The latest game from the team that brought you the wonderful Stick It to the Man is here. Well, it’s been here a couple of years now. But you know, new site, old review. I’m not updating all of the content as I post it, but it should still be relevant!

Zombie Vikings is a side-scrolling beat ’em up, plain and simple. You can expect the same art style that was utilized in SIttM, and a sense of humor that relies heavily on pop culture and you utilizing the internet. Either you’ll enjoy the writing or you won’t. It depends on if you find references to things enjoyable or not, as a majority of the dialogue is just that. Another part that may win you or lose you is the voices delivering that dialogue. The best way to describe it is something you’d expect to hear on a cartoon you’ve never heard of – while that may seem harsh, it’s mainly because it is such a juxtaposition to the visual design of the characters. Again, you may really like it. If you don’t quite understand what I mean, think Reservoir Dogs with Mr. White and the torture scene while this plays in the background.

Gameplay is your typical affair of move right, use attack button, dodge attack, repeat as necessary. Of course there are more nuances to that, such as the fact that you can choose from four different characters, each with their own skills and reasons to choose them. For example, when I played this with my wife, my predominant character was Hedgy. Aside from being my favorite personality of the four, he excels in speed, which is the kind of character I’d play in an RPG (well, agility and stealth). He also has the ability to throw skulls as bombs. What’s not to like about that? Caw-kaa (yes, her name is bird related. Potentially defecation related as well) is the character my wife chose to play as, since a) she’s a girl b) she liked her more than the other girl. Also, she gets to divebomb enemies with her wings. Regardless of who you choose to play as, unless you are playing with other people, you will most likely be forced to play as someone else for certain levels. While this can be nice to change up the gameplay and let you experiment with the other characters, it’s pretty likely that you’ve done that on your own, and don’t really want to deviate from your gameplan.

The levels are pretty much what you’d expect, as mentioned above. Enemies don’t vary much aside from aesthetics, and bosses are… well, they are supposed to change your tactics, but for the most part, it was more of the same. There are a few level variances, such as a sports type of level, and the kind where you run from the enemies chasing you. The runner levels are a welcome breath of fresh air while you make your way through the lengthy game, while the others are not so much. The game also offers you weapons and runes which you can equip depending on what you need, as each has their own passive skills that may make the difference in winning or losing. In addition to buying these with the gold you accrue each level, you can also attain them by completing side quests. If you’re playing multiplayer though, this is when co-op becomes competition, as not everyone playing will get the quest item. This is also another facet for the humor, as the weapons are typically visual gags, and the abilities they hold pertain to their design.

If you’re a fan of sidescrolling beat ’em ups, you enjoy pop culture references and have been looking for something to play with your three other friends, this may be right up your alley. However, I do believe there are better options out there, and for cheaper.

4 out of 10

Pros:

• Great Aesthetics
• Equippable Gear
• When the Humor Hits…

Cons:

• …and When it Doesn’t
• Lack of Enemy Variation
• Levels Begin to Drag

Zombie Vikings was developed and published by Zoink Games. The game launched on PS4 September 1st, 2015, Steam December 7th, 2015, and X1 in the near future for $19.99. The game was provided to us for review. If you’d like to see more of Zombie Vikings, check out the official site.

 

Here at GBG we use a rating method that you are more than likely familiar with – a scale of 1 to 10. For clarification, we intend on using the entire scale: 1-4 is something you should probably avoid paying for; 5-7 is something that is worth playing, but probably not at full price; 8-10 is a great title that you can feel confident about buying. If you have any questions or comments about how we rate a game, please let us know.

Check out OpenCritic for a better idea of how our review stacks against others.