The Xbox Live Summer of Arcade was first conceived back in 2008, and bore some delicious gaming fruit, including the iconic puzzle platformer Braid. Two years on, and the 2010 Summer of Arcade is about to kick off with yet another glorious indie title which is going to flip Xbox Live Arcade on its head all over again.

Limbo is easily one of the most unique, dark and incredibly inventive puzzlers I’ve ever played. Through every excessively gruesome death and tension-riddled setpiece, my smile was fixed firmly in position. Simply put – if you own an Xbox 360, Limbo is an essential purchase.

GAMEPLAY

This is a physics-based platformer in which physics is not your friend. Taking control of an unknown, unnamed child, your task is to traverse a gloomy yet atmospheric world simply caked in mystery. There are pits to bound over, boxes to push and ladders to climb, and throughout play the game has only one mission on its mind – it wants you to die many, many times.

There is always something out to get you. Bear traps sit around waiting for you to stand on them, giant spiders are keen to have you for lunch and gravity wants to have a barrel of laughs at your expense.

It’ll be you that has the last laugh, however, as dying is usually hilarious rather than frustrating. Like in Terry Cavanagh’s VVVVVV, death means nothing, as you’ll respawn at the start of whichever puzzle you’re currently attempting. Hence, rather than worry about biting the dust, you can enjoy every cunningly placed obstacle to its fullest, even when it is taking the head off your hero.

PlayDead Studios are devious buggers, leading you into traps again and again. Everything is in its place for a reason, and most of the time I found myself walking straight into setpieces just to see what would happen. I was never disappointed either – there’s no blood, but instead you hear the boy’s bones crack, and his body folds into a mess on the floor. It’s a minimalist style of gruesome, and yet I feel his pain far more than if blood and guts were spewing all over the screen.

The entire game is set out as a single level, connected together for the entire three hour playthrough without any break in sight. It’s a wonderful idea, keeping the player fully immersed in Limbo‘s world from beginning to end, with absolutely no loading times to speak of.

The level of crazy slowly increases throughout, too – without going into too much spoiler material, puzzles are fairly tame to begin with, but eventually rise into the realms of utterly mental. Just when you think the game can’t get anymore twisted, it gives you a firm kick in the groin. There are some real head-scratchers to deal with, yet the action never gets frustratingly difficult, and each moment of enlightenment is sheer bliss. Limbo doesn’t just rival Braid for the Xbox Live Arcade puzzler crown – it swipes the top spot straight from Jonathon Blow’s classic without question.

STYLE

Limbo is presented entirely in black and white, with the minimalist setting providing a hauntingly atmospheric environment. Darkness looms in every corner, and certain sections of play teem with tension, lingering in the forefront of your mind.

While it all looks gorgeous in screenshots, you really need to experience Limbo in motion to understand just how stunning the world is. It’s easily the most beautiful game on the Xbox Live Arcade service, but it would also give a large portion of Xbox retail releases a run for their money, too.

The sound, too, is incredibly minimalist. Music only plays at a few specific moments throughout, usually when some sort of extravagant action is taking place. Yet this is an experience which requires no soundtrack, due to some perfectly-placed samples.

Pulling the leg off a giant spider (if ever such a thing was possible) could not sound any more right than it does here. If a huge circular saw was swiftly heading toward me, I imagine my last thought would be ‘this sounded a lot better in Limbo‘. PlayDead have absolutely nailed every splash, crack and wallop to an wonderfully eerie and chilling degree.

STORY

It is the story – or perhaps that should be lack of – that defines Limbo‘s mysterious journey. Waking up in dark, twisted underbelly of a world, our young protagonist must make his way safely through this place teeming with death.

The game’s marketplace description simply states that the boy has entered Limbo to find his sister. There is absolutely no explanation whatsoever as to where Limbo is, or where he is headed, allowing the player to create their own scenario. Of course, if we take the name Limbo from a theology prespective, this could very well be the edge of Hell. This would not, however, explain many of the strange sightings witnessed throughout play.

However, even without reading the description, it is clear from early on that this is a voyage bound in love. The level of mystery surrounding the boy and this world is fantastic, proving that sometimes a complete lack of words can be more powerful that a fully scripted experience.

OTHER

I’ve tried my hardest, but I honestly cannot think of a single bad thing to say about Limbo. Is it too short? Possibly, but then again with a single play clocking in at around three hours, and a second playthrough to bag all the achievements offering another two, it’s far from an abrupt length.

Perhaps it’s a little too difficult in places. I found myself stuck twice, but the answer quickly came to me both times. Puzzlers like this are my forte, however, and other gamers may stumble with certain solutions.

Yet compared to everything on offer, this matters not a jolt. Limbo is the best indie game – hell, the best game – I have played this year, and I would wager that will not have changed come December. It’s clever, it’s gloriously mental, and it should have a place on your Xbox 360.

Pass this up at your own risk.

Stuck on a puzzle? Check out our full walkthrough and achievement guide for Limbo.