Because the launch of Volgar the Viking in 2013, followers have been itching for a full sequel to the Rastan-inspired motion platformer for over a decade at this level. Now the time has lastly arrived. Due to a partnership between developer Loopy Viking Studios and retro specialist Digital Eclipse, we will step again into the boots of Volgarr as he embarks on a quest that can show extra lethal than any he’s confronted. The result’s a sport that, frankly, feels improved in nearly each conceivable approach, making Volgarr the Viking II not solely top-of-the-line 2D motion platformers on Change, however top-of-the-line of all time.
Let’s begin with the plain: Volgarr II is brutal. There have been a number of changes made to make the sport extra approachable to newcomers, which we’ll get into in additional element later, however it’s best to know that this isn’t for the faint of coronary heart. You’ll die in Volgarr II, and you’ll die so much. Like the unique, getting by means of every stage is an train in studying the format, anticipating each enemy place, and observing their assault patterns and weaknesses. When coming into every new space for the primary time, trying to storm by means of as shortly as you’ll be able to is just not an choice; you’ll be able to ensure that there will likely be one thing mendacity in wait to convey your journey to a swift and bloody finish.
Veterans of the unique will discover themselves at a slight benefit for the reason that gameplay stays comparatively unchanged; why repair what isn’t damaged, proper? Volgarr walks at a brisk tempo, can double-jump to achieve better heights, and may throw spears into partitions to make use of as makeshift platforms. Your fundamental sword swing is satisfactory for coping with most enemies, however utilising this along with your different strikes is essential to progressing by means of a number of the sport’s tougher segments. There’s nothing fairly like leaping up, throwing a spear right into a Draugr, and somersaulting to take out a foe under you with an arching sword swing earlier than throwing a spear once more to wipe out a 3rd hapless idiot – all earlier than touchdown. Wonderful stuff.
Sadly, Volgarr isn’t essentially the most resilient of warriors and, in his fundamental kind, only one hit that isn’t blocked by his protect is sufficient to tear the flesh from his bones and ship him again to the final checkpoint. Like the unique, nonetheless, helpful upgrades might be obtained by breaking open chests littered all through the phases. There are extra of them this time, and every grants you a further hit level to push back your inevitable demise. So as, you’ve obtained boots, a flaming sword, a belt, and a helmet. The hearth sword is especially helpful because it successfully doubles your assault harm; a number of the larger enemies, just like the formally named ‘Chonky Chad’, require 4 or extra strikes earlier than dying, so halving this may make your job rather more manageable.
One of many greatest adjustments in Volgarr II comes with the brand new checkpoint and proceed system. Sure, you’ve obtained checkpoints now, that are a real blessing in case you’re new to the sport and want a serving to hand. Veterans, in the meantime, can provide themselves an additional problem and destroy the checkpoints Shovel Knight-style to achieve treasure and bonus lives. Moreover, within the unique, you may die as many instances as you want and never fear about being penalised (except you tackle the Path of the Valkyrie ranges). This time, nonetheless, Volgarr now has finite lives, and in case you run out, you’ll be given the choice to both proceed or give up out to the principle menu. Selecting the previous places you proper again to the beginning of the extent (or the mid-point in case you occur to achieve it), however it additionally comes at an incredible value.
Each proceed used will rob Volgarr of a bit of his soul. This isn’t instantly noticeable at first, however you’ll come to grasp that Volgarr turns into increasingly more pale with every continuation. Quickly sufficient, his pores and skin will likely be fully inexperienced and his hair will likely be purple; you’ve now entered ‘Undead Mode’. That is the sport basically acknowledging that you simply’ve died rather a lot and want a little bit of assist; you received’t take any harm whereas taking part in in ‘Undead Mode’ except you fall down a pit or right into a pool of slime, so you’ll be able to proceed by means of every stage fairly safely, and it’s genuinely a good way to study what’s arising with out worry of demise.
Now, the true kicker to that is that there’s no method to reverse it. You’re caught like that except you determine to delete your save and begin from scratch. See, that is the place the a number of endings come into play. Finishing Volgarr II in ‘Undead Mode’ offers you the worst ending, and which conclusion you obtain is solely depending on how effectively you play. To get the perfect ending, it’s essential to be exceptionally good on the sport and die as few instances as potential. Yikes.
It actually took us a little bit of time to come back round to the concept of the ‘Undead Mode’; as soon as we realised it was irreversible, it nearly felt like an insult to our abilities. ‘Screw you, sport,’ we thought earlier than promptly deleting the save file to begin once more. It’s solely once we re-entered ‘Undead Mode’ for the third time that we realised it could be greatest to simply embrace the assistance and use it to raised ourselves and study the degrees correctly. It is an impressed concept that, to our data, hasn’t been applied fairly this fashion in one other sport, however we suspect we’ll be seeing plenty of copycats within the years to come back. There’s additionally a ‘Observe Mode’ obtainable by way of the principle menu that can allow you to replay every particular person stage as many instances as you want when you’ve crushed them at the very least as soon as. So in case your desire is to simply begin from scratch and maintain inching ahead little by little with out dying, you are able to do that.
That’s the fantastic thing about Volgarr II. It’s not a sport that’s designed to be crushed in a single go. Progressively bettering to the purpose the place you will get by means of a single stage with out perishing is the entire level of the expertise. It’s not right here to carry your hand, and each success will likely be adopted by failure simply a short time later. For some, this may sound like a complete nightmare, however the immense feeling of satisfaction whenever you lastly handle to ace a stage in a single go is just unmatched. In brief, in case you’re somebody who relishes a problem and yearns for the times when video games made you’re employed on your reward, then you definately’ll be in heaven (and when you’ve improved sufficient, you’ll be able to toggle a speedrun timer to actually check your nerve).
Graphically, the sport has been improved drastically. It’ll nonetheless look acquainted in case you’ve performed the unique, however the environments and character design have been given an enormous revamp. Ranges vary from snowy, Nordic mountainous areas to the very depths of hell itself, and that is conveyed with beautiful pixel artwork that bursts with color. You possibly can regulate the visuals ever so barely by way of the principle menu, too, with a scaling filter providing ‘sharp bilinear’ or ‘level’. The previous provides a refined smoothing impact, and it appears good, however we opted for the latter for a a lot cleaner, sharper picture. It appears fantastic on the massive display.
The one challenge we’ve got with the visuals — and it is a small one, thoughts — is the UI. As you’ll be able to see within the screenshots, you’re proven what number of lives Volgarr has left together with which upgrades you’ve obtained in your journey. It’s nice that it’s there, and we wouldn’t need it eliminated solely, however it’s a contact too giant and central for our liking. Shrinking it down barely, or shifting it additional into the nook could be supreme. It’s not overly intrusive, however each time we take a look at it, we will’t assist however assume, ‘Hmm, bit too massive.’ Possibly this may be tweaked in a patch.
Maybe essentially the most important aesthetic enchancment, nonetheless, comes with the music. Every orchestrated observe is just chic, giving your journey by means of every stage an enormous sense of function; such as you’re on the best way to Mordor to toss the One Ring into the fires of Mount Doom itself. It’s epic stuff, and admittedly, the primary sport pales compared. We’ve been replaying each main theme in our minds ever since selecting up the sport, and actually, if Loopy Viking Studios decides to launch an official soundtrack, it could give our gymnasium classes a much-needed kick up the bottom.
The very last thing we’ll point out is that load instances in Volgarr II are snappy. Contemplating how usually you will die, give up out to the menu, and begin a brand new sport, we actually respect how seamless it feels. We truly timed it to ensure our judgement wasn’t being clouded by the fantastic gameplay; quitting a sport and loading up a brand new one takes lower than 5 seconds.
Conclusion
Volgarr the Viking II is, fairly merely, top-of-the-line 2D motion platformers on Change, or another platform for that matter. It improves upon the unique in nearly each conceivable approach, introducing neat methods to ease newcomers into its relentless brutality, vastly bettering the visuals, and including a soundtrack that’s destined to go down as one of many all-time greats. Minor quibbles with the UI apart, Volgarr the Viking II is an absolute must-play in case you can abdomen the extreme issue.
