Wings of Vi

Check out the video review HERE!

After watching the PAX Prime coverage of The Binding of Isaac Rebirth six months ago, I only recently was compelled to check out the host's Twitch stream, MANvsGAME. I tuned in to him on his 1500th-or-so attempt to defeat "Supreme Jeh'Oul" in some game I had never heard of called Wings of Vi. What I saw floored me. The perfect pixel art and smooth animation with video-game-ass presentation, the fast-paced action of a true boss battle, the kickass sound design matching the sound effects to the boss theme... I was blown away. "What game IS this?" I said, "I see the name, but WHAT IS THIS GAME?" I could only watch for a few minutes before I had to buy the game on Steam and play it for myself.

Turns out, Wings of Vi was created by a fellow by the name of Solgryn. He is well known for his insanely difficult parody game, I Wanna Be the Boshy, and appears to be an affable fellow who is very in-touch with the community. In fact, he was actually tuned into MANvsGAME's stream at the time I was, watching MAN be slaughtered by his creation along with everyone else. From my little research, Solgryn has created several small games, mostly parody games that garnered attention through insane difficulty paired with legitimately wonderful game design, and Wings of Vi appears to be his first official, original, on-Steam-shelves, pay-money-for-this game-ass game.

So what IS Wings of Vi? It's a side-scrolling action platformer. It took me a long time to write that sentence, because I kept trying to add phrases like "simply put" or "basically" to try to somehow make "action" sound more actioney. But no, that's what it's genre, so allow me to expand upon it. This is an adventure game with light Metroidvania-type elements in that it's not entirely linear and you can return to old parts of the world at will. It is a platformer with insanely nuanced controls, and it has tons of action-packed combat mixed with its platforming and kickass boss after kickass boss.

BASICALLY...SIMPLY PUT... this is a capital V, capital G, mother fucking Video Game.

This is a rare case where I have absolutely nothing negative to say about this game. Every part of it is second to none in quality, so let me hone in on a couple key things that particularly strike my fancy.

Graphically, I enjoy pixel art quite a bit, but a lot of artists screw it up by rotating sprites smoothly on a high resolution. The biggest offender to me is Hotline Miami, but even my beloved Binding of Isaac Rebirth pulls this from time to time. I also dislike when sprites are stretched, causing pixel size not to be uniform. Wings of Vi, on the other hand, practices rotating sprites, but keeps the pixel art's resolution intact, so it doesn't look out of place. This is how pixel art looks best. All pixels are the same size, and they don't rotate and de-align with the rest. Nothing looks weirdly out-of-place or pasted on. THANK YOU, WINGS OF VI!

Let's talk about the controls. I had a very strange experience because of this game. This game's controls are so tight that after playing it for several hours, Rogue Legacy's controls felt sluggish by comparison. Mafukin' ROGUE LEGACY, a game whos controls are universally applauded for how tight they are, feels slightly sluggish in comparison to Vi. That is insane.

The soundtrack in this game is incredible. It is composed by Ashton Morris, and I've been listening to it non-stop during my work hours, over and over again. There are four or five tracks I can't decide between as my favorite, and not a single one I'm even tempted to ever skip past. At certain times where this game is most difficult, part of what drives me to press on is my desire just to hear the next song, similar to how I felt about Hotline Miami.

The overall presentation of the game I find fantastic as well. I love the characters, the bright and varied color palette, each boss having its own theme song... the pacing between platforming, combat, platforming and combat, boss battles, and story elements feels perfect.

And to finish off my gush-fest, I gotta talk about where this game stands out most: the boss battles. This game was clearly designed by someone who loves video games, and it stands out most during these parts. Each boss is super unique in their look, has distinct attack and counter patterns that make them feel unique, I mentioned they have their own theme songs, they feel like they're part of the world even without having their backgrounds explained to you. When you enter their arena, they're introduced by name in cool pixelated Gothic text, and a big health bar appears across the bottom. Also, these aren't fake health bars. You know those dumb bosses that run through and attack and then stay dizzied or stunned while you hit them down to a pre-designated amount of health? None of that shit here, you have to figure out how you're going to dodge these attacks, and then figure out how you're going to deal damage WHILE you do that. Chip away health points at a time until they're defeated. This is how bosses are supposed to feel. Each boss also has its own gimmick that makes them feel suuuper different and awesome, making each boss even more special, but I don't want to spoil any of them.

The only part of this game that isn't above and beyond is the story, which is understandable being from a single designer. What I like about this, though, is that the story isn't trying to be anything more special than it's capable of. It's not ending on a fade-out-to-gunshot or any dumb bullshit like that. It's a simple set up where we accidentally let the bad guy loose, so let's go get him! It's short and to-the-point and that perfectly serves this type of game. I also tend to like stories that heavily favor female characters and portray guys as drooling idiots... I find it charming, and I'm not gonna pretend I don't like playing as extremely attractive female characters.

Is that the note we're going to end on? I guess so! Let's sum this up!

As I mentioned before, there is really absolutely nothing negative to say about this game. I would recommend this game to almost anyone. If you enjoy video games, buy this game!! Many people will be scared off by its notorious difficulty, but there is something to be said about that. There are many gamers who prefer slower-moving games, or just a different type of game, and I mean no disrespect; Picross kicks ass. But this is one of those games that I would recommend even to you. You might not be able to beat it, but it's so well-designed that you'll still enjoy it. You'll still appreciate it, and jumping into the deep end may even expand your gaming horizons, making something like Dark Souls seem more manageable.

This game earns a five out of five with flying colors. I absolutely recommend it. It is available on Steam for $15, and there is a demo available for free. Check it out, you owe it to yourself. For being a gamer, you have earned the opportunity to enjoy one of the best experiences any medium of entertainment can offer.

I love this game.