Nidhogg
8.2
Platforms
- PCJan 13, 20148.2playscore8.028 Critics8.85.23K Players
28 critic reviews · 0 community reviews across all platforms
Critic Reviews
- If there weren’t dozens of others chanting Kali Ma in the Temple of Doom, would the image remain so strongly in my mind? Probably not. The same is true of Nidhogg. Under the right circumstances, Messhof has established a new and shocking blood sport that’ll captivate audiences and players alike. At home, by yourself and frustrated by searching for a multiplayer opponent, you might tear your own heart out.
Daniel Bischoff · Jan 21, 2014 Reviewed on PCRead full review - As fun as this game is in multiplayer, the single-player doesn’t measure up. Fighting against the A.I. is difficult to the extent of being demoralizing, and can last for hours. You can’t save your progress in Nidhogg, which is a horrible oversight considering how epic some of these fights can get. Luckily, the single player mode is just a repetitive fight against A.I. controlled opponents, so even if it doesn’t save your progress you aren’t missing much.
Angelo M. D'Argenio · Jan 21, 2014 Reviewed on PCRead full review - There's no time limit. One game might lasts seconds, the next half an hour, a joyous to-and-fro of victory snatched from the jaws of defeat with a well-placed sword throw, of frantic melee kills in the final few inches of a room. You can play online, and there's a decent singleplayer mode, too. But Nidhogg is first and foremost a local multiplayer game, made for two players sharing the same sofa space, jostling and laughing and shouting and revelling in playing what is surely the purest fighting game in years, and maybe even the best.
PC Gamer · Jan 20, 2014 Reviewed on PCRead full review - Nidhogg has already given me some of my favorite multiplayer experiences in recent years, and I have no doubt that there will be a strong cult community around the game for years to come. That aside, once you've seen what Nidhogg has to offer, there's not a whole lot more. The single player "campaign", if you can call it that, lasts an hour or so at most, and even with the extensive options for multiplayer, you still only have four stages to play with.
Daniel Starkey · Jan 18, 2014 Reviewed on PCRead full review - Nidhogg is a polarizing game. Experiencing it the way it’s meant to be played (via local multiplayer) is a fantastically fun event. Without that, it’s easy to pick at the ways in which the game feels small. Outside of the nuanced fighting mechanics, there is little to keep players coming back. For some people, this will be enough to more than justify the price. For others, it will seem a squandered investment. I certainly like Nidhogg, but don’t expect to fall head over heels for it any time soon.
Marcus Estrada · Jan 18, 2014 Reviewed on PCRead full review - Nidhogg may not have as much content as other games with similar goals, and it's online support is all but useless. But in blending standard kill-or-be-killed fighting game mechanics with a totally unique offense vs. defense structure married to its distinctive, fantastic presentation Nidhogg still exists as something totally original in a genre that often feels dangerously tired.
Russ Frushtick · Jan 17, 2014 Reviewed on PCRead full review - Every other aspect of Nidhogg takes a backseat to the swordplay. The character designs are essentially colored pixelated silhouettes, and the fantastic soundtrack only has four songs. Nidhogg is well-honed, mechanical gameplay stripped down to its core. The combat is fun, but I wish Messhof applied the same striving for perfection to the presentation and game modes as it did to the swordplay.
Kyle Hilliard · Jan 17, 2014 Reviewed on PC - It would be easy to glance at Nidhogg and wonder how it could possibly be worth the price. The graphics look crude (though there is a fluidity to the animation that fits the action well), the single-player is almost nonexistent, and there are only four stages. Indeed, if you intend to play alone, Nidhogg is almost certainly not the game for you.
Britton Peele · Jan 17, 2014 Reviewed on PCRead full review - Individual matches might last a nerve-shredding 15 minutes or barely more than 90 seconds, but Nidhogg’s tense sword battles are something I am likely to play all year against different people. Despite the surreal abstraction of the art style this feels more realistic than any sword-fighting than anything else I’ve ever played, where a single slip in concentration can mean your end. It’s the most exhilarating competitive game I’ve played in years.
Keza Macdonald · Jan 15, 2014 Reviewed on PCRead full review - All in all, Nidhogg is a fantastic little indie gem, and the addition of online matchmaking allows me to recommend it without it being conditional on whether you have friends to play it with. It’s got simple, but deep combat and a well-designed, if a bit paltry, selection of levels, and it’s just a blast to play. Say hello to 2014’s first great game.
Mitchell Saltzman · Jan 15, 2014 Reviewed on PC
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About the game
Trailers & Screenshots:
Nidhogg is the epic award-winning fencing tug-of-war, full of graceful acrobatics and clumsy stabs. IRL yelling and excitement may occur, in this ultimate two-player showdown of fast-paced fencing and melee attacks. Beware, advantages in Nidhogg are often fleeting, as new opponents continually spawn in your way. Use a variety of fencing maneuvers while armed -- lunges, parries, and even dirty tricks like throwing your sword. If swordless, press forward with punches, sweep kicks, dive kicks, rolls, and wall jumps.
Developer: Messhof