Volgarr the Viking 2 evolves old-school games in the right way

When I played Volgarr the Viking 2 at Guerrilla Collective 2024, I couldn’t beat its first level. I was adamant about doing better once I had the full game on my Nintendo Switch. As I’d learn when I finally got my hands on it, Crazy Viking Studios and Digital Eclipse had players like me in mind all along when it approached difficulty design. Volgarr the Viking 2 gives players more than enough tools to get better at the game over time, letting me overcome my initial hurdle with a little time and practice.

It does that in two ways. First, there’s an Undead Mode that makes the 2D platformer a lot more approachable for less-skilled players. Secondly, it rewards the players who actually do well with helpful power-ups that make Volgarr more powerful the better you play. By discovering both of those, Volgarr the Viking 2 made me feel more enthused by its challenges than worn out.

While an old-school approach to platforming means Volgarr the Viking 2 can’t entirely escape some of the frustrating trappings of its retro design, it’s still a standout throwback to some of the toughest platformers of yesteryear. I typically bounce off tough games after a while, but Volgarr the Viking 2 had the opposite effect on me.

Just like you remember

Volgarr the Viking 2 will feel intimately familiar to anyone who played its 2014 predecessor. It’s a challenging 2D platformer starring a Viking who’s trying to take down an evil lich with the help of some Valkyries. The story mostly stops there as the focus turns to survival and gold collecting. Its 2D platforming gameplay finds a middle ground between Rastan and Ghosts ‘n Goblins.

Volgarr is a large and slow-moving character, so each attack, jump, dodge roll, or spear throw players make must be methodical, like in Rastan. Despite being a beefy Viking, Volgarr is quite frail. Getting hit by an enemy removes his current power-up (Ghosts ‘n Goblins style), while the next hit after that kills them. If you try to brute-force your way through Volgarr the Viking 2, you’ll die. A lot.

The best approach to completing Volgarr the Viking 2 is to take things slowly. Learn enemy patterns to figure out when is the best time to go in for a strike or avoid them. Be conservative and throw spears Volgarr can jump on rather than make a risky jump across a large pit. Go out of your way to collect power-ups whenever you can; they’re really helpful. While a decade has passed since the release of the first Volgarr the Viking, it has not lost any of the charm over that time as this sequel is a great throwback in all the ways that game was.

In fact, it’s only improved in presentation and approachability. The pixel art looks more polished than in the original, while the soundtrack is full of retro-inspired tunes that feel ripped off an NES cartridge. Volgarr the Viking 2 feels old school in all the right ways, but avoids some of the baggage that comes with that.

Old-school difficulty, modernized

I spoke at length with Volgarr the Viking 2’s developers about how they made this intentionally difficult game more approachable. And for the most part, their efforts paid off. The inclusion of midlevel checkpoints, an endless number of continues, and a practice mode once I beat a level were appreciated, although the marquee feature related to difficulty is Undead Mode. After players use enough continues, Volgarr turns into a zombie and won’t die in one or two hits anymore.

I activated Undead Mode in my first playthrough, and I appreciated its inclusion, even if it’s tied to the game’s worst ending. It gave me the information I needed to do better on subsequent runs of each level. The only aspect of gameplay it fails to account for is some of the platforming. Falling in an endless pit in Undead Mode will still cost Volgarr a life and send him back to the last checkpoint.

This means one misstep can cost minutes of progress even when using an Undead Mode that’s supposed to circumvent that issue. This is particularly painful in the second level, which features underwater sections that change up the platforming physics, and the fifth level, which has Volgarr jump on very small platforms that can damage him. Eventually, the endless continues allowed me to overcome those obstacles, though, so it’s not all bad.

While Undead Mode is helpful, the true beauty of Volgarr the Viking 2 clicked for me when I understood how much more powerful Volgarr gets when he collects power-ups. While Volgarr can lose these helpful power-ups in an instant, it also rewards those who play well in helpful ways, creating a difficulty bell curve that makes this a very rewarding game to get good at.

I still haven’t accessed its true ending yet because you can only use one continue before your opportunity to get it goes away, but I might just keep playing Volgarr the Viking 2 until I do. Whether you’re a fan of difficult old-school 2D platformers or not, this is a modern take on a classic formula that anyone can get into with enough time and effort.

Volgarr the Viking 2 is available now for PC, PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and Nintendo Switch.