Running....Constant Running...Have you ever experienced this feeling before? When you keep trying to reach upon something; but, yet...it always manages to extend past your grasp or even just seems to be an endless walk that you'll never finish? Many things could happen, you might be running from something that was tearing you up inside. Like having an argument between a friend and things turning for a spice of the bitter end....maybe you were getting bullied by some punks at school whom always try way too hard to be tough and prove a point. It's something that people with depression or just those with a horrible past have to live on with, never being able to escape or at least not completely. We like to describe this technical term as "Limbo" wherein we can never escape one fear or journey no matter how much we try to pursue it. Just like the little boy that you'll care for and adventure around with in this dark and gloomy world, what is it that he's trying to accomplish? Why is he in here alone? ....That's just something we'll both have to figure out on our own so let's journey ahead *jumps down into pit* ....aaaAHHH AAHHhhh..... *vizzed goes black as falls* ....*squints eyes and wakes up from floor* nnngh I don't know why that didn't work, guess I'll just try it again *prepares to jump and see's buzzsaw's and acid flooring* W-w-what? T-this wasn't here before?! I guess...I'll just get one with the review as I try to figure out what to do here... *jumps across pit and tries to hold on as vizzed turns black again*

 
               _______ --- --- --- _--- --- ---____ ------__----_______
  ___/ / Scenery as dark and gloomy as a stranded and ghostly town ____
   
    It's pretty clear straight from the get go that this game isn't exactly as cheery or heartfelt as other indie/puzzle games tend to be in regards to your health or others that you're looking/chasing after. Between constantly making the player revisit certain spots of a game with entirely different paths that our player must take, and that everytime he gets closer to reaching his goal...it's all just simply an illusion/trap that is used to take him back and force him to pursue his path to the point of exhaustion. Not only this, but it seems that this story also decided to take a trip back into the 1940's of background designs and color tones! Since everything is in jet black, light shade of gray, or pure white. This gives it a very unique style/look; yet, it also gives it a special charm/feel to it as well since it's very as we said above reminiscent of old 1940-esque backdrops or even TV shows and theatrics. Unlike my past mentioning of graphics in games....this one's...gonna be a little more difficult to explain when compared to past games, because even with the fact that there are chapters within the game (39 of them I believe) you can very easily pass 5 or 7 chapters within minutes if you know what you're doing. So I'm afraid I'll only be able to give you a brief description of a chapter below, let's go!
 

       ``~~-- Chapter 4 & 11 --~~``
   
    Just like with the 1940's connection above with the color choice of the game's environments, this game may also make references to a couple movies or so. Especially starting off with Chapter 4 wherein shortly after reaching a later portion of this segment you'll run into a twig and boulder, having snapped the twig you'll be chased by the boulder downhill and if you're not quick enough you'll be crushed! Kind of reminds you of a certain archaeologist inside a temple right? During this chapter you'll basically be making perilous jumps from one black border of the screen to another (and since it's mostly gray and black there isn't much to say about the foreground graphics). Meanwhile in Chapter 11 you'll reach a certain "obstacle" in which you've reached it final straw and as it tries to trick you one last time you must watch out and lay the final blow before using it to your advantage and being able to move forward, the background is mostly the same as before just having a few shady tree's in the background with the same coloring. There isn't much else you can really describe in the game besides saying what traps or items lurk inside the chapter and that'd give away too much, plus it's not all that much to talk about anyway...so I'll end this portion off now.
   
    Seems we've reached the end of this landmark, the only other thing you could really say about the graphics that I find to be fun and peculiar is that anytime you have the game representing blood or sparks from a grinding saw or dying insect, the blood/sparks will be represented with bright white dots/lines in order to complement and help the player distinguish what's in the foreground and what you need to watch out for ahead (as well as it just being an particular art style for the blood). All in all it is an indie game so it's going to be quite different from the normal means of HD graphics and gameplay, for that reason alongside it being released in 2010 I'd give the graphics an 8 out of 10 for creativity and level design; however, it drops points for the grounds or certain areas being bland with not much to appeal to a players eye.
   


         :..::_::... Musical hues and cues that compliment the looks and gameplay ....::_::...:
   
    I'm sure after hearing how dark the gameplay has been, you'll probably wonder how the orchestral beat sounds inside this game? If there are any songs at all (which there are don't worry) it must be quite a leap from the normal means, and you'd be correct there. The most easy and best way I would simplify how the melody of this games soundtrack feels could be like: "Now while you run between your adventure of darkness and despair, the music's gradually changing tone will carry through your adventure and sometime will even make you feel like you're floating from the ground in...well...Limbo". Just like the environments feel and nature it's probably the strangest I've ever heard inside any game, for now before our heads float away from the subject I'll talk about a few songs I can describe in some manner.
     
      vVv^..^v GrAvItY JuMp v^..^vVv
   
    To be honest a lot of these songs usually keep how the intro music/main theme sounds while adding a couple more sound effects or changing the pitch of the song. This is probably my favorite area in the game and the music just feels great with what you are having to try and complete in order to move on, which as you can guess obviously has something to do with gravity inside the stage. While focusing on how you'll alter the gravity to affect your character and environment best, the intro melody starts playing in the background; however, after only a few seconds you'll notice this one kind of has like a tribal mix thrown into it? As it already starts you off with a drum beat similarly to the kind of rhythms/paces you'd hear in ancient ceremony's, along with the spacially aware kind of sounds you'll be pleased to during this adventure. With it's uplifting/peaceful tone it makes it a very relaxing and interesting song to listen to, who's to say you may even try to fall asleep with it? Very nice < 3
   
        ___==__/ Rotating Room /___==___
   
    Now I said "almost" every theme sounds the same in this game of neverending torture; (to the main character at least) although, this is one of the few songs that actually is different and is able to change the tone of the game up drastically! As normally the music is more so relaxing/almost sad at times; and yet, it never really focuses on danger at all? Well along with how this Chapter works it definitely makes up for that by throwing your character inside a couple stages wherein you'll be trying to go further to the right of the screen; however, the entire level will be scrolling around very slowly and as such it'll become more about using transition changes to jump between portions in order to gain momentum or just space to cross a gap. Just one screw up though and...well lets just say if you thought the spider part was bad you don't want to see the splatter zone that's below your feet. *Sonic57 Tries jumping and slips off into sharp and long spikes* Great job if you enjoy a fearful or dark tone!
   

    Again just like the graphics it not the best kind of soundtrack I've ever heard (especially since there are only 5 songs and 3 of which sound very similar with slight differences). The only other thing I'd mention is if you like games with realistic sound effects...ugh...*holds back chunks* then you'll love this game as there are some parts that just....nngh...the sound effects are soo good that it's repulsive. *see's image of leg being ripped off and dead body falling in beartrap* Oh gosh I gotta end this here, the sound I'd say is fair...ngh...to give it an 8 out of 10 for an interesting sound, but pretty open ended themes with not much variety, amount wise that is.
   


     *@*@*@*___Creating a unique and interesting addition, to the puzzle gaming genre! ___@*@*@
   
    As you've now clearly been reading it's fairly easy to notice how different this game is in gameplay style and visually wise as well, the only question that remains is if the addictiveness portion of this pie is any good? The quick and easy answer is that it just depends on what kind of games you enjoy most, if you're not a fan of puzzle games similar to Portal or the other indie game Braid then you're most likely not going to enjoy this game at all; however, if you find them quite enjoyable or at least fun to try out then this game will be very decent and very enjoyable at the very least. To me personally I quite enjoy this game for HOW it uses it's puzzle aspect, and I would dare say that this game kind of mixes Braid and Portal together in some senses...mostly for the fact that it's a 2D scroller just like Braid and it has that similar kind of play style (minus the whole rewinding time thing) and it carries some likeness's of Portal around with it due to the fact that some puzzles you must complete don't simply rely on one factor alone or with a certain item/gadget you have (Ex: Portal Gun). A good example could be like if you need to reach a tree trunk you'd have to pull a lever to lower a rope and finally rush to push the cart down a hill in order to grab onto the rope in time, unless you want to become grounded black beef.  
   That's basically the play style's basics in a nutshell as all there is beyond that is making sure the puzzles don't kill you in the process as well as the fact that as we said above sometimes you'll be tricked into a trap due to the backgrounds look and just from your character thinking he's finally reached his goal (when he's not even half way through yet). Most of the addictiveness factor though will come from the games graphical overhaul since that what the game relies on more than anything is the genuine style they went for when making this game (wonder if the beta name was Monochrome boy?) and though I appreciate how it tries something new it may not be as addictive nor important to other players. Normally you could bring up how long the game is to add onto the addictiveness factor of a game and though it does have 39 chapters...with how easy you can speed through 5 or 7 of them with prior knowledge or a good sense of skill....it doesn't really make it as big of a selling point, but I'd still say that the game is
addictive even with the relatively short length of the game.
   

    All in all I'd say that the addictiveness factor here is an even/even 7 out of 10 since just like many puzzle games the appeal of it can be amazing (like a 10/10) for the first playthrough or even when you're just in an amazing mood for it, but it also kind of falls on the aspect of how much you can do inside the game and how long it'll last for (Portal being one of the only exceptions). So while this game isn't the most drawing in and a attached game, it's definitely nowhere near a horrible or lame indie title after some time and can live up on it's one even today! So let's move onto the main course of this game!
   


     {??}{??} A story who's meaning, grows only within theories of the dark forest }??{  }??{
   
    This is going to be a very short to just a plain short section as this game really doesn't have much of a story or it does and it has just never been properly explain at all, as such there are 10's to 20 different kinds of theories out there for the game. To which I'll go with the one I find most believable in this scenario! (however, the score for this section is still going to be N/A since there is no OFFICAL story listed)
   
    It was a dark and stormy night in the forest for a young boy whom has just awoken inside of it, agonizing over being lost and over the thought of one person, he decides to journey out through the forest in order to clear the doubts that he had stuck inside his head and that he wouldn't let go off and tossing them aside all as lies. Traveling through many terrifying forests and grinding machines our little guy is treated to many different illusions and tricks that continue to deceive him throughout his journey...all of them being of one girl that he's looking for. This girl being his little sister (most presumably) and everytime he gets close to her he's tossed around into a different kind of peril or knocked out and awoken somewhere else? What's going on in this woodland area that's forcing him to be unsuccessful in his quest to help his sister? Can he even really see her again...or will our boy wonder have to move on from what he can't accomplish and not risk being trapped in "Limbo" forever? That's a choice...you...have to make players, you...and you alone!
   

    That is what I like to call my open ended version of this games story, granted it's not the truth and shouldn't be plastered on any game boxes but from what you learn inside the game and out of the game it's the best that one person like myself can do...since I definitely wasn't involved in the creation of this story (couldn't you tell I already hated forest in my adventure with a black hedgehog?). As I said above though this is MY open-ended story for this game and not actually THE games story, so even with that speculation I must give the score for this games story a N/A rating as there's no clear cut way to define its story. Moving on now....
   


        ,,,...:::,,,...::: A game of repeating measures, doesn't hold as much to offer? :::...,,,:::...,,,
   
    As much as I think this game is very recommendable to people just wanting to try out some fresh indie games or just giving some a try, I'd usually say that Limbo is definitely worth it; however, there is only one part I can't really say it's the best at nor can it be worth the price tag at times (6~10$). The problem with this recommendation is the fact that as I've stated 2 or 3x above, you can with relative ease beat a bunch of levels within only a few minutes or so, and the since there are 39 areas you can very easily beat this game within only an hour and a half to an hour if you're just playing around. As such that doesn't really love much to hold you on for, specially since there aren't any changes nor any rewards after having beat the game so it's not like it'll hook you onto it after having completed everything. Just for the record in terms of how long it can take you to beat the game, if you were to look up newbie players attempting this game (a few youtubers like Jacksepticeye, could be a good example) you'll notice that even with their not much/any prior knowledge of the game or it's surrounding's....they're able to beat the entire game within 2 to 2 1/2 hours long? That's quite short especially if you're a new person to the game, and may not really handle the price of the game very well.
   

    Just like with the addictiveness portion there really isn't much you can describe about the depth besides that it's short when you realize just how fast you can skim through areas at times. The only thing that can make the game last longer really is to try and earn all of the achievements that can be found within the game, again though it doesn't do much so it's not really raising the scores at all. Given all this information I'd have to give the game only a 4 out of 10 for it's depth factor *sighs* let's keep going....
     


       ?`~-.,_ Controlling one's own death....by skill, reflexes, and perseverence of the player _,.-~`?
   
    Back on track to more explainable scenario's we reach the pinaccle of fear in these kinds of games, the difficulty of surviving inside these dark woods and making it out to the other side unscathed...as well as how hard it is to figure out certain problem in a room before being allowed to move on. This games level of difficulty from what I've seen is pretty average and usually whenever you're stuck on one part it's not as hard as you may think to figure out and may just require doing something quicker or doing it in a certain order and speed, there's no real tricks going against you in the game that'll make trying to figure out a puzzle hard as heck. There are 2 examples I can name which'll explain exactly what I mean by this scenario, now if you'd rather not see them as you feel they'll just ruin the game for you then feel free to move down to the end of this section...I'm not telling you everything that happens just the basic idea of what I mean by "difficult parts".
    Anyway the first example begins wherein you've reached the edge of the screen and it won't loader any further, in front of you is a spider and going right next to it will only get you killed...you see a bear trap and in tree and think "oh ok...I just have to take that and use it against the monster ahead?" Which you'd be correct; although, there's  nothing you can use to get us there at all? This is where the logical parts come into play as when the foul spider strikes the ground towards you it's actually slightly shaking the tree and making it fall towards the edge slowly. Then you know what you have to do from there on, if not? Well then that's for you to figure out on your own. The second example would be where you see 2 dangerous objects with a rope inbetween it, first instinct would probably be to jump and keep climbing it and then proceeding to run down to the now opened path correct? I would agree with you there and say it's a good idea;  albeit that's not correct as once you jump down you'll run into a second wall. So it's time to go back and plan it all out again, so there are certain moments in the game where you may have to think heavily on what you need to do. Though it's still not brain staggering by any means.
   

    There's nothing else besides those main factors that will cause you any problems or grief so if you're worried about that since it's a puzzle game, then I guess you can put that to ease now. It's a fairly simple platform-puzzle game; and yet, don't dismiss it as just being some easy as heck game for children either...because it just might manage to stump you in a few spots for a short amount of time or a good few tries. Allowing me to leave our final category with a score of 6 out of 10 for difficulty!
   

    We're reached the end of our journey *see's pokefreak in background* and after many detours and returns from later moments of this area it seems like we've finally learned what it was all about and now...we can finally make it out this nightmare we called "Limbo" and move on with what we had wished to accomplish....that's our story....that's the story...for "Limbo" *see's poke vanish away* ....It's time to move on... *walks away from forest happily*

                              Sonic57+Pokefreak219tm

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Thank you all for your patience and feedback from last month < 3 I've worked since yesterday evening to get both this review and the (Smash Bros) one up for tonight < 3 hope it turns out well < 3 hope you'll enjoy the 3 reviews for april just as much as these (possibly)!

Great review!

I generally like dark stories a lot, and I love video games, so a video game with a dark story sounds perfect for me .

On the other hand, though, despite what you said about it being relatively easy and all in most parts, I tend to struggle when it comes to puzzles in video games... like, A LOT. Even with the simplest things xD.

That was a slight exaggeration, but still. There are parts in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword that I felt incredibly silly about after having to look up walkthroughs to help me, ha, ha! 

I like puzzles, though :3. So I'm pretty sure I'd enjoy this!

About the music... I personally love it when themes are remixed, even if it is a lot xP. I know many people find repetitiveness in music annoying or lazy, but I adore it because a happier, sadder, more dramatic, or any different kind of of a piece of music or theme makes it seem fresh to me yet triggers feels all the same since it reminds me of the earlier part of the game during which the original played ;w;.

So, yeah. I guess this soundtrack would appeal to me!

Now you said the success before the kid's very eyes is always an illusion? I got quite curious after reading this review, so I looked up the ending and watched it. I can already tell what a piece of art it is, but it's still very vague.

Your title... "One's almost pointless journey, through a neverending forest of fear"... Almost? *Eyes twinkle*. So there's hope ?

Ha, ha, hope or not, I find myself being drawn into depressing games and stuff constantly since I like feeling feels for some reason, and this sounds perfect for me. A glimmer of hope for success at one point, though, that possibly shatters all doubt and despair before for a brief period of time would make me feel even more feels .

Also, the gameplay sounds and looks beautiful in my opinion ;w;. It sounded amazing based on your description (I love black-and-white xD), but the video confirmed what I suspected - again, it's my style xD.

Anyway, thanks so much for making this! If I had a PS3, I'd definitely buy it . The only other time I've ever heard of this game was when I was looking up a list of best video game covers, and this was one of them ! I certainly agree !

Sounds like something that would make me both happy and sad at the same time, while also getting me thinking in the process xD. As for those creepy sound effects... Perhaps it would horrify me as well ?

Excellent job! I loved reading this!

I had never even heard of this game  until today. For a puzzle game, you made the game sound pretty decent, though the depth and difficulty parts have made me decide I won't even bother to try the game out, especially since you said that it only takes 2-2 1/2 hours to complete. Overall though, I think you did a great job with this review. I find it amazing that despite this game being so short, you were able to make the review be over 3500 words long. There's no way I'd ever be able to do that.

NintendoFanKimmy : I'm glad you liked it, even if not one of the best games out of there it's one that even with its many problem I enjoy it still because of how it affected me the first time through. 

I guess you didn't get the interpretation I had put into the review x3 my interpretation for the story was that the kid is in Limbo because he won't move on from his sister's death and finally at the end after overcoming so much...he's learned to move on past it and escapes Limbo!

And this game is actually out on PS3, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Ps4, and PC so you have a wide variety to choose from < 3 

Yeah j-just watched the part where I mentioned the spider....just uggh that flesh ripping sound ; - ;

Glad you liked this though < 3


gamerforlifeforever2 : Yeah I had watched a let's play for this in the early moments of 2013 and I figured after 2 years and experience on the site I would try and make a review of how it felt to experience it. This...is one of those games that great to experience the first time through but is average after that. Since this game is Indie you can't complain too much but unlike other indie games it did have a lot  more people so it's fine to critique it poorly in some areas.

Yeah unless it's really cheap I wouldn't bother, thanks I'm glad you liked it and I don't know how I do it? 

sonicthehedgehog57 : I agree. When I first played this game on PS3 it was great and kinda challenging at first. But once you figure out the puzzles, then the game becomes one of those "How fast can I complete it?" types and loses its tenacity. I was intrigued by the story at first ( assuming there ever was a story to begin with ) but since they never came out with any type of sequel then it just became a game that increased my Trophy count. 

This review was good. You really captured the feel of the game along with all of its flaws and advantages. I very much enjoyed reading your opinion of the game, even though the review could have been shortened by 150+ words due to the special characters v^..^v around the category titles and using *asterisks* like you would in a chat room, lol.   

Kruzer : Yeah which is why it's more of a experience it and it's amazing once but then becomes a normal average game afterwards. Glad you liked it and hoped it was good for the game. Actually the only time things like "^^^@@--~~" count as words is if they're actual letters like "V" so the "vVv^..^v" was the only time it added words inside and that was only 4 words sooo yeah. I'm just known for having long reviews compared to the normal means anyway. 

Damn, I'm speechless after reading your review!

It's so detailed and well-written that I'm surprised you managed not to be repetitive. Your separation of the sections was original and gave a much-welcomed pause.

janus : Glad you enjoyed it, I try to add as much detail as I can or what I feel is appropriate for 3 reasons: "Enjoyment of the viewer, Making sure I give the viewer what they need to know, and making it so the review is a good looking after when thinking of buying a game." Even though my reviews usually spand 3500-5000+ words it's only because of those 3 reasons above that they somehow turn out that way. (wouldn't care that much if they're 2000-2500 words as long as everything is in order).

Glad it was a good read for you and if you'd like to see more reviews or upcoming ones you can just leave a comment on my profile.

sonicthehedgehog57 : Actually, as long as you add a space after the ^^@@ or even in-between them like  ^ ^ ^ @ @  then they will all count as words. If you were to copy your review to Microsoft Word and delete all of those special characters, then I'm sure it would be a little less than 3572 words ( maybe 20-30 words less ). It really does not matter because it is so minimal but... just something to point out I guess. 

Kruzer : Which is why I have them all bunched together so they won't count towards it as I'm just using it as like an eye-catching title card. (something I was told to do in my computer college class).