Limbo [Walkthrough] | PS4
0Limbo is a puzzle-platform video game with horror elements developed by independent studio Playdead and originally published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360. The game was released in July 2010 on Xbox Live Arcade, and has since been ported by Playdead to several other systems, including the PlayStation 3, Linux and Microsoft Windows. Limbo is a 2D side-scroller, incorporating a physics system that governs environmental objects and the player character.
The player guides an unnamed boy through dangerous environments and traps as he searches for his sister. The developer built the game's puzzles expecting the player to fail before finding the correct solution. Playdead called the style of play "trial and death", and used gruesome imagery for the boy's deaths to steer the player from unworkable solutions.
The game is presented in black-and-white tones, using lighting, film grain effects and minimal ambient sounds to create an eerie atmosphere often associated with the horror genre. Journalists praised the dark presentation, describing the work as comparable to film noir and German Expressionism. Based on its aesthetics, reviewers classified Limbo as an example of video games as an art form.
Limbo received critical acclaim, but its minimal story polarized critics; some critics found the open-ended work to have deeper meaning that tied well with the game's mechanics, while others believed the lack of significant plot and abrupt ending detracted from the game. A common point of criticism from reviewers was that the high cost of the game relative to its short length might deter players from purchasing the title, but some reviews proposed that Limbo had an ideal length. The game has been listed among the greatest games of all time.
Limbo was the third-highest selling game on the Xbox Live Arcade service in 2010, generating around $7.5 million in revenue. It won several awards from industry groups after its release, and was named as one of the top games for 2010 by several publications. Playdead's next title, Inside, was released in 2016, and revisited many of the same themes presented in Limbo.
Reception
Limbo's initial release on the Xbox 360 has received acclaim from video game critics and journalists; the subsequent release of the game for the PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Windows platforms received similar praise, holding Metacritic aggregate scores of 90/100 and 88/100, respectively, compared to the 90/100 earned by the Xbox 360 version.
Some journalists compared Limbo to previous minimalist platform games such as Another World, Flashback, Heart of Darkness, Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee, Ico, Portal and Braid. Reviews consistently noted Limbo's short length for its higher selling price: two to five hours of gameplay for 15 euros or 15 U.S. dollars.
Reviewers asserted this length-to-price ratio was the largest drawback for the game, and would be a deterrent for potential buyers. Some journalists contended that the length of the game was ideal; The Daily Telegraph's Tom Hoggins considered the short game to have a "perfectly formed running time", while Daemon Hatfield of IGN commented that "it's better for a game to leave us wanting more than to overstay its welcome".
Numerous independent game developers, in an organized "Size Doesn't Matter" effort, commented on the critical response to Limbo's length-to-price ratio. The independent developers questioned the need to quantify that ratio, and noted that it only seems to be used as a factor in judging video games and not other forms of entertainment such as films.