War of the Vikings

War never changes, except when it obviously does, because evolution takes strides in destructive ways more than constructive ones. Still, not that much of that is present in the War of the Vikings release coming to PC soon. It’s more of an evolution of its predecessor, which features thrilling, but ultimately awkward combat in a multiplayer brawler. More so than that, it’s a lack of incentive which weighs down this title the most, so far.

Welcome.

Smacking swords and axes together looks exciting enough on the surface. Detailed and layered textures coat the different environments, each wrought by the turmoil of conflict. Iconic, wooden Nordic halls stand next to disheartening landscapes where downtrodden nature meets with blood and filth. Character models reflect each individual piece of armored scrap on their body, casting off light as they run around this earthen landscape. Resonating orchestrations set the tone for bloodlust, which gets complemented with the clanging of metals. In spirit, this multiplayer game breathes the atmosphere of olden battles. It’s almost a little chilling, as if the winter takes a hold of it.

Have a seat.

With the mood set, teams take on each other in a series of different game modes, such as killing sprees or control point takeover. Upon entering the fray, a series of classes can be chosen, ranging from axe-wielding maniacs to more careful shield bearers or a hybrid of both archer and melee fighter. By employing a different subset of weapons, there is enough variety to keep switching around; adjusting to the struggle’s needs. Sometimes, an oncoming push is better thinned out by spewing some faraway shots, while at other times it is better to just bulrush the territory. Most styles are possible, though there is a certain favor towards running up.

Thanks to some flowing level designs, crevices, hill grooves and many small paths between buildings make for some surprising encounters, popping up when least expected. Small squads of three or four fighters can still sneak up behind enemy lines, if they make use of these divergent lanes between the main streams of areas. All the groundwork is done for a versatile and exciting match.

Take a look around.

With these elements in place, it’s even more sigh-inducing that combat in itself doesn’t work as well as all the caved in heads and blood pools make it look. When everything lines up, sure, then throwing an axe through a helmet for a crushing snap puts a tingle through the spine, but battles more commonly devolve in contortionist ballet. Character models live with puppet joints, making their upper body and lower parts move in detached ways. Their torso spins a full 180 degrees, before clipping over to the other side instantly and that while legs are pointed straight forward.

This comical element becomes less funny when applied to actually trying to control gameplay. Melee hits are dictated by swinging in a certain direction, but the finesse of it is almost never adaptable, since moving, looking and hitting at the same time doesn’t allow for nimble reactions. Especially trying to ward off shots by holding a weapon to any direction is stunted, leading to rarely accurate moves. More times, the alteration of blocking and striking is a matter of landing a lucky blow. Alternatively, it’s possible to run circles through opponents, but that only seems to anger the poor hit detection more.  Trying to overcome this by using ranged weapons is aggravating wishful thinking, though the gravity pull on lobbed ammo is a nice touch. It’s just not possible to predict when a connecting shot will actually register or not.

Make your move.

More so than just the lower priority of programming a fully functional control scheme first and polishing textures later, it’s the lack of info at the moment that will lead to a closed community. Things like perks, preparing strikes and more aren’t readily explained, leaving inexperienced players to eat dirt and eat it hard. There will be no time for bandages, when veteran grasp how to chase down and tackle prey like wild game.

Learning anything comes with tons of defeats, as death is instant for those who don’t know how to handle the game. Try to pick up something in the fraction of a second; try it. It’s not going to have a lot of results. There is a tutorial coming, but why learning the game wouldn’t be the first thing to implement is a mystery. It’s like learning to drive a car by starting on the freeway. It’s going to be fun, but more than likely it’s going to end in disaster. Newcomers just aren’t welcome and that creates a fragile ecosystem, certainly as this multiplayer title needs people to function. That doesn’t bode well for the Nordic heroes. They need things to slay, but they should also come back for more.

As it stands, War of the Vikings is mostly a brawler that looks good and has the potential of also playing well later on. Still, that means it has tons of tweaking to do in handling its scope, if it wants to become the brutal competitive blood sport it should be. Right now, it’s a game only enjoyable to those who already know how to play it and if that’s their attitude, then they can have it. Stagnant water fouls.

Daav Valentaten, NoobFeed (@Daavpuke)