Vholume review – a headlong rush of parkour perfection in a brutalist wonderland
The Guardian has reviewed Vholume, a PC parkour racing game from developers Nathan Grange, Léonard Lemaitre and Niels Tiercelin, praising it as an exhilarating, tightly designed successor to titles such as Babbdi and Straftat. The game combines a Mirror's Edge-style urban gymnast moveset with dystopian, surreal environments evoking Half-Life 2's City 17 and the paintings of Giorgio de Chirico, and the reviewer notes it displays genuine curatorial taste rather than merely borrowing influences. This matters because the game is being held up as an example of confident, accessible design that rewards mastery without alienating less skilled players.
Players race on foot through strange concrete cityscapes, chaining wall-runs and power-slides to reach level exits and climb worldwide leaderboards, with options to replay for better times or challenge others' ghosts in multiplayer. The reviewer highlights the game's forgiving mechanics, which let weaker players muddle through via exploits and near-miraculous saves, while top-tier players unlock genuine technical beauty. Later levels introduce puzzle-like complexity with jump pads and moving environments, though the review suggests the earlier, simpler stages offer a more even balance of designer and player enjoyment; overall, the game is framed as thriving on instinct and reflex rather than deliberate thought.
- Vholume is praised as an exhilarating, stylish PC parkour racing game
- Combines Mirror's Edge-style movement with surreal dystopian cityscapes
- Accessible for beginners, but true depth rewards top-level speedrunners