It was surprisingly graphic for how sparsely the game visually presents itself. The young boy’s journey begins in a woodland area but gradually becomes more and more industrialized flowing into factory settings. The background is almost always gloomy and speaks of other boys who lost their lives to the grown men who inhabit Limbo or committed suicide. Mysterious men place traps and snares, at one point even giving chase with guns to hunt down and kill the young boy. In the background, you can see faint outlines of tree-houses, industrial complexes, swampland, and steel girders.

The overall tone of the game is very muted; silent and hopeless. The sound composition of the game follows suit to enhance the feel of Limbo. There is almost no music in the game and for the most part, the only sounds that you hear are some ambient noise and the sound of your own interactions with the environment.

All of these things would not matter if Limbo did not function as a competent platformer. In this area it falls a bit short, but only in certain nitpicky areas. For the most part, Limbo performs admirably. The best platforms are those that take basic skills learned throughout the game and apply them in interesting and challenging ways. You can interact with the environment, move right and left, and jump. That is it. However, moving through the game reveals other tools, boxes that can be moved, gravity machines and magnets, ropes, and bear traps. One of the most interesting involves a mind-controlling slug that attaches itself to the boy's cranium and forces him to travel in a single direction. There is not a single repeated challenge or puzzle that I can recall. I can remember being frustrated by difficult puzzles, but never enough to make me want to stop playing. These are all points to Limbo’s credit.