VVVVVV challenge modes guide: time trials, no death and custom levels
Choose an extra challenge that matches the skill you want to practise.
Edition covered
The original VVVVVV campaign, illustrated with publisher PC screenshots. Extra modes and user-made levels are distinct from the main rescue campaign.
Time-trial unlock requirements
Each trial combines rescue progress with a total trinket threshold. The Final Level trial requires completing the game as well as collecting 18 trinkets.
| Trial | Story requirement | Trinkets |
|---|---|---|
| Space Station 1 | Rescue / reunite with Violet | 3 |
| The Laboratory | Rescue Victoria | 6 |
| The Tower | Rescue Vermilion | 9 |
| Space Station 2 | Rescue Vitellary | 12 |
| Warp Zone | Rescue Verdigris | 15 |
| The Final Level | Complete the game | 18 |
Ranks and extra-mode unlocks
Time trials score three conditions: finish within the target time, collect every trial trinket and avoid deaths. Meeting none gives B, one gives A, two gives S and all three gives V.
| Mode | Unlock | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| Flip Mode | Complete the game | Flips the display vertically |
| Intermissions Mode | Complete both intermissions | Replay their challenges |
| No Death Mode | S rank or better in four trials | One death ends the run |
| Secret Lab / Super Gravitron | All 20 trinkets and Victoria conversation | Optional survival challenge and trophies |
User levels have their own design
Community levels can rearrange hazards and use different difficulty expectations. Main-campaign room advice does not guarantee a solution in a custom dimension.
Use short practice sessions
When mistakes become automatic, replay an easier segment or stop briefly. Precision improves when you can explain the error rather than simply repeat the same failed input.
References
| Reference | Website |
|---|---|
| VVVVVV publisher listing | store.steampowered.com |
| Developer’s VVVVVV site | thelettervsixtim.es |
| Official VVVVVV source and documentation | github.com |
| VVVVVV crew locations | vvvvvv.fandom.com |
| Shiny Trinket room reference | vvvvvv.fandom.com |
| Original PC mode unlocks | gamefaqs.gamespot.com |
| Mode and time-trial conditions | spacestation.fandom.com |