Impressions of "Volgarr the Viking" for Nintendo Switch

The first time I saw Volgarr the Viking was on a video by Dodger, the YouTuber who possesses channels called PressHeartToContinue and DexterityBonus. It seemed like an old-school game with a high degree of difficulty that required patience and memorization. I was always intrigued by it and wanted to try it, but not to the extent of plunking down money to do so.

About two weeks ago, I bought it for Nintendo Switch because I was bored and out of the house. I enjoyed it immensely, although it's very stressful and punishing. It's not a game that normal people will want to play for hours at a time.

Immediately, it reminded me of Castlevania and Ghouls 'n Ghosts. Like Ghouls 'n Ghosts, it has a similar power-up system where additional pieces of armor correspond to hits you can take from enemies. If you get hit, you lose a piece. If you find a piece of armor, you can put the piece you lost back on.

It's a very methodical game. The enemies have set patterns, and so getting hit will be a result of either not knowing the patterns, impatience by the player, or messing up somehow. Some people love games like this. I do, too, to an extent. I played through the first level in an hour of multiple deaths and retries, and I had had enough for the day, or even a week or a month.

Real life is stressful enough. I might return to this game again, but I probably won't. If you are someone that loves games like Ghouls 'n Ghosts and Dark Souls, though, this is a game for you.

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