GOG.com announced on Thursday that both of Playdead's grim but beloved titles, Limbo and Inside, will be leaving the DRM-free platform on July 17th. While there is no stated cause for the delistings some have speculated that the ongoing legal spat between Playdead co-founders Dino Patti and Arnt Jensen could be to blame. I personally
Limbo is the archetypal “scared little guy in big scary world dark artsy platform-puzzle indy game”. Personally I found it overrated. Nice enough art style, but nothing of substance - extremely basic gameplay, no plot. Just a series of scary monsters killing you until you trial-and-error your way to the next section.
Platforming is not supposed to be tricky and the puzzles are really well designed and manageable (I usually look up puzzle solutions after a few minutes and never had the urge during Limbo or Inside).
I really enjoyed them, but I wouldn’t say there’s any replayablility there. I enjoy the dark atmosphere and a lot of the fun for me was just the discovery and seeing what sort of creepy stuff coming next. Once the games were finished I didn’t feel the urge to play them again.
Both look really cool, but I am really not a big platformer guy so I’m unsure. Inside is 90% off on GOG though so might pick it up for a dollar and a half. Limbo is full price and even though it’s just $10 I don’t know that I’d like it enough. How hard is the platforming and the puzzles?
they’re not really platformers like, eg. Mario, they’re a lot slower with the focus being on environmental puzzles (levers, boxes, elevators, avoiding obvious enemy sight etc), with the occasional escape sequences here and there. The puzzles aren’t really any sort of headscratchers, basically “how do I get there? oh, I drop this box to break the floor here (telegraphed hard)”
If Little Nightmares -series is familiar, they’re basically like that. While the puzzles aren’t hard, they’re generally timed to allow the obvious enemy to get close enough for the player to “pucker up” a bit and then flee the scene with a relief.
How good are these games? Are they worth buying before the delisting just to have them?
Limbo is a great game, Inside is a fucking masterpiece.
Limbo is the archetypal “scared little guy in big scary world dark artsy platform-puzzle indy game”. Personally I found it overrated. Nice enough art style, but nothing of substance - extremely basic gameplay, no plot. Just a series of scary monsters killing you until you trial-and-error your way to the next section.
I played both, loved them but I understand it’s not for everyone, given the creepy/dark atmosphere.
The creepy/dark atmosphere is actually the thing that appeals to me about them! It’s the platforming and puzzles I am worried about.
Platforming is not supposed to be tricky and the puzzles are really well designed and manageable (I usually look up puzzle solutions after a few minutes and never had the urge during Limbo or Inside).
Having played both, the answer is definitely yes. They’re not particularly long, but really solid
I really enjoyed them, but I wouldn’t say there’s any replayablility there. I enjoy the dark atmosphere and a lot of the fun for me was just the discovery and seeing what sort of creepy stuff coming next. Once the games were finished I didn’t feel the urge to play them again.
I haven’t played inside, but limbo is absolutely fantastic.
Inside was better than Limbo for me, if that helps. Limbo was cool, but Inside had crazy atmospheric storytelling.
Both look really cool, but I am really not a big platformer guy so I’m unsure. Inside is 90% off on GOG though so might pick it up for a dollar and a half. Limbo is full price and even though it’s just $10 I don’t know that I’d like it enough. How hard is the platforming and the puzzles?
they’re not really platformers like, eg. Mario, they’re a lot slower with the focus being on environmental puzzles (levers, boxes, elevators, avoiding obvious enemy sight etc), with the occasional escape sequences here and there. The puzzles aren’t really any sort of headscratchers, basically “how do I get there? oh, I drop this box to break the floor here (telegraphed hard)”
If Little Nightmares -series is familiar, they’re basically like that. While the puzzles aren’t hard, they’re generally timed to allow the obvious enemy to get close enough for the player to “pucker up” a bit and then flee the scene with a relief.
Let’s just say I also don’t play platformers, basically ever. It was fine.
People love them. They’ve talked about them for years. They show up on best indie game lists and the like.
I find them incredibly boring.