Games Like Limbo [6 Dark and Shivering Journeys to Try]
Environmental-puzzle games have gained popularity in recent years because they allow developers to express their ideas in the most transparent way possible. Limbo is one of the gems of the genre, depicting dark but expressive scenarios that will make you weak in the knees from the start. Come and discover the best Games like Limbo and find your fate on your next adventure.
Games Like Limbo [6 Dark and Shivering Journeys to Try]
What Is Limbo?
Release Date : July 21, 2020
Developer : Playdead
Publishers: Microsoft Game Studios | Playdead
Platforms : Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, OS X, Linux, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation Vita, iOS, Android
Metascore : 90
Indie games are the right place for developers to create their works of art and bring their interests and vision of the gaming world to life. Many of these creators focus on video games with beautiful visuals in which solving puzzles and progressing through a side-scrolling scenario are the cornerstones of the game.
A notable case of the above is Limbo, a platform game with a very special aesthetic and an interesting and deep story that you must experience in the first person. Limbo focuses almost exclusively on solving environmental puzzles and avoiding traps and physical dangers. These complex puzzles involve magnets, ladders, machinery, and other resources and objects that you will find in the setting.
Limbo stands out for its grayscale graphics and expressive biomes that, despite the monochromatic color palette, truly reflect what the main character, a nameless young boy, feels at every moment.
Now, for similar experiences with puzzles as difficult as those you find in Limbo, check out the games below. They will really surprise you!
The Best Games Like Limbo
Subsequent games, like Limbo, master the freakish settings and puzzle-solving mechanics to levels never seen before. Experiment with your next dark ride with the masterpieces below.
Little Nightmares
Release Date : April 18, 2017
Developer : Tarsier Studios
Publisher: Bandai Namco Entertainment
Platforms : PC, Android, Google Stadia, iOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Metascore : 81
The reasons why the first game on this list is Little Nightmares, come to the fore as soon as you witness its gameplay, aesthetics, lighting, and overall atmosphere. Like Limbo, Little Nightmares is a game in which you must solve complex puzzles but in a horror environment where strange things happen. You control a little boy who traverses various rooms and scenarios as he tries to escape from a mysterious and menacing creature.
The 2.5D maps of Little Nightmares are really important elements that help build the atmosphere of fear. Since you can only run in one direction without knowing what lurks around the corner, the music, lighting, and camera movement also contribute to creating a perfect atmosphere of despair and loneliness.
Just like in Limbo, in Little Nightmares, you lack combat skills. That's why you must solve the clever puzzles of this imaginary world as soon as possible to hide from monsters and other deadly creatures.
I especially highlight the terrifying background and impressive atmosphere of Little Nightmares, a puzzle game you should try if you like horror movies, platforms, and deciphering mysteries.
Key features:
A beautiful game with scary overtones that takes place in a mysterious world.
A dark, whimsical tale involving a kid facing their childhood fears!
Multiple challenging puzzles that will really make you think!
Little Nightmares Steam CD Key is available on RoyalCDKeys.
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
Release Date : August 7, 2013
Developer : Starbreeze Studios
Publisher: 505 Games
Platforms : Microsoft Windows, iOS, Android, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Windows Phone, Nintendo Switch
Metascore : 90
When it comes to solving puzzles in a natural game world, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is a title that cannot be missing from this list. This title is so magnificent that it stands out for creating a unique atmosphere and background for the sad story it tells.
Unlike Limbo, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is a 3D title. This condition really helps you understand the beautiful environments and nature where the game takes place. It also makes puzzle solving easier, as the top-down perspective shows you all the tools, resources, mechanics, and factors that are key to successfully dealing with them. Furthermore, the interaction between the two brothers is nothing less than excellent and is crucial to exploring every corner of the environment, overcoming puzzles, and continuing to advance.
Brothers is a great adventure through nice and attractive biomes that you can explore while witnessing all the details, such as rivers, vegetation, rocks, animals, characters, etc. In this sense, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is a visual journey that truly focuses on an ocular experience that challenges players with its unique puzzles and sorrowful story.
Key Features:
You and your brother must survive in a harsh environment and discover the cure for their father.
A journey full of mysteries, surprises, obstacles, and puzzles that will make your imagination fly.
Beautiful graphics and an emotional story inspired by fairy tales.
Brothers: A Teal of Two Brothers Steam CD Key is available on RoyalCDKeys.
Oddworld: New ‘n' Tasty!
Release Date : July 22, 2014
Developer : Just Add Water
Publisher: Oddworld Inhabitants
Platforms : Nintendo Switch, macOS, PC, iOS, Android, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S
Metascore : 86
Oddworld: New ‘n' Tasty! is a remaster of Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee, a title originally released in 1997. At first glance, it does not look very similar to Limbo since Oddworld features saturated colors and highly alive environments with plenty of effects, things of motion, enemies, and other elements that fill the screen.
However, it shares a cinematic approach with Limbo. Both titles build their gameplay based on the illumination of scenarios, what you can or cannot see on the map, and how the camera shows the environment through side-scrolling movement.
Oddworld: New ‘n' Tasty! is one of those games with charming and impressive 2.5D maps – very similar to Little Nightmares in this sense– that you fall in love with just seeing it. Moreover, the game boasts incredible charisma with characters that overflow with liveliness and attitude.
In New 'n' Tasty!, you'll find a notable difference from Limbo in the ability to interact with and guide other characters of your own race, the Mudokons. Through dialogue and actions, you must navigate Mudokons—who are either imprisoned or enslaved—towards freedom. These interactions feel natural and work great as they will challenge your intellect. In other words, you’ll have to solve puzzles willy-nilly as trying to liberate the 299 Mudokons that are trapped in the despairing world of New ‘n' Tasty!
Key Features:
A classic of the past, remastered with new graphics and better animations.
Multiple puzzles that will make you come up with the best solution to prevent fellow Mudokons from dying.
It is a slow-paced progress across a world full of dangers and traps.
Oddworld: New ‘n' Tasty! Steam CD Key is available on RoyalCDKeys.
Gris
Release Date : December 13, 2018
Developer : Nomada Studio
Publisher: Devolver Digital
Platforms : Nintendo Switch, macOS, PC, iOS, Android, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S
Metascore : 84
Gris is one of those platform games in which you don’t have to do more than let yourself be enchanted by the beauty of its surroundings and aesthetics. It is one of those platformers that was made to witness the belle of its environments and settings and enjoy a chilling and relaxing experience while advancing through a vast setting with puzzles and smart challenges.
Platforming is the cornerstone of Gris's gameplay. As such, the protagonist’s interaction with structures and other objects is crucial to reaching new zones and even discovering secrets that expand the game's lore.
From a certain point of view, Gris is more of a Metroidvania than a striking platformer. However, its lack of enemies makes it a calm-jumping experience in which you don’t have anything to lose. The only thing gamers should worry about is recovering their memories of the world they inhabit and unraveling the terrible secret behind its lack of color.
Playing Gris feels like a quiet walk through the park, where your only hope is to have a relaxing experience. Undoubtedly, Gris is a worth-checking title for fans of the platform genre and outstanding watercolor visuals.
Key Features:
A beautiful world with plenty of colors that express feelings and emotions.
Play as Gris, overcome a magical city, and complete your journey of discovery and realization.
A chill platformer experience where you do not have to fight against anyone.
Gris Steam CD Key is available on RoyalCDKeys.
My Friend Pedro
Release Date : June 20, 2019
Developer : DeadToast Entertainment
Publisher: Devolver Digital
Platforms : Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PlayStation 4
Metascore : 81
My Friend Pedro is probably the most distinctive game on this list because it is a shoot-em-up with a lot of violence, danger, mutilated limbs, and blood. Through a side-scrolling 2.5D setting, you'll interact with walls and other structures to move forward while killing everything in your path. However, My Friend Pedro also shares some concepts and aspects with Limbo.
Both titles feature a silent protagonist who must traverse several thematic maps full of dangers and threats. Okay, maybe in My Friend, you're not surrounded by darkness, but the danger of getting your head blown off is just the same!
I would classify My Friend Pedro as a bullet hell video game since most of the mechanics involve dodging bullets in a small space full of enemies. However, the multiple ways to interact with the structures, such as doing parkour or kicking objects, enrich the experience. Physics in the game is hallucinating and looks like something out of an action movie like The Matrix.
Plot-wise, My Friend may be a little silly or surreal, but it has its charm. You are on a mission at the behest of a banana named Pedro. Just be brave, follow Pedro's instructions, and escape the danger that surrounds you.
Key Features:
Follow the journey of a silent protagonist in their attempts to escape from dealers.
Vast and intricate scenarios you must traverse thanks to special abilities.
A bullet-hell gameplay that requires you to do your best to avoid death.
My Friend Pedro Steam CD Key is available on RoyalCDKeys.
Journey
Release Date : March 13, 2012
Developer : Thatgamecompany
Publishers: Sony Computer Entertainment | Annapurna Interactive
Platforms : Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, iOS
Metascore : 92
Journey was the first game I tried on my PlayStation 4 console. I have high regard for this title because I was stunned from the first moment I touched the controls. Its incredible aesthetics and surroundings are really the main characters of this title.
In Journey, you navigate through natural environments, each with a distinctive color palette and geography, which is directly related to the idea that the game wants to communicate. Some levels are clearly cold and transmit a feeling of solitude and distance. Others, like deserts or flame caves where dominant colors are red or ochre, provide a more alive sensation.
Journey looks like a game from another media—a movie or a poster—but it’s also a huge video game experience you can enjoy without major stress. Everything in Journey is about perception and catching the sensations of colors, music, and illumination. I highly recommend Journey to live your next engaging experience.
Key Features:
Impressive visuals that will steal your attention and heart.
A great journey covered by a deep mystery you must unravel at the end of your path.
Forget everything you know and explore a world with no limits.
The Bottom Line
Whether you want to experience a dark passage through a monster-filled stage or experience a bullet hell simulation, try the Games like Limbo that RoyalCDKeys brings to you, player! The previous titles are incredible quests through surreal settings with a large number of puzzles and challenges to face. Get them here at an unbeatable price!