Whelp, it looks like Loki did it again. Like a little kid who just can’t keep his hands out of the cookie jar Loki sets about another catastrophe that only a mortal may endeavor in as the sheer power of the items in question keeps the gods out of it. Tasked and guided by Odin himself, one lone Viking will set out on a series of trials in order to pick up the pieces of the shattered Sunstone in order to try to put it back together.
Trial by Viking is a fast paced platformer where a lone viking sets out to collect Sunstone fragments and race the clock for the best time possible while doing it. Broken up into worlds with stages there will be plenty of opportunity to try out your skills in a variety of ever increasing challenges. As these stages are completed one after the other within sometimes nothing more than thirty seconds to a minute, the real challenge will be in collecting the Sunstone fragments which are not only your true goal, but the materials necessary in order to buy new upgrades to further help you out down the line.
Level designs can be intense as they have been created to challenge the player in both their reaction times and their thought processes. Each level is designed to use either fast paced platforming, combat, or puzzle solving skills in order to make it from the start to the finish. What is not actually part of the design when racing against the clock is the acquisition of the Sunstone fragments as they play no part as to whether or not you finish the stage. They are there for other uses.
Sunstone fragments can be used between stages in order to level up your viking’s arsenal of abilities. Upgrades to the main handed axe also affect the damage when thrown head first into an enemy that is generally very satisfying as if they fall before you get there then there’s no need to stop. Other upgrades consist of purely ranged weapons and upgrades to running speed and additional possible jumping capabilities that simplify the way forward. The upgrades themselves are all performed in line meaning that in order to obtain the next one the one above it must be bought meaning that simply skipping over the ones unwanted is not possible. If a mistake has been done and another upgrade was wanted instead then resetting everything is easily done allowing for the re-allocation of the Sunstones to be done. This is especially useful if a stage isn’t quite working out well with the current set of upgrades as going back to the drawing board is always an option.
Switching things up after halfway through a world are Mid Boss fights to give a small break from the platforming and the puzzle solving. Learning the combat capabilities is as important as running and jumping around because here these skills will truly be required as the only way through is over their dead body. Not to be left out are the Bosses of each world in which will put more than either platforming or combat skills to the test as both will be required to make it though. Both Mid Bosses and World Bosses grant a stat point to increase very specific stats such as a critical hit modifier, extra defense, and the ability to life leech off of an enemy kill.
Trial by Viking is fun, challenging, and holds some exhilaration at the fast pace that is set as our Viking flies through each level. Knowing that Sunstones have been missed is a good incentive to go back but so is knowing that you could indeed perform better now knowing the lay of the land. With a slew of stages and worlds to be tackled in order to restore the fragmented stone there’s more than enough content to keep platformer and puzzle lovers occupied.
Game Information
PC
Developer(s):
Last Life Games
Publisher(s):
Last Life Games
Genre(s):
Action
Adventure
Mode(s):
Single Player
Other Platform(s):
None
Article by Pierre-Yves
