Hey guys, the Modern Gamer is back with another round of exciting tidbits for your gaming inquires! This week I’m back again with another oldie but goodie called Limbo! Released back in 2010 on Xbox, this game eventually made its way to mobile gaming platforms and just about everything else. Which yours truly had first played it on iOS. I’m going to go ahead and say this isn’t for kids below 13 years old. I honestly would have trouble letting a 16-year old play it. I personally rate it 17 and above. But because it’s a silhouette running across a forest with no blood, it’s apparently ok for a 13 year old to play.
First, a little back story on the name Limbo is for those who don’t know. In Catholicism, Limbo has the same meaning as purgatory. Not so good, not so bad. Somewhere in the middle. Essentially meaning it’s a waiting room for those who would be judged. These days it’s used as a figure of speech for halfway or a waiting room. Limbo has had another interpretation, being on the edge of hell. Which is exactly where this kid is in the game.
Limbo is brilliant, it broke the mold in gaming like I had never seen. With its elegant design and fluid animation in its gameplay physics, this game was truly addictive. I’m not normally a puzzle platform player. A little bit of background on the graphics, they actually used film filters and special lighting for that film noir look. Believe it or not, they went with German expressionism to help set the mood for the game.
Let’s start out with the storyline. You’re an unnamed boy who’s in the middle of the woods. Your objective is to find your sister who’s gone missing. But it’s not so easy as you wander through dangerous terrain. Really it’s all about how you can climb up and down safely from high places or avoiding being smashed, crushed, stabbed or eaten by the inhabitance of the forest.
The setting is fairly creepy with its black and white scenery and music. The physics are incredibly realistic. The sound effects don’t help when you play either. I mean this isn’t Five Nights at Freddie’s, but I still wouldn’t play this in the dark. Now if you’re a horror fan or can handle horror (at least better than I can) this game is right up your alley.
When I played Limbo on iPhone it was really easy to get into, the controls were a bit of hassle at first, but once you got the hang of how the physics worked I was good to go. There were some glitches I noticed with gaming via mobile app. There were classic moments of “what do you mean I just died?! I made all the right swipes!” Being as it was developed for a console originally, I would have chalked it up to not everything translating as well to iOS. But that’s probably me.
Limbo is definitely worth the playback if you haven’t heard of it. Heck, I might go back and play it again for old time’s sake.