Many years ago, I got a chance to sample Volgarr the Viking at an event and found it to be fun and a real challenge. But I never got to play the full version, so when the sequel was announced I knew I would have to play it and now that I have, I can say that it is a brutal game, but oh so fun.

There is a story here, but its more akin to something you might find on a drink bottle, it is sparse but enough to push you forward. Once again you play as Volgarr, who upon feasting with his fellow Vikings is thrust back into the action, as evil invades. Your goal is simple, take down all who stand in your way as you attempt to take down the evil on behalf of Odin. There are no story cutscenes to explain things, you just keep moving forward. Once you beat the game, you will get a little story, well one of a few as there are six different endings. My first playthrough, I got through the game and got the rating of E, which means I had a lot of room for improvement, my second was a D. Each time the ending was slightly different and wanting to get the best ending, that will take me some time, but it’s a challenge worthy of aiming for.

The reason why it’s a challenge, is that the game is vicious, not in a punish you for kicks sort of way, but rather that if you try to charge ahead like you are playing Mario, you will get owned. The series takes inspiration from classic games like Castlevania and Super Ghouls ‘N Ghosts, among others. While those games were difficult, if you took the time to learn the mechanics, how enemies played, where elements in the stages were, you were going to be ok. That same principle is applied here, rushing ahead leads to death, so taking your time is going to save you. Early on, as I was playing on Switch, I was using a Pro Controller and after about 15 minutes, I realised that I didn’t feel right playing a Super Nintendo type of game with a stick for movement and even worse reaching over for the d-pad. So I got out my actual Switch Super Nintendo controller and played the entire game that way and it was the way to go, as I had a blast.

Volgarr is strong, he can take down most enemies in a single hit, or two, but that strength does not apply to his own defence. If you take a single hit, from an enemy or stage hazard it is instant death, but this time that does not mean starting over. The game has added some modern touches to its stages, including the ability to use checkpoints. You will notice these checkpoints easy as they are giant runestones, which upon passing them, summons down a Valkyrie. For those players who believe themselves above such a need, you can opt to break them and get some extra treasure, but dying means you go back to the last safe point. As they were not in the first game and I did not read the review guide, I wasn’t sure what they were for a while, so I just kept on breaking them as they gave me treasure. It wasn’t until the second stage that I noticed that they were checkpoints, so I then started to not touch them.

The other new addition is that there is now no real game over screen, if you choose to just keep playing. However, the more that you continue the worse Volgarr will start to look. Early on he is vibrant, with golden hair and a tan body, but if you just keep continuing, eventually he becomes Undead Volgarr. When this happens its easy to spot, his hair becomes purple, his skin is sickly green and his tattoos are vibrant pink. For those players who may not be as eager to be schooled by a game, this might not be an issue, as you can no longer take damage from any enemy, but beating the game like this provides you with the worst ending. Thankfully the game has stages between the two and if you beat the game with 1 continue or less, you will earn yourself the best ending.

It is possible, especially once you start to make use of the objects that you can use to upgrade yourself. There are no additional weapons to find, you have your sword, spear and shield from the start, but the upgrades can enhance them and yourself. One of the common items you will find are the Bifrost Boots, which let you take a single hit, the next hit kills you. Beyond that you can get Baldur’s Protection, Tyr’s Flame and more. Once you start collecting all the pieces, you will be able to take more hits, but more importantly, with Tyr’s Flame, you can start taking down enemies with less hits. There are also additional items, like Thor’s Hammer, which can help you out when you need it, the only downside to all the items, when you fall into a pit, you don’t get any back at the last checkpoint you passed, even if you had them upon its activation.

Gameplay wise, Volgarr the Viking II is very simple, but it is not easy. There were often times when I would die from falling into a pit or landing on spikes, simply because I jumped just a moment too early. There were enemies that were slightly different to what I was expecting, so they had attacks I was not expecting and not being prepared for things, lead to my death. There were also a lot of secrets to discover, finding a golden anvil was amazing, so there is some level of exploration to the stages. This is not going to be something for everyone, but if you like a challenge, you are going to enjoy the game.

As for the games presentation, it still sports its iconic pixel art look, but its like that if the first game was 16-bit inspired, this one is 32-bit. The game looks great, Volgarr, the Valkyries, the enemies both large and small, along with the stages themselves look wonderful. There are themes to each world, like the underwater levels or the castle stage, all have their own style and colour schemes. The effects can be busy at times, especially when Thor’s Hammer is used, but they are never a detriment to the games performance, it runs very well. The games music is a little much at times, I ended up turning it almost all the way down, as its is always playing, even when you pause the game. The music fits the theme of the game, I just wasn’t a fan of it, but that is me.

Volgarr the Viking II is a delightful game that will quite literally test your gameplay skills in many ways. The game is not going to be for everyone, it is brutal at times with its single hit leads to death mechanic, but if you take the time to understand the enemies and how they attack, you will be fine. Given the multiple endings the game has, replaying it to get a better one will incentivise you to replay it again and again. As long as you are willing to put in the work, the rewards will have you feeling like a vi-King.