Hard as nails platformers aren't anything new. They're old as consoles, with early renditions like Pitfall leading us to Super Mario Bros. to Donkey Kong Country to more modern outputs like Super Meat Boy. It's a classic genre among classics, and as such saying anything about the subject is saying something about gaming history. Standing out in the genre is a matter of alchemy, usually, or at the very least a blending of genres. VVVVVV is no exception to the latter, adding in a slight metroidvania tinge to how it lays its levels out, but is otherwise so traditional as to be unremarkable on its surface. But it's made with so much love, how could I not recommend it?
VVVVVV makes one odd turn with the genre in that it doesn't have traditional jump button. Instead, it uses a "flip", where hitting the action button inverts gravity, making you plummet to the opposite side of the screen. In essence, this is more or less a jump button, but with a few more obstacles to overcome. you need to be thinking about what is above you as well as below, and with the addition of lasers that flip you when you touch them, platforming can be a test of patience, speed, and pitch-perfect timing. Luckily, respawning is no big hassle. Unlike in the older games this one is a loving homage to, there is no lives system, and respawning is instantaneous to the most recent checkpoint marker. Checkpoint markers are liberally placed as well, making clear the game is testing you in sequences, not in how well you can master multiple challenges at once, a welcome change to things I've been playing recently.
Coating the frustration is an aesthetic similar to that of a Commodore 64, albeit with some variance here and there. Colors splash and change going from screen to screen, gloriously recreating what was cool about the older graphics without the flickering issues or extreme restrictions the original hardware had. The soundtrack pulses and pounds with unending energy, like one long boss fight. It's easily one of my favorite of these old school type soundtracks, capturing what was so good about them without belaboring the classic feel, rather wanting to be good music in its own right.
If there was criticism to be had that couldn't be glossed over out of sheer joy this game brings, it would be that the screen changing mechanic - a requirement for older games being referenced here - can be infuriatingly disorienting. For the most part, this will feel par for the course, adding a fair challenge to the already challenging gameplay, but on occasion it virtually requires memorization in order to accomplish. In particular, having to flip up a screen and land on a particularly small platform between spikes is more of a suggested guess than it is skill because the black background gives you little reference in which to right yourself before the next screen has loaded. Your speed is a major plus to the game and it's kinetic feel, but is a hindrance when getting your bearings becomes nigh impossible without a moment of transition. Let's not forget that most of these older games that used transitions like this had a delay, a technical limitation that affected play nonetheless. The fast paced nature of VVVVVV doesn't do these moments favors, but it isn't game breaking.
The only real thing to say is that VVVVVV is a stylish, fun throwback that circumvents the nostalgia overload that is today's indie market (and, just for the sake of clarifications, this game is ten years old at this point) by referencing something even older, and by doing it with style. It won't stick out as original, but it will scratch the itch it was meant to without your more critical mind to get in the way. It was made for the fun it, not for a statement. It does what it does well - not perfectly - and satisfies anyone who loves the genre. At least for a little bit.
8.0
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