Interview: Zoink Games on Resurrecting Zombie Vikings on PS4

There’s only one thing better than zombies: Zombie Vikings. That also happens to be the name of Stick It to the Man! developer Zoink Games’ latest PlayStation 4 project, which is due out next year on Sony’s next-gen machine. A four-player co-op affair with a “dead funny story”, we caught up with Klaus Lyngeled, the studio’s CEO, to learn a little more about the title’s combat, plot, and putrid puking mechanic.

Push Square: To get started, could you give us the elevator pitch on Zombie Vikings? In as few words as possible: what is the game, and why are you excited to finally announce it?

Klaus Lyngeled: Zombie Vikings is a one-to-four player couch and online co-op brawler. It's a story about four zombie Vikings brought back from the dead by old cranky Odin, and sent out on an outrageous journey to retrieve his lost eye which was stolen by Loki. On your way through this wondrous world, you’ll get to solve quests that will reveal the strange past that each zombie Viking had in their previous lives.

We are working with comic brainiac Zach Weinersmith who is also known for online comic Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal. It's quite different in gameplay from our previous game Stick It to the Man!, but in story, character design, and style fans will feel right at home. We call it a ‘hackventure’, because mainly it's a really action filled side-scrolling brawler, but there is also going to be a lot of exploring and adventure-like quests that you can dive into. Just like our previous game, it's all about making a really funny game.

We are super excited to announce it now, because even though we have come quite far with the development, there is still a lot left, and we want people to follow the rest of our development journey with ‘Making Of’ videos, blogs, and Twitch streams.

There’s a big co-op focus here, from the combat right through to the puzzles. Talk us through some of the ways that you’ll be able to partner up with your pals?

Yes, the story and the game is a lot about getting along and co-operating. We are playing a lot with the concept that you are actually already dead, since you are zombie. So, for example, you can stab your friends’ bodies and carry them on your sword without them getting hurt, but the one being carried can also stab another on his sword, and this way you can kinda create a whole tower of meat. This can be used to fight larger enemies.

Each zombie also has a special move which can be modified by finding magic Runes. So Caw-kaa (pronounced as a bird sound) proclaims that she was raised by crows, and one of her abilities is that she can fly, but with a Rune modifier she can also grab co-players in her flight, and you can then attack together. We are even working on a way for you to sew all of your friends into one giant zombie.

In this instance, each player will each control a part of the mega-zombie, but to move fast and efficient, you’ll need to co-ordinate movements with your teammates. It can be quite chaotic, but it's a fun chaos when everyone is sitting in the same room screaming at each other trying to get this giant thing to move and attack properly.

You’ve alluded to it a little, but will co-op work both locally and online? Talk a little about the decision behind this.

We are working on online co-op and local co-op. Online is something new for us, but we think that it's really important to be able to play with your friends that way, too. You can split your group the way that you want, so you can do two at one place and two at another, anyway you like. We are even looking into making some battle arenas where you can fight each other. I hope that we get time for that, too.

With the emphasis very much looking like it’s on multiple players, how do you intend to make this enjoyable for those that prefer to play alone?

Just like with our previous game Stick It to the Man!, we are putting a ton of work into building a fun story with lots of little quests – that's why we call it a hackventure. I think that playing the game alone will be an experience were you can focus even more on the story and the quests, and really take your time to listen to the fun writing and the great voice acting which you might miss when all of your friends are screaming about who has to get the loot.

When you die, you’ll lose your head, but will still have the ability to puke on your opponents. Was this borne out of a desire to always give players something to do?

Yes, when you die, the head pops off and you can puke-attack with it, and jump up and down. Other players can then pick it up and run around with your puking head, and together you become pretty powerful. The head can then be put back on your body to come back into the game. It can even be thrown as an attack. And your body can be thrown around as a weapon, too – it's really insane and funny.

Can you talk a little bit about how the levels will be structured? There are quests that you’ll be able to undertake, so will there be the opportunity for exploration as well?

Yes, quite often you will run into small puzzle-like quests. For example, there is a scene where an old blind witch is looking for her cat. If you accept to help her, then she will follow you around the level, but she is quite slow, and, well, blind, so you need to protect her so that she doesn't die. You can even carry her and throw her at enemies. I won't share too much, but let’s just say that that cat of hers isn't the most huggable thing.

How much loot can we expect in the final game? Will there be different armour sets for the characters to collect, for example? How much variety will there be in the weapons?

Yes, I mentioned the Runes a bit above, which are magic thingies that change the behaviour of your special attacks, and also the whole behaviour of your character. You can also collect a bunch of swords with different abilities. Some are quite silly, like the Stinknir – a smelly sword – and some have really helpful behaviours, like The Featherbane, which prompts chickens to explode when struck, causing heavy damage to all enemies nearby. If the player picks up a chicken, they will become a ticking bomb.

The game doesn’t appear to be taking itself too seriously. What are some of the influences for both the art style and story, and what are you most proud of in this area?

We really love TV series like Futurama, The Simpsons, and Adventure Time. I think especially Adventure Time is a big inspiration for this game; we just love to be surprised, and it's cool when you never know exactly what's around the next corner in the game. The other day we just came up with a giant troll-girl called Gorki that keeps following you through the level – she is huge. She thinks that you are little insects, and calls you "my ladybugs", and starts playing with you – and that turns out be quite helpful, but also very dangerous. Right now, I am totally in love with this part.

Zoink Games is probably best known for Stick It to the Man, but this seems like a big departure for the studio. Why did you decide to tackle something so different?

Yes, the gameplay is quite different, but then the story and the characters and the style are quite similar. We just really wanted to try something else; tackling other kinds of genres just keeps you on your toes and keeps you creative. Everyone in the office really likes to play games together, and we just wanted to see if we can combine our design and style with this type of gameplay. It's just more fun trying new things.

Despite the obvious differences, is there anything that you learned during your time working on Stick It to the Man! that has informed the production of Zombie Vikings?

Oh yes, a ton: the style, the way that we do animation, and the way that we handle story. And we are a really tight knitted team that knows each other really well, and knows how to perform the best. We are also using a lot of the same voice actors that we had on Stick It to the Man; Ty Konzak who played the lead Ray is now playing Seagurd in this game. He is awesome.

You’re releasing Zombie Vikings on the PS4. Are you using any of the unique features on the format – the touchpad, light bar, etc?

Yes, the touchpad is actually used for quite a few special attacks, and for stitching your mega-zombie, by rubbing the touchpad franticly. The light bar is used for few special effects when attacking, and, of course, to differentiate which player is which. We are looking into using the gyro for some moves, too.

Thanks so much to Klaus Lyngeled for taking the time to answer our questions. What are your thoughts on Zombie Vikings? Is this the type of title that you’d like to play? Row your boat into the comments section below.