Limbo is REALLY open to interpretation. So open that it would probably piss a lot of people off. The story telling in the game is so vague, that you would probably miss the fact that "you are looking for your sister" up until the very end of the game (halfway through if you REALLY pay attention) unless you read the game summary. The open end-edness of the game is one of the largest selling points of the game, so if you want a story that is concretely there, don't get this game (I'm pretty sure that the only word that ever appears in that game is HOTEL. No spoken dialogue. Heck, no vocal sound effects whatsoever).
You'll also have to put that together with the world of the game. The game world itself is rather empty as well. The game has a really chilling vibe that is actually very appealing. The world is full of death (your own and the deaths of others) and other things that would make you cringe (spikes, electric boards, and brain-sucking leeches). There's also a weird satisfaction to the game when you overcome the things trying to impede your progress throughout the game. I say this because most hindrances in the game meet some gruesome deaths.
The game has fairly difficult puzzles and the game explains its mechanics pretty well (after a LOT of trial and error, though). This difficulty then SPIKES about 2/3rds into the game and will drive you pretty close to the edge and you may have to look at a walkthrough if you are not a usual puzzle gamer. The game is REALLY short (about 3 hours at least) but the puzzles near the end can get you stuck for a pretty long amount of time (not including optional puzzles that will gain you the achievements in the game).
FINAL VERDICT: If you are really into the "deeper meaning" kind of games, this is definitely for you. If you've wanted a different gaming experience, this is also for you. This game is fairly reminiscent of Braid in that it's a puzzle-platformer with a vague underlying story, but it doesn't have the brilliant impression that Braid gave me. To me, this game is trying to be really smart, but fails to give you even a hint of what the game wants to mean. It was a nice experience, but I don't think it's worth the $15 price point. To call it a masterpiece is really a bit of an overstatement.
Written by Kaillif Ammen, Gamertag: Gloqwi
7 comments:
I agree with you on the 15$ price tag but I loved the ending.
All I was thinking in my head after I saw it was "At LEAST they could've interacted with each other." Especially with the realization that they've both been dead the whole game.
I felt the slow mo and the light (heaven) was beautiful plus the awesome art style.
Yes. I loved the experience. I loved playing through the game. But it was SO short.
Portal was short.
But Portal had SO much more. Super creative puzzles with an unneeded but interesting storyline. Portal feels alive and you won't feel as much aggravation with that as you would with Limbo. Limbo's gameplay at heart is just a puzzle-platformer that doesn't actually bring anything new to the table (ignoring the story and the art style).
We'll talk about this on Monday, hopefully we'll devote an entire section to it.
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