VHOLUME Multiplayer Co-Op Guide: How to Race, Share Ghosts, and Dominate Lobbies with Friends

If you’re playing VHOLUME purely for the story, you’re missing a pretty big part of what makes this strange little parkour game so addictive.

I went in expecting a slow, atmospheric first-person adventure through brutalist concrete corridors, and that side of the game is absolutely there. The Ministry, the miserable architecture, Robert’s bureaucratic nightmare — all of it gives VHOLUME a wonderfully oppressive personality. But once you start racing another player through the same environment, the game suddenly feels completely different.

A hallway stops being a hallway. It becomes a shortcut.

A wall stops being decoration. It becomes a launch point.

And that staircase you thought was the intended route? Forget it. There’s probably a faster way over the roof.

That is where VHOLUME multiplayer really shines. It isn’t traditional co-op where everyone simply works together to clear objectives. Instead, it mixes real-time racing with asynchronous ghost competition, giving you several ways to compete with friends even when nobody is online.

Here’s how I’d approach VHOLUME multiplayer, including the movement tricks, lobby setup, ghost system, shortcuts, and PC settings that can make a surprisingly big difference.

What Makes VHOLUME Multiplayer Different?

VHOLUME uses two multiplayer ideas that complement each other extremely well: real-time multiplayer races and asynchronous ghost runs.

The first is straightforward. You and your friends enter the same level, run through it simultaneously, and try to reach the finish first.

The second is much more interesting for anyone who enjoys speedrunning. Your previous runs can be represented by ghosts, allowing you to race against another player’s recorded movement even when they’re nowhere near their PC.

Personally, the ghost system is the feature I’d spend the most time with. Real-time races are exciting, but ghosts let you slow down and actually understand why someone faster than you is faster.

How to Play VHOLUME With Friends

The easiest way to organize a session is through a private lobby. I would honestly recommend this over relying on public matchmaking whenever possible.

Public lobbies can be fun, but early multiplayer issues can make random matchmaking less predictable than simply inviting someone directly.

Hosting a Private VHOLUME Lobby

The basic process is:

1. Launch VHOLUME through Steam.
2. Select Multiplayer from the main menu.
3. Create a new multiplayer session.
4. Change the privacy setting to Friends Only.
5. Open the Steam Overlay with Shift + Tab.
6. Find your friend in the Steam friends list and send an invitation.
7. Once everyone is inside, choose your level and start the run.

There isn’t much mystery here, but private sessions have one major advantage: you know exactly who you’re racing.

That makes them much better for experimenting with routes. You can run the same map five or ten times, compare shortcuts, and gradually turn the whole thing into a personal time trial competition.

Joining a Friend’s Session

If someone else is hosting, keep VHOLUME running at the main menu and accept their Steam invitation.

If the notification doesn’t appear, you can usually open the Steam friends list manually and use the Join Game option next to the host.

If the connection gets stuck, don’t immediately assume your internet is broken. Multiplayer sessions can fail because of lobby transitions, full sessions, or clients being on different game versions.

VHOLUME Multiplayer Connection Problems

The most frustrating multiplayer problem is the dreaded situation where you try to join a friend and get kicked back out with a connection or host error.

My first rule here is simple: don’t keep hammering the same broken lobby.

Instead, try these fixes in order:

• Make sure everyone is running the same game version.
• Have the host completely close the current lobby.
• Return to the main menu.
• Create a fresh session.
• Send new Steam invitations.
• Prefer direct friend invites over public matchmaking.

It sounds almost too basic, but restarting the actual lobby rather than repeatedly attempting to reconnect can save a surprising amount of time.

Ghosts Are Your Best Training Partner

The asynchronous ghost system is where VHOLUME becomes much more than a multiplayer racing game.

A ghost effectively shows you another player’s route through the level. You’re not just seeing their final time — you’re seeing how they moved through the environment.

This is incredibly useful because VHOLUME’s fastest routes aren’t always obvious.

A good ghost can reveal:

• Where to start a wall-run.
• Which ledges can be skipped.
• When to slide instead of land normally.
• Which walls can be chained together.
• Where a seemingly pointless jump actually saves several seconds.

If you’re stuck improving your personal best, don’t just stare at the leaderboard.

Follow the fastest ghost you can find and watch what it does differently.

Then try to reproduce one section at a time.

That’s much more effective than trying to copy an entire run immediately.

The Movement Tricks That Actually Matter

VHOLUME’s movement system rewards players who think about momentum rather than individual actions.

Running, jumping, sliding and wall-running aren’t isolated mechanics. The interesting part is how you connect them.

Wall-Run Acceleration

One of the most useful techniques is using wall contact to generate additional speed.

You don’t necessarily want to stay attached to a wall for as long as possible. In many situations, the better approach is to touch the wall, trigger the acceleration, and immediately jump away.

Think of the wall as a springboard rather than a road.

Once you recognize that distinction, certain sections of the game become much easier to optimize.

Look for areas where two walls are close enough to alternate between them. Chaining these contacts can preserve your momentum far better than simply running along a single surface.

Slide Into Jump

Sliding is another mechanic that’s easy to underestimate.

If you land from a drop normally, you can lose valuable forward momentum. Sliding immediately after landing gives you a way to keep moving instead of coming to a dead stop.

Then comes the important part: jump from the slide.

This can turn a landing into another launch, allowing you to cover gaps without taking the slower route through the level.

When you’re racing friends, these tiny transitions matter. Losing half a second at three different points can turn a winning run into a second-place finish.

Stop Following the Obvious Route

This is probably the most important advice I can give anyone starting VHOLUME:

The route that looks correct probably isn’t the fastest route.

The brutalist environments are deliberately vertical and maze-like. There are beams, pipes, ledges, rooftops, windows and other pieces of architecture that can become part of your route.

Whenever you enter a new area, don’t immediately look for the obvious doorway.

Look up.

Then look behind you.

Then look for somewhere that appears completely unreasonable to reach.

That’s usually where things get interesting.

Divide the Scouting Work With Friends

If you’re playing with another person, don’t necessarily race immediately.

Use the first attempt as reconnaissance.

One player can test the obvious ground route while the other investigates upper platforms and wall-run possibilities. After a few attempts, compare what you found.

This turns multiplayer into something more cooperative without taking away the competitive element.

You aren’t just trying to beat your friend.

You’re helping each other discover a route that you can then compete over.

Secret Areas and Ability Items

Some levels also reward players who explore away from the obvious path.

Keep an eye out for unusual glowing objects, isolated corners and areas that appear to serve no obvious purpose.

Some pickups can alter your movement options or make certain sections easier to navigate. Even if an item doesn’t save time on your current run, discovering it can teach you something about how the level was designed.

And this becomes even more interesting once you start exploring Steam Workshop content.

Community-made levels can take VHOLUME’s movement mechanics much further than the main campaign. If you enjoy solving movement puzzles, these maps are worth checking out once you’ve become comfortable with the game’s basic mechanics.

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Don’t Let Your PC Ruin a Good Run

This is the boring part, but it’s important.

VHOLUME is a game where a tiny interruption can completely destroy a run. If your frame rate suddenly collapses while you’re halfway through a wall-run, that’s not a mistake you can recover from.

One setting worth paying particular attention to is TSR.

If you’re experiencing unexpectedly poor performance, especially unusually high GPU usage combined with disappointing frame rates, try disabling TSR or switching to another anti-aliasing option.

For a game built around timing, I’d rather have consistent frame delivery than prettier temporal reconstruction.

Basic PC Requirements

The game’s relatively modest hardware requirements make it accessible to a wide range of systems.

Of course, minimum specifications don’t automatically mean you’ll get a perfect competitive experience. If you’re serious about speedrunning, prioritize stability, low input latency and consistent frame pacing over squeezing every last visual effect out of the game.

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My Favorite Way to Play VHOLUME Multiplayer

After getting familiar with the different systems, I’d recommend a simple progression.

First, learn the level alone. Don’t worry about your time. Figure out the basic movement and identify potential shortcuts.

Second, load a strong ghost. Follow it carefully instead of trying to beat it immediately.

Third, practice individual sections. Focus on wall contacts, slides and jumps that actually save time.

Finally, invite a friend and race.

That’s when the game becomes genuinely addictive.

You suddenly remember the exact shortcut your friend hasn’t discovered yet. They find a different route. You both start shaving seconds off your times. Eventually, a level you’ve already completed ten times starts feeling like a completely new puzzle.

And that’s really what I like about VHOLUME.

The multiplayer isn’t simply an extra mode bolted onto a single-player parkour game. It changes how you look at the environment.

A concrete wall becomes a movement tool. A rooftop becomes a shortcut. A failed jump becomes information. A ghost becomes a teacher. And your friend’s best time becomes a personal challenge you absolutely have to beat.

VHOLUME’s bleak city may be built around bureaucracy, concrete and restrictions, but its movement system is almost the opposite.

The game wants you to break out of the route it’s giving you.

Once you understand that, racing through the city with friends stops being a simple multiplayer feature and becomes the real game within the game.

VHOLUME – Concrete Jungle