VVVVVV
A gravity-flipping platformer with no jumping.
VVVVVV is a puzzle-platform game from 2010, the work of developer Terry Cavanagh. Players take on the role of Captain Viridian, whose mission is to find and free the spacecrew after a teleporter mishap scatters them across Dimension VVVVVV. The core twist: the player cannot jump. Instead, they flip gravity while on a surface, making Captain Viridian fall upward or downward. The game features over 400 rooms and includes tools for players to make their own levels. Originally built in Adobe Flash, it launched on January 11, 2010, for Windows and OS X.
Quick Facts
- State
- expanded
- Title
- VVVVVV
- Developer
- Terry Cavanagh
- Publisher
- WW · Terry Cavanagh · NA/EU · Nicalis (3DS, PS4, Vita, Switch) · JP · Pikii (3DS, Switch)
- Platforms
- Windows, Nintendo Switch, OS X, Linux, Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4, iOS, Android, Ouya
- Genre
- Puzzle-platform
- Modes
- Single-player
- Designer
- Terry Cavanagh · Bennett FoddyFoddy is credited in-game for naming every room in the game.
- Composer
- Magnus Pålsson
- Engine
- Adobe Flash (original) / C++ (2011 port)
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The gravity-flipping mechanic of VVVVVV is based on an earlier game designed by Cavanagh titled Sine Wave Ninja, though this novel feature was first seen in the 1986 8-bit game Terminus. Cavanagh first unveiled VVVVVV on his blog in June 2009, after two weeks of development. He wrote that the game would be 'focused on the level design' rather than storytelling. The visual style is heavily inspired by 8-bit computer games from the 1980s, especially the Dizzy series and Monty on the Run. Room names were created by QWOP developer Bennett Foddy. The game's music was composed by Swedish chiptune musician Magnus Pålsson.
The game was built in Adobe Flash and released on January 11, 2010. It was ported to C++ by Simon Roth in 2011, allowing Linux support and custom levels. This port enabled releases on Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo Switch. Unofficial ports have been made for the Pandora and Commodore 64. On the 10th anniversary in January 2020, Cavanagh made the source code publicly available on GitHub, leading to community-driven version 2.3. Version 2.4 was released on January 10, 2024, adding a localization system for 21 new languages.
Reader's Guide
VVVVVV is notable as the first commercial game by Terry Cavanagh, who previously released freeware titles. It was considered the first important independent release of 2010, with Kieron Gillen of Rock, Paper, Shotgun calling it 'the first great Indie game of the year.' The game's level design was praised for having no filler content. Its gravity-flipping mechanic, which prevents the player from jumping, became a defining feature. The game's soundtrack, PPPPPP, was released alongside the game and later received a power metal version titled MMMMMM. The C++ port in 2011 enabled broader platform support and user-created levels, though it did not support saved games from the original Flash version, causing issues for some players. The game's source code release in 2020 fostered community development, leading to version 2.3 and 2.4 updates.
More in Platform Games of the 2010s, Part 2 1-24
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced