Volgarr the Viking II (NS)

by
Evan Norris
, posted 16 hours ago / 613 Views

About 40 years ago, the gaming landscape was, understandably, very different. In a bid to separate consumers from their hard-earned quarters, arcade games introduced unreasonably difficulty challenges that demanded Jedi-like reflexes. Meanwhile, in the home console space, developers from Konami, Capcom, Tecmo, and Rare took turns pushing players to their limits, creating a crucible of cruelty in which an entire generation of hardened gamers was born. Nowadays, excessively difficult games are the exception to the rule. For every Cuphead or Dark Souls there are several hundred more accessible, accommodating experiences. Now and then, however, an enterprising developer will, in the words of Judge Wexler from Ghostbuster II, “reach back to a purer, sterner justice” and deliver a game that would fit right in among Ghosts ‘n Goblins and Battletoads. Volgarr the Viking II is one such game.
  
Volgarr the Viking II is a direct follow-up to Volgarr the Viking, which launched in 2013. In the previous title, the Norseman Volgarr went on an epic quest to slay the dragon Fafnir, after being resurrected by Odin. In the sequel, we find the warrior at peace in a local tavern. When monsters attack and disturb his reverie, Volgarr sets off on another adventure to prove his valor and rid the land of evil.

Story is fairly unimportant in Volgarr the Viking II. While the game has six different endings, it’s not terribly concerned with narrative, character development, theme, etc. This is a retro-inspired experience after all — a “new-oldschool” game, in the words of developer Crazy Viking Studios — and thus more interested in the story of the player’s tribulations as opposed to the the character’s.

And oh boy will there be tribulations. Although this 2D action-platformer launched in 2024, it has more in common spiritually with a Genesis or SNES game from 1994. That means a relatively short length, simple mechanics, and punishing precision gameplay. Players who grew up in arcades and cut their teeth on titles like Super Ghouls ‘n Ghosts will probably jump for joy at its straightforwardness and uncaring “git gud” mentality; while players accustomed to deeper, more approachable platformers will likely find themselves wanting something more. 

In terms of mechanics, Volgarr the Viking II does a lot with a little. While Volgarr has only a few moves — jump, attack, throw spear, roll forward — they are deployed brilliantly within the game. Indeed, it’s quite impressive how Crazy Viking Studio has achieved peak efficiency with just a handful of commands. Every situation and enemy can be overcome with the limited tools at the player’s disposal. You can duck to block low strikes, dodge through damaging attacks, and even throw spears at walls to create makeshift platforms. Mastering these controls, and coming to terms with Volgarr’s rigid movement and lack of mid-air maneuverability, is a big part of the game’s appeal.

While it’s fun to master the game’s moves, it’s less enjoyable to master its stages. This is mostly because success is determined more by rote memorization than skill. In order to survive the game’s five levels (six, if you have the chops to unlock the final, secret area) you must march into the fray, make a mistake and die, and then restart from the last checkpoint, making sure not to repeat the same mistake twice. Once you’ve clocked all the bad guys and anticipated all the traps and gotcha moments, you can make your way forward. Repeat this process dozens of times until you see everything the game has to offer. 

To be fair, video games heavy on trial and error aren’t bad per se. Titles like Super Meat Boy, Celeste, and Cuphead prove as much. The issue with Volgarr the Viking II is that it doesn’t have small, bite-sized levels or self-contained boss fights that can be restarted and repeated easily; it has unusually long stages that demand extreme patience and perseverance, on top of the need to memorize each dangerous stretch. It offers several checkpoints per stage, which is great, but it could have avoided some tedium by sticking to the original’s formula: shorter, more digestible levels. The combination of overlong stages with the need to memorize each section is ultimately what keeps this sequel from greatness.

On their own, in a vacuum, the stages are fairly good. Crazy Viking Studio experiments with some interesting mechanics here and there, like running out of oxygen underwater in the second level or using fans to move horizontally and vertically in the fourth level. They all tend to run out of steam before the exit, however. A couple suffer from so-so boss battles as well.

Despite the intense difficulty of Volgarr the Viking II, there are ways to “game” the system, so to speak. Be warned, though: these introduce some issues of their own. Every time you run out of lives, you’ll get the chance to continue from the beginning of the current stage. If you use too many continues (six to be exact) you’ll unlock undead Volgarr, who appears in a sickly green color. From this point on the character cannot take damage from attacks, only bottomless pits. It’s essentially a “cheat code” easy mode that allows players to experience the game without fear of damage. The punishment for this mode is that you’re locked into the worst possible ending.

This undead mode isn’t bad on its own — in fact it’s a nice concession for players who are struggling greatly with the standard experience — but it’s rolled out in the wrong way. For one, it’s triggered automatically, without explanation; uninitiated players could understandably think the game has glitched. For another, it’s permanent and can only be removed by deleting the save file. Crazy Viking Studio would have done better to provide a disclaimer to unknowing players, and to allow them to opt out. Or, better yet, move undead mode to a Cheats menu, and allow players to continue ad infinitum but at the cost of being locked out of the best endings, à la Cursed Castilla.

Here’s the thing, though: you don’t actually need to continue. When you run out of lives and the game offers the option to continue, you’re better off declining, returning to the main menu, and booting up your most recent checkpoint. You’ll start with only a single life, but you’ll maintain your progress in the level and keep any power-ups you had to that point. This allows you to grind each stage, checkpoint to checkpoint — not very glamorous, but probably the easiest way to beat the game while avoiding the indignity of undead mode.

No matter how you attack the campaign, you’re going to die and restart a lot. This is where the bulk of the game’s value comes from. Like the arcade games of yesteryear, you could in theory beat Volgarr the Viking II in a single sitting. But you’re more likely to spend hours upon hours making incremental progress and seeing all the bad and so-so endings, until at long last you’ve mastered the entire game and unlocked the very best conclusion. While this two-steps-forward-one-step-back rhythm can be frustrating and tedious, it can also be incredibly rewarding, if you’re willing to invest the time and mental energy.

As you stomp through the same territories again and again, you’ll come face-to-face with some nice very pixel art. A few of the backgrounds are on the plain side, but the foreground models are beefy and detailed. The graphical assets can’t compare, however, to the epic music, composed by Nikita Malko. It’s simply the best part of the game. The spooky Eldwyrr track and the rousing Dragon’s Spine track are highlights.
  
Volgarr the Viking II is a throwback title, for better or worse. On the positive side, it deploys its simple control scheme to maximum effect, leverages several interesting platforming ideas, and provides hours of challenging gameplay that will test your reflexes and resolve. On the negative side, its punishing nature, overlong levels, and general opacity can prove more frustrating than rewarding. Players who love to overcome the impossible and the unknowable will surely warm to this Viking adventure, while those seeking a gentler, friendlier experience will be left a little cold.

VGChartz Verdict

This review is based on a digital copy of Volgarr the Viking II for the NS, provided by the publisher.

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