Vertigo Void Review

You remember Kula World on the PSone, right? Sure you do. It’s the one where you played as a beach ball and bounced around mind-boggling levels, defied the laws of physics, collected fruit, and solved platforming-puzzles in Egypt, Antarctica and locations that wouldn’t look out of place within an acid trip. You loved it, didn’t you? It was the kind of game that made you feel whole again. Not just the best video game based around puzzle-solving sports apparatus, but one of the best games of ALL TIME – Kula World was life-changing.

Okay, maybe not – but I’ve genuinely never met a single person who’s ever disliked Kula World. A game that seemingly everyone has played, but not many actually owned – hyperbole to one side, the game really was pretty good and presented a very unique challenge, especially at the time. In the 18 years that have passed since its release, fans have cried out for a sequel, or at least some kind of game that repackages the gameplay and brings us something slightly different. A puzzle-solving boxing glove, perhaps? Or, maybe a shuttlecock with a penchant for adventuring? Hmmm, probably not – but what about an astronaut trawling around through space? That’d work, surely?

Introducing Vertigo Void, a game by developers James de Silva and Matthew Sanders that takes the core mechanics so familiar to us, but throws in just a little bit of its own flair to stop it from being a straight-up clone. Trading exotic locales for the infinite blackness of space, and kicking out the ball and putting a cute, lonely spaceman in its place – this game has plenty of challenging content to offer to puzzle-platformer fans, but sadly lacks much of the character that would otherwise have you gripped and playing continuously.

With over 200 stages to play through and a difficulty curve that increases bit-by-bit, your task is simple: press all the buttons in each stage and then leave through the exit within the time limit. While the concept may sound simple on paper, it’s actually much more complicated in practice because of how players are able to traverse each level. With the landscapes made out of individual blocks, players are able to walk over block edges if there is nothing in front of, or next to the block below. Essentially, this means that you can walk up, down, around, and over the landscapes and approach levels from different perspectives. Throwing physics to the wind, even the simplest of level designs can pose quite the challenge as players are required to shift their perspective on the level and use this to their advantage.

What was once above players can soon be below them, or to their side should players move to the correct places, and this is where the genius of the gameplay bleeds through. You will literally be moving and jumping all over the levels, approaching from different angles, and figuring out how to reach the seemingly unreachable. It does take a little while for you to adapt to this kind of logic, and several attempts on most levels will likely be made in order to locate the buttons and the exit, but it’s enjoyable and oh-so puzzling at the best of times. It’s a shame that players cannot get an extensive look at each level before a run is initiated, but after some practice runs and plenty of exploration you will usually find your bearings. Trying to stay co-ordinated while you shift your perspective on the level is half of the challenge, but thankfully players can drop beacons down on the ground to signal certain locations – an absolute life-saver on the more complex offerings.

Speaking of complexities, the level designs here demonstrate a solid understand of what this kind of gameplay can offer. Though the initial few levels ease you into understanding the basics, the challenges ramp up at a steady pace and regularly have something new in store for the player. Whether it’s a new hazard that will kill the player, a collectible that changes the state of play, or an object that effects the ways the environment can be traversed, Vertigo Void has plenty of ideas up its sleeve and no two levels ever feel the same. There are blocks that make the player bounce, ones that restrict gravity, ones that are invisible, as well as pipes that transport the player to a set destination, beams that pull a player in a specific direction, teleporters, and even fire hazards that instantly kill the player. All of this and more, plus the addition of more hazards, and the combination of several at once only results in more puzzling platforming solutions and more enjoyable gameplay. Yes, some puzzles can be fiendish at first, but it never takes too long to work them out. The game may enjoy taking you just enough out of your comfort zone to keep things interesting, but it’s unlikely to make the experience tedious for any of its players. This is a puzzle game that isn’t ultra-level difficult, but despite this it still feels rewarding to complete each level and you’ll feel smart on completion – especially when you nail a high-score rating at the end of each one.

Employing the classic 3-star scoring system, players are encouraged to complete levels in the quickest time possible and collect the bonuses that are spread out across each level too. Awarding the player with healthy sums of delicious score for the effort, you don’t gain any true reward for a high star-rating other than the satisfaction of a job well done. It’s a shame that some special bonus levels are not unlocked for the hard-work, for example – but ultimately it’s not a huge issue. It’s unlikely that any player will be convinced to replay the levels over and over until glowing scores are achieved across the board, but with so many levels available in the base-content and a competent level editor that allows user-generated content to be created, shared, and downloaded through Steam’s Workshop – longevity is certainly not an issue.

Where the game runs adrift is in regards to its lack of character and engaging atmosphere. The game utilises the same disinteresting art style throughout, and as a result the environments begin to feel repetitive. Featuring little colour variation outside of blacks, greys, and blues, the levels are unfortunately very dull to look at. With a soundtrack that’s not great either, it can be hard to maintain your attention with this game for extended periods of time, but fortunately short-bursts of play suits the game perfectly because of its bite-sized levels.

Despite offering gameplay that is far from original, Vertigo Void is fun and challenging for what it is. It’s not likely to take your breath away or maintain your attention for hours at a time, but the general concept is totally solid, and the platforming puzzles have been wonderfully designed to offer plenty of variety and boggle the mind. With 210 stages to beat and an incredibly cheap price of £1.59 on the Steam store, this game provides more than enough and is an absolute steal.