Where will the good people who have no chance to believe in Jesus go after death? The frontier of hell, the Catholic Church said. But what about the area between heaven and hell? Only repressed black and white, PlayDead tells us.
Limbo, an adventure puzzle solving game that is hard to describe with words other than "gloomy" and "depressed", finally arrived at the iOS platform two and a half years after landing on the PC. When entering the game, the little boy with white light in his eyes stands up. You may be confused in front of the screen, just like me, and click the screen to let him run aimlessly forward. The old film like mottled picture effect and the occasional sound of wind, machine roar, and the footsteps of little boys bring about a thrilling silence. It feels like an unknown creature will jump out and grab you.
Nearby, the silhouette of a little boy is running and climbing; In the distance, grey peaks, beams and hanging corpses outline a lifeless world; At the farthest horizon, the light shed through the thick clouds brings some hope of getting out of the darkness. But can our little boy really cross the edge to find his sister? Or is it a new Limbo waiting for him after breaking through this Limbo?
From the very beginning, the game adopted a bold to surprising setting: there was no hint related to the content, even the most basic and traditional story telling. All we can do is to control the little boy to go all the way, try our best to crack various traps on the way, and finally find the sister who came to Limbo first. The ingenuity of the game's mechanism and puzzle design has to be applauded, and it is very particular about the operation. The sliding of the fingers is slightly skewed, and the little boy's actions may be very different from the expected ones. Although I often encounter situations in the course of the game where I don't know how to continue to move forward, I often sigh that I should eat more fish and come back to Limbo to wander, but it is also because of this that every time I solve a puzzle and break through a mechanism, my sense of achievement is a big blow. But one of the weaknesses of puzzle solving games also exists in Limbo: when playing again, the excitement will fall to the bottom instantly.
Although it can be said that no story element has been added, the unpredictable outcome is also a major driving force for players to continue the game. Is the little boy alive or dead? How did he and his sister end up? What do things in Limbo symbolize? For all these things, it's hard for players who have access to Limbo not to want to know the answer. However, because "Limbo" itself originates from religion, and the meaning of the game is quite obscure, it is really not easy to thoroughly understand the content of the game itself.
But even if we really understand the connotation of Limbo, what's the significance for us ordinary people to celebrate? Instead, focus on enjoying the satisfaction of solving puzzles. By the way, how did I know that the little boy came to Limbo to find his sister? The answer is obvious.
