LIMBO
Platform: Xbox Live Arcade (Xbox 360)
Price: 1200 MSP / $15 US

Not creepy at all...

Gameplay:
LIMBO is a deviously simple platformer, with a deviously simple story: "Uncertain of his sister's fate, a boy enters LIMBO." But this limbo is more like hell than the purgatory most would imagine. The game is roughly broken into three different acts, each with slightly different play styles. Timing is critical as you make your way under, over, and through deadly booby traps in "Act I". As you delve into the depths of limbo, the focus shifts to intricate (but not always slow-paced) puzzles in "Act II". Finally, as you approach of heart of limbo in "Act III", action and puzzle are combined into fast paced sequences where you begin to play with (and be played with by) gravity. This is all accomplished using only the left analog stick and the A/B buttons. Despite the simplicity of the controls, LIMBO is a challenging game. Half the fun is experiencing all the morbid ways you can die from the booby traps and hazards (either natural or man-made). There is a gore filter in the options which can make the game friendlier for younger audiences. In some ways, the game is even creepier with the gore filter on though, as your imagination fills in the blanks after the screen goes dark and you hear the snap of a bear trap, etc.


LIMBO's version of the "Jump to Conclusions" welcome mat from Office Space.

While LIMBO is largely linear, there are several areas throughout the game where you must backtrack, sometimes by significant amounts. This linearity is further broken up by the achievements, which are all given physical form within the game as glowing ovoids (Easter Eggs?) which you step on to unlock. The one exception to this is the achievement for completing the game, which remains abstract, much like the game itself. These achievement orbs really add to the play/replay value, as they are pretty well hidden. The achievements are all in chronological order and each include a hint to point you in the right direction. Do yourself a favor, and don't use a guide to find these, as you will be robbing yourself of the experience. I even found one orb that wasn't an achievement, so there may be even more! It's a shame that Microsoft didn't open up all XBLA games to have 20 achievements, like Perfect Dark.

Graphics & Audio:
The only thing better than LIMBO's wonderfully morbid gameplay is the visuals. Playdead creates an unmatched graphical and emotional depth with LIMBO's eerie atmosphere, which doesn't quite hide the atrocities that lurk in the distance. The game is presented in a black and white, 2.5D style. This does not mean that LIMBO fails to impress. Quite the contrary... I was constantly awed by the beauty possible using only light and shadow, and the audio picks up right where the graphics left off. Sounds work to supplement the tension created by the visuals with visceral sound effects and chillingly subtle music

Replay value:
Your initial playthrough could take you 4 to 6 hours, possibly more, possibly less. Add in exploration for the hidden achievements, and run-throughs to try and get the "No Point in Dying" achievement (about 1 hour once you know all the puzzles), you could be looking at close to 10 hours of gameplay.


There is no wind to wake here...

Overall:
LIMBO is a breath of fresh air for the Xbox Live Arcade, and the most "indie" game to hit the XBLA since Braid two years ago. Playdead has done an outstanding job on their first production. The game plays beautifully, with nary a [software] bug in sight. The sparse story has inspired me with many questions...How did the boy "enter" limbo? Did he die too? Did he kill himself so he could find his sister, to make sure she was alright? Or is it all a dream? Is this a manifestation of his fears of what might be happening to his sister? Is limbo even a place of the dead, or a state of uncertainty imposed on the mourners left behind?

Pros:
+Visual Style
+Challenging platforming and puzzles
+Gruesome

Cons:
-Xbox Live Arcade achievement limit
-Ambiguous ending

LIMBO gets underneath a 9.25/10 stick for it's amazing visual style, exhilarating "First Act" and "Oh, the humanity"!

A review copy was used to evaluate the game.

I played the trial earlier today and can vouch for the awesomeness from the impression I got. The puzzles definitely made me think, even had to resort to looking up the solution for one of them despite the trial not lasting too long as I was quite stumped although as you said, it significantly takes away from the experience when you do that so it's best to stick to trial and error along with exploration as chances are there's more to it than what's in front of you.

The atmosphere is certainly creepy and I actually got a bit startled when I discovered my first bear trap, luckily I learned that they aren't always a burden which is as much as I'll say to go along with your spoiler-free review...