OVIVO is a mesmerizing platformer that breaks the mold with its unusual mechanics where everything is rendered in simple black and white. More than just a gimmick, the monochrome aesthetic serves as a core metaphor for a game filled with illusions, hidden depths, and open-ended meaning.
Released in 2018, OVIVO comes from Russian indie studio IzHard. The player takes the role of OVO, a character literally split into black and white halves. Each color has its own gravity that pulls in opposite directions. By constantly shifting back and forth, OVO is able to navigate the puzzle-like levels. The momentum you build up is preserved when you change colors, allowing you to almost surf along the borders where contrasting gravity fields meet.
This novel movement system is perhaps OVIVO’s most appealing feature. The mechanic introduces complex new ways to maneuver through the environment. Chaining redirections and using gravity shifts to arc through the air becomes deeply satisfying with practice. Solving certain puzzles can feel like assembling a Rube Goldberg machine, linking together gravity bounces and mid-air flips. This gameplay supports OVIVO’s core themes, creating harmony from opposing forces.
Beyond the smart mechanics, OVIVO’s mysterious world brims with visual riches. The stark 2D art style makes excellent use of optical illusions, hidden images, and surreal transitions between areas. Giant hands, keys, and cryptic symbols litter the landscape, hinting at some grand allegory. The striking visuals have an eerie, dreamlike quality that compels you forward through minimalist corridor levels and stark underground spaces.
To fully immerse players in this enigmatic realm, OVIVO dispenses with excessive text and dialogue. The story unfurls through the scenery, music, and moments of revelation when solving puzzles. This design creates a meditative, almost spiritual mood. The ambient soundtrack by Brokenkites enhances the otherworldly atmosphere.
With no instructions beyond the core mechanics, OVIVO leaves much open to interpretation. You are placed in a strange world and left to decipher its secrets. This ambiguity allows for a more personal experience, with players projecting their own meanings onto the game.
These elements come together to produce an experience both cerebral and visceral. Even after unraveling OVIVO’s narrative, its striking visuals and satisfying gameplay create an enduring allure. The novel gravity mechanic grants new possibilities for movement and puzzle solving. Contrasting forces harmonize to enable wondrous feats of platforming. OVIVO’s cryptic world offers challenge and catharsis, with personal meaning waiting to be discovered. This inventive black-and-white game proves opposites can attract.
