The idea behind the TouchArcade Game of the Week is that every Friday afternoon we post the one game that came out this week that we think is worth giving a special nod to. Now, before anyone goes over-thinking this, it doesn’t necessarily mean our Game of the Week pick is the highest scoring game in a review, the game with the best graphics, or really any other quantifiable “best" thing. Instead, it’s more just us picking out the single game out of the week’s releases that we think is the most noteworthy, surprising, interesting, or really any other hard to describe quality that makes it worth having if you were just going to pick up one.
These picks might be controversial, and that’s OK. If you disagree with what we’ve chosen, let’s try to use the comments of these articles to have conversations about what game is your game of the week and why.
Without further ado…
VVVVVV
A couple of years before we were collectively cursing in frustrated glee at Super Hexagon, Terry Cavanagh released a similarly challenging precision platformer called VVVVVV on Windows and Mac. In fact, it was pretty much the game that put him on the map, and was wildly successful for its brutal difficulty and ingenious level designs. Ever since it originally released, people have been clamoring for VVVVVV on mobile devices. But, at the same time, most of those same people felt like the often-clunky touchscreen controls that were an inherent part of smartphones and tablets would never do justice to a game that demanded such precision.
Well, guess what? VVVVVV ($2.99) has finally arrived on iOS, and not only does it work with touchscreen controls, it works incredibly well. Like, surprisingly so. I purposely tried to avoid buying VVVVVV on any other platform because I wanted to wait for it to arrive on my preferred gaming platform, the iPhone (it was announced to be coming to iOS all the way back in October of 2012, after all). I eventually broke down and picked it up on 3DS, and yeah, I joined in on the chorus of people saying it would never work on the iPhone’s touchscreen. I’ve never been so happy to be proven wrong.
The default control scheme in VVVVVV on iOS uses invisible, “touch anywhere" left and right movement on the left half of the screen, and the entire right side of the screen is used to flip gravity. It’s so simple, so elegant, and works so well I can’t believe I ever doubted it. Mind you, it can definitely be a little trickier with a touchscreen, and no doubt some people will still prefer the physical controls of other platforms, but it’s completely playable and totally fun on iOS. There’s also two additional control options–a standard set of virtual buttons or a “touch left side of the screen to go left, right to go right, and both to flip gravity" option–in case the default setup isn’t to your liking.
So, it’s already been established for years that VVVVVV is a phenomenal game, but the fact that it turned out so well on iOS makes it an easy choice for our Game of the Week this week. It’s an amazing game, and now it’s with me in my pocket at all times always and forever.
