Like so many other XBLA exclusives that eventually come to other platforms, I played Limbo much later than everyone else. I really enjoyed it though. Dark, disturbing, and pleasingly puzzly, Limbo is a perfect bite-sized downloadable game. I enjoyed it so much that I wrote all kinds of hints posts for it. Limbo gets a B.

Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles was largely about nostalgia for me. Resident Evil 2 was probably my favorite game on the original Playstation, exceeding even Symphony of the Night. The fact that Umbrella Chronicles retells that story within an on-rails shooter sounded awesome to me.

The reality is that while it was fun to re-experience the story, on-rails shooters never end up being as fun as I want them to be. And like Darkside Chronicles, it got extremely hard towards the end and I was unable to finish the game and see its ending. Too bad. Darkside Chronicles gets a C.

My wife and I have always enjoyed playing RPGs together. We’ve played Dungeon Siege, Icewind Dale 1 & 2, Baldur’s Gate 2, Neverwinter Nights, Champions of Norrath, and we’re currently trying out Hunted: The Demon’s Forge. So back before we’d tried Dungeon Siege 3, we tried Sacred 2.

As it turned out, Sacred 2 wasn’t that great. The game mechanics were weird and hard to grasp, the leveling and combat weren’t satisfying, and in the end we just quit before we got very far. Sacred 2 gets a D.

Before the big holiday releases of 2011 started hitting, Shadow of the Colossus HD was one of my most looked forward to games. I’d loved playing the original, and I’ve always loved replaying good games. Now, I got to replay this one with trophies! It’s ridiculous to think I’d try to get all the lizards or fruits in the game, and I didn’t have much interest in time attack or hard mode, but I did very much enjoy the playthrough. The HD remake of Shadow of the Colossus gets a B. I plan to get to Ico HD sometime in early 2012.

It took me three evenings to finish Limbo, and I’m glad to say that I did it with no walkthrough and no hints. In fact, I plan to get all the game’s trophies with the exception of that one that would have you complete the game in one sitting with five or less deaths. That’s crazy talk. During my second playthrough when I’d died more then ten times before chapter ten, I realized that making it through the entire game with five or less deaths was just not gonna happen. There’s also a hidden level that has you jump over a bandsaw in pitch darkness so that there’s no way to know where to actually jump. Not sure if I’ll finish that hidden level. But the main game I’ve completed.

So this is the third and final article full of Limbo hints. Once again, this is not a walkthrough. If you want walkthroughs, get ye forth to YouTube. You’ll find many. But playing without walkthroughs is such a rewarding experience, and you will enjoy the game more. But… for those times when you’re absolutely stuck, I bring you hints. Not solutions, just gentle nudges that may help you figure out the solution without walking you step-by-step through every little thing you need to do.

Something else I’ve just figured out: I think the chapters in the XBox version of the game and the Playstation 3 version of the game are numbered diferrently. I’ll bet they added more checkpoints (chapters) to the Playstation version. That said, since there are no actual numbers applies to the chapters, the numbering may be really confusing. I’ve named the chapters so that you can go by the descriptions of the elements within each chapter rather than counting white blocks.

That said, here are a few brief hints.

Chapter 20: Twin Cannons
Notice that the top cannon moves
It can destroy more than just you

Chapter 21: The Slow-Sliding Block and the Elevator
At the beginning of the level, you will have to use the same technique more than once. Probably more than twice.
You need two boxes to climb the sliding platform.

Chapter 22: Giant Blocks and the Zipline
Note what all the controls are doing
Momentum is helpful in slowing its reversal

Chapter 23: Spelunking Neon
Timing is key. You’ll have to jump _before_ it’s safe.
It’s going to take more than one press of the switch to get that block where you need it.

Chapter 24: Sawblades and Anti-Gravity
Timing is critical. Jump an instant before gravity reverses.

Here’s the second part of the Lungfishopolis Limbo hints extravaganza. Remember – this is not a walkthrough. If you want walkthroughs, there are plenty on YouTube. But I urge you *not* to use walkthroughs. Limbo’s puzzles can be very challenging, but if you can suck it up and just spend some time and experiment, you can figure them out. And it’s very rewarding – you’ll enjoy the game more. But for when you’re absolutely stuck, I bring you hints. Not solutions, just gentle nudges that may help you figure out the solution without handing it to you outright. Unlike part one of our hints, this article covers every chapter, since the puzzles get a bit harder as the game progresses.

Chapter 10: The Flood
That broken box doesn’t need to float any higher.
Look closely at the water levels, and look at what the levers do to change the water levels. Think Archimedes.

Chapter 11: The Parasite
Sunlight burns the parasite and makes you change directions.
The rising water will cause floating objects to move upwards.

Chapter 12: The Hotel
You can see when the electricity is on and when it’s off. Watch the letter H.
The glass is breakable.

Chapter 13: The Bandsaw
You can control your speed when under the influence of a parasite. Slow down and look around.
Notice the handle on the end of that platform.

Chapter 14: The Elevator
You do need that box.
Notice the handle at the bottom of the elevator.

Chapter 15: The Fly
You’ve got an analog stick. Use it.
Be sneaky.

Chapter 16: The Gear
You need two boxes to get up there.
Set that rope to swinging before you jump on.

Chapter 17: The Machine
Pay attention to exactly what the magnet does.
You’ll just have to wait while things move.

Chapter 18: The Factory
You’re safe while you’re hanging on the edge.

Chapter 19: Minecart Ride
The gears take some time to reverse directions. Use this to your advantage.
Make sure the minecart is still rolling a bit uphill when you jump off it.

Because I don’t have an XBox, I don’t have access to XBLA games until they’re released on other platforms. This is why I never got to try Braid until it was released on Steam. When I eventually got access to the game through Steam, I found out just how hard its puzzles really were, and I was eventually forced to look up walkthroughs, and found this. It was that page that motivated me to create the Braid Hints pages that I posted on this site back in 2009. Those pages continue to be the most popular posts on this site. So now that Limbo has finally come out on PSN and I’ve been able to play, I find it apropos to write up some Limbo Hints.
This isn’t a walkthrough – I’m not going to provide hints on each and every level. If you’re interested in walkthroughs, there are plenty on YouTube. but I’d urge you not to use walkthroughs. The game’s puzzles are sometimes very challenging, but if you can suck it up and just spend some time and experiment, you’re likely to figure them out. And it’s very rewarding – you’ll enjoy the game more.

But for those times when you’re absolutely stuck, when you’ve spent a half hour and more than two game sessions trying to figure out what the hell to do on this or that damn puzzle and you’re at your wits end… I bring you hints. Not solutions, just gentle nudges that may help you figure out the solution without handing it to you outright.

First, a few pointers about the game in general.

• Remember your controls. Aside from the jump button, there’s also a button that lets you pull things. The game doesn’t present you the controls explicitly, so if you haven’t realized that you can pull things, you’ll never get past the first chapter.
• You can swing on ropes as well as climbing them.
• If you can’t get past a certain part and you keep dying, then you’d might as well experiment. Sure, you might get killed, but if you keep dying anyway then what does it matter?
• A couple of Limbo’s toughest puzzles involve waiting. It’s hard to do nothing, and it’s certainly not the first thing you’d think to do, but if it makes sense for the puzzle you’re on, give it a shot.

Okay, now some specifics. I’m not going to cover every chapter, because while there are plenty of parts in the game that may have you scratching your head for a few minutes, there are relatively few that have a chance to hang you up indefinately.

Damn that spider! I can't get near him without being speared like a fish, and he's blocking my progress! There's not much to my left other than an unreachable bear trap in a tree, so what am I supposed to do?

Firstly, that spider isn’t nearly so coordinated as you might think. Try experimenting. Risk dying. Play around while you’re close to him and see what happens. Stop reading right now and go back to the game. Only read the next paragraph if you absolutely need to.

If you’ve gotten your hands on the bear trap, made use of it, and still are stuck, you should note that repetition has value.

What am I supposed to do here? To the left, there's an odd machine with a lever that does nothing. Then there's a ramp that I can get to if I jump hard enough and a frog-looking thing hiding under a ridge. Over to the right there's a hanging rope that I can pull, but it doesn't do much.

As you may have noticed when you first ran up, that frog really wants the glowing stuff growing on the underside of the ramp. Know what I call that? Bait. Stop reading right now and go back to the game. Only read the next paragraph if you absolutely need to.

Impact will knock that crap on down for the frog. From there, it’s all about you mustering whatever speed and timing you can. Good luck.

Come back soon for a second batch of hints on Limbo.