Volgarr The Viking: Review

If you grew up in the ‘80s and (maybe) in the ‘90s, you might remember the coin-operated arcade machines that seemed to fill almost every shop. As the years went by, the arcade games migrated from the corner café into dedicated shops in malls, filled to the rafters with the flashing lights and whizzing sounds of perceived joy.

But the arcade games hid a dark secret: they were notoriously difficult to master. If you think about it, they weren't really there for your enjoyment, but rather to make the operator of the establishment money. Yet, we kept on feeding the machines our precious coins in the hope that we can beat our last high score.

Where is all the going? Well, November’s free Xbox Live game is Volgarr the Viking, and as soon you fire it up on the Xbox One, you might have flash back to the nightmarish times of staring an almost impossible game in the face.

You play as the titular Viking character and you are on a quest (there always has to be a quest) of some kind. The thing that makes this one great, is that it has been design in the same style as those arcade game in their 16-bit glory.

The game is also very challenging if you haven’t put a finger on an arcade knob in years which will lead to a lot of frustration. Don't get us wrong, the game is enjoyable (even if it is just for nostalgic reasons), but at some point it just seems impossible to get anywhere. It’s one of those games where if you get hit one you flicker, get struck again and you die.

For a free game, it’s well worth picking up as it is only around 400 or 500 MB big, but don't expect it to be a walk in the park. If you long for the days of hanging around a grimy game box in the comfort of your own lounge, grab this one.

6.5/10