“Channeling Fury: The Compelling Call of ‘I Need You To Be Angry’ in 2024”
During the holiday period, we are reissuing some of the most accurate pieces from Nintendo Life authors and contributors as part of our Highlights of 2024 series. This piece was originally published in July. Enjoy!
The original Volgarr The Viking may have gone unnoticed by many when it debuted in 2013, but it’s one of those games that, if you know, you know. It received a commendable 8/10 rating from us upon its release on Switch and has fostered a hardcore, dedicated fanbase whose members are continuously speedrunning the game. Its exceptional level design and enemy arrangement have received widespread critical acclaim, yet the developer, Crazy Viking Studios, had no intention of creating a sequel.
So, what’s changed? Volgarr the Viking II, a brand-new installment featuring everyone’s favorite rugged Midgardian, is set to launch on the Switch eShop on August 6th. So what prompted the studio to rethink its position?
Well, we had the opportunity to speak with Kris Durrschmidt, co-founder, CEO, and creative director at Crazy Viking Studios, along with Calvin Vu, producer at Digital Eclipse, to learn more. We explore what differentiates this game from the original, how newcomers can acclimate to the challenging experience, and whether the surge of Soulslikes might have influenced its critical and commercial reception.
Let’s dive in.
Nintendo Life: Can you tell us how you collaborated with Digital Eclipse on Volgarr the Viking II?
Kris Durrschmidt: I had actually been working with Digital Eclipse for quite some time. About six years ago, Mike [Mika, DE’s Head of Studio] reached out to me and said, “Hey, we’re launching this new initiative focusing on collections and documentary-style games, and I could really use your expertise.” I began working on that because I was uncertain about what direction to take with Crazy Viking Studios. I collaborated with Mike and Digital Eclipse on various projects, including the SNK 40th Anniversary Collection, TMNT: The Cowabunga Collection, Blizzard Arcade Collection, and several others.
During this collaboration, fans started expressing their desire for a sequel to Volgarr. An external publisher approached Digital Eclipse and said, “Hey, we would like to offer you a publishing deal.” This put me in a difficult situation since I was juggling two jobs. I discussed it with Mike, and Digital Eclipse has a legacy of creating retro games, so they wanted to venture into self-publishing. They were eager to start projects like Karateka and Llamasoft, publishing under their own brand. The timing was indeed perfect. They made a counteroffer that was beneficial for me, alleviating a lot of stress as my two jobs merged into one.
Calvin Vu: Absolutely, Digital Eclipse was looking to branch into self-publishing, which had not been their primary focus before; we were mainly involved in licensing and creating collections for larger companies. Kris was in the right place at the right time, and he happened to have an IP that everyone was eager to see a sequel for. So everything aligned perfectly.
You mentioned you were uncertain about Crazy Viking Studios’ direction. Did you always intend to create a sequel for Volgarr, or were you considering moving on to something different?
Kris: There’s a bit of personal history to this. Volgarr was quite successful. After we developed Volgarr—when I say “we,” it was Taron Millet and I back then—we had no intentions of making a sequel. We felt we had accomplished everything we wanted in that game, and we viewed it as a complete standalone experience. If people wanted to enjoy Volgarr, they could simply play that game.
We considered pivoting to create different games. Many people may not be aware, but we prototyped various games with different characters set in that universe, and they are all at different stages of development. Our goal was to expand the universe, create additional sequels—well, more like spiritual sequels rather than direct sequels—but games within that universe featuring different characters with unique abilities and elements.
We explored different ideas, took our time, and engaged in prototyping… I say this because we were fortunate to have the resources to experiment and play around with ideas. However, the downside was that we didn’t have a clear direction. Then, just before contributing to Digital Eclipse, Taron faced a minor health issue that made it difficult for him to use the computer extensively. He decided to retire. This added to the challenge of developing the original game as he was unable to continue.
That left the company in a state of reflection, trying to determine whether to continue or shut everything down or engage in some soul-searching. I also took a break. It was during this time that Mike reached out about Digital Eclipse, so I’ve always been working on prototypes outside of that. I have a number of projects in the pipeline as well. But that’s how everything unfolded and where we ultimately ended up.
What motivated you to pursue a direct sequel instead of venturing into a new direction?
Kris: A decade of receiving countless emails and Twitter messages! “Where’s Volgarr 2? When are you guys going to do something again? What’s going on?” The issue with prototyping and pursuing various game ideas is that, depending on the project’s nature and the vision you have, it can get complicated.
Not consistently remain in a state of initiation style. I prefer starting style, in my perspective. However, typically, you may not agree. For instance, if a game falls into a specific category, it might not function well in an open format since the game itself is a surprise. Thus, we have various prototypes and components in the treasure chest that we have not yet discussed because we haven’t committed to anything definite.
Thus, that is where we stood. We had a number of fans who, due to our silence, were curious about what was happening, as we never really shut down the company. We were always somewhat semi-active and communicating about various matters. They were like, “Well, where’s Volgarr? Why can’t we have more content? Create some DLC, create something!” But DLC doesn’t suit that game, it’s self-contained, so it could upset the balance.
In my view, I was never genuinely going to stop working on that game entirely. When the opportunity arose, it took many months of thorough exploration to figure out how a sequel could be developed that didn’t feel like merely an appropriate DLC or just more of the same. Volgarr II needed to be Volgarr II, not Volgarr 1.5 or anything of the sort.
With that in mind, can you tell us what’s new with Volgarr II?
Kris: In this version, there is a variety of treasure chests that you unlock, allowing you to gain special abilities and armor in a specific order. The number of hits Volgarr can endure has been altered. In the new game, there are additional abilities, more types of armor, different magical items, and so forth. I could easily discuss this aspect alone for about an hour, but the second game is undeniably more intricate.
In the original game, you began with a wooden shield that could only withstand two hits before breaking. Then, after another hit, you would die. The helmet provided faster attacks, and of course, you had the renowned fire sword. In the second game, we introduced boots and a belt, which add abilities—I won’t reveal too much about what they do—but they introduce new actions that Volgarr can perform that weren’t present in the first game. Volgarr can withstand more hits now thanks to the features we’ve incorporated. Overall, he has a greater health pool before succumbing.
Volgarr II had to be Volgarr II, not Volgarr 1.5 or anything.
A lot of what I did in the second game was address the fundamental concerns, needs, hopes, and wishes we’ve received from fans and critics regarding how the game could be improved. We opted for a classic game design, very much in an old-school style, and many of the reviews mentioned issues like, “There aren’t enough checkpoints.” Players were frustrated that you had to complete an entire level in one life to make any real progress. The game only had one checkpoint halfway through the entire stage. You’d transition from outside to inside for the boss battle. So if you failed at the boss, you ended up replaying half the level each time, right?
That was our intention, but we were surprised to find out that many people wanted a bit more contemporary convenience. So there are extra checkpoints in Volgarr II. However, to satisfy the true old-school fans, we also allow you to trade those checkpoints for additional points, lives, and ratings—things like that. This way, you can play as a hardcore gamer if you wish, or if you prefer that little extra help during the stages, you can keep those checkpoints and gain more of them.
The game is overall superior to the original, but because there are more checkpoints, we felt we could enhance the overall experience. You could lose lives similar to the original game’s Valkyrie Route. In the original, you didn’t have lives; you simply died repeatedly until reaching the goal. But in the second game, you have lives, you come back, and you continue. However, you also have unlimited continues. Thus, one might ask, “Well, [why] even have lives or continues?” It’s because it ties into the story and the endings you get based entirely on your performance. So it incentivizes players to play as skillfully as they can, fostering that element of strategy and speedrunning culture in the game.
That’s fascinating. I appreciated the old-school essence of the original, where each level felt nearly impossible at first, but you kept progressing gradually until you could complete it without taking a hit. It sounds like you had quite a bit of balancing to do with Volgarr II to get it right again.
Kris: I’m glad you felt that way because there were indeed some who did not quite perceive it the same. And that’s perfectly fine; there are plenty of games available for everyone. But that was the aim. Ultimately, Volgarr is fun, and it’s exciting—you play as a Viking battling monsters and whatnot. However, the real aim and intent when I was trying to contribute to this was to enhance player skills. To help individuals improve at video games and provide a genuine means of hand-eye coordination development and everything associated with that.
It’s like your gaming fruits and vegetables, I suppose. You know, instead of everyone always having dessert, there’s a game designed to give you your broccoli and more! Which isn’t always that fun. You’ve got to try to disguise it with cheese and tuck it away in a muffin or something.
You endure more hits in Volgarr; there are more health items and mechanisms to ease your journey. However, to balance that, it’s designed to be more challenging now. So while you can take a few more hits, the game throws more obstacles at you. Thus, while it remains just as difficult as the first, it presents challenges to you differently.
A lot of that, once again, comes back to really contemplating what would make this a true sequel. Because one aspect is speedrunning; I believe the current world record holder for speedrunning the first game is around 14 minutes or something.
I really enjoy that. For him to get his hands on this sequel – if not sufficient is a substitute, then he’s probably going to race through it because he’s already honed the skills from the first game. Therefore, while [experienced players of the first game] will have an edge while playing Volgarr II, it won’t be an easy task since things have shifted a bit; the challenges they face are different. That was one of the most intriguing balancing elements in the game: making it enjoyable and engaging for new players, while ensuring that fans of the original game did not lose interest.
It remains just as challenging as the first game, but presented in a slightly different manner.
Calvin: It’s essential to reflect on the experience of the first game and all the different enemy types that existed there. I believe a considerable amount of effort went into developing new enemy types that are slightly different. There is a lot of give and take in terms of design and level layouts. Are the enemies positioned correctly? Do we have the right amount of chests? Are there enough checkpoints to ensure it feels challenging yet not overwhelming? We constantly refer back to how it compares to the original game.
Kris: In the first game, the way we introduced enemies was by using green, blue, and red foes, regardless of the level. That’s how players recognized the more formidable enemies. We don’t do that in Volgarr II; you really have to observe the enemies for a moment. One of the interesting techniques we use is that when the game starts, we introduce very familiar enemies that you have already seen. So when you’ve played the first game, you recognize something and may become a bit overconfident, then something new appears that behaves in a way that was completely different in the first game. So, if you’re not careful, you might really end up making a mistake.
What can you tell us about the narrative in this game? I noticed there are multiple characters in the main artwork. Do they all play significant roles?
Kris: The characters you see on the poster are supporting roles. You don’t play as anyone other than Volgarr. In the poster, the Valkyrie is the one who brings you back from the dead and oversees all the warrior souls. The Viking warrior you see in the background is a member of Volgarr’s army.
The story from the first game was that Volgarr bravely perishes while fighting an army of Lizardmen; he dies protecting his village, but he does so with such bravery that Odin takes notice, revives him, and recruits him to deal with troubles in Midgard, specifically involving the Fáfnir Dragon and Giant Frost Trolls. He tells Volgarr that if he does…