Game review: Kulebra and the Souls of Limbo (Xbox Series X)
I think it cannot be ignored how useful Xbox Game Pass can be when it comes to indie titles. Xbox Game Pass gives players a chance to test out and try game genres that they may not have tried before. With that being said, I encourage all players to give Kulebra and the Souls of Limbo a try because it's one of the more unique games I've experienced in years.
Kulebra and the Souls of Limbo has been developed by a small game developer named Galla Games, and it was founded by a pair of Dominican Brothers. Despite being developed by a very small team, the game's unorthodox style of graphics is stunningly beautiful.
Graphically, the game has a papercraft aesthetic, with a bright visual style that lights up the entire screen. No matter if you play the game on PC, Xbox, or Nintendo Switch, the visuals are excellent. Sadly, the game is currently not available on PlayStation consoles at the moment.
Anyway, in this game, players assume the role of a 'dead' snake named Kulebra, and he's investigating 'Limbo', which is the Latin American vision of the afterlife. His goal is to understand why Limbo's souls cannot move on to heaven.
In Kulebra and the Souls of Limbo, many of the souls living there are literally stuck in limbo because they have to relive the same day repeatedly. If you have seen the Bill Murray movie 'Groundhog Day', it's kind of like that for the citizens in this game. Only Kulebra and special beings called 'Bright Souls' are able to retain their memories of different days and experiences.
I won't spoil some of the more sensitive topics of this game, but Kulebra has to roam 'Limbo' to save certain souls that cannot move on from their life's regrets. For example, one character Kulebra has to save is a professional wrestler who has to overcome his fear of fighting a literal demon. As Kulebra, you have to find the wrestler's courage again to fight back.
In another storyline, an evil sheriff is the mayor of a town, and he's abusing his power. One of the town's citizens wants to know what has happened to her mother, so she seeks Kulebra's help to take down the sheriff and find out the truth.
While the story of this game is interesting and quite sad at times, the unique style of gameplay is what also kept me engaged. This isn't your traditional 2D side-scrolling game where you have to face off against multiple enemies and a boss at the end of each level. No, the game requires you to solve puzzles, help out citizens, and even remember key details of the story.
Speaking about the wrestler story again, to gain his trust, Kulebra has to first seek out who is issuing out fraudulent tickets to his big stadium event. In this scenario, you need to go around town and find the person who is responsible for issuing out false tickets, and after that, the wrestler will gain your trust.
In other missions, you may need to find a specific item that you may need that will hold a clue to open a locked door or something like that. Thankfully, the game's levels aren't insanely huge, so it pays to try and talk to every citizen in the towns to get as many clues as you can.
The game also has a day, evening, and night cycle as well. Some events are only triggered during a specific time of day. Kulebra can sleep on benches to advance the time when he needs to. In some instances, he may also need to sleep until the next day to advance a story as some characters will retain their memories when you help them through long enough.
While there is minimal combat in this game, there are still boss battles and stealth sections along the way. The stealth sections are easy because Kulebra needs to avoid the darkness and any dark creatures that go after him.
The boss battles, on the other hand, are very unique because combat is rarely used. Instead, Kulebra will need to remember the boss's past life to try and talk to them and get them back to the light. If you cannot remember specific details about the game, the darkness will consume them, and it is game over.
It is also worth mentioning that this game doesn't have any proper voice acting. The game instead uses funny mumbling like that seen in the old Banjo Kazooie video games. The mumbling doesn't get too annoying because I think it's quite humorous. Not to mention I usually play games with subtitles so reading all the text didn't bother me at all.
While there are many positives about Kulebra and the Souls of Limbo, I cannot recall many flaws I encountered with the game. I feel some gamers might have trouble with some of the puzzles, and the endgame gets hard. Other than that, YouTube walkthroughs will help those who might be really stuck.
Overall, Kulebra and the Souls of Limbo is one of the most unique gaming experiences I have had in many years. The graphics are beautiful, and the story and gameplay are highly engaging. This is worth playing if you're looking for something different to experience.
Verdict: 8.5/10
