Limbo is a dark adventure game in a genre that the developers ironically defined as a "test and death". The player is expected to die before reaching the ultimate goal. The game's title is taken from the Latin 'limbus' – the boundary.
The main character of the game is a nameless child searching for his lost sister. Limbo is made in depressive monochrome tones, with a picture augmented by a "noisy" film effect. Many people enjoyed the game precisely because of its unique atmosphere and very aesthetically minimalist appearance.
In terms of mechanics, Limbo is a classic 2D platformer: the main character can move left, right, jump, climb over fences, ascend ropes or ladders, run, push or pull objects. The darkness in Limbo conceals dangerous traps: bear traps in the forest or, for example, bloodthirsty monsters that try to kill the boy: huge spiders, mind-eating worms, and so on. Traps can be bypassed and used later for one's own benefit.
In the second half of the game, the child enters an industrial location, and the traps and snares become completely different: now the danger comes from machines and mechanisms, gravity, and electricity. Many of these traps become apparent only when the boy encounters them and are not visible to the eye.
In the industrial locations, the atmosphere is even more oppressive: swaying dim light bulbs, swarms of small insects, boxes and antennas, power lines — all abandoned and desolate. Sometimes there is so little light that the character's position can only be seen by the glint in his eyes. Limbo is truly infused with loneliness.