Nintendo Switch – Volgarr #194

RISE WARRIOR!

Cap1ture

Volgarr – Nintendo Switch – Released: 10/5/17 – $9.99

Short Review

Fairly short review so just read the full review, I would give this game a 9 out of 10!

Story

You are summoned by Odin to take care of the final boss, don’t want to spoil it since this game is already tough as nails, and you console Volgarr who cannot rest until his job is done.

Gameplay

Have you played Ghost ‘n Goblins? Do you remember the slightly awkward jumping that you had to commit to once you press the button? Volgarr plays like that he has a double jump but you don’t have control of the arc once you press the button. Volgarr can pick up a range of weapons but will lose most if not all of them if hit by an enemy. Some items are special like the metal shield that will never break if use when blocking. Other items like the wooden shield will break after a few hits. After completing a stage you will have to fight a massive boss… these bosses aren’t easy and require multiple attempts to kill. I will spoil one of the bosses because he is my most feared more so than the final boss which was the “Death”? He is like a grim reaper style character that flies all over the screen. I hate bosses like this, the rest are pretty easy once you find the pattern or get them in a loop.

You have two methods of attack which if you spear which can be charged up and your sword. The sword can be upgraded if you find chests in each of the stages, some of these chest require some thinking to get as they require you to use your spear to climb higher. If you check out my gameplay footage you can see a chest I still have no idea how to get. If you do get all the upgrades you are awarded with a flaming sword that you will need for the bosses if you want to take them out quickly.

Personal Experience

He said it couldn’t be done! Kris! I was able to complete the game… was it hard? Yes, all the way to the end but if I can finish Ghost ‘n Goblins, this game wasn’t going to hold me back. It took me longer than expected but completing the game is a true test of skill and learning patterns. In most cases if I lost an upgrade due to a miss jump or walking into something that I know hurts me, I would just restart. It is better to have the most power weapons for bosses and have enough to take a few hits. If not you have to fight the bosses with one hit KO and some of them have crazy patterns.

This is a Kickstarter game if people may or may not know. With only under $35,000 this game was produced and at the time back in 2012 it was only a PC release. It is great that this game has been ported to other consoles since I wanted to throw money at this game back in 2012. I didn’t have a PC at the time so the least I can do is give it a proper review today. Hopefully one day we will see a sequel at see Volgarr return in something else or at least can I try playing it on the arcade machine that was going to be given to the highest Kickstarter backer.

Final Thoughts

Volgarr isn’t a game for everyone, just to point that out. This game is relatively short but the brutal nature of it is what keeps you from easily finishing it in a few hours. You will take 10-20 hours or more to finish this game. I made the first stage seem like a cake walk but the second stage took me an hour or two to complete and by the time the end credits rolled around I was above 15 hours. This game is tough and will test you for every mistake you make, you will need to spend time learning patterns, learning where chests are, trying to find patterns for enemies, and learning tricks to easily take out the bosses. I would give this game a 9 out of 10! While it is a great game in my opinion it is not for everyone but a solid game in my book. A book I am glad to finally close but do hope to revisit in a sequel of some sort or at least a physical copy.

My Gameplay Footage: