This new video player feels exactly like what VLC should’ve become

For almost two decades, VLC Media Player has been one of the first apps I install on a new computer. It is the reliable, orange-coned workhorse that will play anything I throw at it, from corrupted AVI files to modern MKVs. However, I’ve always had one persistent complaint: VLC’s interface looks like it was designed in 2002—I can imagine you muttering, because, well, it largely was. Fair enough. While it is functionally perfect, its interface is a relic of cluttered menus, gray toolbars, and a utilitarian design that sticks out like a sore thumb on Windows 11.