Volgarr the Viking II | PS5 Review

The legend lives on in 'Volgarr the Viking II". After having bested the lizardmen, and having killed Fafnir, Volgarr was not only resurrected by Odin, but allowed to continue the fight. That is where this sequel picks up. As Volgarr, the legend and king, you take up sword, shield, and spear to once again face off against the Gods' and peoples' sworn enemies. This entails traveling the lands looting them, and beating the bosses that lie in wait.

Volgarr the Viking II, returns true to form, with an arcade-like difficulty tied to an action platformer theme. In it you'll be minding your shield health which not only acts as your health, but has buffs to your abilities. Getting hit takes these powerful buffs away leaving you with basic combat options. That being said Volgarr does have a few tricks up his sleeves. He can do an air spin attack using his sword, downward thrust from the air in pogo fashion, perform an evasive roll, and use his throwing spear as a weapon or to gain access to previously inaccessible areas. These mechanics alongside the limited use energy blast for avoiding damage one time are the tools with which to progress through the gauntlet of stages.

Stages in this latest Volgarr adventure vary environmentally, and each are a host to their own ecosystem of enemies. You'll head from left to right as you avoid losing all shield health, dealing death to anything moving or not. All while looting treasure from chests and jars. On occasion you'll also come across Valkyrie stones that are destructible which will fill in one blue flame, or life. Some stages even harbor bosses to beat. The reward for full completion is one of a few different endings, and the amassing of wealth untold. A prize fitting for a true legend.

The Presentation ...

Visually 'Volgarr the Viking II' is a pixel pleasant delight that harkens back to a bygone era of arcade platformers. Something that the Volgarr games were heavily inspired by. Thematically the environmental stages are varied, and kept interesting with their own resident enemies, and bosses. Each challenging the player in a different way through various hazards unique to each biome. Accenting all of this is an epic soundtrack that not only stays true to the arcade inspiration, but adds an element of Viking mythology through the vocal and orchestral tunes. 

The Verdict ...

Volgarr the Viking II is a bloody and brutally challenging action platformer that requires mastery trough the learning of enemy placement, and attack patterns. Learning the hazards and how to best deal with them using your arsenal of weapons and defenses is crucial to getting the good ending. The very fact it has multiple endings to strive for justifies this grind dependent upon memorization, and it's replay incentive. Making it worthwhile to return for perfection sake. Fans of old arcade classics in the same vein will no doubt welcome this latest addition to the genre. Though it may be brutally hard it is still doable if you keep at it.