Volgarr the Viking 2 is a retro platformer inspired by NES classics like Ghosts’ n Goblins and Rastan, so naturally it’s a challenge. Volgarr dies in just two hits, and checkpoints are spread out pretty far in levels. If handled poorly, it could drive someone who isn’t used to the unforgiving nature of old games to tear their beard out. Developers Crazy Viking Studios and Digital Eclipse recognized that challenge when creating its surprise sequel. An approachable solution was born: If players use enough continues, Volgarr becomes a zombie and won’t die from taking damage anymore. It’s a new bit of innovation in a very old game genre.
Speaking to Digital Trends ahead of the game’s release next month, Volgarr the Viking creator Kris Dürrschmidt tells me that this Undead Mode feature was made in direct response to feedback on Volgarr the Viking 2’s predecessor. The first Volgarr the Viking was a Games with Gold title when it launched on Xbox in 2014. While the reception had been warm and positive on PC beforehand, some Xbox players took much less kindly to it.
“The moment we went to Xbox, millions of people got access to it, and they had no idea what they were getting themselves into. They’re like, ‘What the crap is this? This game is stupid. It’s too hard!’” Dürrschmidt tells Digital Trends. “These people didn’t know what Volgarr was, and it was kind of shoved down their throats as a super-hard game that they didn’t have any way of warming up in.”
That’s a mistake that Dürrschmidt and Digital Eclipse didn’t want to make when they finally decided to make a sequel. They wanted Volgarr the Viking 2 to provide a feature that would allow people to get better at the game so they could learn to enjoy its old-school difficulty. As Dürrschmidt more bluntly put it: “Everybody should have a fair shot at deciding whether or not they actually like the game or not, rather than the game just punching them in the face and sending them on their way.”
Undead Mode comes to life
The beginnings of Undead Mode in Volgarr the Viking 2 began with reflecting on the first title. The mixed reception to the Xbox launch due to its difficulty was enlightening for Dürrschmidt, but he says that his “largest regret” is that people didn’t get to see more of the game. Volgarr the Viking had a Path of the Valkyrie variation that remixed levels for players. Many players did not see them because playing well and not dying a lot was required to access these levels.
“What happened is that a majority of players, well into the 90th percentile, never discovered that they’ve only ever played half the game,” Dürrschmidt says. “There’s an entire Valkryie Path that has completely different level layouts and challenges. That’s a whole 50% of the game that a majority of people didn’t access, so we were a little sad about that. That’s one of the things that changed for Volgarr 2: figuring out ways that people can see the majority of the content and still feel really exclusive about it.”
Game developers want the highest number of people to see as much of the game as possible. Volgarr the Viking 2 needed better tools to get people acclimated to its unforgiving difficulty. Dürrschmidt likened it to learning how to swim: “We created this mode so people could get their feet wet in the pool, acclimate to the water, and then go, ‘Oh, this swimming idea is not so bad.”
It didn’t start as an Undead Mode, though. The developer’s first idea was for a baby Volgarr mode that would have put the Viking in a diaper, replaced his weapon with a baby rattle, and made enemies explode into confetti instead of blood. While the developers were trying to be funny, they quickly got the feedback that this felt insulting and decided to create something more closely tied to Volgarr the Viking 2’s narrative.
For the newcomers
Undead Mode isn’t something players have to choose to opt into; it dynamically activates after players use enough continues. Volgarr becomes a green zombie, and while he can still be knocked back by attacks or fall in pits, he will no longer lose all his upgrades or die when hit by an enemy. That makes learning enemy patterns and level layouts a much more welcoming process.
The developers of Volgarr the Viking 2 repeatedly stress that features like Undead Mode aren’t meant to make the game easier but to ensure that more people could have a chance to enjoy it. Dürrschmidt says challenging games often “velvet rope” people off, so only those already familiar or prepared for just a difficult experience even have a chance to dig in.
“Undead mode is an additional layer to give people the opportunity to continue playing,” producer Calvin Vu tells Digital Trends. “As people play the game, you’re either good at it or not, and most people aren’t good at it at first. How long it takes you to get good at it varies from person to person, and if some people are really challenged by it, you can see the frustration happening as they are repeatedly dying. When that happens, we didn’t want it to be the end of the game for you.”
Vu compares it to the X-Men’s training space, the Danger Room (Volgarr the Viking 2 also features a practice mode where players can come to grips with the mechanics). I encountered Undead Mode during my hands-on with Volgarr the Viking 2 at Guerilla Collective 2024 and found that it helpfully eased me into the experience during a hectic event. That’s a testament to how well the idea works.
For the fans
While approachability is always a positive change, some hardcore Volgarr the Viking fans are still worried about Undead Mode’s inclusion. Upon its announcement, Dürrschmidt says some fans messaged him and said he “ruined the game” by including it. In response, Vu tells me that Undead Mode is “in no way behind the design of how challenging this game is,” while Dürrschmidt wants people to play the game first before asserting that. They also highlighted the benefits for the most skilled players who never activate Undead Mode, such as Volgarr not looking like a zombie.
“That visually makes it so people who need to warm up get what they want, but the hardcore players that are streaming and doing speed runs have a visual representation that they are actually doing very well versus somebody who’s not,” Dürrschmidt said. “And it’s tied to endings and things of that nature. You can play through the game, beat it, and see an ending as a zombie. But it’s not a great ending to win as an undead thing because that doesn’t end well for Volgarr.”
Harkening back to the Path of the Valkyrie, the developers no longer wanted to lock half of the game behind a difficulty wall but are still OK with holding back the endgame challenge and best ending for people who don’t turn into a zombie. Players will need to avoid activating Undead Mode and use very few continues to see the final level and best ending for the game, so those mad at this feature’s inclusion can take some solace in that.
Still, the hope is that all players can use features like Undead Mode to eventually reach a point where they no longer need those training wheels to ride through the game to its proper conclusion. Volgarr the Viking 2′s developers believe it’s a game players can truly get better at the more they play. Calvin Vu was one of those people who didn’t like Volgarr the Viking when it originally came to Xbox and admits he was quite bad at this game toward the start of the project. But over time, he got better and is now quite good at it.
Volgarr the Viking 2 features like its practice mode and Volgarr turning undead after several continues give all players that same opportunity. It’s not about watering down the design of the sequel so it appeals to everyone, but giving everyone a shot to enjoy this tough-as-nails platformer and then go on to enjoy even more games of its ilk. There’s a place for old-school game difficulty and accessibility to coexist.
Volgarr the Viking 2 launches for Nintendo Switch PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on August 6.
