Vertigo 2 review: zanily inventive and quietly revolutionary

I enjoyed the first Vertigo—a zany space adventure in which we play a young woman trying to find her way home, navigating a vast and treacherous alien universe. But the sequel is on another level, cranking up the charm and innovation, and constantly tossing around ideas—some sticking better than others, but all contributing to a sense of quirky largesse. The fact that Vertigo 2 was mostly the work of one developer, 22-year-old Zach Tsiakalis-Brown, makes it quietly revolutionary.

Like many other VR productions, a large chunk of the action takes place in sterile-looking rooms and corridors. But there’s also loads of outside environments that feel busy and vibrant, peppered with friends and foe, from a helpful orb-like robot named Therus (friend) to various beasts we defeat during boss battles (foe).

From the start, Tsiakalis-Brown reveals a keen understanding of space and staging. The game begins in a small room, with us observing a human—Brian, who pops up throughout the runtime—through a wall of glass. We have a limited ability to move around but can’t navigate away, meaning we have to listen to what he’s saying. This technique is far more satisfying than games that freeze you into one place, preventing you from moving while an NPC monologues.

Brian prattles on about how the primary side effect of quantum power is that “alien life forms are yanked in from alternate universes,” contextualising the motley array of creatures coming up. He hands over what he calls a “biometric arm-mounted multitool,” a device that allows us to store items and switch between weapons.

The small room we’re situated in is revealed to be an elevator shaft, which, as it descends, provides glimpses of the rest of the compex—a nifty way to “explore” the space around us, without really being allowed to explore it at all. On one floor we see reptilian-like alien creatures submerged in bullet-shaped tanks; on another, a group of robots watch a pro-Brian propaganda video, implying a vast politicized world beyond our immediate reach. I say “immediate” because there’s all sorts of wacky environments coming up, from—here’s just a few—enchanted forests, a wartorn coastal city, and the insides of massive building-sized sea creature.

These environments lack the detail and finessing that might’ve come from a bigger budget. Vertigo 2 isn’t a AAA game, though it’s a mighty fine imitation of one. Tsiakalis-Brown makes up for it in other ways, including striking use of lighting, one scene for instance taking place on a small boat during a stormy night. As the vessel is tossed around by violent waves, the air is punctured by flashes of lightning and lights from enemy boats. Many of the games environments don’t feel merely like locations to explore or pass through: they feel like spectacular set pieces, brought to life with atmospheric flair. 

The gameplay is repetitive—like virtually all first-person shooters—though there are varied elements, i.e. lots of different weapons, cinematic locations, and a highly effective combination of locomotion and teleportation navigation. Plotwise you never knew what Vertigo 2 is going to throw at you: the storyline is haphazard and erratic, entertaining multiverse ideas involving infinite worlds and endless challenges.

At one point, about halfway through the experience, I arrived at an entry point to a city where two guards, from different armies, were engaged in an angry altercation. I wasn’t sure what to do; the story seemed to have stalled. So I shot one of them. The other, a robot-like thing with a Russian accent, thanked me, then led me through the city to meet his leader, who recruited me to fight on the frontline. I realised later, while watching a Youtube playthrough, that the story branches off in different directions depending which character you shoot. It’s a clever way to do a branching narrative; so clever I didn’t even notice there was a choice.  

Reminding myself that Vertigo 2 was mostly the work of one person was almost surreal. How could the bulk of a game this big and fun come from just Tsiakalis-Brown? But a more exciting question is: if he can make an experience like this on a small budget, what might he do with a big one?