Developer: Terry Cavanagh Released: January 2010 (3DS AU October 2012)

Played on: 3DS (also available on PC, Mac, Linux)

VVVVVV is the Commodore-64 epic space platformer we never had. Underpinned by an extremely simple gameplay mechanic (move left and right, switch gravity to up or down) the game moves quickly and smoothly as you work your way through spike filled corridors, gravity puzzles and floating through expansive environments with minimal signposting. Playing VVVVVV feels free and exciting, just like games of the 8-bit era, but has a much more forgiving (and modern) checkpoint system allowing for quick retries of tricky sections.

Terry Cavanagh, the fellow behind my favourite mobile game, Super Hexagon, has such a distinct and confident style in his game creations. VVVVVV pays fond tribute to the games of the 80s, maintaining a keen sense of humour without ever directly lampooning.

While I haven’t played through the game thoroughly, I actually prefer pretending it IS an old C64 game, and I have to start the game from the start for every playthrough. And its always a delight. I need to spend more time playing it – but it got overtaken by other games last year.

Verdict: Cracking retro platformer, addictive, challenging, and satisfying. Kick ass soundtrack too.

Should Bradley play this: Its $5 on Steam…. I’m going to say “yes”, Brad would love this for at least 10 minutes. Hard to guess if he’d play it more than that. Add it to your Steam Wishlist and pick it up when its cheaper than a coffee.