The Vex series is one of the most consistently excellent platformer series in browser gaming. Each game follows a stick figure character through increasingly sadistic obstacle courses of spikes, saws, balls, and crumbling platforms. If you've struggled with any game in the series, this guide will help.
The Core Controls
Every Vex game uses the same basic controls: arrow keys or WASD to move, spacebar or up arrow to jump. You can wall-slide and wall-jump by running into a wall and jumping. The wall jump is the most important advanced technique in the series — without it, many sections are effectively impossible. Practice wall jumps in the early levels of any Vex game before proceeding, because later levels assume you have this technique mastered.
Vex 3
Vex 3 is where many players enter the series and is considered by many to be the best entry point. The level design here is the most fair of the early games — challenging but logical. Each obstacle type is introduced clearly before being used in combination with others. Pay attention to the introduction sections (the narrow corridors at the start of each act) as they preview exactly what you'll face in the main level.
Vex 4
Vex 4 introduces more moving obstacles and requires better timing than Vex 3. The saw blades here move in patterns you need to memorize before committing to a run through a section. Watch each moving obstacle for two or three complete cycles before attempting to pass it. Rushing leads to repeated deaths; patience leads to progress.
Vex 5
Vex 5 adds water sections where your movement behaves differently. Underwater, your jump becomes a slow float and horizontal movement is more sluggish. These sections require adjusting your timing expectations — jumps that feel instant on land become slow and floaty underwater. The game is still fair, but you need to recalibrate for each environment change.
Vex 6
Vex 6 is generally considered the hardest entry in the series. It assumes mastery of everything in the previous games and combines multiple obstacle types simultaneously without the gentler introduction of earlier entries. If you're new to the series, play Vex 3 first and work up to Vex 6 — jumping straight to it will be frustrating.
Vex 7
Vex 7 continues the same design philosophy as Vex 6 but with new environmental mechanics that add teleporters and gravity-shifting sections. The gravity sections in particular require completely rethinking your spatial orientation — what was the floor is now the ceiling and your instincts about which direction is safe need to be actively overridden.
General Tips for All Vex Games
Die deliberately in new sections. When you reach a section you haven't seen before, don't try to survive it on your first attempt — send your character through to see what's there, then use that information on subsequent attempts. This is faster than cautiously probing forward and dying unexpectedly anyway. Learn what kills you, then plan around it.