Limbo - XBLA / Xbox One / PS3

[Charlie]

Sorry but this is untrue.

For Instance, basicaly nearly all the achivements seem to be "hidden" things that arent obvious, so theres plenty of replay value in obtaining them.

I would imagine it would hold alot more hours of gameplay than you are saying for most people.

The game is also about gameplay, the puzzles are all geniusly crafted, its completely absorbing from an atmospheric standpoint and it just plays beautifuly, its challenging without ever being frustrating and just a heck of alot of fun.

Its a brilliant GAME. In fact I feel it could very well be considered somewhat of a minor masterpiece.

It's just my opinion. Not owning the game, I can’t comment with great authority on it’s length but four hours to complete is what most reviews are saying. Those who replay the game will of course squeeze out more bang for their buck but puzzle games like this have no replay value as far as I'm concerned; and on a personal note I've bought enough Arcade games never touched again after completion to recognise Limbo, on my hard drive, would suffer the same fate.

Ultimately it's a matter of taste, I don't care too much for games that place great emphasis on the experience because they're normally short-lived and one-off (as in one playthrough) affairs, and that isn't something I want in a game. Maybe I'm narrow-minded or old-fashioned, perhaps both, but I like oldschool style gameplay where the greater experience, no matter how clevery implemented, isn't something pre-determined or pre-fabricated by somebody else’s mind, but rather a manifestation of the gameplay itself, or to be more precise one's mastery of it - for example reaching something approaching a 'Zen-like' state of mind and focus playing something like Rez or Geometry Wars. That's the kinda gaming experience I like.

I'm not saying games like this don't have their place, the outpouring of love and critical acclaim the game's already garnered proves a lot of people adore these kinda games. But they ain't for me.

[Tig]

Looks like it comes down to atmosphere vs mechanics.
Some people want rock-solid gameplay mechanics which go on and on, whereas others enjoy roaming a landscape and taking in the atmosphere and 'experience'.
And then there's people who lean one way or the other.



I'm usually in the second camp personally... If the experience was exciting and memorable, I always think it was money well spent. I don't care if I only play it once- There are loads of films and books which I loved, but only read/watched once too. I wouldn't say those things were time wasted.

[PeteJ]

Picked it up without trying the demo, so glad I did

Almost 50% of the way through and had to drag myself away. It just feels...right. Somehow I know how things work without even having to walk up to them, the clues to the puzzles are so subtle that I'm barely noticing they are clues at all.

If Another World was designed by Valve then I imagine something like this would be the result. It's hard to put in words, but this is one of the few games where everything feels consistant. Nothing sticks out as being out of place, from the graphics to the puzzles to the controls, and yet so far I really couldn't predict anything that has happened or what happens next.

£10 is a lot for a four hour game, but i've paid more for two hour movies that are far worse than this.

[englishbob]

I played the trial, the scariest game since Eternal Darkness on the Cube!

[toythatkills]

Just done something akin to a speed-run and it took almost exactly one hour from start to finish, which makes it twice as long as Braid, stat fans. I lost SIX lives

Three of those were right at the end in a really stupid place too, something that shouldn't even have been difficult.

->Open Spoiler<-

Got electrified on the E of the second HOTEL sign.

That achievement's mine tomorrow though.

Lengthwise, replayability wise, that was my third run through and there are still more to come, I've still got a couple more secrets to find too.

[jezzace]

Anyone see that episode of seinfeld where Elaine goes to see The English Patient and hates it, but everyone keeps telling her how its the best film ever. I feel like that right now. Bought the game based on reviews (including ntsc-uk) and I don't like it. I feel its bad, annoying, dark hokum. Don't hate me but surely someone else thinks this game sucks?

[Tobal]

Finished now, really enjoyable while it lasted like portal and braid enjoyable small slices of entertainment. Is there any info on what the actual story is and why he seems

->Open Spoiler<-

to be looking for that girl at who appears mid way through and right at the end, some kind of hidden story stuff like braid?

[toythatkills]

I feel its bad, annoying, dark hokum. Don't hate me but surely someone else thinks this game sucks?

You're gonna have to be more elaborate on why you dislike it. I think it's good and not annoying, which cancels out most of your argument but we've got nowhere

[Adam Stone]

Sorry, but i've got nothing but pure love for this.

Ironically, I've not felt this connected, this emphatic or this at-one with a videogame character since Link in Ocarina of Time...

No speech, no text or dialogue and no motive, just a black shell with glowing, white eyes... Yet i find myself caring for this character, feeling each and every death with a painful stroke. Perhaps it is just me, but when I play my mind is whisked into that black world and I find myself genuinely scared for the little guy, as if it were me lost in that darkness. A lot of my recent artwork has been themed around a lost boy trapped in a nightmarish world, playing this feels like someone has captured my thoughts and crafted them on screen!

Today i've spent a 8hours on this beauty, and i've got so much more to see...

[ezee ryder]

Sorry mate, I can't grasp how the spider one (all of the spider ones to be honest..) were trying to be 'too clever' ? Personally, they were all pretty straightforward and simply made sense...

Well, the fact that you have to

->Open Spoiler<-

dodge its attack twice for the trap to fall. Why would anyone really go back a second time for some more?! Fair enough, the ground shakes giving you the very slightest of "hints" but how many people are really going to notice that when they are trying to dodge a massive spider?!

I stand by my "too clever" comment.

This is not me saying it is an awful game or anything (seems like it is ok), I just don't see the fuss around it and don't really get all the 10/10 scores it has been receiving. The art style is fantastic and it should certainly be praised for that but the gameplay? Nothing special in my eyes. I read so much about the atmosphere and stuff too but just didn't "feel" anything when I actually played the game. Couple that with the high price and it's something I might pick when it is down to around 800 MS points.

I'm glad you (and quite a few others) are enjoying the game immensely but there are a few of us who don't quite see what the fuss is about. Saying that though, I wouldn't go as far as saying "it's all style and no substance".....I think it's more a case of too much style and not enough substance.

[Adam Stone]

Well, the fact that you have to

->Open Spoiler<-

dodge its attack twice for the trap to fall. Why would anyone really go back a second time for some more?! Fair enough, the ground shakes giving you the very slightest of "hints" but how many people are really going to notice that when they are trying to dodge a massive spider?!

I stand by my "too clever" comment.

Dude, but there's even audio sound effects to prompt the player into thinking the obvious. I suppose it's a classic example of looking but not seeing - or, rather, listening but not hearing!

But like you rightly say this type of game isn't for everyone - it's the same for everything, of course it is. But to judge something based on one's own misguidance is no fault of the game's design....

[toythatkills]

Well, the fact that you have to

->Open Spoiler<-

dodge its attack twice for the trap to fall. Why would anyone really go back a second time for some more?! Fair enough, the ground shakes giving you the very slightest of "hints" but how many people are really going to notice that when they are trying to dodge a massive spider?!

I stand by my "too clever" comment.

->Open Spoiler<-

Every time the ground shakes, the trap moves closer to the edge of the branch. As well as the visual clue, there's an audible one too, each time the spider lunges at you, there's a metallic sound.

[Spatial]

Audio is sometimes key to this game.

In that bit you mention the ground doesn't

->Open Spoiler<-

shake as such, the bigger cue is that you can hear the bear trap clanking off to the left. That's enough to start the reasoning that it's effecting it and to keep doing what you're doing.

[Spatial]

Lol, three of us all making the same point.

[toythatkills]

LIMBO defence force is out in full