Game Info
GAME NAME: Nidhogg
DEVELOPER(S): Meshoff
PUBLISHER(S): Meshoff
PLATFORM(S): Ps4
GENRE(S): Fighting
RELEASE DATE(S): October 14th, 2014
Oh boy did I love me that Atari back in the day with some of those great games with barely any visuals. Nidhogg is a blast from the past of being back in the Atari days, but it has more animation and smooth running gameplay than any old game from that old system. Meshoff created a great fast paced sword dueling game that is meant for two players, either online or local.
This game controls as simple as you would expect with the d-pad or analog moving your character, pressing “X” to jump and “Square” to attack. There is no time to truly think about how to take down your opponent, which leaves this game up to impulse reactions that could either bring you along victoriously or die a horribly over pixelated death.
Each level is made up of a few different screens with the same feel like an old side scrolling Prince of Persia game. Sometimes you might find yourself just trying to jump over your enemy to make it into the next screen, only hoping to reach the end. If you die or kill your opponent they will spray a pixelated mess all over the stage with whatever color they are. The respawn time is very short and it forces you to act fast after defeating your opponent, who could reappear right before the door if your not fast enough.
There are some moves other than jumping and typical sword lunges that you can experience, such as playing dirty by throwing your sword hoping to pierce their face. If you get your sword knocked out of your hand or have thrown it, you will be resorted to bare knuckle fighting even if the other still has their sword.
Nidhogg has a local multiplayer mode that is really fun. You can even create a ladder style match amongst many friends to compete in. The online mode didn’t seem to work for me and I read online that many people were having the same issue with finding an opponent to face. The Vita also received this game and can be played with someone on PS4, which is a great addition to basically any game that’s on multiple platforms.
Visually this game succeeds with the old school style Atari fan service, but it has more animation within the levels and on screen than any of those old games. I believe the ESRB would’ve been created back on Atari if this game released back then with the amount of bloody pixels spewing from the dying characters on screen.
The music on this game was written by Daedelus and is very dynamic with it altering the sound depending on the action on screen. The sound effects are decent and nothing that really stands out from the fast paced action you endure.
The Recommendation
I personally think Nidhogg is a very fun and energetic game that pushes impulse decisions. Most Indie games are priced either too high or just right and Nidhogg is a little high at $14.99, but it does have a lot of content and is worth the PS Plus price right now of $11.99. I suggest picking this game up if you like an overly fast paced and quick response style game with old school visuals that entice quite well.
