Co-op brawlers are where it's at. The idea of getting people together to beat up a bunch of other people goes back to the caveman days. The idea of doing that in video game form can be traced back to ye olde arcade cabinets. The genre and the play style are alive and well, and Viking Squad doesn't mess with what works. Co-op supports up to three players both locally and online. Create a couch match, join a public game online, or host your own private server. The options are all available right from the main menu. Just pick one and get going.
Online play is something of an awkward experience at first, as the game just sort of dumps you into someone else's raid without any lobby system in place. You'll feel like a voyeur at first, but after a couple of fights you remember everybody's here to pillage and loot, so formalities are unnecessary. The only downside to co-op is the scramble for loot. Treasures don't spawn per instance and they aren't shared in a pool, meaning the first person to get there rakes it all in. In games with friends this is a non-issue, but you'll occasionally trip across a greedy random who isn't interested in sharing in the bounty.
Viking Squad is a game of organized chaos. There's a lot going on, a lot of things to break and a lot of stuff to do, yet it never gets out of hand. Lane brawling divides the screen and makes everything tidy and easier to parse, all without removing any of the challenge. Viking Squad is also about cooperation, resource management, and precision. Focus on your combos to take out foes as efficiently as you can. Button mashing won't cut it in this game. Not for very long, anyway.
Viking Squad was obviously built by experienced brawling fans. The game has everything a beat-em-up should have and not a single thing it shouldn't. There are plenty of things to pick up and break, fun enemies to tackle that rarely feel like they're cheating, great bosses to hack at, and an amazing soundtrack and visual package. The characters are unique enough to let you and your friends argue over which one's best, but the upgrades system leaves enough room to customize depending on your preference. Viking Squad focuses on the essentials, and it's a better game for it. Once you strip away all of the fancy stuff you realize the brawler genre is still capable of providing heaps of fun, especially with big enemies, big bosses, and big co-op modes.
Verdict
Co-Op Score
Overall
The Co-Op Experience: Work together to unleash massive attacks on foes and expand your arsenal in this three player co-op brawler
Co-Optimus game reviews focus on the cooperative experience of a game, our final score graphic represents this experience along with an average score for the game overall. For an explanation of our scores please check our Review Score Explanation Guide.