The best way to describe Limbo is beautiful, as a combination of black and white visuals and minimalist sounds create an eerie and macabre atmosphere. The game is so simple yet offers complex puzzles, often with fatal consequences. The setting for Limbo is interpretational, but is commonly believed to be on the edge of Hell (i.e. Limbo, the plane between this life and the next). The protagonist is an unnamed boy who travels through dangerous environments to search for his sister who he has been separated from, with the only other humans in the game either attacking you, fleeing or already being dead. The puzzles follow a pattern of trial and error, as often players will find themselves killed - usually in rather gruesome circumstances - before realising how to best the puzzle. Environments play a crucial role in solving puzzles as pretty much everything in the game can kill you, from bear traps, to giant spiders, to water, youre pretty much a big bulls-eye for the games murdering tendencies. Players therefore need to utilise there surroundings in order to prevent a fatality by climbing over, under and around hazards. Its easy to be sucked into Limbo whilst overlooking just how little there is in this game. The opening sequence consists of the boy opening his eyes, thats it. No voiceovers, no tutorials, no helpful text popping up and telling you where to go, just a bleak dark world for you to trudge through unaided. This is a game that really does make you analyse the situation and rewards you for doing so in its own way.
