The early 2010s have been an unimaginable time to be a fan of indie video games, with classics like Limbo, Bastion, and Tremendous Meat Boy paving the best way for others to comply with. One among my favorites from that interval was the unique Volgarr the Viking – it’s a 2D platformer that appears and performs like a 16-bit Sega Genesis recreation, however one knowledgeable by the methods wherein the style had advanced because the 90s. It was brutally tough, however at all times truthful, and that cautious stability made it extremely satisfying to beat its challenges. So it pains me to say it, however that stability is all out of kinds in its 2024 sequel, Volgarr the Viking 2. It is a recreation that recaptures quite a lot of what made the unique so nice, however provides little or no to iterate on these concepts, and the few areas which can be considerably totally different find yourself being modified for the more severe.
For essentially the most half, Volgarr the Viking 2 is extraordinarily just like its 2013 predecessor. You play because the titular Volgarr, a mighty Norse warrior wielding an arsenal of weapons granted to him by the gods of Asgard, as you march from the left aspect of the stage to the precise, chopping a path by means of hordes of enemies as you go. Like many older 2D action-platformers, Volgarr the Viking is outlined as a lot by what you can’t do as it’s by what you possibly can. You’ll be able to solely swing your sword immediately in entrance of you, both crouching to hit low or standing to hit excessive; you possibly can’t management the route or momentum of your soar as soon as you allow the bottom; and whilst you can double soar, doing so additionally doubles as an assault, which is often not splendid as a consequence of the truth that some enemies will assault again when you strike them.
Whereas that will sound tough, studying to mess around these limitations is definitely one in all biggest joys I obtained out of Volgarr the Viking 2. Granted, quite a lot of it’s carried over from the primary recreation, particularly as a result of this sequel additionally recycles a big share of its enemies, however I loved how typically I needed to get artistic in fight nonetheless. You might need to leap backwards, then double soar forwards and throw a spear to hit an enemy that’s at a clumsy angle, or make use of the incline of a slope to raised line up a spear throw in opposition to an enemy that’s low to the bottom, or use your double soar slash to kill an enemy that’s immediately above you. Enemies are designed in a means that actually pressured me to make use of each single transfer in Volgarr’s restricted repertoire, which feels actually good. This creativity in drawback fixing is true for the platforming challenges as effectively, which as soon as once more make intelligent use of the truth that Volgarr’s spear might be thrown into partitions to turn out to be impromptu platforms.
There are additionally attention-grabbing little nuances to the enemies relying on the way you assault them. Draugrs, for example, die to a single swipe should you hit them excessive, however should you hit them low, their torso will fly off their physique and nonetheless be capable to harm you. Different enemies can have shields that block their high halves, leaving them susceptible to crouched slashes. Volgarr the Viking 2’s stage design does a terrific job of enjoying to the strengths and weaknesses of its enemies, oftentimes forcing you to be affected person as you anticipate an enemy that’s susceptible solely to low assaults to climb up a set of stairs so you may get a transparent shot on its legs, or discover one other solution to take care of them totally.
Volgarr the Viking 2 additionally retains the primary recreation’s tiered power-up system. You begin off with no gear, and whilst you’re on this state, you’re like Mario with no mushroom – one contact away from loss of life. To have the ability to stand up to extra hits, you’ll want to search out treasure chests, and each one in all them you open will grant you the following tier of power-up. So should you’re gearless, the following chest you discover can have boots, then a flaming sword, then a belt, and eventually a helmet to finish the set. Each power-up you get acts as each a defend in opposition to a degree of injury, but in addition a boon to your fight capabilities: The boots trigger a harmful shockwave that covers either side of you while you plunge your sword into the bottom from above, the sword doubles your assault energy, and the helmet will increase your assault pace. It’s usually a terrific system that really makes you are feeling highly effective when you’re totally equipped, and rewards you effectively for taking dangers by going out of your means a bit to attempt to gather a chest.
Going by means of the primary world, I used to be having a good time. The problem felt prefer it was in an acceptable spot of being powerful, however truthful; the degrees have been greater, positive, however there have been now checkpoints that may very well be destroyed Shovel Knight-style so as to add extra riches on the expense of shedding a respawn level; and I additionally appreciated the standard of life enhancements, like having the that sword power-up come second versus saving it for the ultimate tier. However the deeper I obtained, the much less enjoyable I discovered myself having – partly as a consequence of an unlimited problem spike as soon as I reached the second world, however largely due to the best way Volgarr the Viking 2 is structured as an entire.
A Shaky Basis
Like the unique, the marketing campaign is cut up up into 5 worlds – plus a secret sixth one – with every world consisting of two ranges and a boss. There have been no mid-level checkpoints within the first recreation, however this was a problem that was mitigated by the truth that ranges have been comparatively brief, the bosses have been easy, and there was no actual penalty for dying apart from getting locked out of sure endings.
Volgarr the Viking 2 proves that greater isn’t at all times higher, with ranges that really feel about two to 3 instances as massive. Whereas there are checkpoints, they arrive with a deadly flaw in that you just at all times respawn with none of the gear power-ups you might have collected earlier than that time, which means the primary hit you’re taking shall be deadly. And also you’re virtually by no means given a straightforward chest after a checkpoint, except the checkpoints proper earlier than a boss battle. That left me with little or no wiggle room to do any kind of trial and error experimentation in an effort to determine a well past no matter simply killed me. Loss of life can also be very punishing, as you will have a restricted variety of lives and, when you’re out, it’s important to use a proceed and get despatched again to the very starting of the extent.
There’s even a penalty for counting on continues, too. Should you use six continues over the course of a single playthrough – which could be very straightforward to do, given the issue – you completely turn out to be Zombie Volgarr, which locks you into the worst ending and makes it so that you’re impervious to wreck. Mainly, it activates God Mode whether or not you need it to or not, making you unkillable until you fall right into a pit.
I’m positive for some individuals this may be a welcome lifeline in what’s a really exhausting recreation, however for me, it felt like I used to be being pressured to make use of a cheat code that trivialized every part after it. What I really like about Volgarr is that cautious and deliberate tempo, and the aforementioned creativity that you have to use to work round your limitations and overcome its challenges. And I simply don’t get that once I’m in a position to bulldoze by means of enemies and hazards with out caring about taking harm. I so badly want that Zombie Volgarr was a selection, relatively than one thing that was pressured upon me.
Nevertheless it’s not, and I didn’t need to beat Volgarr the Viking 2 like that. However the one solution to keep away from being locked in as Zombie Volgarr for the remainder of your playthrough is to delete your save and begin the entire dang factor over again. Which I did. Time and again, for about 10 hours, making it so far as the third world till I ultimately obtained to the purpose the place any of the enjoyable that I had enjoying these first few ranges was utterly sucked out of my soul. These ranges are just too lengthy to depend on the participant being okay with replaying them over and over and over. Finally, I simply resigned and performed by means of the remainder of the marketing campaign in zombie mode to avoid wasting my sanity.
And simply in case you aren’t acquainted with my previous opinions or total style in video games, it’s value mentioning that I love to be challenged in video video games. I not too long ago reviewed Shadow of the Erdtree and had no difficulty with the issue of that DLC, nor some other recreation that I’ve reviewed all through my time at IGN. That’s to not brag, it’s simply for instance how considerably the issue balancing in Volgarr the Viking 2 feels out of whack when not in Zombie Volgarr mode.
There’s a Observe Mode that permits you to shortly replay any stage you’ve already overwhelmed, which is nice, however you continue to should play by means of the total stage first. You can also’t choose a selected checkpoint or boss struggle that’s been tripping you up, both, which makes it unappealing as a solution to attempt to grasp these ranges earlier than making an attempt to unlock one of many good endings.
It’s doubly disappointing, too, that this mode appears like Volgarr the Viking 2’s solely large, new tentpole characteristic. Exterior of the bigger ranges, the checkpoints, and some high quality of life upgrades, there are not any different large new mechanics or enhancements on this sequel. The graphics are higher, however not that significantly better; Volgarr himself has nearly no new strikes, weapons, or talents that change up his strategy to fight or platforming; and a lot of the enemies are taken immediately from the primary recreation with virtually nothing performed to change their behaviors.
