Review: Limbo

[0z0wen]

I can only hope they port it to PC and PSN, like they did with Braid :-(

Susan, how long would you say the game is?

That depends entirely on how good you are at these particular puzzles. You might sail through, or you might be stumped by one for hours - it'll most likely be a mix of both. Limbo is very like Portal in that respect. To do absolutely everything, including finding all the easter eggs? Perhaps five hours.

The thing is though I find the game lasting for quite a while because I get completely stumped on a couple of puzzles and think 'bugger this , this is just getting frustrating' so I go play a different game and end up thinking of the solution half way through so I go back do that puzzle for instance right now I am trying to think of a solution to the mine cart and eletrical floor problem (sorry for any spoilers I didn't think it nessecary to put it in a spoiler box and also because I haven't figured out how yet) anyway I'm sure it will come to me one day. Great review and a great game I highly suggest you pick the demo up atleast.

 

[Sonicron]

That reminds me of this game:

Coma [http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/541124]
The art style is very similar, possibly the same developer?

Thanks for posting that link, great game!

OT: Nice review. As always the indie market manages to catch you by surprise - in a pleasant way, that is. Don't know about the price tag, I'll wait a while to see if it goes down or Steam gets it a wee bit cheaper, but somewhere down the line I'm getting this.

 

[Swifteye]

I don't get why indie developers agree to go sole platform... surely it only limits their income and image. Oh well, no Limbo for me..

Seems to me that only platoformers are indie games. Think about it bro whens the last time you saw a big name release game of a pure platformer? Little big planet and the latest ratchet and clank game.

Sorry, 'think you may have misunderstood me. My post was concerning the horrible habit indie games have of being exclusive to only one platform.

I know it's probably the fault of the platform owners abusing the fact hat indie developers have very little footing to argue their point on, but 'fact is it still does more harm to the indie movement than good.

Ooooh. You meant platform as in system.

 

[Legion]

I saw this advertised a while back and only realised today that it was out.

It is absolutely brilliant visually, the kind of artistic style I love. The game-play can be a little frustrating, but not in the way which makes you want to throw the controller at the screen.

I haven't finished it yet but if you love puzzle platformers and creepy visuals and atmopshere then I also recommend it. I also love it's twisted humour, it reminds me of Johnny The Homicidal Maniac.

 

[sorry user name taken.]

i hope the ending is great...because by the time I've finished this I'll be emotionally tired @_@

 

[schiz0phren1c]

thought it was brilliant...first death I was like jesus thats raw...
by the end I was lol'ing my balls off at some deaths...and just pissed off at others...

 

[BehattedWanderer]

Here's hoping for a port, otherwise I'll be needing to bribe a friend for the opportunity to buy this and play it.

Edit:

I don't get why indie developers agree to go sole platform... surely it only limits their income and image. Oh well, no Limbo for me..

Seems to me that only platoformers are indie games. Think about it bro whens the last time you saw a big name release game of a pure platformer? Little big planet and the latest ratchet and clank game.

Super Mario Galaxy 2, bro.

 

[VyperX]

I read about this game a while back and was impressed by its look... Now that I've gotten the chance to play it, I'm loving it even more. The atmosphere created with the graphics and sound is beautful and haunting.

The gameplay is easily accesible, but that won't stop you from dying in gruesome and shocking ways. This game had me laughing in shock after dying (or surviving) some of the dangers in the dark world.

I'd love to see the world of Limbo as a (slow moving) desktop background... It's just stunning.

 

[theshadowcult]

PC, oh wherefore art thou PC... version... This looks awesome! More like Susan Are, am i right?


*Yes, i did just watch ZP..

 

[Shepsauce]

Just in case no one told you Susan, yes, yes it is rude to walk across poor deceased childrens' bodies to make your way to the other side of a pond. Very, very rude.

Just making sure that was clear!

 

[geizr]

This is the kind of game that makes me wish I did own an Xbox360(I don't because I still just can't get past my fear of the RROD). Based on the video review, this is the kind of game that I would consider to be artistic. The only other game in my memory that stands out in the same fashion is ICO(how I miss that game). This looks like the kind of game that proves all the screaming and gnashing of teeth over smashing ever more spectacular graphics is a complete waste of energy to create a truly remarkable game. It shows that it's not how many polygons, pixels, and complex calculations you can push through the processors and hardware bus; it's how you use them.

As an artist, you use no more or less paint than is necessary to convey the message, the emotion, and the spirit of the work; to breathe life into it by use of appropriate application, rather than gaudily packing on as much fanciness and detail as possible, hoping to distract from the ill-conceived sloppiness of the composition. Any trained monkey can create a pretty or detailed picture, but only an artist can create something that lives on its own and inspires the heart and the imagination.

Alas, this will probably be a game, very much like ICO was, that is completely passed over for the more shallow so-called "hardcore"(really just mindless mainstream) games. (Honestly, with the rate of dying purported to happen in this game, I'd say it's more in line with the true hardcore games from back in the day.)

Mayhaps, Playdead would be interested in making a PS3 version, no? I would certainly be interested in buying it, yes.

 

[Skarlette]

I hadn't even heard of this game until you reviewed it, and I am so glad you did. Aside from all the big name games that come out, I am getting so much more enjoyment from these simpler 2D ones like Braid, Machinarium, and now Limbo, just because they're so different from what I am expecting from games nowadays.

Awesome review, I'm off to lose myself in Limbo.

 

[Kapol]

I was disappointed. The game was fun, but it was very, very short. I spent roughly 3 hours on it, and likely an hour of that was just trying to get timing right for puzzles I already knew the solution to. Another half an hour was likely spend walking from puzzle to puzzle. While the art style was great, the ending left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth. It has the controversy of Braid, but really is more straight forward, more like the ending of Inception with the two options that can be explored different ways. Plus, at least Braid tried to tell a story. This felt a lot more like 'go here do this' with no in-game reason.

Good game, just not worth $15. Maybe $10 at most.

 

[Woodsey]

I've played the trial version, and the sound design is absolutely incredible. In the trial version it ends with you getting trapped in a spider's web, and you're forced to watch as it silently uncurls behind you and stabs you through the neck and stomach.

It. Is. Horrible.

Fuck I hate spiders.

 

[AvsJoe]

That looks deeply unsettling. But it's yet another reason why I'm pissed I still don't have a 360.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

Looks like a lot of fun.

[sub][sub][sub]*secretly admits he wants a 360 a tiny bit more now*[/sub][/sub][/sub]

 

[laserwulf]

I've only played the demo so far, but I wasn't impressed. The gameplay reminded me of "Flashback: Quest for Identity" for Sega Genesis, but without a story. Simple controls, trial-and-error repetition of fatal puzzles, and no hand-holding. I must be jaded, because the visuals didn't creep me out, nor did the "gruesome" deaths. They just seemed pretentious: "my game is in greyscale, so it must be deep and artsy".

Maybe I'll go earn that final achievement in Braid, instead...

 

[Corpse XxX]

This game somehow looks like its worth buying an xbox over..

 

[Tom_Foolery]

It may of tried to kill me several times, but I couldn't help but feel sorry for the giant spider.

 

[LordGarbageMan]

I love when you see the dead kid with arrows in his back from earlier in the game