WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD. For those who don’t know, Wings of Vi is an indie platforming game. In it, you play as Vi, an angel who’s determined to save everyone from an evil demonic horde.
For the gameplay, Wings of Vi relies heavily on platforming. There are lots of jumps and tricky maneuvers you must engage in. Fortunately, the game gives you very precise controls…and you do you need them! In addition to platforming, there are also plenty of enemies to fight along the way. There are some puzzles and mental challenges mixed in as well. Bosses also show up regularly throughout the game.
First of all, this game is incredibly difficult and has a steep learning curve. Right off the bat, this game makes it clear it is not going to go easy on you and hold your hand so you can get the hang of things. Instead, the game starts out quite difficult from the beginning and before too long is insanely hard. The enemies in this game are fast and aggressive. You have to be quick and careful to avoid getting killed. In addition, your attacks are limited and tricky to coordinate and control, making defeating enemies a challenge. The platforming requires split-second timing and reflexes. The levels push you both mentally and physically at the same time. You have to think fast and be fast. The puzzles and hidden secrets in this game are tricky and confusing. The bosses in this game are absolutely bonkers hard.
To get an idea of how brutal this game is, I died 335 times on mortal (normal) difficulty before giving up on mortal and restarting my entire game on angel (easy) mode. I only made it to (but not past) the second boss before restarting. On angel difficulty, I died no fewer than 6,006 times by the time I beat the final boss. Additionally, some individual boss fights took hundreds of deaths for me to beat.
Though this game is brutal even on angel difficulty, there are even more insane difficulty settings. In addition to having mortal and demon (hard) modes, Wings of Vi offers modifiers that can increase the difficulty further. For true masochists, you can combine demon mode with the “doomed” modifier, causing Vi to die in one hit. Also, some other modifiers are unlockable as bonuses.
Boss fights play a major role in this game, and there’s a wide variety of difficulties for them. Every boss fight is unique and the gameplay is certainly not repetitive. Even in an individual boss fight, bosses mix up their strategies during your many attempts, making the fights even less repetitive as well as more difficult. Typically, each boss has a variety of attacks, and these attack varieties do differ based on what difficulty setting you’re playing on.
The bosses push you not only to be skillful and speedy, but also to be smart. I often found myself experimenting with all sorts of different strategies in the fights to get an idea of what tactics work better than others as well as to learn the bosses’ different approaches and abilities. The boss fights also often incorporate special powers and abilities you get as you progress through the game, making you use these abilities to achieve victory in the fights. Most of the bosses don’t have too much backstory or character development, but there are exceptions, as recurring characters do get to take boss roles.
The unlockables in this game are really cool. In particular, there are lots of character customizations you earn to modify Vi’s appearance as well as the effects she produces. You can even make Vi look like a demonic angel, which is very cool. Some of the difficulty and gameplay modifiers are also included as unlockables. There are also new attacks for Vi to use that are optional and also quite tricky to unlock.
These bonuses can be gained in several ways. For one, some of them are given through general progression through the game, such as by beating certain bosses. Others are given for beating bosses without taking damage. Some require you to complete optional platforming sections. Still others are hidden in hard-to-find secret spots. Not all of these bonuses are available on every difficulty but some instead require you to play the game on the harder difficulty modes. These bonuses are quite cool and add to the fun of the game as well as giving you a sense of accomplishment when you unlock them.
Another nice positive about this game is its replay value. For one, in a file you can go back and refight bosses over again. You also have the option of going back to explore areas you previously explored. This is useful not only for direct fun but also for unlocking bonuses you missed in the past. The multiple difficulty settings and modifiers also add to the replay value, as you can go back and replay the game on harder difficulties. To be honest though, I had such a hard time just beating the game on angel mode that I didn’t really feel like going back and doing it all over again on the harder difficulty settings, but to each their own.
The storyline is quite emotional and sad, but it’s still fun. There’s some nice backstory and exposition that’s laid out before chaos erupts and Vi begins her journey to save everyone. Vi’s also connected with the apocalypse that unfolds, which is quite nice as it makes her feel responsible for causing it. Thus, she feels it’s her responsibility to fix it.
For the characters, there’s a nice mixture of characters with diverse and enjoyable personalities. This game doesn’t focus too much on character development, but we do get some and get a nice mixture of fun personalities. Vi is very courageous and never backs down nor gives up with trying to achieve her goals. She’s also quite caring and very protective of her friends. Additionally, she has a nice sense of humor and likes making puns. Some other recurring characters also have fun and enjoyable personalities. There aren’t a lot of major villains in this game, but the ones that do show up work quite well and fit differing villain roles. Though most of the game you play by yourself without direct help, there are some parts of the game where your allies do directly assist you, which helps improve the teamwork feel of the game.
Looking at the music, it is fantastic. The music is fun and very catchy. Also, different songs play in different parts to help set the mood, and they set it very well. Each boss has its own music. In addition, the music often changes part way through the boss fights as the bosses change tactics, and this works quite well. I honestly sometimes listen to the game music when doing other tasks because it’s so enjoyable.
Looking at the visuals, they are very nice. The game’s graphics are quite good and crisp. There’s a wide variety of beautiful scenery, and the scenery clearly has lots of effort and detail put into it. Some of the scenery is bright and cheery whereas other scenery is dark and gloomy. The contrasts help to set the feel for different parts of the game and make the game more fun.
In general, desolate scenery is more common than pristine scenery. In addition, much of the music is sad and often has an evil feel to it. The apocalyptical nature of the storyline mixes with the gloomy feel of the scenery and the sinister nature of the music to set the tone for the game. With this in mind, the tone is generally a dark one. For a game about angels, Wings of Vi isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. Though there are some happy and cheery parts of this game, they are the exceptions to the rule, not the rule.
As for drawbacks, there are very few. The biggest problem in this game for most will be the insane difficulty it brings to the table. Obviously, super difficult videogames are not for everyone and getting through Wings of Vi is a brutal and extremely frustrating experience. For those who love extreme difficulty though, this isn’t a drawback. The only other flaw worth noting is there are a few minor glitches. These glitches are a bit annoying, but usually aren’t that big of a deal.
Overall, I give Wings of Vi 5 out of 5 stars. Wings of Vi is an incredible game. There’s tons to do and loads of fun to be had. The levels, gameplay, and bosses are incredibly well designed. Given its bonkers difficulty and loads of unlockables, it’s going to take you a long time to beat this game, if you manage to beat it at all. Thus, you don’t have to worry about the game being really short. If you want an insanely tough side-scrolling challenge, check out Wings of Vi.
Wings of Vi Pros
Extremely difficult for those who are masochists
Awesome character customizations
Very precise controls
Great variety of gameplay and challenges
Nice variety of difficulty settings and modifiers
Outstanding Music
Puzzles and challenges push you both physically and mentally at the same time
Nice of the game to keep track of your (probably very high) death count for you
Unlockables, secrets, challenges, and harder difficulty settings add to replay value
Big confidence booster, as this game pushes you to complete challenges that seem impossible
Lets you refight bosses
Wings of Vi Cons
For those who don’t want super frustrating and difficult gameplay, this game is not for you
A few minor glitches can be a bit annoying
References
- Grynsoft. Wings of Vi. Version 1.14, Grynsoft, 2014.
- Grynsoft. “Grynsoft.” Deviant Art. Deviantart, 2021. Web. 19 Apr. 2021. <https://www.deviantart.com/grynsoft>.