POSTED 31/7/10


LIMBO

Playdead
Xbox 360/XBLA (also on PS3/PSN, PC)

XBLA and the PSN are ace. Not only do they offer affordable games, they’re the habitat of something that’s gradually been going AWOL in a world of development teams akin to armies: originality.

Sure, some of the games by committee we get are ace, but pop together a small, dedicated team with a distinct vision and the results can amaze – as perfectly demonstrated by Limbo, our new favourite thing (at least for this week – we are a tad flibbertigibbety...)

It’s kinda like an emo version of A Boy and His Blob, but without the blob (WAAAAAAH! We want our blob!!! We’re gonna crank My Chemical Romance and cut ourselves now!!!), mixed with classic 1920s and 1930s black and white Alfred Hitchcock flicks. Limbo looks like nothing else we’ve seen games-wise, but there’s more to it than just prettiness.

You’re thrown into Limbo’s austere world with no instructions, and no story (unless you look up the promotional blurb, which mentions some uncertainty about your sister’s fate). You can move, jump and there’s an action button for pulling and pushing some things – that’s it. No scoring, no cutscenes, just gaming. It’s platformer meets puzzler, with some absolute head scratchers, and more red herrings than a Miss Marple marathon with Chewbacca guest starring. It can frustrate, but when you nail that puzzle that’s killed you several times over, you and your brain will let loose a satisfied little 'aah!'.

Macabre, enrapturing, gruesome, diabolical and frustrating are just some of the adjectives that flitted through our bonce whilst playing Limbo. Support this now – not because it’s from an indie, but because it’s one of the best games in yonks.

CLICK THIS!



CLICK THIS!