LIMBO - pretty much amazing in every way.

Okay so I'm new to the blog thing, so sorry if I break the rules of blog etiquette.  But I'm throwing the metaphorical rule book across the metaphorical room, but not out the metaphorical window, in case I metaphorically need them.

I play quite a lot of Xbox Live Arcade and Indie Games.  That is, I play a lot of demos, and then play the games I like.  If you are like me in this regard, then you probably won't get any real insight from me.  However, if you don't try to test any game that sounds even remotely interesting on Xbox Live, then perhaps I can turn you around.

The first game I decided to talk about is possibly the best 2d puzzle/platformer this year.  I am of course, as the title suggests, talking about LIMBO.

This game is built around the premise that you play as a boy who enters "Limbo" in order to try to find your lost sister.  This very basic storyline is very much a large contributor of the mystery that surrounds the game.  As the game starts, the screen is entirely in shades of gray, nay, shades of black.  The small bits of light on screen draw your attention so strongly, as you try to make out where you are.  You then notice two small specks of light, the boy's eyes, appear as the only truly white light on screen.  As the boy rises up from the tall grass, as if out of an eternal slumber, the beauty of this game hits you for the first time, HARD.

But beauty is not the only thing this game has to offer.  Though the gameplay is not really more complex than some other similar games (Braid comes to mind), and the challenges aren't terribly difficult - YOU WILL DIE A LOT.  Especially the first time through the game.  Don't be discouraged, as dying is an important consideration the designers took in making the game.  There are points in the game where dying is the ONLY way of learning how to get through some puzzles.  Because of this, the death is always gruesome, sometimes violent, but never bloody.  In death, a sort of gorgeous lesson is learned:  the world of LIMBO is cruel, and unforgiving, and so one must stay vigilant to succeed.

This game succeeds by keeping the narrative simple, mysterious and full of inquiry.  The first level alone could go down as one of the greatest levels of any game in history.  Why is that?  Giant Spider, all I'm gonna say.

1200 MS points.  Worth every penny.