LIMBO: Complete Guide and Walkthrough

This guide covers LIMBO's controls and puzzle logic, an area-by-area walkthrough outline, all 10 hidden egg locations, the secret level, and how to earn every achievement, including the five-death run.

Researched September 2026 — current as of the 29 April 2025 Steam maintenance update ("Improvements and minor bug fixes"). Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Quick Start

• Dying is how you learn. LIMBO is built on trial and error. Checkpoints are frequent and restarts are instant, so treat each death as information.
• You only have three verbs: move, jump, and grab (push, pull, hang). Every puzzle is solved with those. If you're stuck, look for something you haven't grabbed yet.
• Think in physics. Crates float, logs roll, ropes swing, and weight triggers switches. Most solutions come from moving an object somewhere it can help you.
• Read the environment before moving. Bear traps sit in the grass, tripwires hang in the dark, and sounds warn you about hazards off-screen.
• The glowing worms (brain slugs) take over your movement. While one is on your head, you can only walk in one direction until the worm is killed. The level itself gives you the way to get rid of it, and light plays a role in how they behave.
• The second half is mechanical. Gravity switches, magnets, electrified letters, saws, and machinery replace the forest's spiders and traps. The puzzles get more demanding.
• Hunt the 10 eggs as you go, or clean them up later with chapter select. Collecting all 10 and finishing the game opens the secret level.
• Deaths are graphic. The original Xbox 360 release had an optional gore filter that blacks out the screen on death; check your version's options menu if the death animations bother you.

Controls and Core Mechanics

Action | What it does

Move left / right | Walk. There's no run button

Jump | Hop gaps, grab ledges and ropes

Action / grab (hold) | Push or pull crates and logs, hang on ropes, pull levers

Climb | Up and down ladders and ropes

LIMBO supports keyboard and a controller, and you can check the bindings in the options. The game deliberately limits your moves so the puzzle design stays readable.

Puzzle patterns you'll see again and again

• Buoyancy: Crates and some objects float. Push them into water to build a platform, or use their rise and fall for timing.
• Momentum: Swing on ropes, roll logs, and use falling objects as ramps or counterweights.
• Weight and switches: Pressure plates and levers move doors, platforms, and hazards. Sometimes the right answer is to not pull the lever (see the "Climbing the Cog" egg).
• Gravity: Later areas have signs and switches that flip or change gravity. Learn where you'll land before you trigger one.
• Electricity and magnets: Some areas electrify surfaces or pull metal. Timing and route planning matter more than reflexes.
• Parasites: The glowing worms force you in one direction until you get rid of them. Several puzzles use this on purpose to walk you through something.

Walkthrough Outline

LIMBO is split into many short chapters that you can revisit from chapter select once you've reached them. The broad arc:

Forest (opening)

• You wake up in a dark forest. Walk left first at the very start to find the first egg ("Wrong Way").
• Bear traps, a boat on the water, and your first crate and log puzzles.
• The giant spider stalks this part of the game. You deal with it over a few encounters by using the environment (including bear traps) against it, and the boy finally kills it after a short chase.
• Hostile other children set ambushes with traps and blowdarts. Their traps are part of the puzzles. Watch their positions and let their own setups work against them.

Swamp, caves, and the brain slugs

• Glowing worms drop onto your head and push you in one direction until they're killed. Pay attention to light and to where the level funnels you, because the puzzles use the forced movement on purpose.
• Water becomes a bigger hazard (you can't swim), so floating objects matter more.

City and industry

• The setting moves to a derelict city: a hotel sign, rooftops, elevators, and machinery.
• Electrified signage and power switches show up. Keep track of which parts are live.
• Crushers, saws, and cogs: Timing puzzles. The eggs "Climbing the Cog" and "Backtracking" are hidden in this stretch.

Factory and gravity

• Gravity switches flip you and objects upward or sideways. Plan your landing before triggering.
• Magnets and conveyor-driven crates finish the heavier puzzle section.
• The final chapters bring the story to its ambiguous ending. Watch the credits all the way through for "Where Credit is Due".

All 10 Eggs (Hidden Achievements)

Each egg is a small glowing insect egg hidden off the main path. Smash it and the achievement pops. Chapter numbers match the in-game chapter select.

Chapter | Achievement | How to get it

Chapter | Achievement | Steam hint

--- | --- | ---

1 | Wrong Way | "That's not right"

4 | Altitude is Attitude | "Exploration off the ground"

20 | It's Stuck | "Prepare a dry landing"

24 | Urban Exploration | "Involves heavy lifting"

26 | Alone in the Dark | "Beneath the arthropod"

27 | Climbing the Cog | "Don't pull the lever just because you can"

30 | Backtracking | "Ride the crates"

32 | Guided by Sparks | "The crate is key"

34 | Under Ground | "Vertical passageway"

38 | Going Up | "Don't let gravity keep you down"

The hints are the official Steam achievement descriptions. Chapter numbers follow the widely used Steam community 100% guide; if a number seems off by one in your chapter select, check the neighbouring chapter.

The Secret Level (DING!)

• Requirements: Collect all 10 eggs and finish the game.
• Access: Go to Chapter 26 from chapter select. Go down into the dark cave (the "Alone in the Dark" area) and head right. The door that was locked before is now open.
• Get through the hidden section's hazards and ride to the top of the elevator at the end. You earn DING! by finishing it.

Achievement Summary

Achievement | Requirement

10 egg achievements | See the egg table above

Where Credit is Due | Finish the game and watch the credits

DING! | Complete the secret level (all 10 eggs plus the game finished)

No Point in Dying | Complete the game in one sitting with five or fewer deaths

No Point in Dying: The Five-Death Run

This is the only hard achievement. Here's how to plan it:

• Finish a normal playthrough first. You need to know every solution already.
• Start a fresh run from the beginning and play straight through in one sitting. Don't quit out partway through.
• Restart the run if you die early. Burning a death in the opening forest isn't worth it when the spider and later gravity sections are riskier.
• Go slowly in the dangerous places. Walk into the known traps, bear traps, and electric sections carefully. Walking speed is safe speed.
• Watch or write down a route for the trickiest parts: spider sections, the brain-slug stretch, crushers and saws, and gravity rooms.
• Leave eggs for a separate run. Detours are extra risk. You don't need eggs for this achievement.

The runs aren't long once you know the solutions. Most players take a few tries, and every attempt makes the next one faster.

Recommended Plan for 100%

• Playthrough 1 (blind): Enjoy it. If you notice an egg, grab it, but don't hunt with a guide yet. Watch the credits for "Where Credit is Due".
• Egg cleanup: Use chapter select and the egg table above to collect any you missed. Each one is a short detour in its chapter.
• Secret level: Once you have all 10 eggs and have finished the game, load Chapter 26 and head right from the dark cave for DING!.
• Five-death run last: With every solution fresh from cleanup, start a new game from the beginning and go for "No Point in Dying" in one sitting.

Following this order means you never have to combine the risky run with collectible detours.

Stuck? Hints by Hazard

Spoiler-light nudges for the situations that stall most players. Read one line, then try again before reading more.

Situation | First thing to try

A gap too wide to jump | Look for a rope, a floating object, or something you can push to the edge and stand on

Water you can't cross | Something nearby floats. Push or drag it in before you jump

The spider blocks the way | Its legs are vulnerable. Look for something in the scenery that can trap or damage them

A trap you can see but not avoid | Use a movable object to trigger it first, then pass while it resets or stays sprung

An ambush by the other children | Watch where they wait. Their own trap setups usually solve the screen for you

A worm on your head | You can't stop walking the forced direction, so the question is what that direction leads into. Watch for light and for what the level puts in your path

A door that won't open | Something needs weight on it, or a lever somewhere else on the screen needs pulling. Check off-screen edges

Electrified letters or floors | Watch the pattern of which parts light up and move between them in the gaps

Gravity switches | Before flipping, look at where you and any loose boxes will fall. Boxes fall with you and can crush you or become platforms

Saws and crushers | They run on fixed cycles. Stand still and count one full cycle before moving

If you're still stuck after several tries, the answer is almost always an object you've walked past without grabbing.

Versions and Platforms

• PC (Steam): Released 2 August 2011. Playdead has pushed small maintenance patches as recently as 29 April 2025, but there's no new content; it's the same game.
• Mac: Released December 2011.
• Linux/SteamOS: Playdead's native port arrived in 2014.
• LIMBO was originally an Xbox 360 release (2010) and later came to most consoles and mobile. The puzzles and achievements are the same across the PC builds.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Overthinking. Solutions nearly always use something on the current screen. Look for the crate, rope, lever, or water you haven't used yet.
• Rushing. Many traps trigger on your movement. Walk up to new things one step at a time.
• Always pulling levers. Sometimes the lever is a trap or the wrong answer (see "Climbing the Cog").
• Forgetting sound cues. Water, machinery, and creatures announce themselves before you see them.
• Egg hunting during the five-death run. Keep them separate.
• Quitting during the five-death run. It has to be done in one sitting.

Advanced Tips

• Chapter select is your friend. Once reached, any chapter can be replayed to pick up eggs.
• Use deaths to scout. When learning, deliberately trigger a hazard to see its timing, then play it properly.
• Gravity rooms: Watch the gravity sign direction, and remember objects fall with you.
• Brain-slug sections: Since you can only move one way, the solution is about when you step into light or triggers. Plan before moving.
• Hardware: LIMBO runs on nearly anything. On a Steam Deck or a laptop, a controller plays best.

FAQ

How long is LIMBO? Reviews at launch put it at roughly two to five hours for a first playthrough. Once you know the solutions, runs are much shorter.

Is there a secret ending? There's a secret level (DING!), not a different ending. Collect all 10 eggs, finish the game, then revisit Chapter 26 and head right from the dark cave.

Does the five-death run have to be in one sitting? Yes. The achievement text says "in one sitting". Don't quit to the menu partway through.

What does the ending mean? Playdead deliberately left it open. The boy is searching for his sister, and players have read the game as purgatory, death, or growing up. There's no official explanation.

Can I turn off the gore? The original Xbox 360 version had an optional gore filter that blacks out the screen at death (audio still plays) and removes some of the more disturbing imagery. Look in your version's options menu; we couldn't confirm the setting's presence in the current Steam build.

Is LIMBO on Linux and Steam Deck? Playdead released a native Linux/SteamOS port in 2014, and the game is light enough to run well on handhelds.

Sources

• LIMBO on Steam
• LIMBO Steam achievements
• LIMBO Collectibles Guide (Steam Community)
• LIMBO 100% Achievement Guide by Skipper (Steam Community)
• Limbo on Wikipedia