Volgarr the Viking II | Xbox Review

I traditionally shy away from extremely difficult games. That’s sugar coating it. I’m scared to death of putting forth any effort into Elden Ring or anything with a reputation of being challenging. My lack of self-esteem can’t take it. You might be asking yourself why I chose to review Volgarr the Viking II from Crazy Viking Studio. After all, the first game was notorious for its unforgiving toughness, but I absolutely loved it. I died more than most players would, but completing each checkpoint felt increasingly more satisfying. That tough-as-nails approach to platforming continues in the sequel, and the developer added much more than new levels and bosses while holding true to the original formula. It just has one major flaw that I’m told is already in the works to be addressed.

Spare Controllers Needed

I don’t mean to turn you away from Volgarr the Viking II, but I’m not joking when I say it’s frustratingly difficult. You’ll die often. And then you’ll die some more, over and over again. But what makes this game so great is that you learn from every mistake, and on your next attempt, you’ll get a little bit further. This cycle repeats until you finish a level and feel like the mighty Viking that you are.

If you’re unfamiliar with the original game, both it and the sequel are very reminiscent of games from the 16-bit era, especially the Sega Genesis. All of the characters and animations are sprite-based, but without that annoying slowdown from older consoles. You are Volgarr, a muscle-bound Viking previously tasked by Odin to kill a dragon. Volgarr II follows immediately after the previous game and finds our warrior reclaiming his honor and bringing back peace to his newly-acquired kingdom. It’s not deep, and it doesn’t need to be. The satisfaction here comes from surviving each stage, not from a dense narrative.

The beauty in Volgarr‘s gameplay is in its simplicity. Volgarr’s move set is very limited. He can walk from left to right and jump to new platforms. Much like classic games, however, once you jump, you’re committed to that momentum. He starts with a sword and shield, and the sword can be swung at a standing or crouched position. He can also swing in mid-air and even pull off a spin attack during a double jump. There’s even a throwable spear (with unlimited ammo, mind you) for ranged attacks as well as providing needed platforms on which to jump. That’s pretty much all of the gameplay outside of a few upgrades you acquire along the way. It gives you a “heavy” sensation while controlling your hero. He never runs, but rather moves at a very slow pace. He’s a Viking, after all, not a mustachioed plumber.

But I Don’t Want to Be a Zombie

Doesn’t sound too difficult, does it? The catch is that Volgarr can’t take very many hits. As mentioned above, he starts with a shield. If he takes damage, that shield is lost, and your next hit causes death. This, along with the above-mentioned momentum in jumping, will be very familiar to fans of Super Ghouls and Ghosts from the SNES. The name of the game is level memorization. Thankfully, enemies appear in the exact same place every time. So once you get each level down, it feels like you’re playing a game for a speed run.

Another similarity to the Capcom game above (which I also love) is the upgrades. Volgarr can find chests in each level, some hidden from immediate view. Each one not only grants an extra hit, but might also add to his arsenal. For instance, one power-up sets Volgarr’s sword on fire, which causes extra damage. But again, if you’re hit, you lose that upgrade and have to start from the bottom to regain it. This makes your character much more powerful, but also sets you on edge for fear of losing your gear progress.

One massive change to Volgarr the Viking II is its built-in difficulty setting. As expected, players of the original complained about its brutal difficulty. This is mitigated in a way that is interesting, yet very frustrating. Once you die enough times and use up a certain number of continues, Volgarr automatically turns into a zombie. This makes him impervious to damage, although he still reacts to hits and can die in pits. The problem here is that there’s no way to turn this option off, and if you finish the game this way, you’re locked into the worst ending. To see alternate endings (of which there are many), you have to complete the game without turning into a zombie before you reach the end.

The game does offer you a practice mode where you can hone your skills on each level, but it makes you start at the beginning of one of the five stages. You can’t even choose a checkpoint if you wanted to. While I appreciate the thought, forcing a player to start the entire game over to actually “beat” the game feels like a step backwards instead of forward. I would love it if I could simply attempt each level as I progressed through, continuing where I started off. Thankfully, the developer tweeted in response to our podcast review saying that this will be addressed in a future update.

Volgarr the Viking II Final Verdict

It’s a rare occasion where I will wholeheartedly recommend a game that is as difficult as Volgarr the Viking II, but that’s exactly what I’m doing. Even though I felt like I cheated the game completing it on Zombie Mode, I still had a blast. The challenge can be overcome with practice and memorization, and it delivers in the satisfaction department when you do. I love the bare bones controls hearkening back to a simpler time where I had nothing but hours to hone my skills. I look forward to revisiting this one when they provide an option to turn off easy mode so I can feel like I truly deserved the rolling of credits. If you love old-school gaming and have the patience to do so, you should definitely give this one some time.

To hear me talk more about Volgarr the Viking II, be sure to listen to the August 9th, 2024 episode of The Gaming Outsider Podcast around the 1:03:45 time stamp.

This review is based on an Xbox copy of Volgarr the Viking II provided by Uber Strategist for coverage purposes. It is also available on PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, PC via Steam, and GOG.