Gameplay

After an earlier failed attempt a few years back to run the Steam environment on my PC, I tried again a couple of months ago.

I was enticed into it by a free offer to experience Portal – a game of which I had heard much, and was intrigued by.

Steam ran much better this time around, and I very much enjoyed Portal. So much so, that I purchased Portal 2, and found it even better. The atmosphere, the humour, and the characterisation of the two protagonists, Wheatley and GLAADOS, are terrific (in all senses of the term) in Portal 2.

Buoyed with my success of running Steam and Portal (1 and 2), I looked around for similar games. I found LIMBO, and I bought it.

I have to say that while I can appreciate the craft that has gone into it, I find it almost impossible to play for any length of time. That’s not just because it is difficult (and it is for me, requiring lightning responses that I no longer possess), but also because my character dies – a lot. In fact, my character dies practically every step the poor bugger takes, and it’s just too much for me.

Life can be depressing enough – I really don’t want to spend my spare time wallowing in the futility of traipsing through a representation of theology’s Limbo, where the powers that be derive a sadistic pleasure from the manifold ways in which pain and death can be brought about. Religion has brought enough suffering to the human condition, I really don’t need a video game to underline the misery, thank you very much. I think I will leave LIMBO uncompleted.