Limbo
SCORE: 60
I had seen pictures of Limbo and was happy to hear Family Friendly
Gaming was given a download code to review this Xbox 360 game. A boy
goes off into Limbo to find his sister. This is a 2D side scrolling game
where you find yourself squinting to see what is going on. Players find
themselves solving puzzles in order to progress. An example would be
dragging a box onto a switch in order to progress. Don't worry they get
a lot more complex as the game unravels.
I was surprised to find out Limbo is rated 'T' for Teen. After playing
the game it makes perfect sense. Even though the game is in black and
white (there is a lot of gray in the graphics) there are some very
disturbing images. Your character gets torn apart by a saw blade, or
skewered by a giant spider. Blood does spew out of your poor fellow -
although it is not red. Because of the graphics I found myself stepping
on bear traps, not realizing they were there. Once you trigger a trap,
you know to avoid it. I triggered many of them the first time just
learning what was there.
The images are one issue with Limbo, and the sounds are another. Hearing
the poor little fellow getting skewered, torn apart, impaled, etc. was
pretty disgusting. I actually woke up with a night fright one night
after playing Limbo late in the day. I could have gone without hearing
blood splattering out of this poor little guy. There is very little
music in Limbo so it was a little too quiet for me as well.
Limbo is definitely an acquired taste. Solving the puzzles and
progressing through this world is highly addicting though. I kept saying
I would quit after getting past this part, or stop in just a minute. An
hour went by and then I realized I was seventy percent through with the
game. There are leaderboards, but I felt like Limbo was a little short.
The continuous game play with numerous checkpoints is part of the
problem in my opinion.
It may not feel like it, but every single puzzle does have a solution. I
found myself thinking about how to get past certain obstacles. Many of
them were pretty simple to figure out, and after awhile I found the
developers pattern. Others had me perplexed for a few minutes. Your
character can die easily, and can only fall so far. His jumping ability
is rather limited. Some jumps looked impossible but that little dude
made it. One complaint I have about Limbo is how quickly it can be beat.
There are some very morbid things in Limbo. Players have to use a dead
body to trigger a trap, and take apart a giant spider one leg at a time.
Then at the end use the body to get across some spikes. Parents need to
obey the Teen rating at a minimum. I found quite a bit of disturbing
content in Limbo. I know there are those out there who believe in
various symbolism in this game in regards to beliefs in the afterlife. I
am not convinced in those interpretations, but wanted our readers to be
aware of them. The plus side of Limbo is it does teach how to solve
puzzles and use our brains in ways we never would in real life. At least
I hope not.
- Sam
{UPDATE}: There is an option in Limbo to turn off the gore. The screen goes black as the players character dies. There are areas of Limbo where the gore is still included though. An example is ripping off the leg of the spider, and rolling its head onto spikes.
Graphics: 55%
Sound: 55%
Replay/Extras: 65%
Gameplay: 72%
Family Friendly Factor: 55%
System: Xbox 360
Publisher: Play Dead
Rating: 'T' for Teen
{Animated Blood, Mild Violence}
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