VVVVVV is vvvvvvery fun to play

I remember first hearing about VVVVVV when a beta released was leaked on /v/, but not thinking anything of it. Now, months later, VVVVVV came up once again in a "Let's Play" by YouTube user raocow, which led to me to try the game out. Let me tell you, I am extremely glad I did.





VVVVVV, made by indie group Distraction Ware, is an interestingly named platformer. The game uses Commodore 62-esque graphics, which are a great retro refresher that you don't see veryb often anymore. The game completely revolves around one gameplay aspect: you press the "action button" to change gravity, which flips your character upside down as he flies the opposite direction. This relatively simple mechanic leads to many challenging, yet fun puzzles that you won't get bored with (although a few may get you a little frustrated.) With moving enemies and obstacles, plenty of spikes, and a few other extras to shift gravity in different ways, you'll have to get used to adapting to a constantly changing environment quickly if you want to advance.

The story follows a captain (You) and his crew as they advance through space, trying to uncover its secrets. All of a sudden, a disturbance warps all the members to different parts of space and gets a few trapped in places around the ship. Warp points let you travel all around the very large map. Your main goal is to rescue all your crew members. This completes the main story, which I won't spoil anything about. After you rescue the members however, you have the opportunity to collect "shiny" things called trinkets. These are hidden throughout the entire game, and require an extra challenge to obtain. For example, you may have to make a difficult jump, or figure out a difficult one room puzzle. In general, the story is short but satisfying.

Also included in this indie game is some somewhat entertaining humour that consistently shows up. Each room in a level has a name, which adds personality and humour, and the conversations that occur between different crew members will often times make you laugh. Distraction Ware aims to make sure every little detail is fine-tuned - some of which you won't notice until you play through the game again, since you'll be so mesmerised by the game itself.



What makes VVVVVV great is that it does something that many games don't today: instead of putting many gameplay aspects into one situation or environment, you are required to master this one simple gravity-shifting mechanic in many different environments. Distraction Ware manages to keep things interesting throughout the whole game as well, even though it can be slightly short. The friendly retro graphics and simple-yet-satisfying gameplay makes VVVVVV a platformer easily worth buying.