Thank Odin that Zombie Vikings came along when it did. I’ve been trapped in Witcher Land all Summer, and Mario Making has taking up whatever free time I had otherwise. I snuck some sleep in there a week or so ago, but only because I was too weak to move my clammy index fingers away from PS4 triggers. Most distressingly, my mind was fried. The jumps between deep right brain exploration of a massive RPG and the left brain meticulous planning of graph paper levels was wearing my brain down into dust.
Zombie Vikings is different. Zombie Vikings is dumb. Zombie Vikings is, oddly, appreciated.
In the most basic explanation, Vikings is a side-scrolling beat’em up set in Norse mythology. It stars a few unique undead protagonists and allows for 1-4 player co-op across its many levels, all linked by a bonkers plot. In fact, apart from its distinct visual style and narrative, and occasional special course, it’s as basic a modern brawler as can be.
There are negative aspects to the game, sure. But when I’m sitting on the couch after a long day at the office, and can’t force myself to get my mind warped into some of the bigger games of the year, Zombie Vikings seems to satisfy my palate. It’s fairly mindless, as many hack & slash games can tend to be. I don’t have to think when playing it; it does all the thinking for me. I can sit on my couch, let things happen, occasionally mash buttons in some combination or another and be satisfied with the outcome. And then turn it off when I’m finally ready to move on to something else.
Basic.
But I don’t actually mind that. Dumb, when it comes to some media consumption, can be an acceptable thing.
For one, the plot is bonkers. It features Norse troublemaker Loki stealing a cranky Odin’s eye for no apparent reason, prompting the classic deity to raise four bizarre warriors (and more later on) from the dead. Written by Zach Weinersmith, it includes tons of equally bizarre jokes, inside jokes, and jokes that try to capitalize on modern culture (Instagram is mentioned almost far too many times). There are many (MANY) times when the jokes fall flat, but much like the humor in Napoleon Dynamite that’s when I almost appreciate them more. It’s silly characters & a sillier plot, and though it’s not memorable at all, it’s weird enough that I didn’t look away.
The characters themselves never felt like they were personally mine, but more like puppets I was playing with. Perhaps that’s due in part to the focus of the game’s art direction. Zombie Vikings is designed in 2D layers against a semi three dimensional background. Like a diorama, the characters look and feel like cardboard toys and the world like something that would get ruined if wet. It works to highlight the absolutely terrific art. Everything seems hand-painted, with brush strokes and textures defining every surface, lighting and shadow giving us depth. I just wish the game would let me zoom in a bit on the action to see more of the work, as it tends to pan too far back.
This 2D look can cause some control issues, though. Moving on a 3D plane and attacking a flat object requires a bit more precision in lining up the characters. Some attacks — each character has a few unique moves — require holding down the button for different lengths of time, and can be burdensome to land when doing so and not in line. It’s easy to misjudge things. It doesn’t help that the difficulty level ramps up at inopportune times. The very first boss, just a few minutes into the game, requires a good understanding of the characters’ special moves to be defeated, something that took me several tries to do.
But that’s also in part because I was playing alone. The single-player experience feels unbalanced, as if I’m unable to actually move forward because certain enemies are too tough alone. Multiplayer is much better, and the more people that play the better the combos and advantages are. I prefer couch co-op over online with Vikings, though. Because the game is so heavy into telling its story, it pauses (a lot) in between and inside of levels to push it forward. My online teammates would drop off after just a couple of levels, unwanting to stay engaged. Plus, it’s much better to hear the groans from friends in person as the bad jokes drop.
Apart from the great visuals, the rest of the experience isn’t going to wow anyone. The progression system, which revolves around collecting gold, includes buying new weapons and runes, each with different upgrades. I went through the majority of the game without ever upgrading — not because I didn’t want to, but because I didn’t need to. The base characters’ skill sets are more than enough, and it’s hardly even able to be considered RPG-lite.
And that’s basically the biggest drawback of Zombie Vikings. There is never a carrot hanging out in front of us that’s tempting enough to look forward to. There are a few neat genres mixed in as mini games — races and a weird soccer/basketball hybrid, for example — and they keep things from getting too monotonous, but beyond that the action and gameplay isn’t super exciting.
Thankfully, that may be all I need when my focus is on the visuals and plot. Zombie Vikings is a “romp” more than anything else. It’s a series of levels strung together by a goofy drug-induced story and a nice visual glaze that’s enjoyable to experience, and more playable with couch co-op friends. It’s not going to be for everyone, and I can’t see myself telling many of my friends to run out and grab it right now, but for those of us who enjoy the occasional offbeat experience (and love looking at concept artwork come to life) then this could be a nice and welcome diversion from the epic huge games of the rest of the year.
This review is based on a copy of Zombie Vikings for the Playstation 4 provided to SideQuesting by the publisher. It was played and written after the latest patch, 1.03, went live.
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