VVVVVV

VVVVVV is a showcase in the effectiveness of minimalist game design. Widely considered one of the most well-known indie titles of all time and influencing many that came after it, the game uses gravity-flipping mechanic to drive challenging platforming. While this movement style wasn’t unheard of, VVVVVV squeezes as much juice out of it as possible.

The game is composed of a maze-like series of rooms, where the player must navigate through a variety of obstacles like spikes or enemies. Touching anything you’re not supposed to causes instant death. Each room presents a unique platforming task and teaches the player through ingenious level design and the practice of trial and error. Dying is not only expected, but essential when learning how to advance through each level. Some rooms are more skill-oriented, while others require a puzzle-solving mindset. As the player progresses throughout this fairly short (2-3 hour) game, the challenges become gradually unhinged.

VVVVVV isn’t difficult just for the sake of being frustrating. It’s quite forgiving with checkpoints, and the player often spawns right at the start of their current panel. I found the game’s most annoying aspect to be navigating the giant maze of rooms. While individual challenges are just a few rooms at most, they’re connected by a sprawling maze of corridors, open areas, and teleporters. Referring to the world map is absolutely essential, but it’s often difficult to parse. Ultimately, you’re looking for any unexplored gaps in the map, since following those thin openings often leads to massive sections being unveiled. Occasional backtracking is required if you miss a certain pathway, leading to a feeling of light Metroidvania traversal.

The game’s story is pretty basic, with a bunch of stickmen getting stranded in a strange dimension where the laws of physics don’t apply. Your goal is to rescue your five crewmates in order to escape. Since they’re spread across the world, you’ll end up exploring most of it to complete the main game. Along the way, you can collect optional tokens that are hidden away in the remote corners of the map. 

I should also mention a couple nitpicks. The game's colorful retro graphics are appealing at first, but the strobe light effects wears on your eyes after a while. Fortunately, there's an option to disable this in the game's settings. The same goes for the game's soundtrack. I felt like it was great for the first few hours, but eventually starts to feel like an endless loop. That said, for a small, single developer indie game where gameplay is the focus, these are completely excusable.

VVVVVV is a great introduction to the genre of modern, indie platformers with a high difficulty. I’m personally not a huge fan of this genre, but VVVVVV one of the fairest in its level design and controls, quickly hooking the player and not letting go. Since each level seems approachable and doesn’t require an unreasonable amount of time to advance through it, the player is tempted to keep at it. Having played on PC (the 3DS version keeps the map on the bottom screen at all times), constantly switching to the map was a cumbersome, yet essential element of gameplay. VVVVVV isn’t going to blow your mind, but demonstrates what solid game design looks like when you strip off all the excess fluff.