You couldn't release VVVVVV today and expect it to attain even half the success that it did back in 2010. It's often cruel, it's incredibly short, the exploration is largely defunct, the story is basic to the point of it might as well not be there and the title is so difficult to say aloud that it makes spreading word of mouth significantly more challenging. By the standards of indie games today, VVVVVV plays more like a proof of concept than anything that could rival the likes of the Outer Wilds, Hades or Celeste. But by god is it brilliant.
If you've never played or heard of VVVVVV before now, then I'll explain. Created by Terry Cavanagh (the man behind Super Hexagon and Dicey Dungeons), VVVVVV is a 2D platformer where your jump ability has been replaced instead by a gravity switch button. You explore a small open world that seems like a metroidvania but is in fact just the connective tissue between fairly enclosed levels. These levels each introduce a new wrinkle on the formula, such as lines that switch your gravity on contact or a sudden auto-scrolling level. Along the way you can collect up to twenty bonus "trinkets", which are often accompanied by a controller smashing level of challenge. While the game starts out simple enough, it doesn't take long at all before you have to pull off feats of such incredible dexterity that you'll be pulling your hair out long before you suddenly manage it.
The biggest problem with VVVVVV is simply its movement. Your character (Captain Viridian) starts on a dime, moving at full pelt immediately, but slips when stopping. These means that more often than not your deaths are down to that inch of slippage that happens after you let go of the button, which never stops feeling frustrating. I can't bring myself to say that the movement is bad though, as truly there's no other game that feels like VVVVVV to control. Essentially, what this contradictory momentum does is punish you for hesitation. Play it safe and move too cautiously, and you will face a far higher risk much of the time than if you just gun it to your goal. That said, there are plenty of instances where it just feels like bullshit.
Despite the frequent frustration, VVVVVV has a fantastic sense of humour. Not in its dialogue or its visuals, but in its level design. I can't think of another game that had me chuckling as often as this one did. Most deaths felt like my fault, and either were telegraphed by the game enough that I didn't blame it, or were just plain funny. The music too just fucking slaps, with every single track knocking it out of the park. It's not quite on the same symphonic level as Super Hexagon, but very, very few games are, so coming even slightly close is a great achievement indeed.
I will always love VVVVVV. Part of that is nostalgia, I can't deny that, but I also can't deny the rough edges that are here. But at the end of the day, it's just so cute and made me smile too much for me to ever truly blame it for those faults. If you've never had the pleasure, pick VVVVVV up. It's short, it's cheap and it's fun (mostly).
If you've never played or heard of VVVVVV before now, then I'll explain. Created by Terry Cavanagh (the man behind Super Hexagon and Dicey Dungeons), VVVVVV is a 2D platformer where your jump ability has been replaced instead by a gravity switch button. You explore a small open world that seems like a metroidvania but is in fact just the connective tissue between fairly enclosed levels. These levels each introduce a new wrinkle on the formula, such as lines that switch your gravity on contact or a sudden auto-scrolling level. Along the way you can collect up to twenty bonus "trinkets", which are often accompanied by a controller smashing level of challenge. While the game starts out simple enough, it doesn't take long at all before you have to pull off feats of such incredible dexterity that you'll be pulling your hair out long before you suddenly manage it.
The biggest problem with VVVVVV is simply its movement. Your character (Captain Viridian) starts on a dime, moving at full pelt immediately, but slips when stopping. These means that more often than not your deaths are down to that inch of slippage that happens after you let go of the button, which never stops feeling frustrating. I can't bring myself to say that the movement is bad though, as truly there's no other game that feels like VVVVVV to control. Essentially, what this contradictory momentum does is punish you for hesitation. Play it safe and move too cautiously, and you will face a far higher risk much of the time than if you just gun it to your goal. That said, there are plenty of instances where it just feels like bullshit.
Despite the frequent frustration, VVVVVV has a fantastic sense of humour. Not in its dialogue or its visuals, but in its level design. I can't think of another game that had me chuckling as often as this one did. Most deaths felt like my fault, and either were telegraphed by the game enough that I didn't blame it, or were just plain funny. The music too just fucking slaps, with every single track knocking it out of the park. It's not quite on the same symphonic level as Super Hexagon, but very, very few games are, so coming even slightly close is a great achievement indeed.
I will always love VVVVVV. Part of that is nostalgia, I can't deny that, but I also can't deny the rough edges that are here. But at the end of the day, it's just so cute and made me smile too much for me to ever truly blame it for those faults. If you've never had the pleasure, pick VVVVVV up. It's short, it's cheap and it's fun (mostly).