Limbo Member Review for the Xbox360

Limbo.

Am I dreaming, or am I awake? 

No credits, no lengthy introduction, just your character opening his eyes for the first time in an alien and hostile world.  This is your introduction to Limbo, a tense indie game presented in black and white without any background or story. 

This game is extremely well done, giving you the need to constantly press onward, without any explanation of why.  Something in this world isn't right, and you're off to find out what's missing.   The pacing is excellent, starting out in the woods helpless and alone before moving on to more difficult challenges and obstacles.

It is always fantastic to find a game that hits a personal chord, something that reverberates within you, touching your deepest fears.  The protagonist is a young boy, and there is a point in the game where you face huge spinning cogs, and for me, those were the stuff of nightmares, reminding me of being trapped in the inside of a huge clock, where time had no meaning, just the constant turning the risk of being crushed under it all. It’s all done here superbly well, with the puzzles being difficult, but not overly so.  Not challenging enough? The achievement puzzles are much more difficult and all the more rewarding.

This game isn’t for everyone, and yet you’ll want to share it with everyone you know.  Turning off all of the lights and watching someone play is almost as entertaining as playing it yourself for the first time.  (My girlfriend was not happy with me. ;) 

I think this game is a must play, it’s fantastically done, the art in the background is crisp and well done throughout.  If you take nothing away from this review aside from piquing your curiosity enough to pick up a copy, I’m happy to have helped you along the way. 

The negatives are few and far between, but I do feel the pacing is SO excellent and creepy towards the beginning of the game that it loses some of it as it progresses.  There are some aspects (Hostile Natives?) that you run into and are not mentioned again, and seem to just fill a short chapter.  You’ll be disappointed when it’s over, for the sole fact it’s over, and we’re stuck in limbo again, waiting for the next chapter in this great game.