VOLGARR THE VIKING II

Volgarr the Viking II is one of those games none of us expected to see become a reality: the sequel to a relatively decent, cult platformer with strong influences from Ghouls 'n Ghosts and Rastan. It felt more like a "one-and-done" effort, and the general feeling of the first Volgarr was that it didn't make any notable sale figures. Let's not forget, however, that it was a product of Kickstarter, so even if the buzz around its name in the following years died out, it may have been of no consequence. The team at Crazy Viking Studios apparently had a different opinion on the future of the franchise. To be honest, I wasn't looking forward to it with bated breath, although I was intrigued by the fact that the developers had promised a more accessible game this time around without significantly sacrificing its old-school challenge. It's time to find out, after we've donned our sword and shield. The road to Valhalla is not strewn with flowers.

After the defeat of the Lizardmen and the dragon Fafnir who was behind their attack on the lands of the North, Volgarr has earned a second chance to life in Midgard, thanks to his unparalleled courage that impressed Odin. And while enjoying his ale among fellow warriors, a new threat storms into his village. Once again he will spring into action immediately. For anyone who's played even one 2d, sidescrolling action game in the last 30 years, Volgarr the Viking II is quite a rote. Platforming (sometimes absurdly pixel-perfect), slaughtering everything that moves with ill intent towards us, and lots of deaths - at least the accompanying soundtrack is inconceivably epic, so we won't get bored of playing the same parts over and over again.

Our hero remains relatively rigid, in the sense that we can't completely control his jump into the air, but can only correct it to a certain extent with the double jump (it reminds us a lot of Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts). The difference with most platformers in the market is that Volgarr II has to be tackled slowly and deliberately, almost like a puzzle game. Hasty moves and charging ahead will in the majority of cases have very dire consequences. The difficulty, although not as hight as that of the first game, it's not lacking sudden spikes and the occasional unbalanced parts e.g. the 2nd level being much tougher than the 3rd.

A comparison between the two games is essential at this point. Their differences focus exclusively on Quality of Life features that make the second Volgarr adventure more player-friendly. In the first Volgarr game we had checkpoints in the middle of each level, in the second one additional checkpoints have been added but at the same time the levels are larger. For any masochists reading us, notice that these are optional, as you can hit them to permanently destroy them in exchange for some valuables added to your high score (as was the case in Shovel Knight). After game over (up to 6 lives is the maximum number on the counter, which seems oddly anachronistic), we can continue right from the checkpoint we were at rather than the beginning of the level, definitely a positive as it respects the players' time.

A change for the better has also been made in the upgrade path of our hero. In the original game the upgrades (found in chests) followed the following order: wooden shield, metal shield, helmet, fire sword. In this game the upgrades are in the order: boots, fire sword, belt, helmet, emeralds. This design in the original game was TERRIBLE for two reasons. First, our character's default state was without a shield (the wooden one even broke after a few hits) which meant we couldn't block projectiles and with the next enemy attack we were... swept away by the Valkyries. Second, the upgrade to the attack (fire sword) came too late, as we had to have collected all the previous equipment without taking a hit in the meantime. The icing on the cake? If we took damage while we had the sword, we lost the helmet along with it! Hosiery towards the player, at its finest. Thankfully the creators realized their mistake and did the appropriate thing.

At this point I have to share something with you... I can't remember the last time I felt humiliation, anger, frustration and generally negative feelings in a game. Well, Volgarr the Viking II managed to do just that. And before you rush to point your finger and give valuable advice like you're a noob, git gud etc. I should explain what this is about: it's not about the difficulty of the game - in fact, I'd say I've become quite impassive in "tough situations". It's about not properly communicating to the player what happens when they run out of lives. You have two options, one is Continue and the other is Quit. Never, FOR ANY REASON choose Continue. At least no more than 5 times, if I counted correctly. Even once locks you out of the best endings, but that is the least of your worries.

You see, every time our hero comes back to life this way, something changes about him. He looks less and less... alive. Until he practically becomes invulnerable (except for falling into bottomless pits). The lack of information from the game, without exaggeration, really spoiled my first run through it. There should definitely be a prompt if you want to reduce the difficulty, as there is in many other games.

After 11 years, I cannot say with certainty that "more of the same" will be enough for the majority of players. Certainly the changes I mentioned above are undoubtedly beneficial to the game, but after such a long time since its predecessor, I expected more. The sequence of moves to perform is strictly predetermined. Once you learn how to act, it works every time. This is one of its strengths, and at the same time one of Volgarr the Viking II's weaknesses. Let me make it clear that I'm not referring to the trial-and-error process, after all, it's neither the first nor the last game that uses it. But the fact that it doesn't allow (almost any) deviations, last minute decisions and improvisations.

This is, in conclusion, Volgarr the Viking II. A challenging 2d platofm-action that requires patience and memorization of every level, trap and ( at times cheap) enemy placement. It makes no apologies for anything, nor do I think it will win new fans. Those who were frustrated with the previous game will find no compelling reason to help the hardy Viking in his second adventure, while those who enjoyed it will put their furry boots back on without hesitation and slaughter every opponent they cross paths with. Have no fear of death when it’s your time, Oden will bring us home when we die!

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