The game has been listed among the greatest games of all time. A common point of criticism from reviewers was that the high cost of the game relative to its short length might deter players from purchasing the title, but some reviews proposed that Limbo had an ideal length. Limbo received critical acclaim, but its minimal story polarised critics some critics found the open-ended work to have deeper meaning that tied well with the game's mechanics, while others believed the lack of significant plot and abrupt ending detracted from the game. Based on its aesthetics, reviewers classified Limbo as an example of video games as an art form. Journalists praised the dark presentation, describing the work as comparable to film noir and German Expressionism.

The game is presented in black-and-white tones, using lighting, film grain effects and minimal ambient sounds to create an eerie atmosphere often associated with the horror genre. Playdead called the style of play 'trial and death', and used gruesome imagery for the boy's deaths to steer the player from unworkable solutions. The developer built the game's puzzles expecting the player to fail before finding the correct solution. The player guides an unnamed boy through dangerous environments and traps as he searches for his sister. Limbo is a 2D side-scroller, incorporating a physics system that governs environmental objects and the player character. The game was released in July 2010 on Xbox Live Arcade, and has since been ported by Playdead to several other systems, including the PlayStation 3, Linux and Microsoft Windows. Limbo is a puzzle- platform video game developed by independent studio Playdead and originally published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360.

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