Nidhogg 2 is the sequel to the indie smash hit from 2014 in which it is a 1 vs 1 battle to reach the other side of the level. Create your own, customized character and get ready to have a blast!
General Gameplay
Nidhogg 2 is a 1 vs. 1 game combining a cross of weapons fighting and tug-of-war style in which you must kill your opponent and reach the other side to finish the level. The Game Visuals are done in a very 8-bit era style. The game graphics and colors are very vivid and clear enough where you can see the detail of your character and the backgrounds. Everything from the background design, to characters and weapons are done with enough detail to see them clearly in the game. While the game does have “cartoon violence”, the game’s options allow you to turn off the blood and gore, making this title a versatile one for younger and older gamers. That said, even the “cartoon violence” is hard to take seriously – pink and purple blood spilled in what seems to be a slapstick-comedy fight will have you laughing from the start. The game does not support a colorblind mode, however, it is not needed as the game’s visuals are vivid enough for anyone to see. In-game Audio is done well for the game. There is catchy background music for each stage, and every sound effect from the weapon clashing, to jumps, thuds and everything else going on around you is very clear. There is an option to raise or lower the sound and in-game audio, but we did not need to change any settings as the default ones were fine. In our playtesting, everyone in our gaming family really enjoyed the background music as it was fun to hear throughout the matches. The game does not support a 5.1 surround sound but it is not needed. The game also works well with a headset; parents, always use caution for your gamer with extended use of a gaming headset. Controls for the game are very easy to use and pick-up-and-play friendly. As the game just has the left thumb stick to move, one button to use your weapon and a jump button, the game is meant to be very easy for all to play. In our play testing we did not run into any issues with the controller settings for our younger or older gamers; it was very easy for everyone to play the game. Nidhogg 2 does not need any special type of controller to use to play either on the PC or PlayStation4. We do recommend that you use a gaming controller when playing one the PC.
“With a basic but comical style of weapon combat, Nidhogg 2 is a ton of fun in both online and local co-op modes.“
Family Friendly
This is where we were all surprised here at the office. At first, we thought that Nidhogg 2 was going to be very violent and not suitable for all our gaming family, however, once we saw that there was an option to turn off the blood, we were ok with it. Even without turning it off, it was nearly impossible to be offended by the blood as it was more like a splash of pink, purple or blue paint – the blood is the same color of your custom-made character. Nidhogg 2 is a fun game; there is nothing too hard to learn about the controls, weapons, or even design. It is all about just killing your opponent and getting to the end of the level, that’s it! When we did our playtesting, everyone here in the office had a ball playing the game. It reminded us of an 8-bit incarnation of the Three Stooges because of the comedy. Because of the game’s simple, pick up and play nature, Nidhogg 2 was a very easy game for all to play. In our special needs testing, our special needs gamers could not stop laughing at the characters and how they would defeat each other in the game. Don’t let the basic gameplay fool you, Nidhogg 2 is a great couch co-op and online game. Even playing solo is fun! For parents and guardians out there that feel that the weapon play may be too much, do know that you can turn off the violence and gore… yes, just turn it off! We did not see anything in our playtesting that would be too offensive to any younger gamers out there, however, if you are not sure that Nidhogg 2 may be a suitable game for your gaming family, we encourage you to watch some YouTube videos, and/or download a demo of the game.
Closing
Nidhogg 2 is a fun, simple game that takes weapons play, simple controls and funny customization, and adds couch co-op and online play modes. A fun game overall that will have you laughing the whole time!
Be sure to listen to our podcast about our real thoughts on Nidhogg 2!
