What's great about indie games is that they're not for the masses. There is no pragmatic publisher above them, who every second shoves his nose into the development process, violating the idea, the concept that the developers would like to convey to us in the first place. And thanks to this, indie games invariably delight us with their originality and authenticity. Although they do not own realistic graphics, they do not boast of a cool online mode, but they do not set themselves the goal of collecting as many "Francs" from poor gamers as possible. And if really ingenious developers, such as the employees of the Danish company Playdead, got down to business, then the final product simply must be a masterpiece. This is how you can rightfully called the game Limbo.
Therefore, it is not surprising that the game quickly found a place in warm gaming hearts, along the way earning 90 awards, some even before the official release. Who does not know - Limbo was released a year ago on Xbox, and only now it has been ported to PS3 and PC. The developers made sure that as many people as possible were amused in their "miracle".
The road is there and ... only there.
“And what is wonderful about it?” - You ask. And the fact that the hero is alive. Not as "alive" as other puppet-realistic characters of computer games, but like you and me. For real. You trust him, you see human despair in bright eyes. Eyes that inspire hope, despite the dark and scary world that hastens to go further, bypassing the traps and dangerous inhabitants of the limba. Finally, these eyes make you reach your goal.
And what is the goal of a game, the plot of which can be placed in one sentence, and the gameplay stretched for 3-4 hours? We will recognize it only when we reach the very end. And before that, we have nothing better than to go forward and further, where there is only one move.
Just don't give up
The game is served not standard. No menus, screensavers or company logos for you. It starts immediately after we double-clicked on the link. Silence envelops us. That is, not quite silence - noise, but it is perceived precisely as silence. Dark forest and ... everything. Nothing else happens.
What to do? This is where the main property of gameplay comes in - to try. After all, when we get tired of waiting, we start poking buttons with hope. Voila! Completed the first puzzle. And it will continue to be the same. When it already seems that there is no way out, a brilliant idea flashes in my head. And looking back, you only wonder how simple and logical everything really was. And the riddles are really "correct". Do not be like "to act with a crystal sphere on the door lock, so that the zucchini falls out." In solving puzzles, the hero will be helped by a variety of boxes, levers, ropes, with which it is necessary to interact.
What about management? It is, as for the game ported from the console, surprisingly convenient. Bah, there are generally 4 keys: three for movement and one for action. By the way, we will be provided with a huge kaleidoscope for various interactions with the main character. From the movement of logs and traps to unbearable caterpillars and tricks with changing gravity. You just wonder why she didn't get as hardcore as Super Meat Boy, where you had to pick everything up to the millimeter. Although there are also moments where you need to jump over the circular saw in time, or run out of the tunnel before everything is flooded. But most of the riddles are still based on a calm, thoughtful solution - by trial and error. Therefore, it is not necessary to stoop to cheating and search the Internet for passage. The solution itself will come later, one has only to give the brain a rest.
Black and white cinema
And what is the feature here, where is the highlight? Is it that each obstacle can be played many times. We are not limited in our attempts.But after a few game levels, you will rebel with your soul against the fact that somewhere out there it does not work out on the first try. The game just perfectly conveys a sense of responsibility for the protagonist. The life of a little boy is in our hands. And when he dies, there is an unyielding desire to divert his eyes from the screen and plug his ears. In some games, such as Dead Space, it's not uncommon to bring the protagonist to death to watch detailed animations. And here everything is different. Not only does the adrenaline rush when a boy woven of blackness falls into a new trap, but also the back is covered with orphans, which is rarely even a horror film is capable of.
Everything is correct. The world is made in black and white and the man himself is coal-black, only his eyes betray a person in him. And when it is torn into small dark pieces, the imagination itself draws the color of blood, and severed limbs, and entrails. Hell, no game with realistic graphics can convey that.
And what kind of music do you think should be played in the background? But Limbo has no music. There are only sounds. This only emphasizes that the world is dead, silent, like the main character, from whom you can only sometimes hear out of breath. The environment is often filled with bizarre sounds: broken glass underfoot, turned on circular, beating of the heart of a huge spider. All this dissolves into an echo in the rustle of leaves, in the work of various mechanisms, in the pipes of hostile local residents. What is the underwater effect when, through our negligence, we are drowning in water.
It is inexpressibly pleasant to watch how, shifted by the steps of the protagonist, the grass sways and stones fall. How he sways on a chain, or deceives a mosquito so that he can ride it later. The animation in the game is excellent.
Close to the end
Is there no downside to the game? As already mentioned, it is short-lived. When you play it again, and it will definitely be, the gameplay will last for an hour and a half. And the atmosphere noticeably sits down in the second half of the game. But believe me, Limbo is not a game for the sake of a game, but a work of art. You need to admire it, you can release more emotions, worries, surrender completely. Only then will it be possible to approach the sensation of euphoria, soaked through and through with it.
Of course, who will laugh maniacally, every time the boy crushes the abs. Who lacks motivation. Some pets of modern graphics will require a multi-colored world (well, not a first-person view). However, everyone should play, or at least sit on the side and watch the other play. If only to see the purest and brightest light. The light is in his eyes.
A smart and educated gamer (who studied foreign literature), apparently, noticed the strange connection of the name of the game with the world of Dante's "Divine Comedy". And not only because the heroes of both works wake up in the forest. According to Dante: Limb is a world in which there are souls of unbaptized children and righteous people who lived before Christ. Should this mean a possible continuation, and that it will take place in the next circle of hell? Doubtful. This project is a single. Completely completed and signed by the authors at Pleydead. Masterpiece.
pros:
• Interesting visual design;
• Plot mystery, which holds to the end;
• Logic, but not simple puzzles;
• An atmosphere of depression with a glimmer of hope;
• Sound-rich soundtrack;
• Easy to operate.
Minuses:
• There is no music;
• Excessive cruelty;
• Short duration of the game.
