Top 50 Favorites: #45

Being alone is fucking terrifying. You can be ripped away from everything you knew in an instant, it all seems so dark and scary - maybe it is, maybe it isn't? The only way to know for sure is to throw yourself right at it and hope for mercy, like a child again - locked inside themselves by worry and pure, blinding fear. To me, this so eloquently captures what Inside very bluntly tried to lay bare - indirect control to that game's direct control. You're a slave to something you can't even see, or be sure even exists. Sumptuous black-and-white hazy visuals and very homey, chill flash game-esque gameplay give this an identity that has stood the test of time (and will continue to do so). Bleak but never forcefully so, there's even an ounce of hope if you're lucky enough - as unnerving as it is oddly comforting. Infinitely better than its sequel.

Limbo is a good game. Most things about this game are pulled off very well. Just looking at the game you get a feeling of what kind of experience you’re gonna get. The atmosphere is thick and hollow just giving you a feeling of unease. The story that doesn’t have too much of an explanation and the different events also add to the uncertainty of where you are. The only problem with the game is the actual gameplay or more specifically the puzzles. At the beginning of the game, they’re fine and quick, just a good way to keep you thinking and on your toes. However, by the end, the puzzles are so annoying to do and just have you walking around wasting time. This just ruins the experience for me and changes my view of the game from a great artistic experience to a block-pushing marathon. It’s a good game, just could’ve done it without having to spend half the game slowly solving the tedious puzzles.

This would’ve been astonishing had it not been for the baffling obscurity of most of the later puzzles obfuscating a cinematic treatise on oppression and purgatorial existence into an all-too frustrating trial-and-error circle-jerk. The “difficulty” bereaves the game of its narrative essence I feel, as LIMBO seems like the type of game that should be played in a single sitting to truly let your emotions be stirred by the bleakness of its tone and the graphic expression of its aesthetic. Still highly recommended for anyone interested in games as more than just time-wasters, but hell, this should’ve been more.

Very good puzzle/platform game, with a simple but very effective setting. The blurs, the little to no colors used, the sound effects, everything gives a feeling that you are lost in a strange place where you are not welcome.

The game itself is simple, it never tries to teach you anything or hints at puzzles like most games nowadays. Its simple visual style highlights the important objects without blending in with the environment and gives you plenty of time to figure out what's going on around you and imagine the solution in your mind with logic and experience.

It's not particularly difficult either, but you do have to use your brain from time to time. The puzzles are divided into screens or sections, where they last as long as they should, then move on to another and so on, varying between situations. They are not mixed or combined with other longer ones. Checkpoints abound, too, so dying isn't as punishable as one would think.

In conclusion, a 3-4 hour experience, rewarding and very unique artistically, especially for its time.

I had a pretty shitty attitude towards this game when I first played it years ago (a whopping 5 years ago to be exact) and I knew pretty early on that I should revisit it at some point. It’s safe to say that it definitely grew on me on a replay. This game is wonderful. The eerie, droning sound design, the lack of a traditional video game soundtrack, coupled with the minimalist yet beautiful art direction and the precise environmental storytelling coalesce to create such an atmospheric game. The first half in particular is pretty exceptionally well paced, the game mixing tight level design, simple but very satisfying puzzles, and some exciting gameplay set pieces that effectively utilize the core mechanics to great effect. It never quite reaches those singular heights again in its later levels (in fact it does lose quite a bit of steam towards the end due to some annoying puzzles) but the rest of it still offers a very unique and highly enjoyable experience. The trial and error based gameplay can occasionally feel needlessly obtuse at points (and certain sections can become inadvertently repetitive as a result of that) but the game is so short and the checkpoints are so plentiful that it rarely became a major issue. Limbo is also quite a thematically (and narratively) rich game even if the ultimate meaning of its story is somewhat aloof and not all that clear. I also still have some ambivalent feelings towards the rather abrupt ending. All told though? I am really happy that I gave this game another shot. I certainly don’t love it as much as its more ardent fans do (though i absolutely understand why it has become such a lionized critical darling since its release) but it is a special little game that has grown on me considerably.

Thoughtfully designed and wonderfully atmospheric puzzle-platformer that still holds up today thanks to its timeless expressionist visuals. The puzzles constantly mix and match mechanics and introduce new elements to keep things fresh from stage to stage. There's enough challenge here to make the puzzle-solving feel satisfying, but due to the various contextual clues provided and there being very little in the way of obfuscation, you rarely blame it on the developers if you do end up getting stuck. The boy's deaths feel suitably gruesome to put you off from mindless trial and error, as was their intent – they don't feel weird or gratuitous at all, rather they impart on you the gravity of your actions and contribute to the oppressive atmosphere of the game.

Clearly the game could have been a lot longer than the 3-4 hours people usually seem to spend on a playthrough, but this is more due to restraint than anything. Reading interviews with the developers, it seems they chose not to repeat mechanics too much, lest they spoil the immersion. I think this was a good choice: the game could easily have started wearing out its welcome or become frustrating if it went on for much longer than it did. The developers did what could reasonably be done with the aesthetic and core mechanics and then polished it as much as they could.

Overall I'm glad I purchased and took the time to play this, and I'm very much looking forward to playing the spiritual sequel INSIDE.