Volgarr the Viking 2 was provided by Digital Eclipse for review. Thank you!
Volgarr the Viking 2 has been one of the harder games to review. The sequel to the original punishing platformer has torn me up a bit, making me question whether I really like it or it was too much for me. It has pros and cons scattered across the entire game, and it's hard to decide whether the frustrating elements outweighed what it was trying to accomplish. At the end of the day, I walked away happy and wanting to keep playing, even if it made me want to pull my hair out at times.
If you played Volgarr the Viking before, you will feel familiar with the gameplay. It is brutal. You walk around 2D levels, going from one end to another at a slow pace, and need to face off against enemies who are all very deadly. You have your sword that you can swing, as well as the ability to roll and throw a spear. You can also jump twice, with the second jump also swinging your sword around in a circle, and you can aim your sword down to stab whatever is below you.
For the most part, I enjoyed how difficult it was. It made me feel awesome when I could get through the levels and destroy the enemies, but there are a few areas I wish were improved. There are some areas and moments that make it feel too brutal, which frustrates me. For example, one of the first enemies you fight is zombies, and if you hit them in their legs, their bodies can shoot off and jump at you. This got me multiple times, and while you can roll to avoid this, I couldn't anticipate the roll distance and ended up dying many times this way since all it takes is 1 hit to die. However, you can find more equipment that can not only power Volgarr up but also allow you to take extra hits at the cost of losing the gear, and I liked this mechanic.
I also did not like Undead Mode. If you die more than 6 times, Volgarr the Viking 2 will automatically activate Undead Mode, which is essentially a god mode. This makes it so you can't get hurt or die, and there's no way to turn it off other than starting the game over completely. While I don't like it, I understand its reason. The game is brutal, and it's essentially saying you can't handle how difficult it is, but it allows you to keep playing regardless. Forcing you to restart completely to play the game the way it's supposed to be done is part of that, but this wasn't really explained in the beginning, so I got confused.
I also like that the game has multiple endings. You can complete the game in Undead Mode and get the worst ending, but if you play better without getting this mode, you will get the better endings. It's interesting to see, and it made me want to keep going back and playing to try getting the best ending.
The pixel art and animations are fantastic, and I loved the levels and landscapes I saw. With the longer levels and the much better music than the previous title, Volgarr the Viking 2 felt more engaging to play through. It reminds me constantly of the more retro visuals of older games, and everything looks sharp and beautiful in its own way. The UI is a tad on the big side, especially the element on screen constantly that shows your lives and equipment you have. It feels like this could be a little smaller or tucked into a corner, but it's not the end of the world.
However, playing this on the Steam Deck is by far one of the best ways to experience the game.
Volgarr the Viking 2 is a perfect fit for the Steam Deck on many fronts due to its visual style and gameplay mechanics, but it does drain more battery than it needs to. Without any changes, we get around 10W - 11W of battery drain, which is way too much for a game that looks like this. However, with a TDP limit of 4, this is cut down to 7W and can keep 90 FPS on the OLED Steam Deck. This is by far the best way to enjoy the game, and I highly recommend it:
There are a couple of modifiers you can toggle in the game like moving the HUD elements, disabling pressing up and attack to throw spears or down and jump to roll, using look ahead as a toggle, and disabling auto pause when you lose focus. You can also change the sound bars and rebind controls.
The game does support 16:10 resolutions and supports both cloud saves and controllers. There are no HDR settings.
Volgarr the Viking 2 is a brutal platformer that improves almost every aspect of the first game in the series in almost every way. The levels are longer, the game looks sharper, the music is awesome, and the gameplay mechanics remain unchanged, which I am happy about. There were times it could be too brutal, and Undead Mode kicking in by itself was a bit obnoxious, but it all makes sense in the long run, and it fits within what the game is. It runs wonderfully on the Steam Deck, and even though it drains too much battery if you don't change anything, it's definitely worth your time to play on the go.
Our review is based on the PC version of this game.
If you enjoyed this review, be sure to check out the rest of the content on SteamDeckHQ! We have a wide variety of game reviews and news that are sure to help your gaming experience. Whether you're looking for news, tips and tutorials, game settings and reviews, or just want to stay up-to-date on the latest trends, we've got your back.
Volgarr the Viking 2 is a fantastic improvement over the original in almost every way and is perfect to play on Steam Deck.
