Volgarr the Viking II

Volgarr the Viking 2 is a great platform arcade, with some lacklustre choices.

Volgarr the Viking II is designed to appeal to players who liked the first installment, with its mix of difficulty and reward. The Norse-themed universe does not offer much in the way of story, but it has tight gameplay and plenty of challenges for players to face. Accept the fact that you’ll end up as a zombie at one point and get ready to delete saves to try again. The game’s presentation captures what made action platformers stand out in arcades in the ‘90s. Anyone who hung out in those will like it, others might have trouble connecting with it. Volgarr the Viking II is a throwback that tests players’ skills and is not afraid to frustrate them.

It has a very particular audience in mind, and if you’re a part of said audience, you’ll have a great time improving through every death. And if you’re looking to lessen that challenge a smidge in order to see a decent chunk of the content without investing dozens of hours? The game is more than happy to provide you with options to do just that, making it more approachable than ever without sacrificing the challenge intrinsic to its success. And the flaming sword power up is just as cool as ever.

Volgarr the Viking 2 is not a game that will win any awards for innovation. It won't astound with its visuals or scope, or surprise any experienced video game enthusiasts. But Volgarr the Viking 2 is certainly a good time, and a love letter to a specific era of gaming that winds up surpassing many of its progenitors. It's not for everyone, but if you're in the target audience, you won't be able to put it down or get it out of your head after playing the first hour.

Volgarr the Viking II is a challenging 2d platform-action that requires patience and memorization of every level, trap and (at times cheap) enemy placement. Even though it fixes most major flaws of its predecessor, it doesn't differentiate itself enough to offer something truly remarkable.

If you liked the first chapter, you'll find in Volgarr the Viking II a bigger, longer, and more challenging sequel that will undoubtedly satisfy you despite some arguable aspects of the approach to the difficulty.

Some scale Mount Everest, others swim across the English Channel. Much like its predecessor, Volgarr the Viking 2 extends the same kind of intimidating challenge, daring you to memorize the hundreds of different dangers laid out across six masochistic stages. This time out, there’s a novice mode, accompanied by a bit of playful humiliation. Just don’t expect entry into Valhalla on easy.

There's a lot of satisfaction that comes out of overcoming Volgarr the Viking 2's intense challenge. It comes with a lot of frustration, so be aware of that going in, but as a throwback to the Blockbuster Video rental era of gaming, this is a fairly mighty effort.

Volgarr the Viking II is a seriously retro and seriously difficult game, that just doesn't prepare the player enough for its punishment.