Limbo
Platforms: Nintendo Wii U, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita and Xbox One
Genres: Narrative, Platform and Puzzle
Released: June 2013, updated in 2015. Added to this library 4 months ago, last updated 10 weeks ago.
Overview
Control a small boy as he runs, jumps and climbs through a dark, silhouetted forest that clanks and hums with foreboding. As the age-rating suggests, he is killed in all manner of gruesome ways. But this is not without reason. Rather than violent indulgence, the repeated downfall of the child builds a protective relationship between the player and their charge. He needs protection, but he also needs meaning. His willing march into the unknown at your command shows great courage and the need to reach his sister.
The wordless interactions with the boy create a powerful parental relationship to get him where he needs to be, whether that’s to safety or being reunited with his own family.
This game is good if you want to muse on deep topics or take on baddies with fists and guns.
Commitment
Costs
This game is free with PlayStation Now. This game is free with Origin Access. This game is free on Android, including any in-game purchases and without adverts, on Google Play Pass.
Ratings
Accessibility
System settings: The Wii U has some limited settings, such as disabling rumble and selecting mono audio. PlayStation 4 has a range of accessibility settings. Some are system only, some work in games (invert colours and button mapping). Xbox One has a wide range of system features including some that can be used on all games, like the excellent co-pilot mode... read more.
Similar Games
The following games address a similar topic or offer a similar way to play. They are good options to play after Limbo, and also offer a range of alternatives for different age ratings.
Stray
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5
Genres: Adventure, Narrative and Puzzle
Players: This is a single player game.
Costs: Purchase cost.
Stray is a game about a cat lost in a futuristic city where robots live. YOu guide your feline friend in and out of buildings, across roads and generally poke your nose in to see what is going on.
The Pedestrian
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Players: This is a single player game.
Costs: Free-to-start.
The Pedestrian is a puzzle game where you control a stick man navigating a series of road signs around a virtual city. It sounds a little odd and quite simple, but by layering its interconnected sign-based puzzles it creates an experience that is both...
Hue
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One
Duration: Between 5 hours and 7 hours to complete.
Players: This is a single player game.
Costs: Purchase cost.
Hue is a puzzle game where you run and jump through platforms. You explore a grey land while searching for your missing mother. The novelty is in the coloured pieces you uncover, which when matched against obstacles will cause them to disappear,...
QWOP
Platforms: Android, Mac, PC and iOS
Genres: Action, Simulation and Sports
Duration: Between 1 minute and 3 minutes to play a round.
Players: This is a single player game.
Costs: Free.
QWOP is a sports game with a difference. You have to control each limb of your virtual athlete. This changes it from a challenge of hitting buttons to using the touch screen or keyboard to deftly co-ordinate movement to gain forward motion. It's really...
Fractured Minds
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One
Genres: Adventure, Narrative and Puzzle
Duration: Between 1 hour and 2 hours to complete.
Players: This is a single player game.
Costs: Purchase cost.
Fractured Minds is a short game that explores the implications of living with mental illness. You explore everyday spaces that behave in strange and sometimes disturbing ways. To progress, you need to solve some simple puzzles.
Shadow Puppeteer
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Genres: Adventure and Platform
Duration: Between 4 hours and 7 hours to complete.
Players: You can play with 2 players in the same room, but you can’t play it online.
Costs: Purchase cost.
In Shadow Puppeteer one player controls a shadow and the other player controls the main character. Their task is to help each other progress through a series of platform levels to recover stolen shadows from their hometown.
Canabalt
Platforms: Android, PC, PlayStation Portable and iOS
Duration: Between 1 minute and 15 minutes to play a round.
Players: You can play with 2 players in the same room, but you can’t play it online.
Costs: Purchase cost.
Canabalt is a side-on running game where you press jump at the right time to keep a small character from falling off buildings or crashing into things. With minimalist visuals, you play the small suited man fleeing from an unknown threat. As the game...
Gris
Platforms: Android, Mac, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4 and iOS
Genres: Adventure, Narrative and Platform
Duration: Between 4 hours and 6 hours to complete.
Players: This is a single player game.
Costs: Purchase cost.
Gris is a platform game where you guide a young girl through a crumbling world. Through beautiful metaphoric landscapes and soaring music, the game touches on emotions of loss and longing but doesn’t resolve to a firm narrative. Although not hugely...
Child of Light
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Wii U, PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Xbox 360 and Xbox One
Genres: Narrative and Platform
Duration: Between 12 hours and 16 hours to complete.
Players: This is a single player game.
Costs: Purchase cost. In-game purchases.
Child of Light is a platform game presented like a fairy tale, where you play a young girl, Aurora, on a quest to save her kingdom from the darkness. Battle encounters break up the adventure and power up your character. To finally make it home, you must...
Flashback
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One
Genres: Adventure, Narrative and Platform
Duration: Between 6 hours and 8 hours to complete.
Players: This is a single player game.
Costs: Purchase cost.
Flashback is a running and jumping game with a strong narrative. Made in the 90s it's similar to Another World and Prince of Persia.
Nidhogg
Platforms: Mac, PC, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita
Genres: Action, Fighting, Rhythm and Shooting
Duration: Between 1 hour and 2 hours to complete.
Players: You can play with 2 players in the same room and up to 2 players online.
Costs: Purchase cost.
Nidhogg is a fast two-player duelling game whose simple visuals belie the skill required to defeat your opponent. The novelty is that upon death you reappear in the next screen. The player to advance through the most screens wins.
Never Alone
Platforms: Android, Mac, Nintendo Wii U, PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One and iOS
Genres: Action, Adventure, Narrative and Platform
Duration: Between 3 hours and 5 hours to complete.
Players: This is a single player game.
Costs: Purchase cost. In-game purchases.
Never Alone is a running, jumping and exploring game based on the traditional Iñupiaq tale, "Kunuuksaayuka". You swap between controlling an Iñupiaq girl named Nuna and her Arctic fox companion as you complete puzzles and move the story forwards.
Another World
Platforms: Android, Nintendo 2DS/3DS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and iOS
Genres: Action, Adventure, Fighting, Narrative and Platform
Duration: Between 3 hours and 4 hours to complete.
Players: This is a single player game.
Costs: Purchase cost.
Another World (Out of This World in North America) is a retro cinematic running, jumping and shooting game about a young scientist who, as a result of a failed experiment finds himself on a dangerous alien world where he is forced to fight for his...
Deadlight
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One
Genres: Narrative and Platform
Duration: Between 5 hours and 8 hours to complete.
Players: This is a single player game.
Costs: Purchase cost.
Deadlight takes the monochrome running, jumping and shooting action in a more mature direction and with a deeper and coherent story. It draws on older (and equally excellent) platform games Another World and Flashback. You control Randall Wayne, a...
Inside
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and iOS
Genres: Action, Adventure, Narrative and Platform
Duration: Between 8 hours and 13 hours to complete.
Players: This is a single player game.
Costs: Free-to-start. In-game purchases.
Inside is from the same developer as Limbo. As such, you play another boy in a dark dream-light and horrific world. Here though, it's more modern-day and realistic.
Limbo is in These Lists
In addition to the similar games listed above, which have been linked to this game specifically in the database, you may find games with a similar theme to Limbo in the following lists:
Matinee Fisticuffs and Shootouts
Free With PlayStation Now
- PlayStation Now costs £8.99/month
- PlayStation Plus costs £6.99/month
- Screen Share – Let's someone in another place watch your game on their PlayStation. PlayStation Plus is not required for either party
- Pass the Controller – Let's someone in another place take turns on a game you own, without owning the game themselves. PlayStation Plus is required for the host, but not for the guest
- Playing Together – Let's you play local co-op or split screen games with someone in another place who has a PlayStation. PlayStation Plus is required for both players
Interpret Deeper Meaning
These are two publications for Christian audiences, that have invited me to shed light on what a range of video games might mean for those communities. I aim to make connections with faith, the bible and the experience of these video games. This is one way to interpret them which of course invites further and possibly counter interpretations from other perspectives. YCW articles:
Firewatch | Everything | Bury Me My Love | Abzu | Wilmot's Warehouse
Thirdway Articles:
Proteus | Joust | Uncharted 3 | Alan Wake | This War of Mine | Journey | Limbo | Spaceteam | A Dark Room | Altos Adventure | A Year Walk | Bioshock Infinite | The Last of Us | Disney Infinity | Everybody's Gone to the Rapture | That Dragon Cancer | Spec Ops The Line | Papo and Yo
Free With Origin Access
- Basic (£3.99/Month) grants access to games but not other in-game purchases. Very new games are sometimes restricted to a demo.
- Advance (£14.99/Month) grants access to even the newest EA games and includes in-game purchases.
Free With Google Play Pass
- Gives access to a curated catalogue of premium apps and games.
- No ads or in-app purchases.
- Share access with up to 6 total family members.
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