Vholume is a meditative and surreal experience that emphasizes momentum while simultaneously surrounding the player with compelling visuals that enticed me to stop and breath in the atmosphere. Its gameplay consists of fast, floaty parkour which at terminal velocity finds a player practically bouncing around the map. Controls are intuitive and it will not be long before one can speed through its levels. There is not a glut of mechanics, you will mostly be jumping, sliding, and wall running as need be. It is a testament to the strength of the level design that these three simple mechanics can carry such an exhilarating gameplay loop.
The genius of this game, however, is in its tone which is simply magnetic. Its soundtrack is dreamily contemplative and its approach to the design of its architecture and npcs is superb. I found myself often leaving the beaten path simply because I wanted to fully explore every corner of each map. For a game that wants you to speed run it, I could not spend enough time making my way towards the finish line. Unfortunately, the game punctuates its levels by stopping gameplay to show you your time and ranking. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed working my way towards gold medaling the levels, but it is immersion breaking to have my flow state constantly interrupted when all I wanted to do was get lost in the games exemplary landscapes.
Vholume’s most interesting levels take place in Potemkin cities that evoke a depressing feeling of solitude. There was a civilization here, it’s gone now. What few characters you do meet are as outlandish as their surroundings. They will share some words with you but will not converse or answer questions you may have. There will occasionally reference a ministry that may have at one point been of some importance, but it seems more a figment of the past than an active force within the game. Rather than fill itself with exposition and plot, Vholume correctly concerns itself with cultivating a particular vibe and in doing so succeeds wildly in creating a world full of mystery that is utterly enrapturing to inhabit. There are abundant secrets and the developers have a clear interest in opening up pathways to community designed levels so that the game can have a life beyond their influence. I look forward to periodically returning to this game just to dip back into its unique world.
Vholume is clearly a passion project from a small team with an outsized creative ability, their singularity of vision and dedication to cultivating a particular kind of serene, contemplative tone has created a work that speaks volumes.
