranks as one of the best games of the year.
Short, but sweet. Nice and moody game with a lot of tense moments. I must add that I found the difficulty to be a bit too high at several sections. The Nice and moody game with a lot of tense moments. The atmosphere and sense of progression pulled me through and I really liked the mysterious ending : … Expand.
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