VVVVVV

So tempted to make this entire post a string of V's...

Looks a little old, VVVVVV, doesn't it? It's meant to, being heavily inspired by Commodore 64 titles like Jet Set Willy. It's almost like the 1001 list has decided to remind us where video games came from, all those decades ago.

How far have we come? We've come all the way from brutally difficult platformers to... brutally difficult platformers built on nostalgia for brutally difficult platformers. Lovely. Well, let's hit 'run' on this one and see how quickly we end up face first in a spike trap.

Fun Times

The tiniest window that Steam has ever launched on this computer briefly flashes a faux-loading screen reminiscent of a computer from the '80s, and the chiptunes and mostly period-appropriate colours and characters fill the screen and get the story going in an instant: the ship is crashing. Abandon ship!

Unfortunately for Captain Viridian, the teleporter escape doesn't quite go to plan, and the entire crew is scattered and lost, and we are now alone and in a... Traffic Jam?

The story is basic - they all were back in the '80s - but the gameplay is super slick, in stark contrast to much of the home computers of the '80s. Not only is it super slick, but it's also dead easy to pick up. Left, right, and VVVVVV.

The action button, be it the V key, the Z key, the spacebar, or by the time you give up using those, W or S, or up or down, switches gravity, shooting you up to the roof or back down to the floor.

This is pretty much the basis of the entire game of VVVVVV, and its name is a nod to how often you'll be pressing the same button over and over to help you get through the many platforming puzzles you'll face on your journey to get the crew back together.

It doesn't take long for you to pick it up. Plenty of checkpoints litter the path ahead, and you'll make frequent use of them as you slowly get used to how fast you move and how quickly something will kill you - instantly, is the answer to that question.

That's usually rather annoying, but respawning and trying again occurs within the blink of an eye, and you can't help trying again because the controls are just left, right, and VVVVVV. Once you work out what you need to do, it's up to you to put in the work to do it.

A case in point is this room, called Trench Warfare, which is home to lots of spikes, a few enemies, and a mystery thingamajig at the other end of the room. How many failures are you prepared to make before succeeding? What's the prize that you seek?

A seemingly useless trinket. Lovely. But we've practised how to navigate this game, right? We should fly through whatever it throws at us now.

This was a particularly nasty challenge. At one point, I thought it'd be the one that would stop me from progressing through VVVVVV, but something drove me to actually succeed, rather than give up. I think it was thanks to the chiptunes in the background and the ease of trying again when you inevitably fail.

Your ability to switch gravity doesn't work when you're not touching the ground. If it did, this would be an easy hop over these four spikes - walk, float, float back, walk. Instead, we've got to go on a rather deadly journey down multiple screens...

Now that we've hit the bottom, we've got to hope that we've remembered the route back up because as soon as we switch the gravity to go back, we're going to have to avoid all those spikes again.

Eventually, somehow, I find a teleporter and complete the level, meeting up with another member of the crew, thankfully alive and well, and she's about to fill us in on the details of finding and rescuing all the others.

VVVVVV now opens up in a bigger game, seemingly with multiple paths for you to tackle, leading to either teleporters or crew members, and perhaps even other points of interest, hopefully equally useful to you, but given how many spikes exist in this game, who knows.

The game also introduces more problems to your navigation, here in the form of bouncy surfaces. Also worth noting is that all those rectangles are part of an animated background - far too much for an actual Commodore 64 to handle, but VVVVVV is about being inspired by the aesthetic, not sticking rigidly to it. Don't get distracted by it, now.

Some rooms I hopped into and immediately hopped out of. This time, the white lines switch the gravity automatically when you walk through them. Knowing there's only a shiny trinket at the end of this monstrous-looking room, I pass. I really hope I don't need to collect them all for something later on, because I bet I'll forget where this room is, even with a map.

More challenges sprawl out into multiple screens, requiring you to memorise a safe route through, as well as desperately try to press the keys enough, but not too much. Somehow, again, I eventually made it to another checkpoint. Fluke, not skill, I'm sure of it.

But you know that's going to run out sooner or later.

Final Word

Twenty minutes of VVVVVV, 122 deaths. A good ratio? Perhaps it is. This game is designed to be a challenge, and damn does it succeed in those regards. Luckily, it's designed to be simple to play, engaging, and is backed up with motivational chiptunes and instant, infinite respawns.

I doubt I'm ever going to get through it, but even making it to the next checkpoint can be satisfying, and if you can see the next one just over there, why not try, try, and try again to get there. You'll do it in time, right? You'll figure it out eventually, won't you?

VVVVVV is not the kind of game I'd pick for a good time, but its delightful authenticity to the old school and its zippy modern movement makes for an incredible little challenge that I can't help but try out. It might even turn into your next addiction, it's that well crafted.

I'll probably end up watching a speed run of this, which will blow my tiny little mind and I'll struggle to comprehend how anyone could blitz through it that quickly, but it'll be a fun time regardless.

Fun Facts

This was first made in Flash. Just doesn't look it, but the more you play it, the more you see it.

VVVVVV, developed by Terry Cavanagh, first released in 2010.

Version played: PC, 2010.