In Nidhogg 2, victories are more strategic and rely on adapting to the strengths and weaknesses of each weapon. Everything is also slowed down a little bit – it discourages button mashing and forces players to appreciate the high/medium/low sword stance system, but half the draw of the first Nidhogg was being able to win simply by being a more energetic player than your opponent. Flung swords are deflected if the spinning sword touches any part of an opponent’s blade, taking a flashy and entertaining comeback move from the first game and making it largely impractical in the second. Unarmed fighting is a lot more powerful and aggressive, while swords have been tuned to be more defensive. You can now kick swords out of an opponent’s hands while unarmed if you time it well, and attacking while an opponent rolls beneath you now kills them instantly. Other motions have been subtly returned and revamped for the sequel as well. New players to the game will likely fumble and get themselves killed using it, but experienced players can prevent their opponents from getting close enough to attack through effective arrow fire. The bow’s addition disrupts the game dramatically. From a distance, however, the bow is great at sniping players who aren’t careful with their jumps and rolls. Its arrows are also automatically deflected by stationary swords, and deflected arrows get flipped horizontally before hurtling back at you with speed – all this means the bow is abysmal at close range fights. The bow takes a few frames to charge up, so sometimes you won’t be sure that you’ll actually fire an arrow if you’re used to tapping the attack button. The addition of the bow and arrow has proved to be incredibly divisive among fans of the original game, and I myself still can’t quite decide whether it’s a good idea or not. The broadsword and knife are well balanced with distinct pros and cons compared to the original rapier, and are intuitive to use.Īnd then there’s the bow. Variety in weapons leads to new matchups and more strategic combat – the best players will be able to adapt to the strengths of their weapon and change their playstyle to surprise opponents. Each time you respawn you’ll have a different weapon, but it’s determined by a cycle and not by randomness. There’s also a bow and just… it’s a bow more on that later. In addition to the classic Nidhogg rapier, the sequel adds a wide-swinging broadsword which proves trouble for aerial players, and a dagger which lacks in defence but is deadly when thrown. Looking at gameplay changes now, the addition of weapon types is sure to shake up the metagame. There’s also a lot of in game cosmetics which sync up to the music, making the game feel like one giant delightful trip. It fits well with the game’s overall slowed down pace and colourful, surreal atmosphere. Nidhogg 2 is set to subdued, electronic beats that are quite catchy. Thankfully the music has also received an upgrade and it’s undeniably for the better. It’ll put a dampener on the party for anyone squeamish. Nidhogg 2 on the other hand falls deep into the realm of stylised violence – the permanently bloodstained floors remain, but now players also watch the pained faces of their characters before they explode into gibs upon death. There’s also an issue of the violence the original Nidhogg was fairly violent but in a pixelated, abstracted way. The stick figures of the original Nidhogg clearly reflected what the player’s current state, whether running, stabbing or dying, but Nidhogg 2’s characters are harder to read. There’s a lot more moving components, more bright colours and character models which can be customised, but all of these lead to visual noise which can obstruct gameplay. Unfortunately, despite the extra effort spent on visual storytelling, Nidhogg 2 does not feature a story mode and its narrative remains spartan.įurthermore, for the players who are here for the gameplay, the new visuals can prove a tad distracting. Nidhogg was always a fairly dark game – it’s about a bloody duel to the death for the right to be eaten by an enormous fleshy dragon god – but Dixon’s art style really brings about the reality of Messhof’s grim universe. While the original game favoured rotoscoped characters on a surreal, pixelated background, Nidhogg 2 brings artist Toby Dixon aboard to bring the game’s grotesque story to life. The biggest and most immediately obvious change is the graphical style. It’s naturally daunting to think of a sequel to a game which can’t really be improved on, but that hasn’t stopped Nidhogg 2 from hitting PC and PS4 earlier this week. That doesn’t mean it’s 5/5 stars, but it does mean that I can’t imagine how the gameplay could be improved by adding or taking away any mechanics – the unique interplay of fencing, platforming and tug-of-war style competition crafted by Messhof was frenetic yet fair and great for parties. The original Nidhogg is a fine example of a mechanically perfect game.
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