Limbo is a special game, and it's unlike anything you've ever played before
At the start of Limbo, you see a young boy, whose appearance is nothing but a black silhouette. This compliments Limbo's art style, which is done completely in black and white. You'll take control of the boy and start your adventure by traveling through the dark forest that you wake up in. There is no setup to this, which makes things feel that much more mysterious. You'll have no idea what you will be in for as you go deeper into the game.
There are many things standing between you and the end of Limbo. Limbo is made up of is different platforming sections, and a lot of puzzles. The platforming is very solid, and simple to control. The buttons are only mapped for running left or right, jumping, and grabbing on to things. The platforming is usually based around the puzzles, which is the focus of Limbo.
Playing Limbo is an experience in of itself. The game play ranges everything from dodging continuous attacks from a giant spider, to trying move around a room with traps while the room is constantly rotating. The game starts out pretty simple, but as you get further things get more intense, and more challenging. Every time you fail a puzzle, or just die by making a mistake, you'll see the young boy die in horrific and gruesome ways. As you play through Limbo you'll become attached to the young boy, so seeing the young boy dieing is just as horrifying the twentieth time as it is the first. Some examples of gruesome deaths are being impaled through the face by the giant spider, watching the boy snap in half after he misses that jump.
Limbo is probably the most atmospheric platformer ever made. Every area has a sinister vibe that is brought to life because of the beautiful black and white art style. The sound also helps bring the atmosphere to life. Music is rarely played, and when it does it's very dark and moody. But for every other moment where music isn't playing, you'll hear sounds like children playing, or the sound of something crawling nearby. The more you hear these sounds, the more weary things become. These do a fantastic job of reminding you that around that next corner is likely another obstacle waiting to kill you.
It's hard to ignore the one knock Limbo has against it, and that it can be beaten in about three hours. It could take more, depending on how long you spend on each puzzle. But it still won't likely take you long to beat the game. Fortunately there are plenty of hidden secrets that are stashed away. It'll be hard to see all of these in a single play through, which adds replay value to the game. But no matter what you think of Limbo's length, 1200 Microsoft points ($15) is easily worth the experience that Limbo brings.
Limbo is not only an excellent game; it is an artistic achievement in everything that it does. It's rare that a downloadable game has this kind of quality, and is this unique. Limbo stands among the best games that have been released this year. It may only be a few hours long, but the quality of those few hours is incredible. Limbo is a special game that everyone should play.