Limbo Review (for XBOX 360)

Video games are in the middle of a revolution. While the past twenty years have seen games become increasingly grand productions, involving millions of dollars of investment and marketing, some of the best games being produced at the moment are coming from small independent developers with little publishing experience but a surplus of creative talent. Just speak to anyone with an iPhone and access to the hundreds of thousands of apps on Apple’s online store: often sold at prices you couldn’t get a bag of chips for, they are producing profit margins that are driving big publishers like Activision and EA green with envy, and with a fraction of the risk involved in creating new franchises. Enter Limbo, the latest indie game to be released under Microsoft’s Summer of Arcade on the XBOX 360, which is already proving to be a critical, and commercial, hit.

Limbo is essentially a fairly simplistic puzzle game with some platforming elements: there are box puzzles, spikes to fall upon, and lakes to drown in. Where Limbo sets itself apart is in it’s stark monochrome colour scheme and bleak, unrelenting atmosphere. This is a truly beautiful game, and although it’s description by some critics as ‘art’ is a little ambitious there is no denying the achievements of it’s visuals. Coming across like the bastard child of Tim Burton and Dr Robert Weine (one of the leading figures of 1930’s German expressionism) it is a truly unique art style that begs to be seen. Against a grainy, multi-layered backdrop, the player is represented by the silhouette of a small boy, only his eyes shown as small pin-pricks of light in the dark. Even if you are not a fan of puzzle games it is worthwhile downloading the free trial simply to get a taste of the feel of the game.

The game’s story is slight, with much of the backstory coming from the description provided on the XBOX dashboard. Opening without any information regarding how to play the game it develops without fanfare, relying on implication rather than cutscenes or dialogue: as a player you are allowed to come to your own conclusion about the surroundings that you travel through. Again these are taken from platforming cliches (factories, cityscapes, sewers) but all are dilapidated and mostly uninhabited, contributing to the unsettling tone. As you progress there are encounters to be had with other ‘living’ persons and creatures which are rarely friendly to hamper the player’s progress.

Death occurs frequently and with little warning, though due to the game’s limbo setting you are never forced to restart more than a few seconds before the accident. Gruesome animations give the fatalities a blackly comic tone, with some clever use of sound effects and controller vibration to add extra weight. There are also some clever puzzles throughout, though none too taxing to prevent progress for very long. One memorable moment sees a room spinning with nothing but a swinging lamp allowing brief glimpses of the way forward. Oh, and arachnids beware, a prolonged set-piece near the start is the stuff of nightmares.

All of this clocks in at 1200 Microsoft points, which roughly translates as £8, a fair enough price for a few hours of gameplay. Limbo may not be a lengthy adventure, but it is sure to stay with you long after it’s closing moments.

Luke Jones