LIMBO: The Story & its Meaning Explained (Horror Game Theories)

Limbo is a very ambiguous horror game full of mystery and symbolism that has sparked conversation as to it's meaning for over a decade since it's original release in 2010. Limbo is a puzzle based platformer in which we assume the role of a young boy who journey through limbo as he attempts to reach the afterlife. In this video we look at everything that occurs during a play-through of Limbo as well as theories about the meaning of its story. By the end of this video you should have a good idea of what this strange game is all about.

Check out LIMBO:

You've been watching SuperHorrorBro Mike and this was a horror game theory video looking at Limbo and the meaning of its story. If you enjoyed this video remember to like, comment and subscribe for more horror related content.

Music by Kevin MacLeod

[destinyhntr]

I personally like the first and second theory combined. Maybe the girl died by falling from the treehouse as a child. Then the boy later died in a car crash. He is trying to get through limbo and reach her so they can leave together.

[viktorijavaicekauskaite]

I have a theory, the window breaking means him escaping limbo, the little girl is his little sister, but she can't climb up the treehouse (heaven), because she is worried about her brother, and the worrying is her own limbo, she has to try and survive those emotions, of the possibility she will never see her brother.

[Matrioshka_Brain]

For some reason, without even uttering a single word this game made me sad. Felt like an emotional journey.

[echoedstars]

This game always freaks me out. It it's such a fun game. It's ine of those games without jumpscares but will give u creepy noises, environments, and deaths.
I totally recommend playing it

[pitched]

The fact that this game has almost no special ending is the most terrifying thing ever

[StratosphereTHAI]

In asian belief,
"Crossing the river" mean "entering the Limbo" so that make sense. . .

[amberdenney]

The description of the game is that he is looking for his sister. Hope this helps. Also where did you get all that Limbo art? Is it fanart.

[koalakyle]

My theory on Limbo: It is very similiar, except I think that the brother and sister had seperate deaths. The brother was in a car that drove off a cliff and crashed into the forest he woke up in. The sister, however, died from climbing up the unstable ladder to get up to the treehouse, and was hung by the neck from the rope, where she woke up at the treehouse. Therefore, I assume the sister died before the brother, due to the fact that one of the brother's fears was shown where the fabric mannequin that resembles his sister was hung from a rope. With that being said, if you'd enter the LIMBO, you would wake up where you've last been before you died.

EDIT: I assume that the brother grew the fear of his sister's death because of what happened when they were alive. As young children, the brother was climbing up the ladder to the treehouse having no trouble, which explains his excelling ability to climb in the game. Unfortunately, the brother warmly encouraged his sister to climb up, and when she tried, she died from being hung by the neck. Due to her brother watching her die, that's how he grew his fear.

[psychodolphin]

Wait, a limbo video in 2020?




Ahh, I see we reached 1k likes, thx guys:)

[Dnizn]

PS Now's description is "Uncertain of his sister's fate, a boy enters limbo"

[grug]

imo i always thought it was the boy not going forward through limbo but going back, rejecting Limbo itself to return to the living world as a spirit. It would explain why sis looked spooked at the end.

[spl]

Heres my theory: The boy and girl go to their treehouse in reality, after the boy gets into the tree house, the ladder snaps when his sister started climbing and she either hit her head on a rock or landed on her head, breaking her neck or giving her a concussion and later died due to blood loss, the boy also fell through a loose plank in the tree house and also fell to his death. The girl wakes up in Limbo and makes her journey to the treehouse (the treehouse could also represent heaven). After the girl makes it to the tree house she waits in hopes that her brother can also make his way to the tree house or at the gates of heaven. When the girl makes it to the treehouse, the boy wakes up and the events of limbo takes place. When he approaches his sister, she hears footsteps and suddenly stops what she is doing, knowing that her brother is behind her. They reunite and go to heaven together.

Second theory: The boy is the only one who died and thats why his eyes are glowing. The boys you cone across in Limbo could represent his fears of being made fun of by the older boys and thats why they try to kill him. At the end his sister buries his body and when the boys spirit comes close she senses his presence and stops burying him, possibly knowing he is now Resting In ☮️

[DonnyKurniawanisok]

Limbo is scary
A dancer : it's fun actually
Me : *Confused*

[mozzarella]

He dies at the end, he finally got out of limbo where he had to face his biggest fears and then eventually enters death.

[eddie]

8:44 I think instead of it being his mother and/or father that worked at the factory, it was instead the boy himself who worked there.

There was—and in some countries, still is—a time when children were “employed” in factories and made to work around incredibly dangerous tools that could very well kill them if they weren’t careful.

I think maybe the abundance of buzzsaws and other deadly mechanisms stems from that fear from such a dangerous environment.

[andremckenzie]

Everyone without eyes must be alive. Those "older boys" probably thought they saw a ghost an attacked and it might be why his sister sensed a presence.
The kid might not be a kid at all, the factory could be where he himself worked, he just took a child's form.

[adamsolidmagmahalkaydenise]

The ending really made me feel empty and sad, I don't know why

[morphogenetic_]

I find it quite touching that we keep thinking about Limbo even ten years later!

[jacoblinzey]

Maybe the boy died during world war 2. Say he lives in Germany or great Britain while it was getting bombed. That's why the tree house is damaged. It was hit by a bomb

[legandaryprinnygamer]

Don't know how you handle recommendations but if you can could you look into the indie games Yume Nikki and/or OFF? Both games are old indie games that are famous in the RPG Maker community. Time Nikki is a horror game while OFF is an RPG, and both have very interesting and cryptic stories. If its alright I don't want to so anything else for fear of over hyping or ruining the surprise.