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I went through the demo of Limbo and it looks like a pretty cool game. I'm thinking about purchasing it, but I've heard criticism that it is very short, and the small number of achievements seems to reinforce that idea.

Approximately how long does it take to play through the entire game?

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  • 2
    Does it really matter?
    – badp
    Sep 7, 2010 at 15:40
  • 4
    @badp value = time*enjoyment/cost, he already knows enjoyment (from the demo) and he can look up cost, so what he really wants is time to complete this equation. I think its a very worthwhile question.
    – tzenes
    Sep 7, 2010 at 15:55
  • @tzenes, I'm just linking to the ongoing discussion in the gaming industry about game length and value.
    – badp
    Sep 7, 2010 at 16:57
  • ah, well then thank you for your contribution, it was a great read and I really enjoyed it.
    – tzenes
    Sep 7, 2010 at 17:29
  • @badp He wouldn't ask if it didn't matter
    – arkon
    Sep 2, 2016 at 22:39

3 Answers 3

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There is an achievement for completing the game in one sitting, with 5 deaths or less, so I would think that for the standard player, it shouldn't be very long. I completed it in one sitting myself, and it took me between 2 and 3 hours. for 1,200 points, I'd expected a bit more, but the atmosphere and ambiance in the game mostly made up for my feelings of being shortchanged.

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  • Thanks. That combined with the fact that it doesn't seem to have much re playability makes me hesitant to drop $20 on it. However, the atmosphere is incredible. Reminds me a lot of braid in that respect.
    – JohnFx
    Sep 7, 2010 at 22:08
  • Additionally, aside from the eggs for achievements, there are also other eggs to find that go towards the 111% maximum completion score. These eggs are harder to find, as there are no clues for them.
    – FAE
    Sep 7, 2010 at 22:37
  • @JohnFx - If you're really into 'art house' style games like Braid, then I think Limbo would probably be worth the $20 to you, although that's really up to you.
    – GnomeSlice
    Sep 8, 2010 at 1:06
  • @JohnFX: $20? Isn't it $15?
    – jamesdlin
    Sep 12, 2010 at 4:12
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    FYI: I did eventually purchase and play-through it in about 3.5 hours. All in all, it was probably worth it. My only complaint is that the minimalistic nature of the game made most of the puzzles very easy to solve.
    – JohnFx
    Sep 21, 2010 at 16:09
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According to this Gamastutra article, about 4 hours, up to 5 or 6 if you get stuck on some of the puzzles.

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  • That seems a bit high...
    – GnomeSlice
    Sep 7, 2010 at 21:47
  • Some sites list even longer times, but that article seemed in line with the consensus. Play length is a subjective description anyway - completely depends on the player.
    – Dave Cowart
    Sep 8, 2010 at 13:55
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I don't generally speak in hours, as it's really not a good metric in my opinion. (Of course, when it comes to puzzle games, throw every metric out the window because everyone plays differently.)

Generally speaking, the demo is approximately 1/6th the full game. Bearing in mind that the puzzles only get harder, so YMMV in terms of how long it takes you to solve a particular one. God knows I took a lot longer for some…

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  • I like the comparison of game length to the demo length - I think it gives a good feel for the amount of gameplay you get relative to how you play the game.
    – Dave Cowart
    Sep 9, 2010 at 17:19

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