Limbo

This brilliant and occasionally scary puzzler manages to bring players in on a mysterious journey across a surprising, and dangerous world. In Limbo, players need to use objects governed by realistic physics to create avenues of progress. You’ll push logs, cause platforms to swing by running from one end to another, and even alter gravity. The conundrums are often bedeviling, but they always make sense.

Even more interesting than the brilliant puzzles, though, is the game’s wordless narrative. Setting, journey, objectives; everything about Limbo is open to interpretation. To discuss its vagaries here would taint the impressions of those who have yet to play, which would be a shame. But you may want to keep these questions in mind as you head in: How did the boy arrive here? What is his purpose? What do his enemies represent? The game’s makers seem to have spent as much time contemplating the meaning of the experience as they have programming it. The result is a game that is thought-provoking, timeless, and evidence that interactive entertainment can be used as a means of smart artistic expression.