GAME OF THE WEEK: LIMBO,18 cert, Playdead Games, Xbox Live ****
This debut game from Danish studio Playdead was one of the most popular games at the recent E3 event. The premise of Limbo, like its appearance, is beautiful in its simplicity. A young boy enters a nightmare dreamscape in search of his sister. There's minimal music, no dialogue, and no colours beyond black, white and shades of grey. And the protagonist is a child, not a space marine or a superhero or a feisty sonic hedgehog.
Running across the stark, monochrome backdrop, your tasks can be as simple as crossing a river or avoiding a monster. But how you achieve this depends on your ingenuity: with very simple controls (only two action buttons, one for jumping, one for dragging and pushing) you can set traps and build safe passages. Adversaries can be as mundane as gravity or water, or as fantastical as giant spiders. As the boy progresses, he encounters dilapidated buildings, fiendish traps and even feral children.
The puzzle solving is challenging but always logical. One set piece, for example, involves coaxing a rodent towards a giant hamster’s wheel, powering a small generator that lifts a dam.
The music is discreet and barely present for the most part, which leaves room for the poignant soundtrack: wind blowing, branches creaking, leaves rustling, the boy panting for breath.
With shades of Lewis Carroll, Lord of the Fliesand The Night of the Hunter, it's clear the developers were looking beyond traditional videogame influences. This is gothic in the old sense, closer to a classic horror movie than the goth-for-kids formula of Tim Burton. It's harsh and unnerving, earning its 18 cert. While not as bloody as, say, Gears of War, the violence is much more harrowing. The imagery, including a child drowning or hanging from a tree, is more chilling than any of the horror-themed games I've played in recent years.
Perhaps this side- scrolling game will be too minimalist for some, but this writer found it hugely impressive, with gratifying puzzles and an audacious, original setting. Limbowill haunt you long after you've put down the controller.
