Nidhogg 2 (PC) Review

If you never played the original Nidhogg, bask in the knowledge that it's a weird game. Players assume the role of fencers, who must move to their end zone, so to speak, but repeatedly stabbing their opponent and rushing off before they return for a rematch. The first player to reach the other side and get swallowed by the titular Nidhogg is the winner, somehow. If all this sounds confusing, it's because it is. Nidhogg 2 brings this confusing visual harangue back with a fresh coat of paint and a tad more variety.

Best to start with the elephant in the room, right? This is visually gross. Not in a cheap or lazy way, but it seems to be intentionally tough on the eyes. Imagine claymation figures that are a bit flimsy, mercilessly stomping on each other's faces, and you will have an idea as to why Nidhogg 2 is begging you to take a shower. It's unappealing, and while it's definitely a different visual approach, the fact that it's so grotesque is a bit alarming.

Environments seem to be drawing from this visual style, too, although they do take some key elements from the original, as well. One of these, a wall of fire in the background, may produce a bit of lag that causes some unwarranted deaths, but that's really the extent of the technical issues. Still, it can be extremely frustrating, and even mess up your match.

Over time, as levels are played more and more, one can get used to the lag and compensate for it, but it really shouldn't be that way. Fortunately, it's not an issue the entire game seems to have, and will be a minor nuisance more than anything. It shouldn't deter from picking this up and learning its fairly unique gameplay.

That gameplay, by the way, is fantastic. The controls can take a bit to get used to, somewhere in the realm of 15 minutes, and then you're off. For a game with very specific controls, this feels really easy to get the hang of. Unfortunately, without another player nearby, it won't matter too much.

The single-player campaign isn't very fun, with the AI opponent being moderately adept at stopping you at every turn. Unfortunately after a while, they are either too easy to matter, or too good at keeping the combat stuck in one area, in an never ending tug of war where neither opponent makes much headway.

Too often the enemy AI just lucks out and skewers you while you're trying to lay the proverbial smack down on them, although this goes away over time as you get better at judging distance and not just running into swords. The biggest letdown is that sometimes the enemy doesn't even pursue you, and you can just jump over them and stab them… or, mid jump, they snap back into reality, and exact sweet revenge.

Playing with another person is, however, the best way to experience this, especially if finding someone of the same skill level, plus growing with another player is a lot of fun. This is a great competitive game, and for what a weird "sport" Nidhogg is, it's really the only recommended way to play it. In essence, then, play with someone else, not the AI. Online play works very well, but some of the game's environments just seem to naturally cause a nasty lag, and this can hang up the enjoyment of facing a human foe online.

There are a lot more options in terms of customising each character and the weapons add a degree of mystery to each match. Another interesting component is the environmental hazards littered in each environment, although most of these seem to come down to whether you jumped over a pit or not. Still, there's some pretty grotesque ways to die in Nidhogg 2, if you're not careful.