"Limbo" sets the bar high

Limbo is an Xbox Live Arcade game from Playdead Studios. It is a side scrolling, puzzle game with platforming elements, a fantastic art style, and gameplay that not only looks fluid, but feels fluid. The movement of the main character and the transitions between animations really make this game flow. It's simplistic controls make it easy to play, but still challenging to beat.

Before I talk about its difficulty, I want to say that I am a fan of easier type games. Really hard games are frustrating to me and in my opinion, can take away from the "fun". I know many gamers really enjoy tough challenges, but I'm not really like that. So if I say something is really hard, it may not be as difficult to those who thrive on challenges and can breeze through puzzles quickly. That being said, I usually judge a game's difficulty by whether or not I have to consult the internet to figure something out. With Limbo I had to consult the internet one time. I'm told however (by friends who happen to love extremely hard games) that this one instance in Limbo is kind of stupid hard in the sense that it's just really easy to over-look (they also had to look online for this one). In conclusion, other than one or two instances, the game is comfortably difficult for me. It was hard and challenging to the point where I could figure things out after some thought with only a few moments of literally being stuck.

Moving on! This game is special because of its art style. Its look and its world are something fresh and new. Creepy as it may look, the game is quite charming and cute; although the deaths are pretty harsh and gory at times. At one moment it can be cheerful and other times horrifying, but never actually "scary". I'm not one for "jump out and scare you" moments, and you can rest assured that this game really doesn't have anything like that. The music also helps to propel the game's overall mood and all around it was just very well done.

The game is somewhat short, and can probably be completed in one sitting if you're really invested in it; but that's to be expected with an arcade game. Re-playability is questionable. I know people that have played through it a number of times just because it's so much fun, but some people might just play though once and stop considering it's the same game with the same puzzles each time.

Story wise I was a little disappointed because the game holds a lot of mystery but nothing really pans out. You don't really learn anything about what is going on. It's still a very intriguing world and, to a point, it leaves you with a sense of closure, but I was left wanting more from the story. Other people are ok with this however. They enjoy having things left open ended. It's all in how you look at it.

All in all, this game is pretty amazing. I'd say it's one of, if not my favorite xbla game so far. I definitely recommend it to everyone (unless you're a little kid).

Pros

• fluid feel and fun to play
• clever puzzles
• beautiful and different visual style
• makes you want to play it over again
• right for price

Cons

• mysteries left unsolved
• one spot that's hard to solve because it's easily overlooked