Volgarr the Viking 2is chasing an important legacy.The firstVolgarr the Vikinglaunched a decade ago as the debut title from Crazy Viking Studios, taking the indie scene by storm with its brutal-but-fair difficulty, retro gameplay formula, and no-frills, high-octane fantasy trappings. After all these years, Crazy Viking Studios is gearing up to unleash a follow-up to this unforgiving cult classic.
Game Rant had a chance to speak with Kristofor Dürrschmidt of Crazy Viking Studios, joined by Calvin Vu of Digital Eclipse, Crazy Viking’s publishing partner for this sequel. Dürrschmidt and Vu illuminatedVolgarr the Viking 2’s development process, how it is striving to be different from its predecessor in key ways, and exactly why it sticks to old-school notions of difficulty and game design, even in an industry that is constantly trying to throw the past away.The following transcript has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Volgarr the Viking 2: Making a More Accessible, but Still Brutally Difficult, Sequel
Q: Let’s talk about some of the accessibility options added to this sequel. Are there any big changes from the first game that you’re really excited about on that front?
Dürrschmidt:I should warn you upfront that those new accessibility options exist, but the game isn’t really easier. We made the first game for a very targeted audience, and we figured that only those people would be interested in playing the game.
We didn’t realize that it might have had a broader appeal than we thought and that other people who aren’t familiar with these kinds of games would want to play it. So, inVolgarr 2, we reworked some things on the accessibility front. We’ve provided more checkpoints, so you don’t have to go as far in a single life per segment; there’s another feature where there are unlimited continues. But there’s even another feature where, if you continue to perform poorly, you basically unlock a cheat mode that’s tied to the narrative.
If you keep dying over and over and over again, Volgarr starts losing a little bit of his soul and eventually succumbs to becoming undead. So you basically enable this undead mode where you can still get knocked around and hit and stuff like that and the only real way you can die is by falling into a pit.
This is like unlocking your training mode, so people can experience the game, see some of the content and stuff like that, but it doesn’t really make the game that much easier, because you still have to get past the challenges. It’s just that you’re not going to die if you get hit in the face with a sword or a rock or something like that. It’s a good way for people who are unfamiliar with these kinds of games to get in some training and kind oflearn the way thatVolgarroperatesand then eventually, hopefully, want to go back and play the game proper.
There was some concern there with fans of the older game saying, “well, if you’re doing that and unlocking this cheat mode, then it’s not going to be as cool or feel as awesome when I’m streaming the game or something like that.” I don’t really like the gatekeeping aspect of this stuff. But if you want to feel awesome and that you’re really good atVolgarr, we address this by making it very obvious when you’re using the undead mode. It’s very obvious.
Volgarr is green, he looks like the incredible Hulk with purple hair and other physical changes. So you can’t be playing the game on Twitch or something like that, pretending like you’re super great at the game and then be in that crowd of the speed runners and stuff like that. But it gives you access to the game. So I’m hoping that everybody is happy with this. Players can dangle their feet in the pool and discover whatVolgarr 2is before really hitting the ground running with these features. But then the game is still challenging for those who want it.
The extra checkpoints, by the way, are optional. If you’re wanting to really go for that hardcore score and get the best endings and really push things, you can smash those checkpoints and not use them. You can just negate them for yourself and continue to play on. But the worlds are bigger. So it kind of makes it even harder than the original game in that aspect if you keep doing that.
Q: What about the undead mode? Is that an optional feature or are you forced into it upon dying a certain number of times?
Dürrschmidt:Well, that’s tied into the narrative of the game. If you keep continuing, you’re going to lose part of your soul. And once the undead mode is initiated, that’s it, you’re locked into that for the remainder of that profile play. So, if you have one playthrough that hits undead mode, you can delete your profile and try playing it again. Because it’s too late for you. If you become undead, you’re going to get the worst ending.
If you’re not the type of person that wants the undead mode, you’re going to want to go back and start again. The originalVolgarrdid this without giving you an option. Your game is just over. You must start over from the beginning.Volgarr 2is giving you a choice: do you want to continue to play? Do you want to see things, practice, get some experience with these challenges and then go back and play it proper? If you’re a hardcore player, you’re going to just go back and start over once you hit undead mode.
Vu:I also want to highlight the undead mode’s connection to the narrative. If you play the game without using continues, in the best way possible, you’ll get access to the best ending and the final level. So undead mode lets you play the game and experience the content, butyou get more content if you push through without it.
So it’s like a practice mode, but there’s also a literal practice mode that gets continually unlocked as you progress through the game. So, after you beat a level, you unlock that level in the practice mode that isn’t tied to overall progression, which lets you experience your favorite levels that way.
And then with the checkpoint stuff, those were added to balance out the fact that the levels are much bigger this time around: you don’t have to go all the way back to the start if you die to the boss. But you may also smash them for additional rewards. It’s also kind of a flexing thing, proving that you’re so good at the game that you don’t need the checkpoints.
Q: On a similar note, was there anything else that you decided to change based on feedback you received from the first game?
Dürrschmidt:For sure. For example, in the first game, there was what we call the crystal path and the path of the Valkyrie. The crystal path was like the mainline version of the game where you had unlimited lives, basically. And you can unlock a warrior spirit and then that would take you to an optional Valkyrie path where the Valkyrie would come out instead of the crystal, but you had limited lives in this mode.
You had to complete the game from start to finish on the Valkyrie path to get the final level and the final boss. So basically, there are two versions of the firstVolgarr the Viking: there’s the entirety of the game one way and the entirety of the game in another way, with completely different levels and stuff like that. But the funny thing is, only about 10% of the players of the original game ever saw the other half of the game. So it was mind-boggling to me that to this day, most players never saw the entirety of the original game. They play it and beat it, but they would never do the Valkyrie path because they would constantly get kicked out from the limited lives and whatnot. So, in the second game, we merged those two things together. No matter who you are, if you play the undead mode or not, you’re going to see a majority of the content.
By doing this, though, the worlds are quite a bit bigger. Andthere is still a secret level and the secret boss, but it’s not like 50% of the game is behind a velvet rope. It’s a good bit of content, but it’s not half of the game, and that’s one of the biggest differences between the two is that most people, if they play the second game, are going to get to see quite a bit more than they did the first time around.
Q: Circling back to how the undead mode influences the endings, there are supposed to be six endings toVolgarr the Viking 2. That’s twice as many endings from the first game, which will naturally change how players engage with the story. Are there any other elements of the story, or how the story is presented, that are significant departures from the first game’s story?
Dürrschmidt:Yeah. There are other supporting characters that show up in the game, for one thing. We try to tell a story as much as you can in an arcade setting without having a bunch of cutscenes and stuff. One of the biggest differences between the first game and the second game is that in the first game, he was just doing a task for Odin.
He’s older now, and a ruler of his own kingdom. The game starts with him sitting on the throne in his mead hall with his warriors, sitting around drinking and having a good old time when a familiar enemy crashes the party and starts this war. One of the narrative bits is in the original game, you had this campsite that you go to in between worlds where you tally your treasure, and then you have the rune stones and stuff like that. In the sequel, you go to a war camp, and you seea bunch of warriors and Valkyriesthere, and they cheer you on. So it’s more like a scene that plays out between levels that’s different from the first game.
Q: It’s interesting to know that there will be a bigger cast this time around, and that Volgarr seems to have more allies.
Dürrschmidt:Definitely. If you look at the key art, there are a few background characters. They’re there to allude that he’s a ruler of a kingdom, and that in the second game he’s pressing along with his army, like there’s this greater war happening simultaneously.
But the Valkyries are closely tied to this narrative. Whereas in the first game, Odin gave you his blessing to come back as many times as you needed, the Valkyrie just gave you all the power that you need to keep coming back over and over again, because Odin really wants you to accomplish this task.
By doing so in the first game, Volgarr is promised eternal life. His spot in Valhalla is secured because he did this thing for Odin. But he is mortal now, and the only reason he’s able to come back in the second game over and over again is because the Valkyries are basically going behind Odin’s back and reviving him. That’s why there are actual lives in this game versus in the first game, where you didn’t have to worry about your lives and the fact that the Valkyries keep using their power over and over again. This weakens their ability to bring Volgarr back.
And that’s kind ofthe whole lesson of this game. You can push forward and win, but at what cost? Are you going to be a hero and achieve this goal, or are you going to turn undead and make a bigger mess for yourself in the process?
Q: It sounds like the Valkyries are going to play quite an important role. Without spoiling anything, how deep does the Norse mythology influence go in the rest of the game? Is this a faithful recreation of Norse mythology, or more of a loose adaptation?
Dürrschmidt:That’s a really awesome question; no one’s actually asked me that one before. It’sloosely based in Norse mythology. We’re not tied to just the sagas or how things are actually described traditionally, but we attempt to retain the overall picture of it. Of course, Vikings never fought lizard men and zombies and giant spiders and whatnot, so there are some liberties taken there.
I would categorize it as Viking fantasy, because there’s magic and stuff in this world, sort of how the sagas describe it. But it’s not tightly tied to Norse mythology. It shares some major story beats, the gods are all the same gods, their motivations are very similar to what they’re described as being in the sagas, but outside of that, it’s basically a VikingConan the Barbarian. Our hands weren’t really tied by the traditional mythology. We kind of blended it with more modern western fantasy, with dragons and elves and goblins and the like. So it’s a bit of a mashup between Viking stuff andDungeons and Dragonsfantasy.
Q: Are players going to interact with any major Norse mythology figures?
Dürrschmidt:TheVolgarr the Vikinguniverse is based in North mythology, so there are some key figures in there: You get power from Thor, so he is mentioned; Odin plays a part in it, just like had a big part in the first game. Odin is in this game as well, but I can’t tell you where you see him.
But you don’t really interact with the gods that much, because mortals don’t influence what the gods do. The gods influence what mortals do. With that said, like most of the monsters and bosses that you encounter inVolgarr the Vikingarederived from Norse mythology. And while you don’t usually fight the gods, there is one pivotal encounter with a god inVolgarr the Viking 2. It’s a very critical turning point if you’re able to achieve it.
How Volgarr the Viking Is Carrying the Legacy of Old-School Games Through Simple Difficulty
Q: The first game draws clear inspiration from the likes ofGhouls ‘n Ghosts,Castlevania, and even shooters likeContra. Have you taken inspiration from any other notable titles for this sequel, or are you keeping the 1980s arcade focus, where it’s one or two hits and you die?
Dürrschmidt:It’s very similar to the first game. There’s something that we didn’t talk about that you just brought up: you take one or two hits and you die. In the first game, you may only get hit around four times max, if you’re fully geared up.
In the second game, there are many more new things that you may get, which expand how many times you can be hit. Basically, you’re getting a greater life bar in the second game and there are more abilities, not new powers and stuff like that. The games that we’re inspired by are still pretty much the same.
We pulled fromSuper Ghouls ‘n Ghostfor the Super Nintendo when it comes to the platforming mechanics; we wanted players to think about their jumps and movement. As for theCastlevaniainspiration, the slight input delay of the sword attack is obviously derived from Simon Belmont’s whip. And the way Volgarr walks and carries himself is sort of an homage toold-school Capcom gameslikeMagic SwordandBlack Tiger.
And of course, the opening sequence in the firstVolgarr the Vikingis basically a 1:1 recreation ofRastan, one of my favorite games. So, with the sequel, we aren’t really pulling from anything new, but we play with these inspirations in new, fun ways.
Q: Was it challenging to add these new abilities and upgrades while still retaining the old-school, mechanically simple arcade game framework?
Dürrschmidt:Absolutely, that was extremely challenging. I could talk about this all day [laughs]. One of the greatest challenges was trying to make the sequel really feel like’Volgarr the Viking 2’ and not’Volgarr the Viking 1.2.’ I didn’t want it to feel just like a big DLC or something like that. And that’s one of the reasons why it took 10 years to come out. Originally, I never even thought about making a sequel. But when I finally did, I needed to make sure it was worthy of the title.
I wanted it to feel familiar to the first game, so that people can feel at home when they pick it up. So, the core mechanics of how he moves and the buttons you press and stuff like that have all remained the same. The only thing that’s changed as far as the core gameplay goes is the new gear and the powers that come with them.
There are new power ups that you’re able to find that expand upon the gameplay, but what we spent about 90% of our time on was the actual design of the encounters: where to put enemies, how to balance everything, how far the checkpoints should be, how many there should be. The sequel’s development was 90% design and iteration time versus art and engineering time. So a tremendous amount of thought went into just that.
Vu:We’ve had so many variations ofVolgarr the Viking 2throughout the design process. There were many elements ofVolgarr’s gameplay that we considered changing, but we determined that it wouldn’t really feel likeVolgarr the Vikinganymore if we did.
Dürrschmidt:There are two easy things that come to mind regarding this subject. We initially considered making a small change to Volgarr’s movement, specifically how he slides down slopes. We thought about incorporating Volgarr’s momentum and letting him shoulder-tackle enemies at the bottom of these slops, but what happened is thatthe game started to feel like Sonic the Hedgehog.
He was just running all the time, all over the place. But he’s supposed to be older now. He shouldn’t be faster. It just wasn’t right. So that helped us realize that we shouldn’t mess with the formula too much.
And we tried to do a traditional health system. It didn’t work, it didn’t feel right. We had health bars and stuff like that, but that came with a lot of issues: does this enemy hit hard? How many hit points does this enemy have? It diverged too much from what made the first game cool. There were a lot of ideas that we left on the cutting room floor in favor of maintaining the game’s identity.
Q: Did you have any specific creative goals for this sequel? Was there a specific mantra or distillation of objectives that you had in mind throughout development?
Dürrschmidt:I wouldn’t say that I necessarily thought of it that way. But I will tell you that I think of every game that I personally create, because I like to create games like this: I try to think that, if this were a AAA title released in the 90s, upon the shelf beside something likeGhouls ‘n Ghosts, would I want to buy it? In my mind, I’m competing with those games, notCall of DutyorElden Ring. I’m stuck in 1994, and I’m truly trying to compete with these games as a AAA developer.
The reason for this, aside from the fact that I like these sorts of games, is that no one is making these sorts of games anymore. I think to myself “Well, if no one else is going to do it, I’m going to do it.”
Q: It seems like a lot of people view newer games as replacing these older experiences, rather than just fleshing out the gaming landscape.
Dürrschmidt:If you go back and play those older games, they’re still fun. Even to this day,games likeMagic Sworddon’t feel old. They’re timeless. And there are a lot of great games coming out today, but this sort of genre is being underserviced in the modern age.
There’s no reason why people can’t make those games anymore. That’s the space I’m trying to play in. My hope is that people can see something likeVolgarr the Viking 2and be inspired to support other games like it.
Q: Many games of the 80s and 90s have difficulty that stemmed from practical concerns, like encouraging players to keep pushing in quarters or to make the experience as long as possible. Gaming culture is very different these days, so what doesVolgarr’s difficulty mean for you?
Dürrschmidt:That’s another awesome question. Again, I could do a college dissertation on this one [laughs]. It’s very easy to look back on older games with rose-tinted glasses, especially arcade games. Arcade games were designed to take quarters from you. They wanted money. So they can have a bit of unfairness built into them in an effort to get more quarters. But arcade games needed to have this exciting, “one more try” sort of gameplay loop that draws you in. That’s what drives player engagement.
But withVolgarr, I want you to feel like it’s you that made the mistake and the game didn’t do it to you. In older arcade games, it was like, “Well, the game kind of did that to me. I didn’t actually make a mistake, this thing was unfair.” InVolgarr, you have all your tools up front and if you make a mistake, it should feel like you made a mistake and the game didn’t deprive you of something.The difficulty inVolgarris about providing that arcade experience without those elements of unfairness.
We obviously aren’t trying to get more and more quarters fromVolgarrplayers, but we almost want it to feel like you have a big bag of quarters with you and you’re able to play for as long as you want. I’m not trying to take something from you, I’m trying to give you something. I’m trying to give you new skills that you can take with you outsideVolgarr the Vikingthat you can apply to the rest of your life, such as your determination, willpower, and ability to absorb new things and take on new challenges.
Q: The firstVolgarr the Vikingwas a Kickstarter project published under the Adult Swim Games label. How has the development process changed, now that you are working with Digital Eclipse?
Dürrschmidt:Adult Swim Games was an awesome partner for the time period. They kind of came in and acted as a marketing publisher, since the game was already done by the time they came onboard. They didn’t help us financially, in terms of development. But what they did provide was some television commercials. They helped us get on Steam because we didn’t know how to do that at the time.
In the past, we would make a game and Calvin here would take the reins and get it published on these platforms. We, the developers, didn’t have the knowledge of how to do that. We didn’t know how to get our game onto Xbox or PlayStation or anything like that. Adult Swim helped us with that.
The different relationship that we have with Digital Eclipse is that they did support us, both financially and with staff. There was a big investment by Digital Eclipse, and they had a lot more faith and skin in the game to getVolgarr the Viking 2made.
Normally, what happens in the games industry is that you have a lot less freedom when other people’s money is involved. If you’re making a game for Sega or Activision or something like that, they’re very on top of you becausegames cost billions of dollars to make. They’re very worried about things like public perception and focus group work. As you’re probably aware, this is how games tend to get kind of watered down over time.
What was awesome about working with Digital Eclipse on this is that even though they did have a lot of resources invested inVolgarr the Viking 2, they allowed for more creative freedom. They might have had some suggestions, but it ultimately came down to what I wanted. It’s extremely rare that someone will finance something like this and not try to be over-controlling. So, working with Digital Eclipse has basically been the perfect situation. I’ve been making games for almost 30 years and this is the first time I’ve experienced something like this.
Q: What do you think contributed to this strong working relationship?
Dürrschmidt:It’s a combination of a few things. I think that Digital Eclipse shares a lot of DNA with Crazy Viking Studios in terms of how we view video games. I also think thatVolgarr the Viking 2lined up withDigital Eclipse’s strategiesat the perfect time. It’s like the stars just aligned.
Vu:I think a big part behind it is that Digital Eclipse lovesVolgarr the Vikingand very much understands that Kris isVolgarr the Viking. As much as we may want to meddle with it or provide feedback or stuff like that, a lot of belief and trust is put into Chris’s creative vision. He made the first game, it’s awesome, and we’re not gonna really mess with the secret sauce to make the second game. We’re just here to provide all the support that Chris needs to make this sequel the way he wants it.
Q: Is there anything else you would like to add before we go?
Vu:I wanted to add something about the development process. We never try to use hard metrics to measure where we’re at or what we want out of the game, but we always look to the original game as a measure of where we are at. Kris and Ted, who worked on the original project, knew what they were doing, and they built a really strong base,basically providing a LEGO setfor theVolgarrexperience.
So when we were working on the sequel, we used those LEGO pieces to iterate on the first game’s foundation. It allowed us to just build out the game piece-by-piece, where every encounter is important and unique in its own way. And when those pieces came together, we eventually got what we wanted out of aVolgarr the Vikingsequel. Even though we were just focused on making the sequel and getting it done, not really thinking about the most important parts ofVolgarr, it was like we knew what we were doing every step of the way.
Dürrschmidt:You can say something about your experience with the first game, Calvin.
Vu:Oh, god, I hated it [laughs]. I was so bad at it at first. But over time, I got better. I got more confident and learned from the challenges. There’s no character leveling or skills being added. You’re getting better as a player.
Dürrschmidt:You’re the one who levels up. You’re the one who gets better.
[END]
Volgarr the Viking 2is coming to PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, PC, and last-gen consoles on June 18, 2025.
