Terry Cavanagh's VVVVVV stars video-game history's most prominent obstacle: spikes. Lots and lots of spikes. Lava pit, I'm sorry, but you just didn't have the versatility for this role. Can you cover ceilings, and nearly all other interior surfaces of a gravity-switching spaceship? I didn't think so. Go back home to Bowser's castle and stew. Why anyone would carpet a U.F.O. wall-to-wall with death needles should be of no concern to you. Maybe aliens abducted Vlad the Impaler and let him have a go at decorating the place?

What will snag your attention in VVVVVV is how the game effortlessly settles under your skin, like a splinter you'll hesitate to remove. VVVVVV is a playful platformer that exploits its principle limitation: no jumping. Instead, you reverse gravity, zigging and zagging between floor and ceiling to skirt death. Actually, I should say deaths. The demo, consisting of two levels, takes about 15 minutes to complete, and I died 90 times. Threading a spaceman between spikes requires a strong shot of focus, with a chaser of patience. Luckily, checkpoints frequently dot the hallways between rooms to save your progress. Each room is a brain teaser; some are captioned with hints, and some are named with commiserating monikers like, "I'm Sorry." You might be sorry for yourself when you're so addicted to VVVVVV that you don't even notice you're on your 22nd attempt at getting the timing of the "Driller" room juuuust right. The gameplay is fast, but never loose. So, if you frequent Easy Mode on platformers, you probably won't find the challenges here appealing.

The old-school graphics in VVVVVV are typical of Cavanagh's other work. His previous games (Don't Look Back and Pathways) emphasized innovative narrative gameplay to establish setting, while sparing any hothouse frills. However, in VVVVVV, his most accomplished work to date, Cavanagh is accompanied by the pulse-quickening chipmusic composer Magnus Pålsson. The Laboratory, my favorite level in the VVVVVV demo, also features his best track, "Potential for Anything." The driving 8-bit rhapsody could inspire Mega Man to blast his way through Dr. Wily's castle, with enough energy to go to a warehouse rave afterwards.

Okay, so here's the raw data. Terry Cavanagh has created a top-notch game. The VVVVVV demo is fun, addictive, and features an amazing soundtrack. The full version of VVVVVV boasts a huge overworld with lots of new levels, alternative game modes, a secret mini game, and an unlockable jukebox featuring more than half an hour of game music. When you consider VVVVVV on its own, a videogame with two hours of initial gameplay, and not much replay value after the fact, you might be hard-pressed to pay the asking price to download: $15. However, if you see that $15 as your contribution to Cavanagh's future career, you'll know it's going to an appreciative game developer.

VVVVVV was developed by Terry Cavanagh, published by distractionware and released on Windows and Mac PCs on January 10. It retails for $15 USD and can be purchased online. The in-browser demo available on kongregate.com was used for this review.