More than a decade after the first game, Crazy Viking Studios has announced Volgarr the Viking 2 is a thing and it's just around the corner. The sequel releases for PS5 and PS4 on 6th August 2024, and you can get your first look in the trailer above. It's designed to be just as difficult as the original, but new features like checkpoints, unlimited continues, save profiles, and a practice mode provide some flexibility for those who need it.
Kristofor Durrschmidt, CEO and creative director at Crazy Viking Studios, said that a design philosophy of "easy to learn, hard to master" guided every facet of development. "We learned a lot from launching the original, and even with some modern updates, fans are going to love the sequel. Volgarr is still a game where, if you want the ultimate experience, you’ll need to really master what it asks of you."
Depending on how well you perform throughout the game, you'll be handed one of six different endings, with a "secret final boss" hidden behind a specific level. Compared to the original, there'll be new items and power-ups to use, another roster of bosses to beat, and the aforementioned accessibility options for those who need a bit of extra help.
Digital Eclipse head Mike Mika added: "One of our key pillars is making new games the old-fashioned way. We love and celebrate games where every pixel is hand-crafted. Volgarr was one of those games we couldn't put down, no matter how hard it was. Games like this are a rare breed, and we're happy to play a role in seeing Volgarr II realized."
Are you looking forward to Volgarr the Viking 2? Share your first impressions in the comments below.
Comments 8
I'm glad 2D side scroller is still exist. I grew up with this genre and still enjoyed playing SOR, Double Dragon, Capcom 1942, Ghost & Goblins, Turtles in Time, Contra, etc. Also, 2D side scroller doesn't need AAA budget.
I played this on the Vita and it’s evil. Truly mean game design. Which obviously appeals to an audience but man, it’s tough.
The first game is so frustratingly difficult.
I really, really dislike pixilated games, and so this is a non-starter for me. It could coming in with a score of 100 on Metacritic after 10,000 reviews, and I still wouldn't play it. Pixilated just seems like they were not capable of creating decent quality characters, or couldn't be arsed to do so. I could understand it back when games started out (I was there back then, being about 10 when Pong came out), but there really is no reason to keep making games that look like this in the modern age...
@Fiendish-Beaver It's not about the devs is lazy but these days pixelated graphic became art style because many people still enjoyed and appreciate games with retro vibe.
It's the same reason why people enjoyed HD-2D games like Octopath Traveler, Vanillaware games, or those demakes with PS1 jaggy-wobbled-dithering graphics.
In the end, everyone has their own preferences. Some people moved on from simple to super realistic 3D graphics that showed detailed skins, face, or environment. But the other still enjoyed simple like pixelated 8-16 bit graphics.
I get what you are saying, @PuppetMaster, but I guess, having been there at the start, I do not see the appeal of retro. I just think that more people would play the game if it had decent (not cutting edge, just decent) graphics. Surely I cannot be the only one to be turned off by pixelated?
I'm currently playing Capes, which has a cartoony kind of art style, and before that I played Shadow Gambit, which is also cartoony, so it's not like I have to have cutting edge graphics to enjoy a game. Before Shadow Gambit I played Stellar Blade, which is obviously a real looker, but I don't expect every game to look like that.
I know I'd be interested in Volgarr if it had better graphics, and I cannot be alone in not being interested because they are pixelated. I maybe wrong, but I would assume more people would not buy the game due to the graphical quality, than would. I'm sure there are plenty of people out there that lap up everything pixelated, but I cannot help but wonder just how many sales are lost due to this decision. Obviously though, each to their own. There is no right or wrong on this matter when it comes to personal choice...
@Fiendish-Beaver "but I cannot help but wonder just how many sales are lost due to this decision"
Well imagine the scenario if the devs decided to forced themself to make this game with "decent 3D graphics" or whatever you propose but the game ended as a mediocre + flop in the market because they lacked the experiences or budget to do it. Not just the devs lost their fanbase who wants to play 2D side scrolling with pixelated graphics and lost 'potential customers' who prefers 3D graphics but wouldn't buy this game if the graphics doesn't as good as their standard, but the devs also risk themself to closed down their studio.
I'm okay with devs wants to get more sales. But i prefer they make a solid game that fits with their specialty, artistic expressions, and budget rather than try to appeal to everyone or chasing trends and then burn themself in the process.
I think you can argue this one either way, @PuppetMaster; lost sales due to pixelated, lost sales due to non-pixelated. We would never know either way. Certainly there would be those that would have been fans of the first game that would be vocal if the Developers had moved away from pixels, but then there would likely be people new to the games that play it that wouldn't have had it been pixelated (such as myself).
As I say, there is no right or wrong here, and we will never know which version of the game would sell better because the Developers have chosen to go the pixel route. As I said before, people will choose the game based on what they like, and if that's pixelation, then that's absolutely fine. It's just not for me...
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