VVVVVV

Developer: Terry Cavanagh, Nicalis
Publisher: Nicalis
Release: 2010
Platform: PC (played), iOS, Android, 3DS (played), Switch, Ouya, Vita, PS4, C64, Pandora
Genre: Metroidvania

Not as elegant as Don't Look Back before it or synthetic as Super Hexagon after, VVVVVV still builds up well enough on a simple premise—just like any other Terry Cavanagh's project. Mechanics are simple enough for it to even afford dropping its single action button for a directional-only control scheme if the player chooses so: in a platformer where jumping is replaced with straight-up/down “flipping” (gravity-wise, that is) buttons can be an extravagance.

The spacetime issues that move the plot forward also permeate the game (on purpose or not) stylistically, lending it a rough-around-the-edges feel: graphics, sound effects and gameplay emulate the Atari 2600 era, while the soundtrack and metroidesque structure is more akin to the following console generation. Also, execution is just as uneven—music transitions sound weird at times, the pseudo-infinite Defender-like outer space areas are too empty and bland for their own good... and spikes shouldn't be allowed to kill from the side after Sonic the Hedgehog.

But when VVVVVV is good (for the most part, that is) it rocks. Level design—when it's due—is brilliant and plays a huge role in rendering the game compelling as it is. Such a tough challenge (almost 8-bit tough) could only be tackled nowadays with some modern, smart use of checkpoints and respawn rates.

Puns galore.

A first playthrough may pile hundreds of deaths by the end of an average 2-hour run; but in VVVVVV that not necessarily means discouraging the player while at it.