Limbo
Storytelling Reinvention:
utilizes an eerie black and white environment in order to impart a vivid metaphorical journey through limbo
Game Information
Release Date: July 3rd, 2013
Developer: Playdead
Publisher(s): Microsoft Studio, Playdead
Rating: Teen
Genre(s): Horror, Metaphorical, Platformer, Role-Playing, Strategy
Price: $4.99
Website: http://playdead.com/limbo/
Limbo is a horror puzzle-platform game where players experience the game as a young boy who is searching for his missing younger sister. The word “limbo” is derived from late Middle English, from the Latin phrase meaning "hem, border, or edge." In the game, the word “limbo” refers to the young boy being on the “edge of hell” when players begin the game. “Uncertain of his sister’s fate, a boy enters Limbo” (1). The story is:
Dark and disturbing . . . something that is a running theme throughout Limbo, it isn’t a nice game, it isn’t one that will leave a smile on your face but it is engrossing and it will have you suckered in from start to finish. (2)
Players go through the game only able to climb on top of things, move left or right, jump, and climb ropes. They use their environment to help them throughout the game while fully immersed in the atmosphere with the visuals and sound. It’s almost as if they are in a limbo themselves…
References:
1. "LIMBO." App Store. Apple Inc, 5 Dec. 2014. Web. 09 Mar. 2016. <https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/limbo/id656951157?mt=8>
2. "Limbo." Play Dead. Play Dead. n.d. Web. 09 Mar. 2016. <http://playdead.com/limbo/presspage/>
Researcher: AJ Schock
