If you missed the first part of Limbo: Now Playing (Vita) , check it out now.
Ok, so I started Limbo yesterday, and played for maybe an hour or two. I’d sampled the game, enjoyed it, and looked forward to playing more of it today. Well after about 30 minutes, maybe 45….I finished the game! I couldn’t believe it. I just wasn’t expecting it. The puzzles had obviously increased in difficulty, requiring ample mental fortitude. But to have finished the game, in such a short time?! I’m glad I waited for it to be free through PlayStation Plus before trying it. Had I spent $19.99 on this, I would have felt ripped off.
Bang For Your Buck
Don’t get me wrong, the game was original, fun, creative, emotional, and more. But $20 buck for 2 or 3 hours? That’s more steep than a movie theater ticket, and I stopped going to the theater years ago do the inflated cost. It makes me wonder, had limbo been advertised and promoted as a SHORT game, but worth your time for the cost, and then priced at $7.99, would it have done as good, better, or worse in sales. I know I personally don’t like spending $20 bucks a pop on these unknown indie games, for this vary reason. Either their not my cup or tea, or they’re an utterly short “artistic” experience. Who knows how many people DIDN’T purchase this game over the years from hearing the game was completed in an hour or two.
The game has been out for years now, so I feel comfortable enough with discussing the end. If however you do not wish to spoil the game/ending, please don’t read any further!
=====SPOILERS AHEAD=====
Right then. Remember at the beginning of the game, when I told you about the young boy waking up in the middle of the forest? He just sits up, and you see he’s little white eyes among his black silhouette. Well I wondered when/where the title of the game was going to come into play. During the last few stretches of puzzles, you have to flip switches controlling gravity, many times in mid-air. Well the last switch you successfully flip sends you flying through the air into a pane of glass. As it shatters and you pass through, everything starts slowing down.
I guess giving you a chance to realize what’s happening. As he lands and comes to a stop, he lays there motionless for a moment. Then, he sits up, and you see those little beady white eyes. Just like in the beginning!!! He walks over and sees a little girl in the distance. She turns and looks his way, and that’s it! Que the credits. So this little boy’s limbo is his repeated journey through the woods, always ending the same way, and meeting this girl.
=====END OF SPOILERS=====
I did really like the finally moments of the game, and enjoyed playing through the entirety of Limbo. There’s just something off-putting about the length of the game and the price associated with it, that taints the experience somehow. Yes, yes, I got the game free through PS+. BUT, knowing that it was made and sold originally for $20 bucks, is just hard to swallow. Limbo is a fantastic experience, and by no means do I want to sell it short on that front. It was an enjoyable experience that was short lived.