Feels amazing to play and looks really cute

The one thing no one will tell you about this game (which is so obscure to the point where I could only find maybe three reviews outside of Steam, one of them being on YouTube) is that it's absolutely unhinged.

Vividlope is an arcade puzzle game with Y2K vibes that's all about changing the colour of the tiles on a stage to the requested colour. Sounds simple enough, but there's *so much* going on at once that this simple premise quickly turns into a fight for survival as you avoid enemies and even dispatch them when possible, all while keeping your eyes peeled for bonus fruits (pun intended) and being careful not to step on the same tile too much so as to keep your score high. Lemme tell you, easy mode is not as easy as it says on the tin. I can't imagine what hard mode's gonna be like, not to mention the endless mode.

It's absolute chaos wrapped in a lovely early 2000s bow that would've fit right in with the Dreamcast and PS2 crowds. And although I can't play it for too long per session, I absolutely love it. It's very niche due to how hectic it is and it won't be for everyone; but if it clicks, it's sublime.

I only have two things to actually critique, things I hope the developer will address at some point.

1) It'd be neat if there was a stress-free, puzzle-focused mode where we have to fill in the tiles without having to worry about enemies. This could come with a collection of new, exclusive levels with strict rules. For instance, you can't step on the same tile twice or it's game over. This would be a nice expansion to those puzzle mini-games in other games where you have to fill out tiles in much the same fashion, but stepping on the same tile twice resets the whole thing. I'm pretty sure the GBC Zelda games had puzzles like this. Vividlope's jumping mechanic and tile-colouring items could take this concept to the next level.

2) The soundtrack is phenomenal, so it's quite saddening that it isn't available on Steam, or even Spotify. Sure, it's available on Bandcamp, but that's far from ideal. For starters, I'd love to have the soundtrack on my Steam Deck so I can listen to it on the go while playing other games. I'm not the first one to say that the soundtrack should also be available on Steam at the very least, but hopefully I'll be the last. One can dream...

All in all, this was a fantastic addition to my library at only £8.50. What a bargain! If you come across it and you're into Y2K aesthetics and unhinged puzzles, don't hesitate to grab it!

honestly one of the best puzzle games ive ever played, absolute gem