UVSU: A gorgeous indie claymation platformer where you battle against your own past choices

If you’re a fan of indie platformers, there are plenty of options available to choose from, both 2D and 3D, but it takes something special to make one stand out amid the rest of them. UVSU is a platformer that has not one but two unique selling points, and it is absolutely wonderful. 

UVSU is currently under development by Dietzribi, who has previously worked on the absolutely incredible perspective-shifting Toodee and Topdee. It blends traditional platforming mechanics with a gorgeous claymation art style and pits you against yourself. 

You vs. you

It took me far longer than I care to admit to figure out why UVSU was called UVSU. When it did finally dawn on me, I hung my head in shame at how simple the name actually is: You vs. you. 

It makes so much sense because the biggest standout mechanic in UVSU is having to compete against yourself to finish a section. You complete it once, which is a straightforward run to where you need to be. Then, a second version of you has to complete it again, while trying to stop the previous version of yourself from completing it. It’s hard to explain, but it’s a really interesting and fun mechanic. 

It doesn’t stop at just two versions of yourself, either. There can be two, three, or even four versions trying to battle it out to prevent the others from completing their attempts. It’s like the Spiderman meme, you know the one, where they’re all pointing at each other? Imagine that, but it’s all claymation angels and devils out to get in the way of each other. 

A claymation adventure

There’s something special about claymation. Maybe it’s because I grew up watching Wallace and Gromit, but I always find the art style soothing to the eyes. UVSU is entirely made in the claymation style. From the character(s) you control at any given time, to the bosses, to the walls and backgrounds of the levels that you’re trying to get through. 

The style is wildly different from Dietzribi’s previous game, Toodee and Topdee, but that doesn’t make it any less stunning to look at. I asked the developer what inspired the style, and his inspiration is remarkably simple: there aren’t many claymation games. Inspired by games such as The Neverhood, he went on to create the models used in UVSU.

Dietzribi creates the claymation models using plasticine to begin with, then takes a photo and edits them to become usable assets in UVSU. It truly is an impressive feat and shows how much care and attention has gone into the creation of the game, and why it has such an utterly charming handmade feel. 

UVSU has come a long way

If you head to the Dietzribi’s itch.io page, you’ll see a previous iteration of UVSU that can be played in your browser. It is massively different from what the game has become, but the bones of the idea and the charm are still very much evident. 

UVSU has come a long way since the days of being a pixelated game that reminds me of Pico Park in all of the best ways. The puzzles in the game, as it stands now, are more or less the same as the levels of the itch.io version, and it’s really nice to see the difference and effort that has gone into making UVSU stand out from the crowd. 

UVSU doesn’t have a definite release date just yet, but there’s a demo available to download through Steam right now. It’s absolutely worth your time, and you’ll fall in love with the art style and mechanics from the very beginning.