Völgarr the Viking

[Neptas]

I didn't know that game till yesterday, when I watched a speedrun made by a French. He finished the game in 19:26, I believe he has the world record for now.

For those who can understand French, the video is here http://www.jeuxvideo.com/chroniques-vid ... 118605.htm
For those who can't, well, if you know the game well, I think you can still discover some stuff just by looking at it.

In my case, I don't know, this game is for me not that appealing to play, but pretty nice to watch.

[Ghegs]

And if you don't like steam:

http://www.volgarrtheviking.com/

It says you get a Steam key. If I buy it from the official website, is it still a Steam version?

Buy Volgarr the Viking and get it instantly, DRM-free!
Includes a Steam key & digital manual.

You'll get a download link for a DRM-free package, as well as a Steam key.

Love the game, one of the few Kickstarter projects I've backed that I'm really happy about.

[Ruldra]

He finished the game in 19:26, I believe he has the world record for now.

Fastest clear I found at this point is 17:10. And looks like it can still be improved.

I've been following this game on the sidelines. Really need to give it a try sometime.

[gct]

You'll get a download link for a DRM-free package, as well as a Steam key.

Sold! I'm going to put this on both of my computers

[Ruldra]

By the way, I should point out that this game is being pirated to hell and back, so if you have any interest in this, please refrain from pirating and go buy a real copy. This is the kind of game that deserve the support from players.

[Moniker]

Really dig this game. The sense of slow but steady progress in skills and how to handle situations is done even better than in the games it cribs off, IMO. Got the first area pretty well locked-down, although I haven't completely figured out how get past that protected spore plant 100% of the time. Mostly though, I make it to 1-2 with a full set of powerups. Just made it to the first boss with no gear. Got demolished on the first attack.

The attention to detail is really great. For example, I found out about the first warrior-spirit location because I got knocked down the hole and was trying to save myself with a double-jump onto a spear I launched (didn't work). I was also pleasantly surprised when I opened a chest with a helmet, and then, having gotten de-shielded before picking it up, emerged with only a helmet. Wanted to see whether the next chest would give me a shield or a fire-sword, but I forgot I didn't actually have the shield and was decapped.

Great game to spend 30 mins a day on. Always get a smile on my face when I hear "Rise, warrior" at the start.

[mikehaggar]

I finally started playing this game and I'm hopelessly addicted. I've mastered a few stages and I'm dedicated to seeing every ending the game has to offer. I'm soooooo impressed this game was made, and as well as it was. This is exactly the type of game I would make myself if I had the design chops. Being a huge fan of the Ghouls series (I've no missed the first two games), I can safely say that this game is an instant classic, and will probably become one of my favorite action platformers ever made.

I will report back once I actually complete it, but do to crazy work schedules, it will probably be a looong time. Which is great! I'm really getting my money's worth with this one!

[Ruldra]

So...could someone explain to me how exactly the score system works? I heard this was all about speedrunning, but the fact that the fastest clear isn't also the highest score in the leaderboards means there's something else to it. Some guy cleared the game in 16:45 but he's still 8k points behind #1 (iconoclast) in the rankings.

[iconoclast]

Scoring is about finding a balance between speed running and item collection. The amount of gold you receive from each boss' chest is based on how quickly you completed the stage. There is a limit to the amount of gold you can get from those chests, though, so once you figure out the 'time limit' for each stage, you can start trying to collect as many pieces of treasure as you can while still finishing with the maximum bonus.

The treasure chests really start to pay off towards the end of the game if you never get hit. Once you collect a certain number of lives (IIRC it's some huge amount, like 20+), every chest will start to drop the highest value item in the game. If I could make one change to Volgarr, it would be to cap the maximum lives at something more arcade-like (maybe 5) so you'd be able to score more throughout the rest of the game.

[GSK]

I was gonna do a little write-up but now that iconoclast is here I needn't bother!

For those who still don't own this game, it's on sale right now: $3.99 on the Humble Store, includes a DRM-free version.

https://www.humblebundle.com/store/p/vo ... storefront

[Necronopticous]

I one lifed it and started to mess around with speed running, but I don't like the constant move cancelling you have to do just to move through the stage quickly so I quickly lost interest in that. Great game, though.

[Ruldra]

Thanks for the tips iconoclast. I managed to get the A ending but I'm still getting hit and dying way too much to my liking. Once I improve my survival chances I'll start messing around with scoring.

Do you know the time limit for each stage?

[iconoclast]

I can't remember, but if you want to check my replay, the time limits should be within a few seconds for most stages. I don't think I ever managed to max out stage 4, though.

[Immryr]

i just bought this game, after watching a couple of videos i wasn't expecting to find it that hard, but it's kicking my ass. a lot of that is due to the fact i haven't got a feel for the jumping mechanic yet though.

[Specineff]

Don't think this has been posted anywhere else in the forum, so here it is. WISE FWOM YOUR GWAVE.

Volgarr has been ported to the Dreamcast with permission of the original studio, and it's entirely free and legit to download.

http://volgarr.rkd.zone/index.html

Merry Early Christmas.

[Illyrian]

Got all the way to the last level in this game a while back.

It would be roughly 10000000% better if you got a checkpoint before the boss room. In general the boss fights kinda suck, but the levels leading up to them are good fun.

[Squire Grooktook]

I personally feel like the level design dips in quality about midway through, and the boss design gets awful from stage 2 onward. Otherwise a solid fun game, but Rastan Saga (from which it cribs most of its movement/attack physics) and Super Ghouls and Ghosts (the closest analogue for the tense double jumping) are way better IMO.

[iconoclast]

Are you guys talking about the normal path or the Valkyrie path (or whatever the one that doesn't have infinite lives is called)? Volgarr has two different sets of levels and the Valkyrie ones are definitely better.

I didn't like the bosses at first either, but they're actually pretty fun once you figure out how to kill them as quickly as possible. And the game actually gives you a reason to learn that stuff, because speed and score are closely related. You really notice how smart most of the design is once you start finding all of the little tricks they included to emphasize speed running. (And speed isn't everything, thankfully. Item collection is just as important.)

That's why I like Volgarr more than most of the older action/platform games. Very, very few of them have scoring that doesn't come across as a pointless afterthought, so you spend a couple of days no missing them and never have a reason to touch them again. Games that have the depth of eg. Volgarr, Strider 2, and Little Ralph are quite rare.

[Squire Grooktook]

so you spend a couple of days no missing them and never have a reason to touch them again.

Or you could just no miss them again for the sake of the thrill. Not like everything has to be about achievement. I return to Daimakaimura and Contra 3 every few month's or so because they're still the pinnacle of the run and gun genre (IMO), and having already 1lc'd them has not yet made the gauntlet any less thrilling.

A scoring system is a nice bonus, but Volgarr's level design past the third stage felt like an afterthought. I don't think I unlocked the Valkyrie path, so I'll have to try that though.