As the window for independent game makers widens, so the variety of expected material should also grow. VVVVVV (or the The Letter V Six Times if you want to use your mouth) is the new title from Irish game artist Terry Cavanagh, who last year found himself praised for the artistically inspired Don’t Look Back. However, VVVVVV, as off the beaten path as it may be, is Cavanagh’s most conventional title yet, by which I mean it plays like a conventional game and much the same asks that you pay for it. So, is VVVVVV going to be the gravity defying indie breakthrough, or has Cavanagh floated back down to earth only to sell out, maaaaaan.
The cute tiny blue space captain Viridian and his crew of also cute, singularly coloured crewmates have found their ship under the assault of another dimension. With the crew scattered and ambushed by a dangerous new world, you as Viridian must use the absence of gravity to scavenge the dangerous terrain and return your fleet to safety.
No weapons, no powerups, no tools or gizmos, just your legs and solid ground to help Viridian dodge, weave and avoid the titular spikes that lace the landscape. There is no gravity, which means you can hop from the floor to the sky, but only when grounded. You cannot change directions while airborne, you also cannot make smaller traditional jumps. When you hop you aim for the stars, or in most cases, a wall of deadly spikes. While Viridian’s abilities never change, the areas you use them in do quite constantly. On top of teleporters and enemies more inspired by loose metaphors than danger, different sections or levels also come packaged with different twists. One has trampoline like lines that quickly change the direction of your momentum, others have exits and entrances that loop instead of advancing to the next room, à la Scooby Doo chases.
