VVVVVV - No Death Mode ALL Clear
66Seeing as everyone was doing it.
So, something a bit different.
I don't think this game needs an introduction, but for those of you who have been living under a rock, VVVVVV is a popular smash hit indie title that is commended by it's gameplay, level design and soundtrack. It's very good.
No Death Mode is, as it's implied by its name, an unlockable mode that removes all of the checkpoints in the game, forcing you to beat it without dying.
This forces you to learn the game, beat it in one sitting and turns the game into more of an arcade experience. It's tricky but it's also a lot of fun. It's a lot different from playing it normally where most excitement and challenge was nullified by a checkpoint literally every few feet away.
As for the run itself:
Space Station 1: Very easy and it's just there to waste your time in a run like this. Luckily it only takes like a minute to beat.
The Laboratory: I choose this level as the first stage to beat because it has some annoying jumps like Thorny Exchange and it killed me way too many times for it to be an issue. I also choose it first because it's one of the shortest stages, more on that later.
Next was The Tower because again this was one of the shortest stages. I wanted to get to intermission 1 as fast as possible and this was the easiest way. The stage itself is trivial as long as you don't rush.
The last two challenge rooms in Intermission 1 are pretty annoying and require some really good timing. This was what I wanted to get out of the way as soon as possible.
At this point it didn't really matter which level to do next but I went for the Warp Zone at the time. Getting to the Warp Zone takes an annoyingly long amount of time which is why I like to postpone it till later in the run. Fun fact: I actually died like three times in that place two screens before the first teleporter because I haven't practiced the overworld at all. Nothing that tricky with a bit of practice in this level though. That last jump in I love You is pretty tricky until you realize that you can go of a platform a bit and still flip. Flipping when you're about to go over the edge will get you safely across.
And this brings us to the Graviton. Possibly the hardest part of the entire game and the major roadblock that prevents people from completing no death mode.
For the first two phases you want to stay near the middle and not get pushed into the sides, which is easy enough. The third phase is the hardest part of the entire thing though, as you'll have to dodge random bullets coming from both sides. However it's not that bad if you pay attention to the warning signals and plan your dodging route ahead of time, although it can still give you some bad RNG. The final parts are static. Make big sideways sweeps through the waves and make sure you're near the left for the final part. It's important to know that you can go under or above bullets that are one block away from the edge.
Space Station 2 is the longest level in the game but honestly it isn't too difficult, it's just a battle of attrition. It's probably more sensible after the Graviton to leave The Tower for last seeing as it's an easy, short stage but eh.
The final level is tricky although a lot can be trivialized by remembering some tricks to dodge them. There are some where you'll have to do it yourself though and those are the major roadblocks.
Woops sorry for the Steam popups.