Little Love for Limbo

Limbo is visually attractive, and probably pretty good. I say probably rather than definitely in the hopes that my reservations about recommending this game come through effectively. You see, Limbo starts off brilliantly but by game’s end, feels tedious and unenjoyable (although, maybe that’s the point).

“Oh, it’s a good game”

Echoing what Brandon had mentioned several weeks back, I too feel as though Limbo is incredibly atmospheric. Likely, if you know nothing else about the game, you’ll still be familiar with the game’s rich, detailed environments, its monochromatically saturated world, and the piercingly bright eyes of the game’s main character. Limbo is quite successful at subterfuge, and manages quite convincingly to wear a moustache and hat of atmosphere over its rotting core...

“Oh, it’s good...for an indie game”

...And what a stench. The first third of the game allows its creepy and desolate world to draw you in. You are chased by a giant spider. You scamper, climb, push and pull. The world is understandable in its horrors.

Gradually the game’s world changes, with the early wooded sections giving way to a crumbling industrial section. It is here where the game loses much of what I enjoyed about it: instead of remaining simple and understandable in its puzzles, developers Playdead begin to pile on increasingly obtuse physics-based environmental puzzles which, while inventive, punch the game’s pace in the gut, laughing while pacing stumbles onto the floor, curls up, and dies.

Limbo never recovers from this tonal shift, and only progresses into even more complicated puzzles involving gravity and repetitive machinery. It’s about as much fun as you would expect either to be.

Final Thoughts

The only thing that should matter about the time you spend when playing a video game is whether it was intellectually, artistically or immediately enjoyable to you. If I were to take my own advice and employ this pragmatic point of view, then I would tepidly recommend Limbo to you.

Sadly, I feel that the game misses the mark as much as it nails it. Its atmosphere and simplicity early game feel like a fleeting memory by game’s end. Guess it might be best to simply wash away the hurt, and remember that Limbo sports a strapping monochromatic moustache and hat.