This blog contains Limbo and Braid discussion and potential spoilers.
I’ll admit, my first playthrough of PlayDead Games’ Limbo was rushed, an unfortunate by-product of wanting to get the review out before the game launched. Not an unusual state of affairs, of course – whenever possible we’d prefer to have our honest opinion of a videogame available for inward digestion before it becomes readily available, and in this case we’d got hold of a review token for the final version of Limbo just a day or two before it hit the Marketplace. Regardless, rushed it was, too keen to get to the end of the game rather than taking in the game itself.
Thankfully, away from the pressures of a deadline the currently Xbox 360 exclusive title can be enjoyed as intended – at the game’s own pace rather than that of any external influence. Regular readers will pick up on the individual personalities of the writers here at TheSixthAxis and anyone paying any attention to my oft-meandering rants will be more than aware that I have a perpetual yearning for the old school – simple, narrow-minded games that have enough confidence in their core idea without explaining every last thing to the gamer are my favourites, regardless of genre. And Limbo fits that bill perfectly.
I’m not talking about stripped down controls or a lack of multiplayer, both of those are consequences of how the game is structured – there’s no need for any more than two buttons and an analog stick and the idea of experiencing Limbo with additional players disgusts me – there’s a current, obnoxious trend for games to ‘feature’ multiplayer modes, often hacked on and forced into games that don’t need (or want) them, and, gracefully, Limbo knows that its a title that, whilst somewhat enjoyable with the occasional input of others, is absolutely intended to be played solo.
No, Limbo strikes a particular chord with me because its raison d’être is to plant the seeds of a story into the gamer’s mind without ever saying why or wandering off course. Not once does the game try to pad out the asking price with extraenous fluff or filler, and although there’s a couple of concepts that are re-used throughout the game (like the strange worms that force the player into a singular direction) each puzzle is entirely different and unique. The core of Limbo – the principal driving mechanics of the game – are such a refined set of rules, physics and controls the likes of which we haven’t seen since, well, Braid.
Is it co-incidental that two of my favourite games this generation have been side scrolling puzzle platformers with huge gaps in the experience where lesser games feel the need to directly inform the player of what’s going on? No. This isn’t a fluke – whilst both Limbo and Braid are utterly brilliant games, they also let the individual forge their own interpretations on the grander scale of the story, piecing together what they do know into overarching theories that may or may not be what the developer originally intended. My thoughts on whether Braid is about a bomb, for example, still ring true.
I like to think for myself when it comes to interactive media, and Limbo’s lack of narrative almost forces this upon the gamer. Aside from the clunky, unnecessary Xbox Live Marketplace description (and the game’s title) the player has no idea where he is, why or for what purpose. He’s left to roam this strange land, watching as it switches from forest, to city, to machine, entirely without exposition other than the events unfolding onscreen. Like a silent movie tinged with film noir, Limbo treats the gamer with respect and intelligence, something rarely seen in videogames these days.
Of course, you can play it through disregarding a ‘true’ meaning, playing through each puzzle as if they were disconnected, disparate events or a means to an end, and still get much from the game’s subtlety and cleverness – the puzzles are, after all, brilliant. But reading between the lines, if this is limbo then who are the other characters you come across? Why is there a giant spider? Why are you left leaping from letter to letter of a giant neon ‘hotel’ sign and then made to make precarious leaps from gear to gear inside the machinations of some infernal machine?
I’m not going to pour my exact individual thoughts on why into this blog, as that would be missing the point – your own interpretations might be entirely different from my own and I wouldn’t want to risk tainting your memories of the game. Suffice to say that I’ve come to think that the game is a drawn out memory of the last day in the life of the boy in question, perhaps some kind of school trip, and the final moment – the 90 degree catapult through the sheet of glass – is probably the boy going through the windscreen of a bus, trapping him in purgatory for the duration of the game.
A quick Google suggests I’m not alone, but then, your interpretation is hopefully something else entirely.
mynameisblair
Read it all apart from the last paragraph as I sensed spoilers.
Wow. I need to get this..
rht992
its been on my list for a while. i’m hoping it’ll do a braid (another game i mean to get) and come to ps3
mynameisblair
I still haven’t bought Braid..
bunimomike
Top article, fella. Braid just didn’t do it for me but Limbo is already something I keep telling friends about. The idea behind Braid I found to be wonderful but poorly executed. It was infuriating to a degree that finally got to me, whereas, Limbo had the balance just right. Obviously this is opinion not fact.
Regarding the ending of Limbo. I really enjoyed reading (in detail) about people’s interpretations as it helped me fine-tune my own.
cc_star
I share your view on Braid not really doing ‘it’ I felt it was little more than the ultimate trial & error game. Do something ‘die’ rewind time 10 secs and try to jump a fraction earlier or later – and repeat x1000.
Limbo looks just the sort of thing I’d love, I can’t wait for it to come to the PSN or for me to get a 360 to play it.
KeRaSh
I picked up Braid pretty late but still enjoyed it to some degree. I was kind of disappointed to find out, that with the time I wanted to invest in the game I was unable to get all the trophies but that does not make the game any worse. I sometimes just felt, that while it was a really good game it was not a 100% up to the hype it received here on TSA.
Limbo on the other hand is a title I would compare to Flower, which i thoroughly enjoyed and still love. I really hope that this title sees the light of the day on the PSN. After Flower it just feels more natural to play this kind of game on the PS3.
bunimomike
It’s a very good comparison/accolade. Limbo is pretty much up there with Flower. When we’ve long forgotten hundreds of other games in ten years time, we’ll still remember Flower and the likes of Limbo.
Loxstokk
Havnt played it yet. Looks beautiful though, even if a bit of a Marc Craste/ Studio AKA rip off…
Danza Di Fuoco E Ghiaccio
I have seen Littlebigplanet levels similar to Limbo, the art style is quite different and it would be a great game to play one day.
aldomontoya
They are a really good effort, i wish i had the talent to make LBP levels like that…
DeathByNumbers
I spent nearly £400 last week, what with buying a 360, points cards, gold membership and a hand-full of games. All because of your review on this game…well, it’s not totally your fault, obviously ;P
gazzagb
I /really/ want to play Limbo. Please come to PSN, please!
DeathByNumbers
Get your wallet out ;P
gazzagb
After seeing your comment above, I think Ill just wait :P
Cadabena
A fantastic game, one of just two games I want a 360 for (other one being the Impossible Game – yes I’m an idiot). I’ve only played it with mates, I find it one of few games that I can happily watch someone else play. I find it gives an insight in to how that person thinks, and watching them try to figure out the puzzles is great. It’s really surprising, and seeing other people’s reactions to puzzles you know greatly adds to the replayability.
Severn2j
I played the demo of this awhile ago, but still haven’t got around to buying it, but it seemed like a really great game..
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Also the thing about explaining every detail of something seems to be a common trend over the past few years. I’ll never forgive George Lucas for explaining The Force.. In one fell swoop he just killed all the mystery of it.
aldomontoya
Legendary game, played the demo, immediately bought the full game. PSN needs this and Trials HD IMO, much like X360 needs Wipeout HD!
Quinlank
Got to play Limbo last week, worked through it very quickly I must say, can see why my mate who bought it(Whose Xbox I had ‘borrowed’ just to get playing it) wasn’t best pleased given the price, but it’s definitely a great game. Not the masterpiece I’ve seen it painted as, but then it was going to have a tough time living up to the ridiculous amounts of hype being heaped on it.
Loved the look and atmosphere, the gameplay was simple, but decent enough, though the game constantly killing you to make you work out how to navigate past traps got old pretty quick, no wonder the checkpoints were everywhere. Also thought the game really took a downturn after the design got all “industrial” about halfway.
When/if the PSN or PC version comes out I may consider it during a sale though. Definitely a game worth playing for anyone all said.