The Lost Vikings (SNES) - Let's Play 1001 Games - Episode 102
13Just three friendly vikings puzzling their way through time...
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I'm Gaming Jay: Youtube gamer, let's player, retrogaming fan, and determined optimist... Join me in this series while I try out EVERY game in the book 1001 VIDEO GAMES YOU MUST PLAY BEFORE YOU DIE, before I die. The game review for each game will focus on the question of whether you MUST play this game before you die. But to be honest, the game review parts are just for fun, this series is more about the YouTube gamer journey. So let's play those classic retro games we grew up with, have fond memories of, or heard of but never got a chance to try! And with that said, the game review for today is...
The Lost Vikings
Released 1992
Developer(s) Silicon & Synapse
Platform(s) SNES, Sega Genesis / Mega Drive, etc.
Genre(s) Puzzle, Platformer
Jay's Thoughts
The Lost Vikings is an interesting little puzzle platformer from a company called Silicon and Synapse. If they don't sound familiar that's probably because they changed names in the mid-90's to Blizzard Entertainment. Yup, this is a puzzle game by the creators of Warcraft, Starcraft, and Diablo.
Like many of Blizzard's games, The Lost Vikings feels very cartoony, very fun, and very polished. The game itself is simple in concept. Guide three vikings through a series of stages on their quest to get home. Throughout the stages, you will encounter teleporters, elevators, switches, spikes, bad guys, and keys. The twist though, is that each of the three vikings possess different abilities. One can run and jump, one can fight, and the big lovable oaf holds a shield and can block.
What's interesting is that the levels themselves aren't too complicated, and so at some level the puzzles are easy to solve. The challenge usually lies in figuring out the order in which to move all the vikings through the levels, and in figuring out how to get everyone through the stage together, despite their different limitations.
I had fun with this game, and I think retro gaming fans will generally find this to be an interesting title. There are a few annoyances that I picked up on in my play through, such as some very tedious cavemen that roll around and take an unnecessary amount of time to kill. But beyond the little things, stands a solid and fun puzzle platformer. Check it out some time!
➙ Must You Play It?
The Lost Vikings is a unique puzzle-platformer that requires equal parts planning and skill. There is a good progression in difficulty and variety of levels, and the puzzle aspect never feels too much like a chore. All in all, this a great classic game from the company that would one day become Blizzard.