Limbo is another refreshing take on the puzzle genre, like Portal and Braid before it. While I would not put Limbo right up next to those two games in terms of overall innovation and inspiration, Limbo is definitely one of the most interesting, and certainly the most beautiful Xbox Live Arcade game I have ever played. The distinctive, much talked about art style, the gruesome "trial by death" gameplay, and the overall dark, dreary atmosphere combine to form a great game that leaves an impression, despite its unfortunately short length and less interesting second half.

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AT A GLANCE:

WHAT IT IS: A puzzle-platformer that finds a child looking for his sister in the spooky, hostile word of Limbo (and not the Inception kind, whereas he would wake up every time he died...OR WOULD HE?!?!)

WHAT YOU'LL LIKE: The unmistakeable art style and creepy atmosphere, the giant spider, and the momentum/gravity puzzles

WHAT YOU WON'T LIKE: The bland environments of the second act, the short length, and the (very) limited replay value

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I think that it is quite fair to use the two aforementioned puzzle games in comparison to Limbo, especially Braid, because they not only brought puzzle games into the same spotlight as any other genre of game, but because Limbo takes a lot of queues from these past successes. Braid one over fans due to its ambiguous narrative, unique art style, and clever puzzle/platforming gameplay that gets trickier as the game goes forth. Limbo tries for all of these features, and succeeds a good amount of the time. The biggest success are the visuals, which is necessary for getting gamers' attention, and illustrating what the game is all about. You play as a boy in the 'limbo' state between life and death. You went in looking for your sister, and that is the only concrete details you have about the story. Limbo is pure black and white, with shadowy, blurry trees and buildings in the background, and all sorts of grim looking architecture and nature in the foreground with your little character. There is no music, leaving you to hear the ambient noises of the forest and some sort of industrialist facility, and your own footsteps, throughout the entire adventure. The dark, foreboding atmosphere and minimal sound design combine to create a feeling that you are truly isolated in a scary world.

Isolation doesn't mean you are alone, however. In the first act of the game, you have multiple encounters with a giant spider, and eventually meet some other, murderous human characters, about the same young age as our silent protagonist. That would explain the multitude of booby traps waiting throughout the first half. The first time I accidentally touched a bear trap and it snapped off the boy's head in a split second, I jumped out of my seat. Every death you encounter (and there will be tons) is just as gruesome, but like in any violent video game, the effect loses its punch rather quickly, despite this game featuring a child as the victim. Later in the game, you'll even be willing to plunge your hero to his death in order to better understand what lies in front of you, and how best to defeat the challenge.

The game begins with simple puzzles, like pushing a box to get to higher ground. The easy gameplay and beautifully desolate environments leave you to stare in wonder at the world of Limbo, and the spider set pieces are easily the game's best moments. After pushing through gangs of other humans, you eventually get through the forest and to a factory-like structure, where the puzzle complexity (and therefore the challenge) ramps up. The puzzles are the most ingenious at this point, moving from basic box/switch/rope puzzles to intricate momentum-focused challenges. However, your surroundings are a lot less interesting at this point. I understand that indoor environments are necessary for the puzzles that shift gravity, but developer Play Dead should have thought up some strategies to make the second half just as visually interesting as the outdoor sections. No set-pieces like the spider or enemy children appear here, which is baffling. Isn't excitement supposed to ramp up as you progress?

There isn't really a story in Limbo. Instead, there are merely hints that some sort of narrative is implied. Things like a neon hotel side, the spider, the other kids....it all kind of implies there is more going on. Whereas Braid was acclaimed for having a story that was flexible enough to fit different explanations, Limbo is too far on that side. I desperately wanted to know why he was there, and what these things that appeared meant, but there simply isn't enough in the game to formulate some sort of conclusion. Did his sister have an accident at a hotel? Was this boy picked on by other kids, hence the enemies? Give me something!  While on the subject, I also got the vague notion that the developers were trying to touch on video game clichés like simple 'find the princess' plots, and the overuse of violence and blood. But if so, it isn't clear enough in the finished product. That's two unfulfilled narrative tasks in one game.

While I criticized plenty of the game's features, one bulletproof spot is the puzzle designs.  Portal and Braid were so brilliant because they gave the gamer simple rules at the beginning (in Braid at the beginning of each chapter), and then the game utilized these simple rules in incredibly complex ways. The navigation puzzles are basic and aren't nearly as unique as thinking with portals or controlling time. But once you get indoors and the puzzles get really awesome, switches that turn gravity in different directions and other interesting physics-based mechanics are taken full advantage of.  Then there are the brain slugs, which force you to go left or right, and switch directions when exposed to light. Easily the coolest, trickiest puzzle mechanic, and the most unique, the brain slugs also highlight how the game takes simple platforming action and twists it into something much more inspired.

So while it isn't the masterpiece that Braid or Portal is, it's still worth playing. It has arguably the coolest art style to be found on Xbox Live Arcade, and despite its short length, it crams plenty of fully realized puzzle concepts within. If only there was some replay value beyond the achievements (which all involve finding secret eggs), more frequent set-piece encounters, and a less-abrupt ending (seriously, it's incredibly anti-climactic) it would be a no-brainer instant buy for anyone with Xbox Live. However, due to these admittedly small gripes, it isn't for everyone. If you are a puzzle game fan, you've likely already bought it. I'm not a puzzle fan, but I loved the two games I've mentioned again and again in this review; if you do too, then you'll probably love what Limbo has achieved, and should check it out as well. For anyone who loves unconventional art styles (such as with Rez or Ico), this is also a good choice. Not the next groundbreaking puzzle experience, but pretty freaking cool.