Dark and arty

by ERIK LEIJON

Do not adjust your television set. You are in fact playing much-hyped download-only XBox Live Arcade exclusive Limbo (XBLA/Microsoft, PlayDead), a morose indie platform game more likely to be remembered for its limited colour palette than its deceptively simple puzzles.

For the past four years, certain gaming types have fawned over indie puzzlers with limited budgets and small or, in some cases, one-man development teams. Last year it was steampunk point-and-click Machinarium, and before that time-bender Braid and blackhole-maker Portal. They’re all similar in their relatively short running times, unforgettable aesthetic qualities and old school yet innovative approaches to puzzle solving. The monochrome Limbo feels like the most extreme pendulum swing yet on the three- to five-hour artistic set piece instead of the more traditional video game with explicit goals and skills.

There’s no backstory explaining why a dark silhouetted protagonist with glowing eyes is traversing what may very well be purgatory. Taking place entirely on a 2D plane, the hero navigates a dark world of forests, caves and industrial areas, getting past numerous traps laid down for him by what can only be his own human peers, as well as some beautifully frightening oversized arachnids.

The game is in black-and-white, and often platforms or upcoming dangers are barely visible in the dark. Spiders and other enemies are accompanied by looming shadows, and deadly bear traps and spinning blades can sometimes come unexpectedly. There are some occasional bright visuals, such as the brain-sucking leeches, electrified signs and floors, and the odd lamp, but really it’s a game about darkness. Which, along with the constant feeling of impending doom, is the game’s main strength.

The puzzles rarely require more than a well-timed jump but do necessitate a keen sense of perception, although the final stages include more industrial machinery and thus the many gears and pullies change the game up dramatically.

The final few puzzles proved to be as irksome as the conclusion of Braid, as both games quickly got harder in a manner that made the early part of the game seem too short, and the final scenes too laborious. Portal certainly got trickier near the end, but I didn’t find myself scratching and clawing to finish, which is probably why the game found a greater audience. Limbo is arty and some of the puzzles are inventive, but it can feel like too much of a showpiece than an actual game worthy of investing valuable hours and dollars. The developers were really in love with darkness, often reducing the screen to two bright eyes and the odd moving shadow. It’s an impressive technique, but it was only the shift from forest levels to industrial ones that kept Limbo interesting through its short run.

Spank rock
Chivalry has a new name, and his name is DeathSpank (PSN, XBLA/EA, Hothead). The titular character is on the never-ending hunt for The Artifact, but along the way mostly does good deeds for downtrodden citizens and picks up new and improved weapons at every turn.

A third-person action-RPG situated on an initially disorienting spherical plane (albeit a very big one with only a vague feeling of being on a globe), DeathSpank interacts with villagers and accepts simple collecting or killing missions, picking up weapons and trading inferior ones for cash.

Unlike the best dungeon crawlers, there isn’t a lot of emphasis placed on item collection, but the frequency by which new weapons are retrieved (which can then be mapped onto the action buttons for easy use) is enough incentive to plow through the repetitive missions. The humour is also pretty awkward, making fun of superhero types with a few other nerdisms tossed in for good measure.