We’ve had a wee break from Cheap Game Tuesday this past fortnight because the ol’ day job got in the way of important video game playing. Fortunately we’ve got just the thing to shake off the cobwebs…
Nidhogg, named after an ancient Norse serpent dragon, is so named because…reasons, I guess. The gameplay involves two players of different colours fencing each other in a multi-screen level. Player 1′s goal is to reach the far right, while Player 2 must reach the left. The catch is that to move to the next screen the player must have the advantage, which they gain by cutting down their opponent. Controls are simple but tight, allowing for slashes and stabs at different heights, stances, flips, rolls and jumps. With only two buttons and directional keys it’s easy to learn the moves. Mastering them…that’s another story.
There’s four different stages, each with their own traits. The rural area has long grass that the players can hide behind, the cloud level can disintegrate beneath your feet and so forth. With the different stages and small range of techniques practice makes perfect, and when two skilled players go head to head it becomes a pretty exciting game. It’s cheap and simple, but it’s fun as hell.
And then you get to the end of the level and a giant worm eats you.
