Limbo is a 2D side-scrolling, physics-based platform puzzle game offered by Playdead. It features a dark misty theme with only shades of white & black colors to represent various different locations in a horror & eerie environment. It has also won more than 100 game awards. The Best Puzzle Game, Best Indie Game, Digital Game of the Year, Best Horror Game, and Best Downloadable Game are some of the awards.
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Before the Game, What is Limbo?
Understanding the meaning of Limbo is also important to understand the setting & meaning of the game. So, Limbo. What does it mean? There are many different meanings of Limbo. Taken from the Latin word Limbus, it means Edge. But whose edge? When you start the game, you will find a boy in the middle of a forest with a giant spider who tries to kill him. Later, he encounters people who, too, try to kill him. Mind-controlling worms, sharp-tooth wheels, spikes, eclectic platforms, and many other types of dangers. It’s no less than hell. So, we can conclude it is the Edge of Hell.
Another meaning of Limbo is the space between heaven and hell after death, neither heaven nor hell. The giant spider can explain the setting that it’s not the real world and you are in some other space. If your playable character is in Limbo, that means he is dead. It concludes that this journey is after his death.
A Nameless Boy in Limbo
The nameless boy and his sister die (No official information on how) and now are in Limbo, the space between life & death, heaven & hell. You will find the boy in the middle of the forest with no clue about his sister. In search of his sister, you will guide the boy, solve puzzles, and explore Limbo. Throughout this journey, you & the boy will encounter many puzzles, challenges & dangers. You will have to use your brain to solve the puzzle and escape from the dangers.
Encounter the First Danger, A Giant Spider!
The very first danger you will encounter in the forest is the Giant Spider. When it walks, the ground shakes. Its legs can easily pierce through the body. It leaves no one alive in its path. You can only run away from it to escape its deadly legs.
At first encounter, the spider will be resting on a tree, blocking your path. When you approach it, it targets you and kills you after a short delay. You can use the beartrap to cut its legs and force it to move away. After several levels, it will chase you. You can only run forward jumping over the obstacles. At a later stage, you can lead it near a pit full of spikes and roll a huge rock toward it. The rock will through the spider in the pit.
But that’s not the end of it. It will still chase with only its body and a leg. You will also face a huge pit ahead for which you will need something to cover the pit. Here, when you taunt the spider to hit you, its leg will get stuck in the ground. Then you can remove his leg from his body. Then you can roll the body into the pit.
Beware of People! There’re No People on Your Side
You will also encounter people in Limbo. But they are not your friends. They, too, will try to kill you. They set up beartraps, use blowguns, activate trap mechanisms, throw fire tires, etc. to kill you. You need to be extra careful when you encounter them. In the early stages, they will retreat after using some traps. But at later stages, they will chase you.
Mind-Controlling Worms – Maggots
Maggots are mind-controlling worm-like parasitic creatures. They pose no threat to you if they are on the ground. But if they are above you, they drop themselves on your head and attach to your brain. Then, they control you to walk back the path automatically. You can’t change directions and stop your character from walking. You can only jump, speed up or slow down the character.
These maggots don’t like lights and sun rays. When you go into the sun ray or under the light, the maggot changes your walking direction to go back into dark places. There are also bird-like creatures who like maggots and eat them. When you are controlled by a maggot and there are those birds, you can jump toward them. The birds will remove the maggot from your head and eat them. If the space is too large, then you will need to use a box to jump from.
Use the Environmental Objects to Solve Puzzles
The Limbo is full of puzzles. To solve them, you have to use every environmental object like boxes, carts, electromagnets, electricity switches, lifts, and other things you find around you and also at the right time. You also need to think about physics like momentum, weight, speed, projection, etc. when using them.
