Volgarr the Viking Review

I've played some tough games in my gaming life, but this one takes the cake. Created by Adult Swim games, Volgarr the Viking borrows features from past games to create a hodgepodge of nostalgia mixed with crippling difficulty.

If you've ever played ghouls n ghosts, Volgarr will feel familiar. You start off equipped with a sword and wooden shield. Throughout the stage, you gather armor which doubles as your life bar. Having a full armor set will allow you to take multiple hits from the game's many enemies. You're also equipped with a spear that you can throw towards foes. Finding a metal shield will allow you to charge up your spear to kill multiple enemies. Eventually, you will find a flaming sword that increases your damage and range. Depending on your skill, this all can be short-lived. Of course with these types of games, there are secret power-ups, such as clearing all the enemies on the screen. Speaking of enemies, they come at you endlessly. There's not a point where they stop appearing on screen. Most will take one hit to kill while others will take two to three hits. Bosses come in different sizes and require you to be in the right place at the right time or suffer. Depending on how geared you are, it's either going to range from a decent challenge to damn near impossible.

The controls are responsive for the most part. There's no noticeable lag when attacking and jumping. While his movement is fine, it's a little on the slow side. It feels like he's constantly walking in molasses. I'm also not a fan of his jumping mechanics. For instance, If he's trying to jump towards the right, he's stuck in that direction until he lands or performs a second jump. It can suck if you're trying to perform a precision jump on a moving platform. If you overshoot it, you're done. Having the ability to double jump helps alleviate this a bit, but it'll be much better if the player had more control of the jump distance.

The game's presentation is in 16-bit goodness. If you didn't know any better, this game could've been released during the SNES days. The music/sound effects adds a minimal but impactful effect to the game. It has a nice heroic theme at the beginning, and the first stage’s jungle level sounds appropriately tropical with a hint of danger. Volgarr's sprite is simple yet detailed, with fluid attack animations. The backgrounds, while varied, isn't something to write home about, but gets the job done. My favorite feature is the zoom out function. This allows the player to view a lot more of the stage, giving you a better heads-up to what's coming ahead. I like that the game gives you an option to play up close and personal or zoom out for the big picture. I personally just zoom out for the entirety of the game. It just makes things easier, though the game is far from easy.

If you're familiar with Dark Souls, or more recently Cuphead, then you'll feel right at home here. You will die. A lot. No seriously, this game will kick your ass. It took hours just to clear the first stage alone. Volgarr forces you to play 'perfect' in order to beat the game. It's not the enemies are super difficult, but the game punishes you severely for small mistakes. Enemies are placed in a way that if you weren't paying attention, you'll quickly lose all of your armor. You almost have to play ‘perfect’ in order to get to the checkpoint. Checkpoints are super rare in this game. At any time you die before reaching the checkpoint, you have to start from the beginning of the stage. This can get discroughing for those expecting a quick romp through the game. Patience and perfect play is the key to reaching the end.

Volgarr the Viking is a mix of old-school platforming and crazy difficulty. The lack of checkpoints makes the game less accessible for casual gamers and the clunky jumping makes the game harder than it should be. It’s still a great time-killer, although you’ll be ready to turn in after your tenth death. Only the brave dare to accept the challenges Volgarr faces. Are you up to it? Check out the game on Steam now!

Rating 3.5 out of 5
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Gameplay: 4
Controls: 3.5
Graphics: 3.5
Sound/Effects: 3