Nidhogg 2, from Messhof, is a 2D duelling game that is built around multi-player combat. Specifically, Nidhogg shines when being played with friends. Whether it’s local couch Co-op or online, fighting against a person you know creates a wonderful experience as you try to best each other in this superb duelling game.
Nidhogg 1 had a minimalist art style, focussed on the core sword fighting mechanics to allow for fluid sword duels across the map.
The game system in Nidhogg 2 is the same. Two players will face each other. The first to kill the other will be able to progress right or left to their eventual goal. By passing through multiple screens (and killing their opponent) they’ll be able to reach the final screen, and win the game.
Also throw themselves into the waiting jaws of the Titular Nidhogg.
Very little about this has changed.
Nidhogg 2 expands on this with a new art style, multiple weapons and an increased number of maps. In addition, a single player arcade mode allows players to gather the fundamental skills against the AI before challenging friends.
Some people may not appreciate the change in art style between Nidhogg and the sequel. To be fair, it is very different.
Gone is the minimalism of the mono coloured stick figures. The backgrounds have lost the simplicity inspired by the 16bit era.
Instead, Nidhogg 2 adopts a grotesque and horrifying aesthetic. Characters are distended and pockmarked, the maps are filled with gruesome detail. The Nidhogg itself, once a horned worm comprised of large eyes and a series of pink circles, is now a monstrous avatar of gross consumption.
There are 10 maps, each with a specific theme (volcano, snow, club, swamp) and a specific feature (lava flows, shifting icebergs, flushing pipe, tall grass). By far my favourite was the airship though. Filled with the dismembered bodies of Nidhoggs, the stage features meat grinders which caught me off guard several times, mostly as I admired the detail in the background. The stages are Colorful and bright, if thematically dark.
It is Glorious.
There was always a sense of joyful glee in Nidhogg’s brutality. Some saw it as a form of Errol Flynn duel simulator. They weren’t necessarily wrong. As the game played though, the objective of the match was to throw your body into the maw of a gigantic worm as an audience cheers.
When disarmed, players would resort to smashing their opponents head into the ground while prone.
By the end of the match, the map would be a monument to colourful death as blood coated every floor – a patchwork record of the changing flow of battle.
Nidhogg was never clean or noble. It was rarely a duel. More of a brawl. Nidhogg 2 fully embraces that with an enthusiastically disgusting art style that matches the energy and chaos of the gameplay.
The weapons system is thematically chaotic. Every match starts with a single fencing rapier to stab with. This can be placed in the high, low or middle positions. By matching the position of your opponent, you can block their attack. By moving your blade up or down against an opponent’s, you can disarm them. Holding up and tapping attack will allow throwing your sword, which is risky but allows for ranged options.
However, should you die, you’ll move to the next weapon in the cycle. First, a broadsword. This only has high or low stances, but has a much longer reach. In addition, it swings rather than stabs which allows for easy disarmament.
Fall again and you’ll spawn with a bow and arrow. This weapon has no stab or swing, instead firing ranged shots which continue across the screen. While seemingly overpowered, the bow has a long wind up on attacks and all arrows can be deflected.
The main draw for this weapon is the legolas inspired slide attacks which see you slip past an opponent and shoot them in the back.
Finally, last and in my opinion least, the knife. Short ranged, seemingly faster, quite good for throwing. I’m sure that many people will appreciate getting up close and personal but I’ll take reach any day.
The arcade mode introduces the weapons gradually. The rotation is also introduced as each new weapon takes precedence. This initially can be confusing as a player must adapt quickly with little real guidance, but a trial by fire ensures the player understands how weapon works in short order.
The weapons are all fairly well balanced, and the unarmed melee attacks are equally so through a combination of dive kicks and stunning punches.
Being disarmed is unfortunate, but generally fights will leave multiple weapons scattered around to pick up and fight with so a disadvantage rarely feels unfair for long.
One of the odd things that I found playing online was that players would be anticipating weapons changes on respawn. When players knew I’d be coming back with a Bow, they dashed in close to keep me busy. Spawning with a rapier and they would hold back and try and bait me to attack first. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, it was just an element of the meta game that seemed quick to develop. In some ways, it helped to combat the rush of deaths that would follow one player gaining an initial advantage.
And that’s kind of it? There’s not a whole lot of game to talk about. Nidhogg 2 is a game made up of a simple mechanical structure. It’s a good one. Combat is fun, with a constantly shifting power dynamic created by the parrying and movement. Matches quickly develop a rhythm as players begin to recognise their opponent through the playstyle. Nidhogg 2 feels excellent to play, and in particular is perfect in a local setting. This isn’t to disparage the online play, all my testing showed it to be perfectly fine. Technically I saw no slowdown or delays, while matchmaking was quick.
However, while fighting an opponent online is fun, it doesn’t have a patch on the joy of outthinking the person next to you.
The game has the option to set up local tournaments, which is much appreciated. There’s a lot to be said for a group of people gasping and whooping as the battle shifts on screen, congratulating players as they pull off complex flurries of attacks and eventually cheering as someone plunges headfirst into the Nidhogg. Nidhogg 2, more than it’s predecessor, is a showcase of the spectacle of fighting games. It’s easy to follow, easy to jump into, and quick to learn.
Nidhogg 2 is available now on Mac, PC and PS4.