Rating of
3.5/5
It's Black and White, Not Old and Boring
dbarry_22 - wrote on 01/25/12
LIMBO takes a classic 2D platforming puzzle game and adds a unique artistic twist making it a solid downloadable game to purchase for your gaming library.
The most memorable part of the game is also the part that stands out, the visuals. You play in an eerie black and white shaded world with practically no music. However, the sound effects are well done and add to the setting you're in. The character you play with is a completely black silhouette except for the bold white eyes which you can see at all times. This is an important aspect of the game to note since there are times there's a lack of light where it's the eyes that are the only thing letting you know where you are.
The game play consists of your basic, old-school style platforming interface. You move around with the joystick and you have a jump button and an action button. The play control isn't precise by any means, so don't plan on making perfect jumps every time. This for the most part is fine because the puzzles you have to solve don't involve fast, timed moves.
There are a few dozen "levels" to play through. Let me tell you though when I say "level" I mean basically a couple screens worth of obstacles with a puzzle or two to solve. Each time you arrive at a new level, you are able to load any chapter that you've been to before to play again which is nice. Checkpoints happen often so when you die (and it will be often) you don't play through several parts again.
There are a couple problems I have with this game. There's no story. I mean, absolutely no story. You start the game waking up in a field of black and then you go, that's it. With this, you can (and pretty much have to) use your imagination to determine what fate has fallen up our 'hero'. It wouldn't have taken much, some simple text every now and then much like 'Braid' would have added a lot if done well.
Also, while the environment is well done, sometimes there's too little light. It's a cheap way to make things more difficult just by making it harder to see. There could have a little more light and the effect would have been the same.
I played the whole thing in one sitting (4 hours or so) and it was quite a lot of fun. The visuals are amazing and even the little graphic animations of your character dieing is well done. However, the complete lack of story and the overdone blackness from time to time prevents it from being truly great. But, if you're a fan Little Big Planet and/or Braid you should definitely play this game.
3.5/5
PS - The extra level on the PS3 is ridiculous!...lots of black, lots of dodging stuff blind, a good challenge for an advanced gamer.
