Have you ever dreamed of living as a boney snake exploring the afterlife? Then this game might be right up your alley. Kulebra and the Souls of Limbo’s release is just around the corner, and the million-dollar question is whether it is worth playing. In this review, we’ll do our best to answer that very question and give you our thoughts and opinions of this brand new release.
The good
There are a lot of things that I really liked about Souls of Limbo. For starters, the story was compelling and really kept me hooked throughout the whole game. The game follows the Bright Soul, Kulebra, who is new to the world of Limbo. Though he doesn’t remember anything about his past, he begins to travel all across Limbo, helping any souls that he can. While the plot is simple, it does a great job of connecting the different areas of Limbo and making your choices feel like they matter. I was always wondering what was going to happen to the various characters and was always left guessing where Kulebra’s journey would take him next.
The characters really help make this game so much more memorable. Each chapter of the game has, for the most part, a brand new cast of characters. Learning each character’s story, their wants and fears, and ultimately seeing them find closure is very satisfying and really left a lasting impression on me. The characters greatly enhance the story and are definitely one of my favorite parts of the game.
The gameplay, while simple, is intuitive with a plethora of mechanics that come back around time and time again. From mixing herbicides to examining different items, these different mechanics not only form the game’s core gameplay, but many also tie into the story, giving it an extra level of depth. The game also doesn’t bombard the player with tons of new mechanics at once; it teaches new mechanics bit by bit, allowing the player to get a grasp on mechanics before being taught new ones. Then, many of the mechanics are brought back later, forcing the player to test their knowledge not only of in-game events, but of the various skills that they’ve learned along the way.
Kulebra and the Souls of Limbo’s best attribute, in my opinion, is it’s art style. It is phenomenal. You can clearly see the inspiration taken from games like Paper Mario, mixed with elements reminiscent of Day of the Dead culture. The result is an extremely unique game that stands out from other indie games. The hand-drawn designs of the different characters, combined with the cardboard panorama design of the world of Limbo, were such a treat to see. It’s easy to see the passion and creativity that was put into this game, and I hope to see more creative and unique styles in more games to come.
The bad
There’s not much that Souls of Limbo gets wrong, but it does have its faults. This game’s main flaw is its linearity. For most of the game, the story, and the world by extension, feel quite narrow. Most of the obstacles that players run into can only be solved one way, and a lot of times, that solution is quite obvious. This hinders the gameplay a lot of the time and kills the game’s challenge for the most part. This also means that the player lacks any real agency, which is a shame. If certain puzzles had more than one solution and if the game had more diverging storylines, it would really help flesh out the world and allow players to use their creativity, giving the gameplay more of an edge. This does sort of happen starting from Chapter 4, but I wish we could see more diverging plotlines in the earlier chapters
Because of this linearity, this game isn’t that replayable. For the most part, players will know what happens in the story and how to solve all the puzzles in the game, which doesn’t really give them any reason to go back and replay the game. There are some exceptions, and the different collectables and side quests do help remedy this problem, but overall, it still doesn’t give the game the replay value for players to keep coming back.
Final thoughts
Kulebra and the Souls of Limbo is an extremely unique game that has an interesting premise, memorable characters, and a wonderfully expressive art style. While the game might be a little more linear in nature, the story and the characters found throughout Limbo really helps this game stand out amidst a sea of up and coming indie titles. If you’re looking for a short and sweet indie to play, you can’t go wrong with Kulebra and the Souls of Limbo.
Explore the world of the dead in Kulebra and the Souls of Limbo when it releases on May 16 for Steam, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch.
