Limbo Review (360, XBLA)

Disturbing and sinister, just my thing!

Xbox Live is back to bring us another addition of the summer of arcade. Limbo is the first game of the event to shine on the Xbox Live marketplace.

With so many other arcade titles on the Xbox 360 there is very few that stand out. I am pleased to say that Limbo hits the nail on the head with a completely new and beautiful art scale to create a surreal, atmospheric 2-D platform puzzler.

You play as a young boy, lost in a strange, sinister place. You have no recollection of how or why you are there. As soon as you start taking your first steps you will realise that this eerie environment is far from safe and you must escape the horrors that lie in wait.

The first thing you notice with Limbo is its striking art scope, a complete array of black and whites are used to create everything in Limbo, it’s an absolute stunner to look at on a high definition screen. The dark and lonely atmosphere will grip you instantly as you pass through different areas of the game and you will never grow tired of the games style.

Limbo, being a platform puzzle game, will throw many enjoyable physics puzzles at you, most of the time you will fail in your first attempt but will realise what you are supposed to do afterwards to proceed, so it’s a trial and error situation but strays from frustration, which is always a good thing.

Limbo will creep the hell out of you as well as grab your full attention

As you play through Limbo you will find that Playdead studios have really put some effort in to making the world of Limbo creepy and disturbing. Being decapitated by a bear trap or stabbed to death by a giant spider definitely strays towards disturbing. There is so many shockingly horrific ways to die in this game and it only adds to the feeling of dread for your little guy.

The physics engine for Limbo is brilliant, it’s not ridiculous and everything you have to do to solve a puzzle makes sense. On many occasions you may have to swing, climb, pull or jump in order to carry on your adventure. You will notice some very cool animation as you play through the game which puts a real sense of quality to this game. There is absolutely no loading screens or cut scenes throughout the entire game which makes Limbo feel naturally fluent and enjoyable.

Limbo’s last and finest moments really gave me the creeps, I will not spoil, just download it to find out as its one of my personal favourite endings to a game, ever!

The only downfall with Limbo is that it’s quite a short game, clocking in at around 3-4 hours for you to beat at a smooth pace. Please do not let this steer you away from the game, you will enjoy every second.

I’ve had my eye on Limbo ever since it was announced and now that I have finally had my fix of Limbo I have to say that it was one of the best experiences of ever had with a platformer. Limbo will creep the hell out of you as well as grab your full attention through every second of the game.

One of the best arcade games on the market!