Bia Hawks

Developed exclusively for Xbox 360, Limbo is the first production of the independent game studio “Playdead”, grounded 2006 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The game revolves around the central figure of a boy who embarks upon a long, dark and dangerous journey in the quest of his lost sister. The Limbo actually represents the horrible world that he must silently trespass overcoming puzzles and challenges in order to reach what he looks for. It is no random fact that producer and game director Arnt Jensen chose this title for the game: in the Catholic theology, Limbo refers to the edge of Hell, a temporary state of those who died prematurely but not freed from the Original Sin. Also, Dante in his masterpiece Divine Comedy describes Limbo as the first circle of Hell, whereas medieval theological beliefs assigned Limbo as one of the 4 parts of the underworld.

This strong background of meaning can therefore explain the film-noir appearance of the game, dominated by deep blur and a fabulous range of gray tones, meant to convey solitude, uncertainty and danger of the gloomy world of the boy`s itinerary. The silhouette of the main character is the only one that appears to be alive under the heavy, smoky sky that covers everything. What is particularly strange about this game is the lack of a soundtrack in the common acceptance of the concept, compensated just by ethereal echoes and ambient sounds; the resulting silence makes you feel even closer the suspense and the atmosphere of the game.

Among the compact shades that dominate the scenery, white sparkles often appear in the foreground, creating a beautiful contrasting picture; and, as a significant detail, the boy`s eyes are always shining, like a small light in the dark. This black and white technique of the game is inspired from the German expressionism, a trend at the beginning of the 20<sup>th</sup> century, marking cinematography with black and white usually very abstract and suspenseful elements, e.g. Alfred Hitchcock` s movies. Concerning the game puzzles, Limbo combines the beautiful imagery with a unique, challenging and brain teasing collection of puzzles to be solved, ranging from simple to difficult and even hostile, but all of them equally fun to solve.

Based on all this extremely unique set of elements and features, the game has won the Excellence award in Visual Art and Technical Excellence last year. The bad part is that for now, the producers refuse to extend it on further platforms, although there are numerous requests for PC and Mac versions. Let`s hope they will eventually change their mind, because Limbo offers a very distinct and beautiful game experience.