Volgarr the Viking II Review

Volgarr the Viking II is the school of hard knocks in a modern era. The original Volgarr the Viking was an interesting indie action title I first picked up on Xbox One as it was part of the then 'Games with Gold' lineup of titles. This was long before the days of Game Pass and its ever abundant library of games, but the Games with Gold curation had a similar idea, and so if a title was carefully chosen by Microsoft, then it was probably worth checking out.

Of course, back then (and even now) you simply had to be subscribed to Xbox Live Gold in order to access online multiplayer functionality, so it was nice to have a few freebies included in the subscription. Volgarr the Viking was one of those games, back when Microsoft were looking to showcase indie efforts especially via the ID@Xbox program for indie developers. I can't believe this was all nearly a decade ago!

It didn't blow me away, but Volgarr the Viking was a pretty cool game for what it was: a real throwback to challenging 2D action platformers that emerged out of the British gaming scene. During my childhood I was a big fan of Gods by Bitmap Brothers, even though I wasn't good at it at all, I dug the Greek mythology aesthetic. Recently I also had a chance to discover the Stormlord games thanks to the Commodore 64 (C64) collections on the Evercade platform, these games drew upon Norse mythology and are brutally difficult. These British action games were quite dark and mature too, especially for their time.

It didn't blow me away, but Volgarr the Viking was a pretty cool game for what it was: a real throwback to challenging 2D action platformers that emerged out of the British gaming scene.

Volgarr the Viking II nails its intended presentation nicely, sporting a graphical style that feels like it would be right at home on the Commodore Amiga platform (the Amiga mini console is well worth hunting down, by the way) with loading icons represented by floppy disks (primitive media but at least the entire game fit on it... unlike those Switch 2 Game Key Cards!). It makes use of a wide range of colours and yet maintains an overall dull aesthetic to really sell the old school vibe.

While the graphical and visual presentation may be deliberately stylised to resemble a bygone era, the epic orchestra is anything but retro. The sweeping orchestra score with haunting vocals really starts the game off strong and remains sweeping throughout, really instilling an epic mythological battle cry.

Much like the aforementioned Gods, Stormlord, and even its own predecessor, Volgarr the Viking II is extremely difficult and not for the faint of heart. Sure, you may take control of a hulking Viking who's got muscles in places where most people don't even have places, but it's one hit death, and the hit-box is ultra sensitive too. Expect to see warrior hero humbled over and over again as he explodes into blood, guts, and bones.

That being said, the core gameplay is versatile. The basic sword attack is effective, and can be used in an effective spinning jump slash which also serves as a double jump to reach higher platforms, and a spear can be vaulted as an effective projectile. These basic attacks can also be charged up with a flame to inflict more damage.

The sweeping orchestra score with haunting vocals really starts the game off strong and remains sweeping throughout, really instilling an epic mythological battle cry.

The game has sound 2D action platforming fundamentals and the controls are quite tight and responsive; it's just that it relies entirely on player skill and perseverance to get the most out of the adventure. There are minimum quality of life features here, so this is an experience designed largely for its intended niche audience.

I have an appreciation for the style and era of 2D action that Volgarr the Viking represents, even though admittedly I'm not good at it either. In the decade long gap between the Volgar the Viking II and its predecessor, nothing much has changed or evolved, but these are a punishingly-fun pair of action games that hearken back to a time when games gave players their money's worth; not through bloated 100 hour campaigns which include story cinematic sequences, but through difficulty set so nigh impossible that it would take 100 hours just to master the whole adventure.