Zombie Vikings Review: Four Dead Vikings, One Missing Eye, and Not Much Else

Zombie Vikings wants to be a funny hack-and-slash adventure, and it mostly succeeds at being a bit of both. The 2015 game from Zoink sends four undead Norse warriors across a series of gross fantasy realms to get back Odin’s missing eye. It’s a short, cheerful package that knows what it is and doesn’t try to be anything else.

The Four Warriors

The roster is small but distinct. Gunborg is the armored lady who can throw axes, Seagurd is the pirate-type who swings a sword, Hedgy is the small guy who moves fast and takes hits, and Caw-kaa is the bird-man who flies and drops bombs. Each fighter plays a little differently, and switching between them changes how a level feels. That variety keeps the early hours fresh.

The story is simple. Loki steals Odin’s eye and runs away with it. Thor and the other gods are too busy having fun to help, so Odin raises the four zombies from the ground and sends them after the thief. Along the way, they fight giant chickens, sail through a swamp full of gingerbread, and dive into the guts of a giant serpent. The humor is broad and cartoonish, and it mostly lands.

Combat and Controls

The fighting is the heart of Zombie Vikings, and it’s where the game shows its age. Enemies come in waves, and players hack through them with combos, special moves, and timed blocks. The controls are solid enough, but the combat system doesn’t add much depth over time. Players will learn the timing for a few moves early on and repeat them for most of the game.

Boss fights break up the rhythm, and they’re the best parts of the game. Each boss forces players to use a specific character’s skills in a particular way, which gives the action some shape. The pacing dips in between those fights, though, especially in the middle stretch of the campaign.

Worlds and Level Design

The game moves through a wide set of settings, each with its own look and feel. The gingerbread swamp is bright and silly, the serpent’s innards are dark and disgusting, and the final world ties back into Norse mythology in a way that fits the zombie theme. The level design is decent, with paths that encourage exploration and small secrets hidden around corners.

The side view keeps things readable, and the art direction is strong. Character sprites are detailed, enemy designs are varied, and the backgrounds are packed with small touches that reward looking around. It’s a game that looks better than it plays sometimes.

Multiplayer and Modes

Zombie Vikings includes a multiplayer mode that lets friends team up to clear levels together. It’s a nice addition, even if it doesn’t change the core experience much. The co-op play works well, and the online support is solid. Playing with a friend adds a layer of chaos that the solo campaign doesn’t quite manage on its own.

There’s also a challenge mode that pushes players to beat levels faster or with fewer hits taken. These modes extend the life of the game beyond the main story, though they don’t fix the underlying problems with the combat.

What Holds It Back

The biggest issue is the lack of polish. Zombie Vikings is short, and it repeats itself more than it should. Some levels feel like they were built to fill space rather than offer a new idea. The difficulty curve is uneven, and the game asks players to learn timing that isn’t always explained clearly.

The humor also gets tired in stretches. Jokes about rotten flesh and dead bodies land once, but they repeat often enough that the game starts to feel less clever and more repetitive. The multiplayer helps ease that, but it can’t carry the whole package.

Ranking the Best Parts

Here’s how the game’s strongest elements stack up:

1. Boss fights — the clearest, most satisfying moments in the game.
2. Level variety — the different worlds keep things visually interesting.
3. Character switching — a small system that adds real replay value.
4. Multiplayer — a welcome addition that extends the life of the game.
5. Story — a silly premise that mostly delivers on its promise.

Final Word

Zombie Vikings is a competent, charming game that falls short of greatness. Its strengths — the character roster, the boss fights, the visual style — are enough to recommend it to anyone who enjoys light hack-and-slash games. Its weaknesses — the thin combat, the uneven pacing, the repeated jokes — are enough to keep it from being essential.

The game is a solid, if modest, entry in the genre. It doesn’t reinvent the hack-and-slash wheel, but it doesn’t need to. For what it is, Zombie Vikings works well enough to finish, laugh at, and forget about quickly.

co-op · game review · hack-and-slash · Norse mythology · Zombie Vikings