Miss classic 16-bit action platformers like Super Ghouls n’ Ghosts, Castlevania, and Shinobi? If not, you should. These brilliant games represented an era of true evolution to a genre, combining challenging jumps with intelligent combat strategy. They’re the basis of fantastic games like Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and Assasin’s Creed, but very rarely do you see a game succeed, or let alone attempt, the original side-scrolling style.
Miss classic 16-bit action platformers like Super Ghouls n’ Ghosts, Castlevania, and Shinobi? If not, you should. These brilliant games represented an era of true evolution to a genre, combining challenging jumps with intelligent combat strategy. They’re the basis of fantastic games like Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and Assasin’s Creed, but very rarely do you see a game succeed, or let alone attempt, the original side-scrolling style.
Crazy Viking Studios has something to say about that. Composed of Kris Durrshmidt and Taron Millet, this dynamic duo has produced modern-day sides-scrolling action titles for years, including The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night GBA, Spider-Man: Web of Shadows DS, and the recent attempt to revive a classic in Shinobi 3DS. And after decades of programming and designing, they knew it was time to make their own offering to the genre: Volgarr The Viking.
Volgarr The Viking isn’t just a nod to classic 16-bit action titles, though. It’s full of plenty of unique twists and mechanics. Some of the coolest include the ability to spin with your blade on a second jump, throw enemy-piercing spears that also operate as platforms, and perform a roll dodge in order to strike enemies from behind.
Developed with the glory of the classic titles in mind, the main idea is to create a game that is easy to learn, difficult to complete, and fair in its design. Crazy Viking Studios hopes to go to ” a time when a player had to earn the right to see the ending to a game, through practice and perseverance. A time where overcoming a challenge was truly satisfying, and completing a game not only filled you with a legitimate sense of accomplishment, but made you want to play it again right away and improve your performance. A time where games were about the game, not about the cutscenes and cinematic presentation.”
It’s a pretty noble goal, and the fans have responded. Volgarr The Viking needed $18,000 via Kickstarter to succeed, and as of writing it’s already reached $25,800 with 13 days left to go. We’re happy to see an excellent idea succeed from fan interest, but we’d like to see these guys get as much support as possible.
At the $10 level, you get the complete game. At $30, you get the game’s orchestral soundtrack, alongside a heavy metal cover. Really want to dig deep and bring the glory days back? $150 gets you a cleverly crafted Sega Genesis parody case and dummy cartridge, while the deep sum of $7500 gets you a complete Volgarr The Viking arcade machine.
We already know the Viking is coming. It’s up to you guys to determine how hard he’ll hit.
Project Name: Volgarr the Viking
Platforms: PC
Funds Needed: $18,000
Funding Acquired (as of this writing): $25,804
Days Left: 13
Kickstarter Picks is a series of features on Gamezebo that will profile Kickstarter projects in the world of video games. We’re doing this in the hopes of calling attention to interesting projects in need of funding, so please, if a game looks like something you’d want to play, don’t hesitate to lend it your support!
