A Night Lost In Limbo
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| Somethings not right here.... |
A LIMBO SPOTLIGHT BY PETER FRANKO
I had heard generally positive things about Limbo in the past, but regardless, I never decided picked it up. But now, I find myself stuck in an awkward time-slot waiting for the release of Mass Effect 3 and Skyrim DLC. Fortunately, this has been an ideal time for me to pick up the gems left on the side of the gaming road. The good ol' indie games. If games like Skyrim are 900 page epics, then an indie game is like a timeless short story, one that leaves you pondering long after the book is closed.
Limbo, designed by by Danish developer, Playdead is an ingenious work of art. The whole time the game has a grainy black and white art style, making every environment seem dead and decaying. Which in turn clashes eerily with your character's lifelike motions. No words are spoken in Limbo. No songs are to be heard. No cut-scenes fill the gaps with storytelling. It is truly a game in the purest form.
Your character, a little boy, awakens in dark and dreary forest, thick with looming fog. And instinctively, hits the road, with not a clue of where hes going. And to be quite honest, that's the point of the entire game, one big mystery.... finding out where you are, and whats going on.
At heart Limbo is a platforming puzzler, so naturally puzzles plague your path. But unlike most puzzle games, this ones extraordinarily creepy, and you never know whats going to come next, and along your long and lonesome road, everything is trying to kill you.. and will. You'll notice that Limbo relies heavily on a trial and error style of gameplay. One go you get graphically mulched by a buzz saw, and the next you avoid it and carry along your jolly way. And whether its giant spiders, electrical currents, brain burrowing larvae, or mysterious children who have gone all "lord of the flies" on you.. this pattern remains the same. But no matter how bad the baddies are, its your wits you must rely on to thwart them.
Interestingly enough, the storytelling in Limbo is the high point. Extremely interesting in fact, because there really is no story in Limbo. The story comes from your journey, where you take the little boy, and the terrifying things you see along the way. And as the game progressed, I noticed that the protagonist was me. The thoughts this little boy was thinking, the same were swimming around in my head. And in the end, it culminates with one of the best endings I've ever witnessed in a game.
So in the end, words do describe Limbo include: deranged, uncomfortable, atmospheric, disturbing, mysterious, and one of the best games I've played all year. This is a trip you wont want to miss.
Limbo can be found for Mac, PC, Xbox 360, and PS3
I had heard generally positive things about Limbo in the past, but regardless, I never decided picked it up. But now, I find myself stuck in an awkward time-slot waiting for the release of Mass Effect 3 and Skyrim DLC. Fortunately, this has been an ideal time for me to pick up the gems left on the side of the gaming road. The good ol' indie games. If games like Skyrim are 900 page epics, then an indie game is like a timeless short story, one that leaves you pondering long after the book is closed.
Limbo, designed by by Danish developer, Playdead is an ingenious work of art. The whole time the game has a grainy black and white art style, making every environment seem dead and decaying. Which in turn clashes eerily with your character's lifelike motions. No words are spoken in Limbo. No songs are to be heard. No cut-scenes fill the gaps with storytelling. It is truly a game in the purest form.
Your character, a little boy, awakens in dark and dreary forest, thick with looming fog. And instinctively, hits the road, with not a clue of where hes going. And to be quite honest, that's the point of the entire game, one big mystery.... finding out where you are, and whats going on.At heart Limbo is a platforming puzzler, so naturally puzzles plague your path. But unlike most puzzle games, this ones extraordinarily creepy, and you never know whats going to come next, and along your long and lonesome road, everything is trying to kill you.. and will. You'll notice that Limbo relies heavily on a trial and error style of gameplay. One go you get graphically mulched by a buzz saw, and the next you avoid it and carry along your jolly way. And whether its giant spiders, electrical currents, brain burrowing larvae, or mysterious children who have gone all "lord of the flies" on you.. this pattern remains the same. But no matter how bad the baddies are, its your wits you must rely on to thwart them.
Interestingly enough, the storytelling in Limbo is the high point. Extremely interesting in fact, because there really is no story in Limbo. The story comes from your journey, where you take the little boy, and the terrifying things you see along the way. And as the game progressed, I noticed that the protagonist was me. The thoughts this little boy was thinking, the same were swimming around in my head. And in the end, it culminates with one of the best endings I've ever witnessed in a game.
So in the end, words do describe Limbo include: deranged, uncomfortable, atmospheric, disturbing, mysterious, and one of the best games I've played all year. This is a trip you wont want to miss.
Limbo can be found for Mac, PC, Xbox 360, and PS3
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