I can't believe I missed out on Limbo

 

I’m late to the Limbo party. Like, really late. I’ve played a handful of Limbo style games, some that are even inspired by Limbo. Because I was late to a game that everyone rants and raves about I was a bit hesitant to give it a go. What if the game doesn’t live up to the pedestal I’ve placed it on?

Luckily I didn’t have to worry for very long, as I fell in love with Limbo right away. The aesthetic, the puzzles, all of it. I was easily sucked into the game, almost instantly. At first I wanted to know more about the world I was playing in. Who were these people that were chasing after me, what’s up with the people hanging themselves in the background? I love how quickly the respawning is, how the load up system works, how simple the look is, unclogged. To make a game so compelling that only uses a joystick and two buttons is no small feat. The lack of sound and music suits the game well. Overall the whole atmosphere is fantastic.

That being said, I did find the lack of overall story or any real progression of what is going on to be a big letdown. It doesn’t help that the creator doesn’t really want to talk about the plot of Limbo. He’s gone on record as saying he’s disappointed so many people have come close to figuring out the plot that he wishes he had made it more vague than it already is.

Some puzzles just flat out suck. Early on I had problems with my first encounter with the spider. I understood what the game wanted me to do, but for some reason I just couldn’t move correctly. The second really frustrating issue I had involved two boxes needing to be stacked, moved, climbed onto, and then jump to a platform before a chainsaw cut the boxes. It needed pinpoint accuracy that I was unable to do. But dying in general did not bother me. The reloading was fast, and on top of that you would reload without having to trek all the way back to your body.

Overall both Chris and I recommend playing this game. At the time you could play it through Game Pass, it has since been taken off. I think it is still worth picking up at the $10 price point. If you can find it for under that and you are even a little curious I would suggest grabbing Limbo.